Bible Study series: Luke 4:14-15. The Spirit’s power came right after he defeated Satan (and right after Jesus’s baptism). Now he can help people through teaching and healing.
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In the next link to the original chapter, I comment more and offer the Greek text. At the bottom you will find a “Summary and Conclusion” section geared toward discipleship. Check it out!
In this post, links are provided for further study.
Let’s begin.
Scripture: Luke 4:14-15
14 And so Jesus, in the power of the Spirit, returned to Galilee, and news about him went out through the whole region. 15 He was teaching in their synagogues and was being honored by them. (Luke 4:14-15)
Comments:
“power”: it is the noun dunamis (or dynamis) (pronounced doo-na-mees or dee-na-mis, but most teachers prefer the first one). It is often translated as “power,” but also “miracle” or “miraculous power.” It means power in action, not static, but kinetic. It moves. Yes, we get our word dynamite from it, but God is never out of control, like dynamite is. Its purpose is to usher in the kingdom of God and repair and restore broken humanity, both in body and soul. For nearly all the references of that word and a developed theology, please click on Miracles, Signs and Wonders.
What Are Signs and Wonders and Miracles?
“news”: The noun could be translated as “fame” or “renown,” and the context warrants it (v. 15 says the people honored him). It is a good idea to let the context guide a word. But I chose “news.”
Jesus never lost the empowerment of the Spirit when he had to go through his temptation, but Luke mentioned this truth one more time to let his readers know that he was full of the third person of the Trinity. The message is that the miracles and deliverances from demonic oppression he was about to effect was done by the Spirit. Disciples in the Book of Acts can do the same thing (Acts 10:38), and they did. So can we, by the power and infilling of the Spirit.
He had success in Galilee, but in his hometown, he was about to experience a reversal. His hometown guys, the Nazarenes, were about to lose their vision and be irrationally outraged.
For a discussion on how Jesus’s divine nature, his Messianic anointing by the Holy Spirit and the Father’s will interacted to do the mighty works and preach, see Luke 1:35.
15:
The imperfect verb tense “was teaching” indicates what he habitually did (“imperfect” means “incomplete” or “unfinished”). It was his habit and custom to enter their synagogues and teach the people (see v. 31; 6:6).
The verb means to instruct or tell or teach (BDAG, a thick Greek lexicon), some times in a formal setting like a classroom or another confined setting, other times in a casual setting. Here he was in a formal setting, the synagogue. He spoke with authority, unlike the teachers of the law and Pharisees (Luke 4:32; Matt. 7:28-29). This is what the Spirit does through a surrendered heart and mind. It was his habit and custom to enter their synagogues and teach the people (see 4:15). He combined a teaching and healing ministry. His insight into Scripture was profound. This is what the Spirit does through a surrendered heart and mind after a victory over Satan. Some Renewalists of the fiery variety don’t teach, but evangelize and shriek and freak, after they read one verse or two, and put on a show. How much time do they put in to study the word? Jesus had a full ministry: teaching, healing, miracles, and deliverances.
The teachers of the law and Pharisees were steeped in traditions and the finer, technical points of the law. We don’t know what he was teaching throughout Galilee at this early time, but I don’t imagine he was talking about how far a man could travel on the Sabbath before he broke it, or how consecrated a man became by denying this or that food. Rather, he surely raised their vision more highly and taught them about God’s ways and plans in their time and to expect the Messiah See vv. 18-19 for a hint as to what he taught. The entire Gospel also gives us hints. He was moving people away from Judaism and towards a New Covenant (Luke 22:19-20). In fact, he predicted the temple, which was the hub of Judaism, would be destroyed because God’s judgment was about to fall on the Israelite establishment in Jerusalem for rejecting the Messiah (Luke 19:41-45; 21:20-24; 23:26-31; Matt. 21:33-45), though numerous individual priests (Acts 6:7) and thousands of Jews of Jerusalem and Judea converted (Acts 21:20). God loves people, but he is not enamored with systems.
“being honored”: this verb could be translated as “being glorified” by the people. But they lived in an honor and shame society, so let’s translate it as “being honored,” in this context. (Please note that shame in this context does not mean the psychological state coming from abuse.)
GrowApp for Luke 4:14-15
1. Jesus regularly taught in their synagogues. What do you regularly contribute to your fellowship or church, whether teaching or giving money or volunteering to do something else?
RELATED
11. Eyewitness Testimony in Luke’s Gospel
3. Church Fathers and Luke’s Gospel
2. Archaeology and the Synoptic Gospels
1. The Historical Reliability of the Gospels: Introduction to Series
SOURCES
For the bibliographical data, please click on this link and scroll down to the very bottom:
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