The Gospel of Luke 4:42-44 When God Says...I Say, AMEN!

When God Says …

“And when it was day, he departed and went into a desolate place. And the people sought him and came to him, and would have kept him from leaving them, 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.” And he was preaching in the synagogues of Judea.” (Luke 4:42-44 ESV).

These passages reveal that after performing a marathon of healing miracles and casting out of demons in the house of Simon's mother-in-law the whole night, when the day came the Lord withdraws to a solitary place in the desert to pray and commune with the Father. The people seek Him out and try to keep Him from leaving. But, the Lord has to move on to preach to many the Good News of the Kingdom of God.

The Lord's developing the habit of preaching in the synagogues holds great significance for His mission to seek and to save the lost. The synagogue was the center of Jewish religious life, where the Scriptures were read and the people gathered for worship and instruction. By preaching in the synagogues around Judea in this early stage of His ministry, the Lord Jesus is seeking to open the eyes of those who are held captive by religion and wrong beliefs. The Lord is determined to bring the message of grace and truth in the center of religious establishment, challenging the legalistic doctrines and hypocrisy of the religious system they carved out of God's Holy Words with ulterior motivations, then and the now.

Yes, religious groups ritualistically read the Scriptures in their gathering in Synagogues or present-day practice in so-called “church buildings” and other places of meeting in the context of promoting their man-made doctrines and not for the revelation of truth. With that, the Holy Scriptures reveal that “God does not dwell in temples (buildings) built by human hands” (Acts 17:24). Those who are deceived and are lost in the maze of worldly systems of religion and pagan practices are in the Lord’s heart and mind. He is sent driven by love to save them and the world at large. Those who are gone astray need to be brought home by Grace. “For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.”” (Luke 19:10 ESV).

And I say, AMEN!

Daily reflections by:
F. A. Frias
PFC Ministries

When God says... I say, AMEN! is a provocative reflection of the Lord's holy Word. It intends to challenge every seeker of truth to dig deep into the core of the Word of Life to point every being to Christ Jesus - the author and finisher of our faith, and to draw revelations for change, for nourishment and for strength of every soul.

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