What Jesus Did

[Jesus] noticed two empty boats at the water's edge, for the fishermen had left them and were washing their nets. Stepping into one of the boats, Jesus asked Simon, its owner, to push it out into the water. So he sat in the boat and taught the crowds from there. When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, "Now go out where it is deeper, and let down your nets to catch some fish." "Master," Simon replied, "we worked hard all last night and didn't catch a thing. But if you say so, I'll...

 

One day as Jesus was preaching on the shore of the Sea of Galilee, great crowds pressed in on him to listen to the word of God.

—Luke 5:1 NLT

Key Thought


Even though we are living in a skeptical age with a cultural environment in which some people reject standards of any kind, there is still great hunger in the hearts of many people for an authentic message from God. Jesus spoke that authentic message and people came to hear it. The authority of his words was...

 

Early the next morning Jesus went out to an isolated place. The crowds searched everywhere for him, and when they finally found him, they begged him not to leave them. But he replied, "I must preach the Good News of the Kingdom of God in other towns, too, because that is why I was sent." So he continued to travel around, preaching in synagogues throughout Judea.

—Luke 4:42-44 NLT

Key Thought


Jesus sometimes went to isolated, quiet places to be alone with the Father...

 

As the sun went down that evening, people throughout the village brought sick family members to Jesus. No matter what their diseases were, the touch of his hand healed every one. Many were possessed by demons; and the demons came out at his command, shouting, "You are the Son of God!" But because they knew he was the Messiah, he rebuked them and refused to let them speak.

—Luke 4:40-41 NLT

Key Thought


If you've ever had a loved one who hurt, you know what a precious...

 

After leaving the synagogue that day, Jesus went to Simon's home, where he found Simon's mother-in-law very sick with a high fever. "Please heal her," everyone begged. Standing at her bedside, he rebuked the fever, and it left her. And she got up at once and prepared a meal for them.

—Luke 4:38-39 NLT

Key Thought


One way that Jesus showed the authority of his words was by his power over illness. Here, Jesus rebuked the fever and it left. His words were powerful and...

 

Once when [Jesus] was in the synagogue, a man possessed by a demon — an evil spirit — cried out, shouting, "Go away! Why are you interfering with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are — the Holy One of God!" But Jesus reprimanded him. "Be quiet! Come out of the man," he ordered. At that, the demon threw the man to the floor as the crowd watched; then it came out of him without hurting him further. Amazed, the people exclaimed, "What authority and power this...

 

Then Jesus went to Capernaum, a town in Galilee, and taught there in the synagogue every Sabbath day. There, too, the people were amazed at his teaching, for he spoke with authority.

—Luke 4:31-32 NLT

Key Thought


There are at least three types of authority that people may have. Some folks have authority by virtue of a position to which they've been appointed. Some use their position and authority wisely, while others misuse them to boss others around. Some folks have...

 

When they heard [what Jesus said about Elijah's ministering to foreigners], the people in the synagogue were furious. Jumping up, they mobbed him and forced him to the edge of the hill on which the town was built. They intended to push him over the cliff, but he passed right through the crowd and went on his way.

—Luke 4:28-30 NLT

Key Thought


In some church cultures, after a message is given, an invitation is offered for people to respond to that message. Well...

 

[Jesus said,] "Certainly there were many needy widows in Israel in Elijah's time, when the heavens were closed for three and a half years, and a severe famine devastated the land. Yet Elijah was not sent to any of them. He was sent instead to a foreigner — a widow of Zarephath in the land of Sidon. And many in Israel had leprosy in the time of the prophet Elisha, but the only one healed was Naaman, a Syrian."

—Luke 4:25-27 NLT

Key Thought


God didn't love Israel to...

 

Everyone spoke well of [Jesus] and was amazed by the gracious words that came from his lips. "How can this be?" they asked. "Isn't this Joseph's son?" Then he said, "You will undoubtedly quote me this proverb: 'Physician, heal yourself' — meaning, 'Do miracles here in your hometown like those you did in Capernaum.' But I tell you the truth, no prophet is accepted in his own hometown.

—Luke 4:22-24 NLT

Key Thought


In sports, teams play all season to have the home-court...