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.
Read Luke 4:42-44 in context and/or in other translations on BibleGateway.com!
Of all the events in the gospels, the one in our passage for this entry stands out in my mind as being notable, because in it, Jesus shares a key part of His mission to earth. While the last two months on earth made for the ultimate conclusion to His ministry, Jesus spent over three years traveling around ministering to the people in Israel. While Jesus would ultimately face the cross, experience the resurrection, and ascend triumphantly back to heaven, He spent more time teaching, preaching, and healing than He did dying.
In this passage, after the disciples and the people find Him away from the town, they urge Him to come back. But Jesus responded by saying, “I must proclaim the good news of the kingdom of God to the other towns also, because that is why I was sent.” (v. 43)
While death was on Jesus’ mission statement, higher on the list was proclaiming the good news about God’s kingdom. During the time leading up to Jesus’ ministry, people had a very distorted view of God’s character. Jesus came to show us what God the Father was like. In other words, Jesus came to live like God the Father would have lived.
It wasn’t enough to speak through a prophet, or to try to get the message delivered by a third party. The Godhead knew that They needed to send one of Their own to represent Their character – and most specifically, Their love with a world where love was growing cold.
Our world today is a place where true love is growing cold. This means that we are in the perfect place to help people experience a God-like love – but we can only share this type of love if we are connected with Jesus. “God loves us” is the essence of the good news of the Kingdom of God, and each one of us can share this news with the world around us – both by saying it, and by showing it!
This thought was inspired by studying the Walking With Jesus “Reflective Bible Study” package. To discover insights like this in your own study time, click here and give Reflective Bible Study a try today!
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