Chapter # 4 Paragraph # 5 Study # 4
December 31, 2006
Lincolnton, NC
(309)
Authorized Version Translation:
42 And when it was day, he departed and went into a desert place: and the people sought him, and came unto him, and stayed him, that he should not depart from them.
43 And he said unto them, I must preach the kingdom of God to other cities also: for therefore am I sent.
44 And he preached in the synagogues of Galilee.
1901 ASV Translation:
42 And when it was day, he came out and went into a desert place: and the multitudes sought after him, and came unto him, and would have stayed him, that he should not go from them.
43 But he said unto them, I must preach the good tidings of the kingdom of God to the other cities also: for therefore was I sent.
44 And he was preaching in the synagogues of Galilee.
Luke's Record:
- I. Luke's "When It Was Day".
- A. Earlier, the "when the sun was setting" phrase indicated an end to the Sabbath and the complications involved in "Sabbath-keeping" while pursuing healing and deliverance from One Who did not "keep the Sabbath" according to the traditions and theology of legalism.
- B. So, what is the "point" of "when it was day"?
- 1. The language is emphatic..."Now day having come, He, having gone out, proceeded into a desolate place...".
- a. The impression of the words is that Jesus had gone out before "day" had come and that, once "day" had arrived, He moved further into the wilderness.
- b. The question is "Why?" He tells the people He has to preach in other cities, but the wilderness is not "another city".
- 1) The "wilderness" is where John "waxed strong in spirit" (1:80).
- 2) It was the "wilderness" where John was to begin his ministry (3:2-4).
- 3) It was the "wilderness" where Jesus confronted the devil (4:1ff).
- 4) It was the "wilderness" where Jesus went to "pray" (5:16).
- 5) There are several other references to deserted places in Luke...
- 6) It may well be that Jesus resorted to the wilderness as the "setting" that kept His focus clear: Sin created the "wilderness" of the depravity of man and it was Sin that He had come to defeat once and for all.
- 2. The point of the text is that the people selfishly wanted to keep Him there where they were (they were all "healthy" and "delivered", so their reasons had to have something to do with "hoarding" -- keeping Him around for future protection??). This is instructive when we understand that health and freedom from evil spirits were both provided for in the Law, to which they professed a great obedience.
- 3. The same phrase is used in 6:13 after Jesus had spent the night in prayer. On that "day" He chose the Twelve.
- 4. Jesus had a "work while it is day" mentality (John 9:4) that may be playing into Luke's "point" here. Interestingly, Luke does not tell us what Mark did -- that Jesus had gone out into the desolate place a long while before day to pray. Clearly Luke did not wish to get our "thinking" going in that direction. Nor did he tell us that it was the disciples who found Him and told Him that everyone was looking for Him. Luke's point is that the people wanted Jesus to stay in Capernaum and He was not going to do that.
- a. This is the point: selfishness is so "knee-jerk" that even harbingers of redemption do not adequately address it. Healing and deliverance are harbingers, but they actually play into the selfishness of men if those men are not focused properly.
- b. Jesus was " into " healings and exorcisms because they played into the issue of His identity (Son of God, the Christ -- 4:41), not because they brought benefit to the selfish.
- c. Obviously Jesus took a long-term approach to the problem of the wilderness. He knew that there is no "immediate solution" but that each "building block" would eventually erect the building. That men very often take advantage of the extended grace to accomplish less than worthy objectives is a problem , but Jesus isn't about stopping that problem; He is about providing a real solution in the lives of some -- those who want the solution. That Jesus is the Son of God, the Christ, is the most fundamental building block of the solution and to establish that, though it can easily be twisted by the self-serving, is an effort that is worth the losses.