I am using the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on Luke 4-5.

    Luke’s account of Jesus’ temptations in the wilderness is very similar to Matthew’s, but the focus is slightly different. Here the temptation is to gather power for oneself. In the first temptation, Jesus is tempted to use His power to satisfy all of His physical needs and wants. In the second, Jesus is tempted to gain political power by putting Himself into the service of evil. In the third temptation, Jesus is tempted to harness the religious establishment to become famous. Each of them hints at justifications for doing it that way, but, ultimately, they are each about satisfying selfish desires.

    When Jesus spoke at the synagogue in Nazareth, the people were impressed by His words, but expected some kind of special consideration from Him because He grew up in Nazareth. I never quite know what to make of this story because it always seems like Jesus calls the people out before they have done anything to be called out over. However, today I noticed a similarity between what Jesus said in Nazareth to what He said to those who chided Him for feasting with Levi’s friends. In both cases, Jesus points out that you do not conduct outreach among those who are already in. If we only spend our time among those who are already believers, those who do not believe will never hear the message.