Deurpost

TEXT: Luke 4:14-30
PREACHER: Marc La Porte
DATE: September 9, 2009

Introduction

• Today I want to take you through a very strange event recorded in Luke chapter 4, where Jesus makes reference to two Old Testament stories and all the people in the synagogue want to throw Him off a cliff!
• After Jesus’ birth He lived a normal life with His parents in His hometown Nazareth. Then the story skips to some 30 years later with the ministry of John the Baptist in the wilderness at the Jordan River, some 35 kilometers outside of Jerusalem. This brings Jesus also to Jerusalem in order to get baptized by John and start His public ministry.

Jesus Returns to Galilee and Comes To His Own Synagogue in Nazareth (Luke 4:14-16)

• The region of Galilee was a highly populated region. According to figures there were some 3 million living there. That is more than the population of Noord-Holland!
• During the exile when the Jews no longer had a temple, synagogues were established as places of worship on the Sabbath and as schools for young boys during the week;
• At the synagogue, the leader often would invite a learned visitor to read from the Scriptures and to teach;

Jesus Proclaims He’s The Messiah! (Luke 4:17-21)

• Now picture this: Jesus comes back to His hometown and joins for a regular synagogue session, and they happen to be reading from the book of Isaiah that day, and Jesus finds this particular verse, which is from Isaiah 61:1-2;
• Isaiah’s words beautifully characterize a major focus of the Messiah’s ministry:
  • He would heal people who were brokenhearted and distressed;
  • He would deliver those who were captives to the power of sin;
  • He would give sight to the physical and spiritually blind;
  • He would bring triumph to the discouraged;
• And then Jesus sat down and everyone was wondering how He would explain what He had just read;
  • When Jesus said these words had come true that very day, He was making a direct claim of being Israel’s long-awaited Messiah;
• Now, this quote from Isaiah 61:1-2 here ends with a period, right?
  • With what does this passage end in Isaiah 61? A comma;
  • Jesus stopped reading at the comma, exactly what was His commission at that point;

Jesus Perceives Their Thoughts (Luke 4:22-24)

• Literally, the people said that Jesus’ words were full of grace. They sensed the goodness and grace of God in the announcement that the ministry of the Messiah is now here;
• But, Jesus also understood the thoughts of the people, and predicted their response;
• Here again, Jesus perceives they are asking Him for a sign, but Jesus never performed a miracle only for the sake of a sign;

The Two Sentence Sermon (Luke 4:25-30)

• Based on their thoughts, Jesus provides them with a response;
• He reminds them of two stories from the Old Testament:
  • The Story of Elijah and the Widow of Zarephath (1 Kings 17:8-16)
  • The Story of Elisha and Naaman (2 Kings 5:1-14)
• Why does Jesus tell them these two stories?
• They wanted a miracle, and Jesus tells them about two miracles done by Elijah and Elisha;
• Citing examples from the ministries of Elijah and Elisha, Jesus reminds the people of Nazareth that when Israel rejects God’s prophets, God sends them elsewhere, even to Gentiles;

Lessons To Be Learned

• The first is that of spiritual pride:
  • The Jews thought they were saved by the mere fact that they were the chosen people;
  • They acted based on works rather than faith;
  • Read: Romans 11;
• The second is that of doubt:
  • The Jews wanted to see a miracle before they believed;
  • Read: John 20:29
• And the third is that of God’s sovereignty:
  • The Jews got angry when Jesus said He would also preach the Gospel to the Gentiles, the “undeserving”;
  • Read: Psalm 115:3; Exodus 33:19b

Remember the text from Isaiah 61:1-2?

• In John 17:18, Jesus prays to the Father on our behalf;
• Jesus repeats these words then to His disciples after His resurrection (John 20:21-22);
  • We have received the Holy Spirit;
  • We have been given the command to go and make disciples of all nations;
  • We are these Gentiles, the undeserving ones in the eyes of the Jews;
• So Jesus is continuing His work through us, to preach the Gospel to the poor;
• So let us overcome any spiritual pride our doubt that is in, and submit ourselves to His will (2 Cor. 4:1, 5-7)

The Funny Thing

• The Jews wanted a miracle, and He actually gave them one unexpected and right in front of them, by passing right through the crowd, unnoticed!
• Jesus could have let Himself be thrown off the cliff and be rescued by angels instead (just as Satan suggested in his third temptation), but Jesus never performed a miracle only for the sake of a sign;
• And, as far as is known, Jesus never returned to His hometown of Nazareth again;