“Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit…” starts verse 14 in Luke 4:14-21. If Jesus is God then why does Luke point out that he was returning to his home area in the “power” of the Holy Spirit? One Bible study technique is to read a different translation to shed light, or a different perspective. We believe the written Word is a breathing document that can be translated into any language and speak to people. The words themselves are not sacred as in the Q’ran resulting in Arabic as the universal language but the God who inspired the writing is holy. Reading a different translation is like talking to a different witness at the scene who might put a different twist on the incident. The reader in prayer goes to God then to seek truth. Anyway, I checked with the New English Translation. The NET, one of the more recent translations starts verse 14 with, “Then Jesus, in the power of the Spirit,…” No big difference but there is a footnote after Spirit. “Once again Jesus is directed by the Spirit.” Power of the Spirit could be understood as directed by the Spirit. Luke goes out of his way to make clear that Jesus is moving in conjunction with the Spirit, the Trinity. Perhaps because tomorrow we will yet again talk about being sent as disciples, Christians as representatives of Jesus, I ponder the implications of Jesus being directed by the Holy Spirit.
Trinity, three in one, is a concept that is hard to explain but core to Christianity and we see it here. The implication is that the Godhead is united in what is to follow, a team. Jesus is not on assignment “earth, salvation’ while God runs the world. Jesus, the reality of God made visible and working within our human (God/man) system, is now stepping into what is to unfold. Perhaps we might also say that if Jesus, the man, was needing the power of the Holy Spirit to lead him, how much more do we need to spend time in prayer, the Word, worship seeking God’s guidance in a situation! Thirdly, again the reality that our God is able to come to us and be real to us is presented. We do not climb to God. He is able to come to us. We are teams and do not stand alone. We are instructed, not needing to be brilliant and come up with a solution. And God comes to us because he cares.
I do not know where you will be led today but I do know you do not go alone. The power of the Spirit is there to direct your paths. You need not be alone. Blessings!
On the Way to Wonder 