Following is an excerpt from session 7 of the Bible study, The Gospel of Luke: From the Outside In, by David Morlan and D.A. Carson.
The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor. (Luke 4:18-19)
If you have ever been in a taxi, one of the first things you see as you slide into the back seat is the certification of the driver with his picture on it. This is important because you don’t know the driver personally and yet you find yourself in the back of his car! Riding in a taxi provokes questions such as, "Is the driver heading in the right direction?" "Did he hear the address correctly?" or, "Is he going to overcharge me?" All of these anxieties arise because you don’t really know who is driving the car.
As Jesus begins His ministry we see Him go to some very unlikely places, have painful experiences, and meet some unsavory individuals. As we follow His journey it may be easy to ask, is Jesus’ ministry heading in the right direction? Is it wise to have direct confrontation with Satan after forty days of no food? Wouldn’t Jesus be His most vulnerable in that physical state? Is it smart to have a direct confrontation with His hometown friends and family? Wouldn’t they provide the best support base for Him and His ministry?
To these questions Luke reminds his readers who is "driving" Jesus’ ministry. Jesus is "full of the Holy Spirit." Jesus is "led by the Holy Spirit." Jesus is "in the power of the Holy Spirit." Jesus claimed a prophecy that, "The Spirit of the Lord was upon him" (4:18). If Jesus is full of, led by, and in the power of the Spirit, we can be assured that the direction of Jesus’ ministry is exactly where it is supposed to be.