Jesus Preaches in Nazareth

Read Isaiah 61:1-3

Prayer

Read Luke 4:14-30

• Jesus had been baptized, had spent 40 days in the wilderness, had gathered disciples, and had been teaching and performing miracles.

Luke 4:14-30

14 And Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit,

Ø A question to ponder: “Was Jesus filled with the Holy Spirit at his baptism?”

and news about Him spread through all the surrounding district.

Ø News of what?

Ø Jesus had started teaching and people were drawn to his message.

15 And He began teaching in their synagogues and was praised by all.

16 And He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up; and as was His custom, He entered the synagogue on the Sabbath, and stood up to read.

Ø It is important to note that Jesus was recognized as an average adult Hebrew male, with all the rights that enabled him to stand up and read the scriptures.

17 And the [e]book of the prophet Isaiah was handed to Him. And He opened the[f]book and found the place where it was written,

Ø Jesus was well taught. All of his peers were also well taught.

• Rabbi-Talmid relationship

• These students were called talmidim (talmid, s.) in Hebrew, which is translated disciple.

18 “The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, Because He anointed Me

Ø “Was Jesus filled with the Holy Spirit at his baptism?”

Ø Are you curious enough to research for yourself, or do you just say “This is how I was taught and I will accept nothing else”?

Ø Consider these things:

o He demonstrates no power until after his baptism

o Satan doesn’t seem to know who he is until after his baptism

§ Satan can’t identify him for Harod to kill.

Ø As we can clearly see, in Luke 4:18, Jesus proclaims that Isaiah 61 is not really about an Old Testament prophet, but is written to describe the mission of the Messiah, and makes it clear that it refers to himself. Jesus declares that he came not only to forgive sins, but to restore, heal, and give hope; the opposite of Satan’s mission to “kill, steal, and destroy”…(John 10:10).

to preach the gospel to the poor. He has sent Me to proclaim release to the captives, And recovery of sight to the blind, To set free those who are oppressed,

• When Jesus proclaims good news to the poor, it isn’t just a metaphor. “Go in peace; keep warm and eat your fill” (James 2:16) is not good news to those who have no food or clothes. Jesus’ concern for those who suffer the crushing effects of poverty rings throughout Luke’s Gospel.

• James 2:14-17 What use is it, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but he has no works? Can [n]that faith save him? 15 If a brother or sister is without clothing and in need of daily food, 16 and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, [o]be warmed and be filled,” and yet you do not give them what is necessary for their body, what use is that? 17 Even so faith, if it has no works, is [p]dead, being by itself.

19 To proclaim the favorable year of the Lord.”

1. It is the "year" in which the full plan and purpose of God is accomplished – this "year" being not a literal year, but the full cycle – the FINISHED cycle -- of restoration in God’s redemptive plan.

• Year of Jubilee

• According to Leviticus 25, the year of Jubilee is a year of release. Every 50 years, God’s people are to observe a Sabbath of Sabbaths: “you shall proclaim liberty throughout the land to all its inhabitants.”

b. Freedom and restoration

i. Slaves set free

ii. Everyone goes back to their own land (property)

20 And He closed the [g]book, gave it back to the attendant and sat down; and the eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on Him.

Ø His reputation preceded him

21 And He began to say to them,

Ø Mark 6 say “He began to teach” which indicates that more was said.

“Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.” 22 And all were speaking well of Him, and wondering at the gracious words which]were falling from His lips;

Ø They were glad that these things were finally happening.

and they were saying, “Is this not Joseph’s son?”

Ø Mark gives another account of the event, from another perspective:

Ø Mark 6:3 Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary, and brother of [c]James and Joses and Judas and Simon? Are not His sisters here with us?” And they took offense at Him.

23 And He said to them, “No doubt you will quote this proverb to Me, ‘Physician, heal yourself! Whatever we heard was done at Capernaum, do here in your hometown as well.

• Medice, Cura te ipsum Latin for “Physician, Take care of your own self” or “Doctor, Heal thyself.”

• They expected him to perform miracles, like he did in other places

• I wonder if they weren’t also saying “Don’t be judging us!”

’” 24 And He said, “Truly I say to you, no prophet is welcome in his hometown.

Ø Mark 6:4 Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honor except in [d]his hometown and among his own relatives and in his own household

25 But I say to you in truth, there were many widows in Israel in the days of Elijah, when the sky was shut up for three years and six months, when a great famine came over all the land; 26 and yet Elijah was sent to none of them, but only to [l]Zarephath, in the land of Sidon, to a woman who was a widow. 27 And there were many lepers in Israel in the time of Elisha the prophet; and none of them was cleansed, but only Naaman the Syrian.”

Ø Jesus gives examples of outsiders being blessed.

Ø Jesus tells these people who think that the Kingdom of God will come only to the Jews, that it is for everyone…even outsiders.

28 And all the people in the synagogue were filled with rage as they heard these things; 29 and they got up and drove Him out of the city, and led Him to the brow of the hill on which their city had been built, in order to throw Him down the cliff. 30 But passing through their midst, He went His way.

Ø Now they turn on him, enraged, and want to kill him.

o How fickle church people are: first, they love you, then you tell them something that sticks in their throat and they are ready to throw you off a cliff.

Ø Mark 6:5-6 And He could do no [e]miracle there except that He laid His hands on a few sick people and healed them. 6 And He wondered at their unbelief.

Closing:

• We are called to be Talmidim to the Rabbi

• If we are to be just like him, then we would need to be able to proclaim the following, also:

“The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, Because He anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor. He has sent Me to proclaim release to the captives, And recovery of sight to the blind, To set free those who are oppressed, 19 To proclaim the favorable year of the Lord.”