Session 4

The most powerful speaker to ever live

From Luke: A 24-Day Devotional

In school, we learn about great orators in history. People like Abraham Lincoln, Winston Churchill, and Martin Luther King Jr. who used words to inspire nations and move people to action. These men are admired and often quoted, yet each was just a man. Eventually, each of them passed away and their words became just another chapter in a textbook.

Unlike the great orators of human history, Jesus was more than just a gifted teacher or speaker. Luke says the crowd was “amazed at his teaching, because his words had authority... All the people were amazed and said to each other, ‘What words these are! With authority and power he gives orders to impure spirits and they come out!’”

Unlike Lincoln, Churchill, and King, Jesus is not just a man. He came to Earth fully God and fully human, which means His words have authority and power. He speaks and spirits obey. In Luke 4:34, demons cry out in fear at the sound of His voice and ask Jesus if He plans to destroy them.

Jesus’ words are more than an inspiring message. An encounter with Him changes lives. Through the Bible, Jesus wants to continue to speak to us. Because unlike Lincoln, Churchill, and King, Jesus overcame death and longs for a relationship with each one of us.

Reflect:

• What are the most powerful words you know?
• Do you have a favorite Bible verse? How has that verse or reading the Bible, in general, changed you?
• Have you had a personal encounter with Jesus? Have you accepted Him as your savior?