Acts 17:2 And Paul, as his manner was, went in unto them, and three sabbath days reasoned with them out of the scriptures,

In Luke 4 we saw Jesus, as was His custom, and here in Acts Paul, as was his manner. There is a lesson here to be learned about consistency of behavior. Situations changed for both Jesus and for Paul. Each had come to a point where they began revealing the truth of the scriptures, that Jesus is the Messiah. Both reasoned out of the Old Testament, which is a foretelling, an indicator of who would be the Messiah and what He would do.

Until this time had come, people were comfortable with their own piety and worship. The world was comfortable with their piety and worship. It was theirs and no one was speaking to the root problem, the sin nature of man. When truth is spoken, a straight line is drawn and man finds himself on the wrong side of the line without Jesus and the salvation that is offered.

As much as I would like to do it, no amount of pulling on my part moves a soul from one side of the line to the other. People have to see their condition for themselves and make a choice to cross over. That bridge is the cross of Christ and the consistency in our message has to be in that work and not our own.

We plead with those we love to come to Christ. How do you speak to those you do not like? Is there any consistency of speech? The issue has to be that your motivations, your manner, your custom, cannot be based on your love for the world. It has to be based on your love for Jesus.

John 14:15 “If you love me, keep my commandments.” Matthew 28:14 NASB “go and make disciples…”

Luke 4:22 And all bare him witness, and wondered at the gracious words which proceeded out of his mouth. And they said, Is not this Joseph’s son?

Picking up where we left off yesterday, we see the reaction from the congregation where Jesus has just announced that they were witnesses to prophecy fulfilled. If I were to put this in today’s language it would sound like this; “Who does he think he is?”

Jesus was respected as a fellow Jew. His perfect life was no threat to the locals who had known Him all their lives. But now He has spoken the truth which they in no way were ready to accept, much less from one of their own. Prophets had been quite in Israel for 490 years. They were not used to hearing one speak as a prophet. Only a prophet could unravel the mysteries of the Word.

Luke 4:18-19 The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, To preach the acceptable year of the Lord.

Israel was looking for the Anointed to come, but certainly not this carpenter they had known all His life. He didn’t fit their image of what a Messiah would be, a King. But they had only heard the scriptures read to them. They had no one to speak the truth to them out of scriptures to recognize who Jesus truly was. But Jesus had been reading the scriptures His whole life. When He read the scriptures He recognized Himself in the Word. What constraint He showed not to have said anything like this before the appointed time.

But now the time has come.

To be continued.