Week 8 - Day 1
THE STORY
Rescue (New Testament)
WAR
Let’s return to The Rebellion in Genesis 3.
Genesis 3:14-15 (NLT)
Then the Lord God said to the serpent,
“Because you have done this, you are cursed
more than all animals, domestic and wild.
You will crawl on your belly,
groveling in the dust as long as you live.
And I will cause hostility between you and the woman (Eve),
and between your offspring and her offspring.
He will strike your head,
and you will strike his heel.”
Who is the serpent?
What will this Offspring of Eve do to Satan and what will Satan do to this Offspring of Eve?
Who do you think this Offspring of Eve is?
Luke 4:14-21 (NLT)
Then [after His temptation] Jesus returned to Galilee, filled with the Holy Spirit’s power. Reports about him spread quickly through the whole region. He taught regularly in their synagogues and was praised by everyone.
When he came to the village of Nazareth, his boyhood home, he went as usual to the synagogue on the Sabbath and stood up to read the Scriptures. The scroll of Isaiah the prophet was handed to him. He unrolled the scroll and found the place where this was written:
“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, for he has anointed me to bring Good News to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim that captives will be released, that the blind will see, that the oppressed will be set free, and that the time of the Lord’s favor has come (quoting the Old Testament Prophet Isaiah from Isaiah 61:1-2 & 58:6).”
He rolled up the scroll, handed it back to the attendant, and sat down. All eyes in the synagogue looked at him intently. Then he began to speak to them. “The Scripture you’ve just heard has been fulfilled this very day!
John 10:10 (NIV)
The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.
1 John 3:8 (NLT)
The Son of God came to destroy the works of the devil.
Having withstood Satan’s temptation, Jesus now declares war on Satan’s work and kingdom.
What is Satan’s work?
What is Jesus’ work?
By what power and authority will Jesus do this work?
Once again, why is Jesus, The Messiah, The Christ, The Anointed One?
As we continue to read the following passage from Luke 4, take note of what Jesus rebukes.
Luke 4:31-41 (NET)
And [Jesus] went down to Capernaum, a city of Galilee. And he was teaching them on the Sabbath, and they were astonished at his teaching, for his word possessed authority. And in the synagogue there was a man who had the spirit of an unclean demon, and he cried out with a loud voice, “Ha! What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are—the Holy One of God.” But Jesus rebuked him, saying, “Be silent and come out of him!” And when the demon had thrown him down in their midst, he came out of him, having done him no harm. And they were all amazed and said to one another, “What is this word? For with authority and power he commands the unclean spirits, and they come out!” And reports about him went out into every place in the surrounding region.
And he arose and left the synagogue and entered Simon's house. Now Simon's mother-in-law was ill with a high fever, and they appealed to him on her behalf. And he stood over her and rebuked the fever, and it left her, and immediately she rose and began to serve them.
Now when the sun was setting, all those who had any who were sick with various diseases brought them to him, and he laid his hands on every one of them and healed them. And demons also came out of many, crying, “You are the Son of God!” But he rebuked them and would not allow them to speak, because they knew that he was the Christ.
What three things does Jesus rebuke?
Why are both demons and diseases part of the consequences and curses of Adam and Eve’s Rebellion and part of the work of Satan?
How does Jesus reverse these curses and destroy Satan’s work?
What do the demons know about Jesus that the humans don’t at this point?
Is there a specific consequence of sin or work of Satan that you need defeated in your life? What is it? How can your group pray for you?
The war is on! As the Christ, the Messiah, the Anointed One, Jesus is the Rescuer. The power of the Holy Spirit is on Him to defeat the works of Satan. Jesus has come to reestablish God’s Kingdom on earth by defeating the kingdom of darkness. He has come to reveal the rule and reign of God where Satan rules and reigns. He has come to bring the abundant life of heaven to the walking dead of earth. Unfortunately, war is never easy nor without casualties. The plot thickens in our next reading.
In light of what you have discovered through the Bible readings and your personal reflections, how will you respond? Finish this sentence: I will …