Day 80

Numbers 32:1–33:39; Luke 4:31–5:11; Psalm 64:1-10; Proverbs 11:22

IN NUMBERS TODAY, we recapped the many places the children of Israel had camped throughout their wilderness journey. Isn’t it fascinating to think of a traveling metropolis moving from place to place, in hopes of one day reaching a land they could finally settle into as their own?

In Luke’s Gospel, we began to better understand the intentionality of Jesus’ ministry. It’s easy to read the Gospels and consider Jesus’ miraculous deeds and heart-exposing words as only random acts of good. But Jesus was nothing if not intentional.

Yesterday, we read that He went to Nazareth and proclaimed what He had come to do. He was rejected and subsequently passed through a crowd intent on hurling Him off a cliff. As a result, He moved. He set up His base in the fishing village of Capernaum and began doing exactly what He said He was going to do —to bring good news to the poor, proclaim freedom, open the eyes of the blind (physically and spiritually), free the oppressed, and declare the Lord’s favor on humankind.

That is what we saw Him doing in our reading today. In some cases, He literally threw the evil one out of people’s lives. In others, He offered a healing touch. And in all things, He gave shape and context to God’s Kingdom in the world. Jesus was a revolutionary teacher in a revolutionary time. But Jesus didn’t come simply to tell everyone about interesting concepts or to challenge orthodoxy. He came to reveal a Kingdom that was already underway. He didn’t only talk about the Kingdom; He brought it out in the open and invited everyone to participate.

Friends, this is what we’re supposed to be doing. The mission and ministry of Jesus was not exclusive. Jesus upset the apple cart on so many levels, showing what this Kingdom looks like in very practical and intentional ways. But Jesus wasn’t attempting to be a gold standard that no one could ever live up to. Rather, Jesus was revealing what humanity was intended to be —and can be. To be like Jesus (Christlike) is the meaning of life. But to reveal God’s Kingdom and operate like Jesus in this world is not something we will fall into. We must actually go into the world and reveal God’s Kingdom through our lives.

MEDITATION:

The godly will rejoice in the LORD and find shelter in him. And those who do what is right will praise him.