Jesus gave the shortest, most powerful sermon ever, and it's good news for you!
Read / Listen
Read Luke 4:14-21
Listen to passage & devotional:
Heidelberg Catechism Q&A 31
Q. Why is he called “Christ,”
meaning “anointed”?
A. Because he has been ordained by God the Father
and has been anointed with the Holy Spirit
to be
our chief prophet and teacher
who perfectly reveals to us
the secret counsel and will of God for our deliverance;
our only high priest
who has set us free by the one sacrifice of his body,
and who continually pleads our cause with the Father;
and our eternal king
who governs us by his Word and Spirit,
and who guards us and keeps us
in the freedom he has won for us.
Summary
Jesus' public ministry took off like a rocket after His baptism. His cousin, John the Baptist, was already gathering crowds who went far out into the wilderness to hear this eccentric prophet speak about the coming Messiah, so you can imagine the anticipation people had after the heavens were torn open, a booming voice indicated it was pleased with 'my son,' while a dove descended upon Jesus.
Soon after His baptism and subsequent months-long time of temptation in the wilderness, Jesus re-emerged into society and the miracle show began. All sorts of people were healed, water was turned to wine, and Jesus has become a rock star with mobs of people following Him everywhere He went.
The opportunity came for Jesus to return to His home synagogue in Nazareth, and you can imagine the locals packed the synagogue to hear their native son who had become famous. What would he say?
It just so happened that the scroll of Isaiah the prophet was handed to Jesus, and He unrolled it nearly all the way to the end. He read the passage quoted by Luke: The Spirit of the Lord is on me... He's anointed me... He's sent me to proclaim good news, freedom, and the Lord's blessing.
When Jesus finished reading, He sat down. You can bet the packed room was on pins and needles. Every eye, Luke writes, was fastened on Jesus.
Jesus then delivers one of the shortest, most powerful sermons ever preached:
Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.
This was the ultimate mic drop moment. It stunned those present.
From that moment on, the devil, who'd just been defeated by Jesus in the desert, sets about to turn public opinion against Jesus until they ultimately had Him nailed to a cross.
Dig Deeper
It often may seem like Christ is simply Jesus' last name, but that's not the case. Both the Greek word Christos and the Hebrew word Mashiyach (Messiah) both are titles which mean the same thing: Jesus, the anointed one.
The concept of anointing is a distinctly ancient near eastern idea. The thought of oil being poured over our head doesn't seem all that attractive to us, but in the Old Testament, it was a big deal to be anointed. In fact, only a small contingent of men were anointed: prophets, priests, and kings.
As we go through this week, we're going to see how Jesus the Christ fulfills all three of those offices, and why that's so important for you.
ACKNOWLEDGE WHO GOD IS: Our Father, who through His Spirit anointed His Son Jesus to save us, His covenant people;
ALIGN YOUR LIFE WITH GOD'S WILL: Thank God that Jesus fulfilled the Old Testament prophecies on your behalf;
ASK GOD FOR WHAT YOU NEED:
Read the New Testament in a year, a chapter a day - Hebrews 12
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