Jesus’ message wasn’t just kept as some sort of local secret. It’s a truth that affects and reaches the whole world.
Luke 4:42-44
42 At daybreak, Jesus went out to a solitary place. The people were looking for him and when they came to where he was, they tried to keep him from leaving them. 43 But he said, “I must proclaim the good news of the kingdom of God to the other towns also, because that is why I was sent.” 44 And he kept on preaching in the synagogues of Judea.
In this passage I’m reminded of a later moment when Jesus is talking truthfully about his death. Peter pulls him aside and actually tells him to knock it off! Just like with Peter, all these people can see is the good that Jesus can do for them right now, instead of the truth that is to come.
It’s not a bad thing that they appreciated Jesus’ teaching and miracles. But that’s not the main reason why he came. The miracles and the sermons are supposed to be pointing to a greater truth, but it would be easy to get caught up in the spectacle and the excitement.
We need to be thinking about what God wants for the whole world, and how we need to share the truth of Jesus, and not just what we want for ourselves. If Jesus had stayed in this one town and spent his all of his days preaching, he never would have made it to Jerusalem to die on the cross. His words would have reached a few hundred people, and then he would have never gone down in history at all.
Head: If you were one of the people who listened to Jesus, how would you have reacted when he said he needed to leave?
Heart: Do you need to remind yourself that the things Jesus did while he was alive were actually pointing to his death and resurrection?
Hands: How often do you pray for earthly things that are affecting your life right now, instead of praying for the greater good of God’s kingdom?
Prayer: Lord, help us to think beyond the earthly things around us. You give us good things and you answer our prayers, but health and happiness during this life are only temporary. Give us hearts for your eternal kingdom. And motivate us to help your truth reach the rest of the world, just like Jesus travelled to preach and show himself to everyone. Amen.
A song to listen to: See The Man
Zoe Harland
For these holidays, we are revisiting our Grow Dailys from the Luke series the Way Home 1.
