Then Jesus, filled with the power of the Spirit, returned to Galilee…
Jesus has just been tempted in the wilderness, and eventually the devil left him only to return at an opportune time. Hmm.. In any case, Jesus has been alone in the wilderness for 40 days, other than a visit from the pesky devil. Right after this exhausting retreat, we read that Jesus, filled with the sprit, returned to Galilee where he began to teach. So many questions.
I’m intrigued that Jesus, God-made-man, was reliant on the power of the Spirit, or at least the gospel writer felt it was important to qualify Jesus’ return with mention of that Spirit.
Perhaps this is pointing to a truth about God-made-man. He was fully human, and as such, was probably exhausted and entirely spent after 40 days. Even God-made-man needs to rely on God-made-spirit.
If Jesus needs the Spirit or at least acknowledged the Spirit’s role in his return to Galilee, so do I. I want to remember and use this clause any time I’m thinking about doing something hard. Carter, filled with the power of the Spirit…. How empowering that would be, to remember that always I’m filled with the power of the Spirit.
This morning I’m thinking about all the ways my day will be infinitely better if I just add that clause to my day’s narrative.
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