The Work of Jesus | Luke 4
Knowing Jesus Through the Old Testament • Sermon • Submitted • Presented • 44:22
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Jesus in Nazareth
Jesus in Nazareth
14 And Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit to Galilee, and a report about him went out through all the surrounding country. 15 And he taught in their synagogues, being glorified by all. 16 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.
This is the first thing Luke tells us Jesus is doing after his baptism
It gives us an example of what Jesus was teaching in all the synagogues
This time he’s at home
It’s his custom, so they’ve heard him before
And he’s got something special to say today
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.”
This is all about me
The spirit is upon me
He has anointed me
He has sent me
And it’s been pretty obvious throughout Luke’s Gospel
So far in Luke’s gospel we’ve been given an understanding of who Jesus through:
His miraculous birth
His incredible knowledge at the age of only 12
His baptism
And being tempted in the wilderness
And all of this has been fueled by the Spirit of God from the beginning
He was conceived by the Holy Spirit
He grew strong in the Spirit
The Holy Spirit descends on him at his baptism
And now, after his temptations, he is returning home in the power of the Spirit
And when you’re given the Spirit, you’re given a job!
That job is described in Isaiah 61:1-4
Jesus’ Job
Jesus’ Job
1 The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me to bring good news to the poor; he has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound;
Question 1: What is Jesus meaning when he says the Spirit is upon me?
Chosen - it’s on him because he was anointed
Like the Spirit was on Saul and then given to David
Empowered - As seen through all of the judges
Gideon
Samson
Filled with God’s presence
Someone like Moses or David
Question 2: What is the work of the servant?
Who are the poor, brokenhearted, captive, and bound?
Israel! In Exile in Babylon
The very people he was talking to!
Nazareth saw themselves as poor
They were helpless in the face of Rome
They were captives looking forward to liberty
They were the blind ones waiting for God’s light
They were the oppressed looking for a deliverer
2 to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all who mourn;
Question 3: What is the year of the Lord’s Favor?
All of these Leviticus passages have the Hebrew word for favor translated as acceptance (NKJV ‘acceptable year of the Lord’)
3 “If his offering is a burnt offering from the herd, he shall offer a male without blemish. He shall bring it to the entrance of the tent of meeting, that he may be accepted before the Lord.
5 “When you offer a sacrifice of peace offerings to the Lord, you shall offer it so that you may be accepted.
11 and he shall wave the sheaf before the Lord, so that you may be accepted. On the day after the Sabbath the priest shall wave it.
God had rejected his people but now he is going to accept them
It might be the Jubilee year
10 And you shall consecrate the fiftieth year, and proclaim liberty throughout the land to all its inhabitants. It shall be a jubilee for you, when each of you shall return to his property and each of you shall return to his clan.
Notice ‘proclaim liberty’ is the same expression in Isa 61:1
Pattern of seven’s leading to the Jubilee
It was a giant reset button
28 “But no devoted thing that a man devotes to the Lord, of anything that he has, whether man or beast, or of his inherited field, shall be sold or redeemed; every devoted thing is most holy to the Lord.
39 “If your brother becomes poor beside you and sells himself to you, you shall not make him serve as a slave:
40 he shall be with you as a hired worker and as a sojourner. He shall serve with you until the year of the jubilee.
41 Then he shall go out from you, he and his children with him, and go back to his own clan and return to the possession of his fathers.
Imagine what it could do in modern society?
God is hitting the reset button on his relationship with his people
The captives in exile will be freed
Sins against God forgiven
The people restored to their land
Everything bad is being replaced with something incredible |
3 to grant to those who mourn in Zion— to give them a beautiful headdress instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, the garment of praise instead of a faint spirit; that they may be called oaks of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that he may be glorified.
Good News For Us
Good News For Us
That good news is for us as well
How many of us have had our hearts broken because of our broken world
Growing up our church was rocked by two nasty divorces at the same time
Early war footage in Ukraine and Israel
I’m broken-hearted over the kids I see suffer
How many of us feel like captives to sin?
There’s plenty we struggle with
But there’s that one sin you just can’t shake (Paul couldn’t either)
Wouldn’t it be great if we could just hit a giant reset button?
God wants to hit the reset button too
He doesn’t want to burn everything down and start over again - he wants to rebuild
Illustration: I gave up on my PT cruiser - I was tired of starting over and over with it
God is stubborn in his love
So you get all of these things
God is going to mend that broken heart
He’s going to free you from that sin and the death it brings
He’s going to take all those things that make us cry and give us a party hat
And then he gives you a job
Our Job
Our Job
Luke 4 is only a snapshot of what Jesus said
Luke 4:21 - this was only the beginning of what he said to them
If all of this was really being fulfilled, then the people of Nazareth knew what came next
4 They shall build up the ancient ruins; they shall raise up the former devastations; they shall repair the ruined cities, the devastations of many generations.
Isaiah starts of with the Spirit of God on me - Jesus
But then it switches to they - who are they?
They are:
They are the poor who heard the good news
They are the ones with broken hearts healed by God
They are the ones who have been liberated
They are the ones who have started to celebrate with God
THEY ARE US!
God wants to rebuild a broken world and he’s inviting us to rebuild with him
This isn’t limited to rebuilding Jerusalem after the exile
Look at verses 5-6
5 Strangers shall stand and tend your flocks; foreigners shall be your plowmen and vinedressers; 6 but you shall be called the priests of the Lord; they shall speak of you as the ministers of our God; you shall eat the wealth of the nations, and in their glory you shall boast.
Israel would function as priests
Just like God wanted them to be after the Exodus
The nations would be invited in by Israel and join in the rebuilding efforts
We live in ruins
Living in the ruins of false religion and worship
Captive to their sins and shortcomings
Hearts shattered and all they can do is try and hold the pieces together
And they live in such darkness they don’t even see the ruins that they live in
It is your job to rebuild with Jesus - to go tell them the good news
Just as we have, so can they
The gospel is more than “What must I do to to be saved?”
Bigger than restoring our worship
Bigger than rebuilding the relationships we have with each other
Now we look outwards and see a world in ruins
You were saved for a purpose
It gives such satisfaction
Dad’s shed, Allen’s shed, Barry’s concrete, my own floor
How much more exciting to be a part of someone’s salvation?
Instead of complaining about all the things wrong in the world, God has given you an opportunity to be a part of the solution!
Nazareth Was Excited
Nazareth Was Excited
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?”
It sounded great to them!
Freedom!
Rebuilding!
Release!
Forgiveness!
Asking if this is Joseph’s son isn’t necessarily negative
Imagine if one of our own became a celebrity or President
They’re amazed that one of their own is a prophet!
But the amazement doesn’t last long
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.
You’re amazed now, but they’re some implications of all this that you haven’t thought of yet
They would claim that Jesus wasn’t the one to start rebuilding
They would claim that his signs were just rumours
They would lose all amazement, excitement, and faith that any of this was happening.
They would become so disinterested in Jesus that they would actually try to kill him:
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.
Take a moment to think about how brutal this all is
Hunter is off to develop his preaching skill
It would make a lot of people happy to hear him preach a great lesson
Some might even think “Wow! This is Lance’s kid?”
What would he have to say for you to want to murder him?
Here’s what Jesus said:
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.”
Jesus tells of two stories in Israel’s past
There was a famine in the days of Elijah - but he only went to the Gentile woman in Zarephath
There were plenty of lepers in the days of Elisha - but he only healed Naaman - a Gentile who waged war on Israel
But he didn’t send prophets to any of the Israelites
Completely backwards to the Jewish mindset. We’re God’s people. They’re filthy Gentile sinners!
If you want to enjoy the good news, you have to understand that it needs to be preached to people we aren’t going to like
You think you’re entitled to God’s Jubilee
But you don’t want anybody else to enjoy it
So God is going to leave you behind because you’re not interested in rebuilding with him
As God says if you want to be forgiven - you need to learn how to forgive others
It’s a warning for us
That we can think that our personal salvation is all God cares about
That after baptism all I have to do is show up
Twiddle my thumbs until Judgment day comes
Only for him to wonder at why we wasted so much time sitting around doing nothing
Conclusion
Conclusion
Salvation is so much bigger than your own. God has invited you to make something out this big mess - to be a part of the rebuilding effort. God didn’t give up on you and throw you in the trash - he begins again with you time and time again as we slip and fall and crumble to pieces.
He wants us to take that same approach to the rest of the world. It’s not something we hope God chucks in the trash. It’s not something we give up on repairing. It’s a world full of broken hearts that God says you have a part in healing.
Will you join him?
