The Essential Jesus (Part 8): The Beginning Ministry of JesusSampl

Who's He Think He Is?

PRAY: "The grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of our God stands forever" (Isaiah 40:8). Lord, open my eyes to something new from your eternal Word today.

READ: Luke 4:14-30

REFLECT: It must have been difficult to grow up around Jesus. The "soccer moms" no doubt had talked about the details of Mary's pregnancy and her son's birth for years. As Jesus grew up, the religious teachers would have debated what this child prodigy was destined to become. His neighborhood friends must have been flabbergasted when Jesus stepped into the spotlight at the synagogue that day. Everyone who knew Jesus would have been wondering the same thing: Who's he think he is? The answer to that question begins to emerge in Luke 4:14-30. When Jesus stood up and read from the book of Isaiah, he was indicating at least two very important things about himself. The first was that he had a specific mission: "to preach good news to the poor" (v. 18). The Gospels help us understand that a person can be physically and spiritually poor (compare Matthew 5:3 with Luke 6:20), but either way, Jesus had come for them.

The second thing Jesus was saying is that he was more than a carpenter's son (v. 22). You'll remember from one of our earlier readings that the passage Jesus read from Isaiah was one of four places in that book that describe the coming Messiah (the "Servant Songs"). Jesus claimed he was that promised Messiah by saying this Scripture had been fulfilled (v. 21). You can imagine the stunned silence that followed. "Ah, right. Are there any other announcements today?"

Ever since then, people have been divided about Jesus. Some accept him (v. 22), while others are infuriated by him (v. 28). As you'll see in the rest of our journey through the Bible, Jesus made many more jaw-dropping statements about what he came to do (for example, John 5:24-27). A person who said what Jesus said and did what Jesus did demands a response.

APPLY: If you had been in the synagogue with Jesus that day, how do you think you would have reacted to his claim? Why?

PRAY: In your own words, complete this prayer, "Jesus, this is who I honestly think you are..."