Saturday, January 14, 2012
Luke 4:20-21 Then he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant and sat down. The eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fastened on him, and he began by saying to them, "Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing."
REVEALED BY THE WORD
When Jesus began His ministry, how did the people come to know that He was the Christ, the Son of God? How did He choose to reveal this important thing to them? It is true that there were times when He revealed His glory at least in part by some miracle (such as at the wedding in Cana), but this was not the principle way by which He made Himself known.
When Jesus came to His hometown of Nazareth, He went into the synagogue where He began to read. From the scroll of the prophet Isaiah He read, "The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor." Then He went on to say, "Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing." There is no mention of a miracle performed here in the synagogue, but rather the Lord revealed Himself to the people through the word.
It is by Jesus' word that we learn of Him. It is by His own word that He reveals Himself to us as the Anointed One, the great Forgiver of Sins, the Resurrection and the Life, and so much else. The miraculous things He did served but to confirm the words He spoke.
What can we say when He speaks to us in the Scriptures today? What else but what Samuel once said: "Speak, for your servant is listening" (1 Sam 3:10).
