Full Sermon Today We Hear From Jesus Himself based on Luke 4:16-30 (2)

Let us pray: Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in Your sight, O Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer. Amen.

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

I. Attitude is something that can change quickly for most people. Some people claim all that we need is a positive mental attitude in life and things will go better for us. Having a good attitude is not always easy for people. If you get in a war of words with a friend or family member, your attitude can change for the worse in a hurry. If the doctor tells you that you have cancer or some other health problem, most people have a hard time keeping a good attitude about life. If your favorite sports team loses, you might have a tough time keeping a good attitude. If someone criticizes something you do, you probably start thinking negative thoughts about that person. Having a good attitude toward life is not always easy even for Christians who believe we are loved by God in spite of our many sins and wrongs. Jesus has good words for us to hear this day from Luke’s Gospel. If we wonder what the preaching of Jesus was like, then our Gospel lesson in Luke 4 gives us a good example of the words Jesus used. Today we hear from Jesus Himself.

II. People around 2000 years ago were not much different than people today. Some of the verses in Luke 4 from the Gospel lesson shed some light on the change of attitude among the people of Nazareth toward Jesus. Luke 4:16-21 states about Jesus, [And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up. And as was his custom, he went to the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and he stood up to read. And the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to him. He unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written, “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.” 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. And he began to say to them, “Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.”]

The attitude of the people of Nazareth toward Jesus started out as one of amazement. Luke 4:22 tells us, “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?”

The people of Nazareth who had seen Jesus grow up among them were happy to have Him in their synagogue or place of worship, at least for a little while. They thought of Him as a son of Joseph, although a more accurate way to describe Jesus is that He was the step-son of Joseph. Joseph was really the step-father of Jesus. Mary, the mother of Jesus, was made pregnant when the Holy Spirit in some mysterious way made Mary pregnant, even though she was a virgin.

III. The attitude of the people of Nazareth toward Jesus changed from amazement to fury in a hurry. Luke 4:23-30 informs us, [And (Jesus) 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.’” And he said, “Truly, I say to you, no prophet is acceptable in his hometown. 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, and Elijah was sent to none of them but only to Zarephath, in the land of Sidon, to a woman who was a widow. 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.” When they heard these things, all in the synagogue were filled with wrath. 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. But passing through their midst, he went away.]

Jesus told the people of Nazareth that “no prophet is acceptable in his hometown” and the people of Nazareth showed the truth of that statement by trying to throw Jesus down from the cliff located near Nazareth.

Most famous people would probably echo those words about not being treated like anyone special by their children to whom they are simply dad or mom. Even pastors have relatives who are not regular church attenders. When I am among my immediate family, I am not treated like anyone special. Once in a while I will be asked questions about the Bible or the Lutheran Church by my brother or sister or nephews or some other relatives, but I am not called Pastor or Reverend among my immediate family and relatives. I do not expect to be given any special treatment either. Most Christian pastors would probably agree that no pastor is accepted in his hometown. Most Christian pastors end up serving as pastors in towns or cities away from their hometowns. Serving as a pastor away from a pastor’s hometown is usually a good thing.

Because Jesus was not accepted in his hometown, He ended up going to Capernaum. Capernaum is a town on the edge of the Sea of Galilee. When I went to Israel in 1993, we saw the remains of the town of Capernaum and there was a sign on the gate leading into the area that said, “The town of Jesus.” After walking through the angry mob of people in Nazareth, Jesus went to Capernaum where He did a lot of His earthly ministry.

IV. The good news is that Jesus was rejected for us. On the cross of Calvary outside of Jerusalem, Jesus cried out, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?” Jesus felt the rejection of His Father in heaven on the cross of Calvary. Isaiah 53:3-6 almost makes us think Isaiah the prophet was watching the agony Jesus went through on the cross for us when Isaiah wrote: “He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief; and as one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not. Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned—every one—to his own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all.”

V. How quickly the attitudes of people can change is seen and felt by each one of us at different times in our lives. “No prophet is acceptable in his hometown.” We sometimes have bad attitudes toward Jesus. We sometimes have bad attitudes about those around us. Today we confess that our attitudes can change from good to bad in a hurry. Jesus suffered and died for all of our bad attitudes toward Him and others. Jesus rose to new life on the third day to give us a good attitude—an attitude of hope, peace, love, and joy. We ask God’s Holy Spirit this day to give us a good attitude in life, so that whatever we do from cleaning the house to studying the Bible to praying about things on our mind, we can be a “little Christ” to those around us with a good attitude knowing that nothing is done in vain or for nothing when we serve the Lord with our whole heart. Amen.

The peace of God, that passes all understanding, keep our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.