Bible Study series: Luke 4:42-44. Apparently he withdrew to rest and pray, but then the crowds found him and wanted to keep him for themselves. But he told them about his mission. A nice two-verse summary.
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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!
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Scripture: Luke 4:42-44
42 When the next day came, he went into a deserted place.
Then the crowds sought after him and came to him and were trying to hinder him from going from them. 43 But he told them, “I must also preach the good news of the kingdom of God in other towns because I have been sent for this purpose.” 44 And he was preaching in the synagogues of Judea. (Luke 4:42-44)
Comments
42:
Jesus ministered while the sun was setting, and now the sun is rising. He needed sleep. This day he had to take a break from ministry. Fireworks can be thrilling at first, but if we saw them every day, they would be exhausting. Sometimes you just need a break. Jesus needed one. He had to regroup. Mark 1:35 says he was praying.
“hinder”: It is amazing that the people seemed to have tried to block his way or urged him not to depart. Often people do not hear from God, and they confuse their “good idea” with a “God idea.” They are not always the same. The people spoke out of self-interest. They wanted to contain Jesus for their permanent healer and deliverer and teacher. Don’t allow well-intentioned or self-interested people to hinder you from fulfilling God’s destiny and calling on your life.
43:
Jesus solved the misunderstanding by telling them in general terms what his purpose was. It is amazing how a Spirit-filled word at the right time to the right people can stop them in their tracks. You may have to do that, if people try to hinder you from God’s call, but please don’t go into detail, unless God gives you permission.
“preach the good news”: it is the one verb euangelizō, and see vv. 17-19 for more comments.
“kingdom of God”: What is it? As noted in other verses that mention the kingdom in this commentary, the kingdom is God’s realm over which he exercises power, authority, rule, reign and sovereignty. He exerts all those things over all the universe but more specifically over the lives of people. It is his invisible realm, and throughout the Gospels Jesus is explaining and demonstrating what it looks like before their very eyes and ears. It is gradually being manifested from the realm of faith to the visible realm, but it is not political in the human sense. It is a secret kingdom because it does not enter humanity with trumpets blaring and full power and glory. This grand display will happen when Jesus comes back. In his first coming, it woos people to surrender to it. We can enter God’s kingdom by being born again (John 3:3, 5), by repenting (Matt. 4:17; Mark 1:5), by having the faith of children (Matt. 18:4; Mark 10:14-15), by being transferred from the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of the Son whom God loves (Col. 1:13), and by seeing their own poverty and need for the kingdom (Matt. 5:3; Luke 6:20; Jas. 2:5).
It also includes the Great Reversal in Luke 1:51-53, where Mary says that Jesus and his kingdom were to bring to the world. The powerful and people of high status are to be brought low, while the humble and those of low status are to be raised up. It also fulfills the reversal in 2:34, where Simeon prophesied that Jesus was appointed for the rising and falling of many. It is the right-side-up kingdom, but upside-down from a worldly perspective. Jesus would cause the fall of the mighty and the rise of the needy, and the rich would be lowered, and the poor raised up. It is the down elevator and up elevator. Those at the top will take the down elevator, and those at the bottom will take the up elevator.
Here it is the already and not-yet. The kingdom has already come in part at his First Coming, but not yet with full manifestation and glory and power until his Second Coming.
Bible Basics about the Kingdom of God
Questions and Answers about Kingdom of God
Basic Definition of Kingdom of God
1 Introducing the Kingdom of God (begin a ten-part series)
“I have been sent”: Note that it is in the passive voice. It does not mean “I sent myself,” but “I have been sent.” This is called the divine passive, which means an understated way of saying that God is behind the scenes orchestrating the sending. So we can say this is a major statement about Jesus’s mission.
Gabriel in his message to Zechariah said: “I am Gabriel who stands in the presence of God, and I have been sent forth to speak to you and announce to you this good news” (1:19). This statement parallels that of Jesus. It too is in the divine passive. Gabriel stands in God’s presence and came from heaven with a message of good news to Zechariah, and Jesus—who is the Son of God and not an angel—also came from heaven with a message of good news for the whole world. Jesus said in the context of one who welcome a little one that he welcomes “the one who sent me” (Luke 9:48).
Some skeptics say that John is clear about God sending Jesus, while Luke (and Matthew and Mark) merely hints at it in such clauses as “I have been sent” or “I have come.” Therefore, the four Gospels are irreparably inconsistent and contradictory (they claim). The critics overemphasize the nuances, of course. John tells and shows loudly, and the Synoptic Gospel writers show and tell more subtly, for those who can see. John drops all subtleties, probably since his Gospel is the last one, so he does not need to be secretive to his readers.
5. Do I Really Know Jesus? He Came Down from Heaven
“for this purpose”: the Greek merely reads “for this.” Purpose is implied in the pronoun “this.” He was on a mission; he had a purpose. What about your purpose? We all have a purpose. How do we find it? In my experience it comes in a variety of ways, but mostly it grows on you and then over time God leads you to grow up into it.
44:
Of course he went into the synagogues, because that was his custom. For how Jesus related to the synagogue and Sabbath keeping, please read my comments in vv. 25-29.
Once again, I like Liefeld’s and Pao’s summary: “Here, then, Luke has provided representative incidents from the ministry of Jesus. It is the kind of activity summarized in Acts 10:38 as ‘doing good and healing all who were under the power of the devil’” (comments on vv. 42-44).
GrowApp for Luke 4:42-44
1. Has anyone ever tried to hinder you from fulfilling God’s calling on your life? What did you do?
2. How do you find out about God’s purpose and mission on your life? What is your story of seeking him first and searching for his purpose second?
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
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