Lesson 12 The Unpopular Side of the Message of Jesus Luke 4:17- 45

Ministry in the Temple 4:17- 30

17 And the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to him. He unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written, 18  “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, 19  to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”

20 And he rolled up the scroll and gave it back to the attendant and sat down. And the eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on him. 21 And he began to say to them, “Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.”

22 And all spoke well of him and marveled at the gracious words that were coming from his mouth. And they said, “Is not this Joseph’s son?” 23 And he said to them, “Doubtless you will quote to me this proverb, ‘ “Physician, heal yourself.” What we have heard you did at Capernaum, do here in your hometown as well.’ ”

24 And he said, “Truly, I say to you, no prophet is acceptable in his hometown. 25 But in truth, I tell you, there were many widows in Israel in the days of Elijah, when the heavens were shut up three years and six months, and a great famine came over all the land,

26 and Elijah was sent to none of them but only to 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 the prophet Elisha, and none of them was cleansed, but only Naaman the Syrian.”

28 When they heard these things, all in the synagogue were filled with wrath. 29 And they rose up and drove him out of the town and brought him to the brow of the hill on which their town was built, so that they could throw him down the cliff. 30 But passing through their midst, he went away.

The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), Luke 4:16–30.

The unpopular side of our Saviors message came from the perspective of the the religious crowd in the synagogue. What was so distasteful to them? It was the news that the Gentiles had been a part of God’s plan for cleansing all along. For instance, Jesus said, “consider the widow of Zarephath and Naaman the Syrian.” Jesus was using these examples under the fullness of the Holy Spirit and His own fullness of the Godhead bodily as He proclaimed in the congregation. I might add, pay close attention to His seated position. Though that was the way the exhortation took place when the scrolls were open, this had been His position in heaven at the right hand of the Father. He was seated. But He got up and came to earth to be born of woman. But being seated is His way of operating, especially today. He is seated because the work of salvation is finished. We are seated with Him.

Sitting Down

Standing is not a right in His presence, being seated is your right when we are alone with Him. That is because salvation and it’s properties do not involve work, because it is all of grace. Yes, we are those who do the work of the ministry under the power of the Holy Spirit, but in intimate purposes, we are seated. Standing is your ability to take your place in warfare. “and, as the book of Ephesians says, “and having done all to stand.” Standing is your defensive attitude as you make yourself an enduring target for the Son of God. The whole armor of God is what allows you to stand in a powerful fashion.

The multiple sided aspect of this passage from Isaiah points out that He is going to be the only person to fulfill all of those roles: to proclaim good news to the poor, proclaim liberty to the captives, recovery of sight to the blind, set at liberty those who are oppressed, and to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor!” After all, who has the ability to know what year that the Lord is going to show His favor, unless He is the Lord Himself? This was truly a captive audience for the young Savior and He seized the moment! Carpe Diem or Seize the day!

The announcement that His speaking was the fulfillment of Scripture truly set Him apart in authority. “Today it was fulfilled!” Many admired the graciousness of what was said, and the learned scholars were able to see He had set Himself up as God. Which He is! The scroll had apparently been handed to Him and He handed it back after reading. There was no leather bound scroll under His arm to carry into the synagogue. Some leader at the assembly no doubt gave Him that passage to read to see what would come forth. While they were amazed, it was not taken to heart.

Let me interject a little side point from a pastor’s perspective. Jesus was no doubt a man who knew His place in the scheme of things in the synagogue. He was a regular. He did not stay home and worship in the beauty of private thoughts, television broadcasts, or verdant fairways of nature. He was in His place. If He had not been, He probably would not have been given the scroll. What He had to say, slammed the door on further engagements but He did get the job done. His speaking of the Gentiles and judgement were so pointed that the leaders drove Him from the Synagogue and sought to throw Him from a cliff. Yes, they wanted to kill the Messiah. But even with the people who witnessed the event, Jesus was able to pass right through the middle of them undetected. He then left His own people and hit the road. You can imagine the frustration of the synagogue leaders when they can’t even keep track of The Christ. At this point, He is too much for them to handle.

The Religious Man with the Unclean Spirits, 4:31- 37

31 And he went down to Capernaum, a city of Galilee. And he was teaching them on the Sabbath, 32 and they were astonished at his teaching, for his word possessed authority. 33 And in the synagogue there was a man who had the spirit of an unclean demon, and he cried out with a loud voice, 34 “Ha! What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are—the Holy One of God.” 35 But Jesus rebuked him, saying, “Be silent and come out of him!” And when the demon had thrown him down in their midst, he came out of him, having done him no harm. 36 And they were all amazed and said to one another, “What is this word? For with authority and power he commands the unclean spirits, and they come out!” 37 And reports about him went out into every place in the surrounding region.

The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), Luke 4:31- 37

We now have a change of scenery as Jesus enters Capernaum, in Galilee. Once again He taught on the Sabbath with remarkable authority and teaching. Of course, if you are the author, and He is, then you should be able to speak with authority. In the middle of this congregation, was a demon possessed man. Probably unbeknownst to the other service gatherers, he mingled without threat. But the teaching of Jesus Christ our Lord, changes lives and he was about to get his life upended by the savior of the world. The demon came out. There really was a direct confrontation by the demon. He even spoke first as he came after Jesus. It was no small matter as it was in a LOUD voice as he proclaimed in a mocking tone, “i know who you are, the Holy One of God.”

The demon left the man immediately after Jesus told him to be quiet and to come out! No one has had such authority ever before. Jesus was the real deal and He is the Holy One of God, The Messiah . That was truth but the phrase where he spoke started out in a laughing manner to mock the Savior. In saying “ha” in verse 34, he is indicting that he not Christ has the upper hand. Instead of chasing Jesus away, the demon is driven out of their midst. The amazement starts as this sort of stuff had not been done by anyone else. Jesus is the first. He does command with power and authority and they come out. We might add, the demons disappear when Jesus is around. The news is spreading about these news things occuring around Jesus. Jesus is still in the business today of upsetting distraction, error, and nominal religious business. Jesus wants to set the record straight. He is worth taking heed to and following Him from not only Galilee, but to the uttermost parts of the world