Text: Luke 4:14-32
14 ¶ Then Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit to Galilee, and news of Him went out through all the surrounding region. 15 And He taught in their synagogues, being glorified by all. 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: 18 “The Spirit of the LORD is upon Me, Because He has anointed Me To preach the gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, To proclaim liberty to the captives And recovery of sight to the blind, To set at liberty those who are oppressed; 19 To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD.” 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, no prophet 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.
31 ¶ Then He went down to Capernaum, a city of Galilee, and was teaching them on the Sabbaths. 32 And they were astonished at His teaching, for His word was with authority.
Theme: Living for the Sake of God and Others
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Three Stages of Ol Suit.
In the year 165, an ominous shadow began to spread across the Roman Empire. It was the shadow of deadly plague. Marcus Aurelius, himself emperor of the vast expanse of Rome, chronicled the devastating 15 year advance of the epidemic as it killed upwards of a third of the population . . . until it finally claimed his own life.
Again and again, Romans of the day documented the effects of the terror of death upon the people. As the plague (some say it was the first occurrence of smallpox) began to make its presence felt in a location, streams of pagans – rich and poor, young and old, the mighty and the powerless – would begin to pour out of the cities. Behind them, dying in their beds, they left the thousands of victims alone and unattended. Even their physicians fled. Whether you were a senator or a beggar, it mattered nothing; to be sick of the plague was to die a lonely death. They were abandoned by all.
Except for one class of people: the Christians. As the pagans fled the cities in search of healthier residences (and often carrying the plague with them to those newer dwellings) the Christians, ignoring the danger to themselves, entered the cities and cared for the sick and dying. Many times they, themselves, became ill and died as a consequence of their contact with the infected.
But a strange thing began to happen. Sociologist and historian, Rodney Stark, has documented the fact that under the loving, sacrificial care of those selfless Christians, hundreds of former pagans became believers in Jesus. Many of these recovered from their illness and became strong advocates of the Gospel that had saved them twice.
It may seem foolhardy to us to think of rushing in to save the life of the sick at the risk of losing our own. But when these Christians were asked why they would do such a thing, they simply replied: “Jesus has taught us by His word and example that we do not have to live; but we must be faithful.”
As Dionysius would write of yet another plague a hundred years later:
“Most of our brother-Christians showed unbounded love and loyalty, never sparing themselves and thinking only of one another. Heedless of danger, they took charge of the sick, attending to their every need and ministering to them in Christ, and with them departed this life serenely happy; for they were infected by others with the disease, drawing on themselves the sickness of their neighbors and cheerfully accepting their pains. Many, in nursing and curing others, transferred their death to themselves and died in their stead…. The best of our brothers lost their lives in this manner, a number of presbyters, deacons, and laymen winning high commendation so that death in this form, the result of great piety and strong faith, seems in every way the equal of martyrdom.”[1]
It was this – this being a church for the sake of God and others – that made the Christian message so powerfully persuasive. Thus, as the Roman Empire was itself collapsing – built upon a pagan foundation too weak to survive – the church of Jesus Christ was rising to transform lives and scatter spiritual darkness. A church for others. This is the church that Jesus built. A church with eyes, hearts, and hands for others – a church for the spiritually lost, the unredeemed. It is not easy to be that kind of church.
We have before us the first sermon Jesus is reported to have preached. It seems to have been “Homecoming Sunday” in His little Nazareth synagogue and Jesus was invited to preach.
We can imagine the tan, athletic young man Who rose to read the Scripture that Sabbath morning. A thrill surged through the crowd as the worshippers all recognized this home-town favorite – Jesus, the One they called “Joseph’s son”.
Why, within the last three months, marvelous stories had begun to circulate about this boy. Some said that, a few weeks back, as they were out at the Jordan River to hear John the Baptizer and to be baptized by him, the skies suddenly parted and God from His Heaven spoke a blessing over this young man.
Then He disappeared for around forty days. Folk said He was out in the wilderness. And, although the wilderness, with its wild animals and wild men, is a rough and dangerous place to be on any day of the week, they said that Jesus faced an even more lethal danger there – the devil, himself!
Then, wasn’t it just a week or two ago, Jesus was out at the little village of Cana to a wedding feast when He did the most amazing thing?! Somehow, the place ran out of wine, and Jesus just up and turned plain old, ordinary well-water into a rare vintage…the best those folk had ever tasted!
The crowd was on the edge of their seats! What was He going to do today? What sign would occur? What miracle would He perform? This is a home-town boy, playing to the home-town crowd. Surely He’ll do His greatest stuff right here, right now!
And Jesus is not blind to their expectations. Of course the One Who “knows what is hidden in the heart of humans”[2] could read the eager faces before Him. His mother and other female family members were likely there, women in the gallery at the back, men seated at the front. And what mother could hide her beaming face on the occasion of her child’s first sermon? As they say, “the heat was on”. People expected this would be a “red-letter day” in Nazareth…one they’d be talking about for years to come.
The leader of the synagogue had handed Jesus the scroll of the prophecy of Isaiah. Jesus quickly turned to the place where Isaiah describes the mission of the messiah and read it to all who were gathered there. This was then the most widely known passage of the Bible. Everybody knew that this spoke of God’s favor being shown to the Jews and the defeat of the Romans. Everybody knew that one day God would send His messiah – a man surrounded by miracles and signs from Heaven – to Israel to punish the selfish wealthy and deliver the persecuted poor.
So, as Jesus finishes reading and rolls up the scroll, a murmur of approval moves throughout the crowd. “The boy has chosen well! He knows the kind of sermons we like to hear around here! Preach it right straight from the Bible, son!”
Every eye is on Him as Jesus takes the teacher’s seat. He looks at them for a moment and then quietly says, “Today, this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.” In other words, “those of you who have heard Me read this Scripture have seen and heard the One Whom God has sent to bring it all to pass.” Now the very air seemed electric! Verse 22 says, “All spoke well of him and were amazed at the gracious words that came from his lips.”
Now, let me be absolutely clear: They expected Jesus to preach a sermon like this:
Point One: I am God’s Messiah.
Point Two: Today is the beginning of the end of our Roman oppressors.
Point Three: Follow Me and you’re all going to be rich, never poor!
Point Four: You deserve it; After all, you’re God’s favorite folk!
Then the band would strike up the tune, ‘For He’s A Jolly Good Fellow’ and they’d march around Nazareth – especially down by the Roman barracks where all of those nasty Roman soldiers live, (there they’d yell things like “God is great!” and “Death to the Foreigners!”) − and then they’d head back to Jesus’ place where, doubtless, He’d turn some more water into wine and everyone would party till dawn! Talk about a good time!
And, really, this was such a good plan… The only problem was that Jesus didn’t get the memo! For, instead of a sermon telling them how wonderful they are and what all God is going to do for them because they’re His favorite people, here’s the sermon they got…
Point One: I know you all have your hearts set on a little religious show, today, but I’m not a circus master; I’m God’s servant.
Point Two: I have been sent here with a message for ya’ll…but I doubt it’s the one you’re expecting to hear.
Point Three: I know you think God likes you better than most everyone else…and for sure, that He likes you better than those heathen Romans, but – here’s a news flash! – When Israel was hurting in famine (a famine brought on, by the way, because of her own sins and rebellion), there were a lot of hungry widows in Israel. But God didn’t send His servant to any of them…choosing, instead, to send Elijah over into pagan Sidon to help a poor heathen widow there.
Point Four: I know you think that God’s Messiah is going to crush the heads of your Roman oppressors and free your land from their soldiers…BUT…there were a lot of lepers in Israel in the time of Elisha the prophet. But the only leper God healed of his leprosy was Naaman, the commander of the Syrian army that was then oppressing Israel.
Point Five: God has sent me to seek and to save the lost. That’s Good News for ALL people! That is the message He has sent me to preach. And to win the lost is the mission of His Church.
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Can you imagine what Jesus words did to that crowd?! To them, everything God had in mind – every word Isaiah had written – was for their sake and their benefit. Now here comes Jesus telling them that God loves those dirty Roman soldiers and the heathen just as much as He loves them! You talk about unfulfilled expectations! Brother…!
Now… the very same crowd that minutes before had “spoken well of Him” arose as one man and hauled Him out of the synagogue, out to the top of a hill where there was a cliff, to hurl Him down to His death! His hometown folk! His fellow church folk! His boyhood chums! Ready to kill Him because of one, simple sermon!
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Listen… Jesus could have had the people’s approval, but to get it He would have to do the thing that would cost Him God’s approval. He would have had to withhold the truth.
I believe there are a few direct applications between Jesus’ actions here and how God wants us to live. Here are just a few from this text:
1. Number One: To achieve God’s purposes for your life, we have to know His priorities.
a. The passage from Isaiah 61 that Jesus read gives us a picture of God’s ‘Priority List’.
b. The sermon Jesus preached that Sabbath day, stung the people of Nazareth because it made clear that God is focused on those outside of the church. He loves them and wants them to experience the transforming power of that love.
c. So, He seeks the poor, the brokenhearted, the captive, the blind and the bruised.
2. Number Two: What humans often call “failure”, God calls “success”.
a. In the eyes of His townsfolk that day, Jesus was a “failure” and his sermon a profound disappointment. But remember this… somewhere in the halls of heaven angels were swinging from chandeliers, giddy with joy, that He had remained true to God and faithful to the His mission!
3. Number Three: There is no more powerful weapon than the truth!
a. Falsehoods may grab the praise of people for the moment, but truth will win out in the end!
b. The deeply moving hymn by James Lowell says it best:
“Once to every man and nation, comes the moment to decide,
In the strife of truth with falsehood, for the good or evil side;
Some great cause, some great decision, offering each the bloom or blight,
And the choice goes by forever, ’twixt that darkness and that light.
“Then to side with truth is noble, when we share her wretched crust,
Ere her cause bring fame and profit, and ’tis prosperous to be just;
Then it is the brave man chooses while the coward stands aside,
Till the multitude make virtue of the faith they had denied.
“By the light of burning martyrs, Christ, Thy bleeding feet we track,
Toiling up new Calv’ries ever with the cross that turns not back;
New occasions teach new duties, time makes ancient good uncouth,
They must upward still and onward, who would keep abreast of truth.
“Though the cause of evil prosper, yet the truth alone is strong;
Though her portion be the scaffold, and upon the throne be wrong;
Yet that scaffold sways the future, and behind the dim unknown,
Standeth God within the shadows, keeping watch above His own.”[3]
You may click on the link above to listen to a majestic version of this song.
c. Only truth can free!
- John 8:32 “And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”
4. Number Four: Don’t quit the team just because of one bad game! (What if Jesus had become discouraged and quit?)
a. If you get “shut out” in Nazareth, there’ll always be a Capernaum if you’re following God’s purposes for your life.
- See verses 31-32
b. Never give up on the God Who never gives up on you!
Who are the outsiders where you live? Who are the people overlooked and, perhaps, even despised by other churches? These are the people God has placed you here to reach!
What do you need God to do for you and in you . . . to give you a heart to win them?
[1] L. Michael White, e., L. Michael White, e., & Society of Biblical Literature. (1991 [1992). Vol. 56: Semeia. Semeia 56. "An experimental journal for Biblical criticism.". Semeia (166). Atlanta, GA: Society of Biblical Literature.
[2] John 2:25
[3] James R. Lowell, in the Boston Courier, December 11, 1845. Lowell wrote these words as a poem protesting America’s war with Mexico.
