In Luke 4, there is an account of Jesus standing up and saying he was sent to preach good news to the poor, heal the broken hearted, and all the other Prophesies about himself declared by Isaiah in Isaiah Chapter 61. Although this was good news, for the religious people of that day it was not good news at all. In fact, when Jesus was finished saying who he was, and what he was sent to do; they were so filled with wrath they tried to throw him off a cliff! 

     Religious spirits is not a type of spirit I see Mentioned in our bibles. There is a spirit of fear, there is Jealousy, a person being filled with wrath or rage (called vessels of wrath), but I do not see anything called “a spirit of wrath,” Mentioned in our bibles. 

     It’s funny how those who say they would never add to what is written in the bible come up with some Lulu’s as far as “types of spirits,” such as a spirit of nicotine (stuff like that) but in any case……..Jesus did not cast a devil out of a single Pharisee that I know of. He did not say; ‘you religious spirit, be gone from me right now!!” He had to dodge them until his time came, and he already knew they would crucify him and that for him, was no big secret. I think a spirit of Anti-Christ may be at work on a religious person, but I’m not so sure there is a “Spirit of Religion” per say. 

     In any case, the crux of this message is to say; “Whenever you get Joy in the Lord and all happy over what God is doing in your life, and when you are rejoicing, singing and happy about it all (AND FULL OF JOY, a KINGDOM BLESSING), and someone comes along and has to straighten you out with their big bible knowledge; looking at you as if you were some wayward rebellious kid with no clue: chances are you have encountered a religious person. Why did they want to kill Jesus and throw him off a cliff in Luke 4? 

     They didn’t mind Jesus speaking, so long as he seemed to agree with their view of the Old Testament Law. There interpretation was God was out to punish everyone who broke his law (sinned) and he was not out to redeem anyone without THEIR advisement. They liked their job standing in for God, and they were not about to give it up. Like satan, they had become so full of themselves, that even God himself was not welcome to be Lord over their lives. They probably could not bear to think they had been wrong all of this time, and the conviction they felt was interpretted as evidence Jesus must be an imposter instead of realizing they themselves were not right with God. 

     So, they went after him, and eventually had him nailed to a cross. Jesus did not stop preaching the gospel (good news) just because they didn’t want him there. He went and preached it somewhere else, where his words were welcome into good soil, and people would rejoice over these gospel seeds he was planting in their hearts & minds. 

     So what did Jesus do about religious people who raged against him? He died for them too and died at their hands. However, even after he was raised from the dead and his disciples reminded them of what they had done, they wanted to kill his disciples too! 

     Religiousness brings pride, self-rightousness, love of power, and all kinds of evil things that have nothing to do with the Kingdom of God. So I ask now what are we portraying to this world in need of Jesus? Religiousness? Or true love for God, who redeemed us and sealed us by his grace (unmerritted un-earned favor?). Laura Grace 

Luke 4 (He went his way) read this with me…………

¹⁶ So He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up. And as His custom was, He went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and stood up to read. ¹⁷ And He was handed the book of the prophet Isaiah. And when He had opened the book, He found the place where it was written:

²⁰ Then He closed the book, and gave it back to the attendant and sat down. And the eyes of all who were in the synagogue were fixed on Him. ²¹ And He began to say to them, “Today this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.” ²² So all bore witness to Him, and marveled at the gracious words which proceeded out of His mouth. And they said, “Is this not Joseph’s son?”

²³ He said to them, “You will surely say this proverb to Me, ‘Physician, heal yourself! Whatever we have heard done in Capernaum, do also here in Your country.’ ” ²⁴ Then He said, “Assuredly, I say to you, noprophet is accepted in his own country. ²⁵ But I tell you truly, many widows were in Israel in the days of Elijah, when the heaven was shut up three years and six months, and there was a great famine throughout all the land; ²⁶ but to none of them was Elijah sent except to Zarephath, in the region of Sidon, to a woman who was a widow.²⁷ And many lepers were in Israel in the time of Elisha the prophet, and none of them was cleansed except Naaman the Syrian.”

²⁸ So all those in the synagogue, when they heard these things, were filled with wrath, ²⁹ and rose up and thrust Him out of the city; and they led Him to the brow of the hill on which their city was built, that they might throw Him down over the cliff. ³⁰ Then passing through the midst of them, He went His way.”