GN-Day046 Exodus 30-31; Psalm 4; Luke 4:22-44

Daily GNT Bible Reading Podcast

EXODUS 30-31:In yesterday’s reading in Exodus, we heard the instructions for consecrating the priests for their special work.

PSALM 4:Psalm 4 is an evening hymn expressing our trust in God.

LUKE 4b:Yesterday we heard about Jesus being tested by the devil, and today we will revisit the story of how Jesus was rejected in his hometown. When Jesus had finished reading from that special place in Isaiah 61, he sat down. In our culture, we are likely to assume that sitting down was without the expectation of teaching. But in Jewish practice of this time, teachers sat down to teach. Frequently in the Gospels, we find Jesus taking a sitting position when teaching.

In verse 38, Luke uses Peter’s given name, Simon, not the name Jesus gave him in John 1, which was Cephas in Aramaic, and which is Petrus/Peter in Greek. Many readers of this gospel today won’t make the connection of Simon to Peter. Some people wonder if there is a rhyme or reason for where the gospel writers used one name or another, and most of the time I think the writers simply were using the name they normally called him. But in John 21, I think that Jesus calling him ‘Simon son of John’ is significant. On that day, Jesus did not use the name He had given to him.