Luke 4
Main Theme
Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God.
Outline
- As the Son of God, Jesus represents people before God.
- Key Verses - And Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the wilderness for forty days, being tempted by the devil. And he ate nothing during those days. And when they were ended, he was hungry. (vv. 1 & 2 )
- The temptations Jesus endured were similar to those experienced by God’s people in the Old Testament, but where they sinned, Jesus remained faithful. Unlike mankind’s first representative, Adam, Jesus always remained faithful, thereby securing righteousness for all who repent of their sin and place their faith in him.
- As the Son of God, Jesus is the fulfillment of prophecy.
- Key Verse - And he began to say to them, “Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.” (v. 21)
- Jesus is announcing to those in his hometown that he is the Son of God, the promised Savior because he is the fulfillment of Isaiah’s prophecy.
- As the Son of God, Jesus possesses all authority.
- Key Verses - And they were all amazed and said to one another, “what is this word? For with authority and power he commands the unclean spirits, and they come out!”…And he stood over her and rebuked the fever, and it left her, and immediately she rose and began to serve them. (v. 36 & v. 39)
- Through healing people and casting out demons, Jesus revealed that he is the Son of God. Sickness and demon must obey him because he has authority over them.
- As the Son of God, Jesus is the savior of all who place their faith in him.
- Key Verses - but he said to them, “I must preach the good news of the kingdom of God to the other towns as well; for I was sent for this purpose. (v. 43)
- Jesus is not just a savior for one group or one type of people. The good news of salvation from sin by grace through faith in Jesus is for all who believe.
Gospel Connection
The evidence that Jesus is the Son of God, the promised savior, is clear. As the Son of God he took up humanity’s fight against sin, but instead of submitting to sin, he defeated sin and perfectly kept God’s law. This obedience or righteousness of Jesus is credited to everyone who repents of their sin and places their faith in Jesus. This means that if your faith is in Jesus, your sin has been exchanged for Jesus’ righteousness. What a wonderful gift of grace and an amazing act of love.
Whole Bible Connection
Adam, the first man ever created, represented all of mankind before God. Because of his sin, all of mankind has been subjected to the curse of sin and inherited a sinful nature. However, Jesus descended from Heaven, was born of a virgin, and represented all of mankind before God, but, unlike Adam, remained faithful to God. The curse of sin brought about by Adam has been overcome by the faithfulness, death, and resurrection of Jesus.
Key Takeaways
At the beginning of chapter 4, Luke intentionally includes that Jesus is full of the Holy Spirit before his temptation in the wilderness. When you are tempted, you cannot remain faithful by relying upon yourself; you must follow the Holy Spirit, who will lead you to resist sin.
In verse 3, Satan attempts to get Jesus to prove he is the son of God by exercising his authority. However, the true evidence was in Jesus’ reliance upon God. Evidence of being a child of God is more seen in submission and obedience to God rather than a display of authority.
At the end of chapter 4, Jesus is healing and casting out demons, and as he casts out the demons, he doesn’t allow them to speak. Verse 41 reveals the reason for this: they knew that he was the Christ. The demons know Jesus is the Christ and submit to him. Do you know that Jesus is the Christ, and will you submit to him?