The Kingdom is Open to the Unworthy

Reading from God’s Word:

Luke 4:16–21 CSB

He came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up. As usual, he entered the synagogue on the Sabbath day and stood up to read. The scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to him, and unrolling the scroll, he found the place where it was written: The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to set free the oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor. He then rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant, and sat down. And the eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fixed on him. He began by saying to them, “Today as you listen, this Scripture has been fulfilled.”

Introduction

The Kingdom is Everything.

Last week, we saw why the kingdom exists - because of the overwhelming mercy of God.

Titus 3 reminds us that:

v. 4 - he saved us, not by our own works of righteousness, but according to His mercy.

v. 3 - we were once foolish, disobedient, enslaved, and far from God.

v.5-6 - but Jesus saved us through the washing and renewal by the Holy Spirit.

The kingdom begins with mercy, not merit.

Today, we move forward in our series — but with a sharper edge.

In Luke 4, Jesus returns to Nazareth, his hometown.

This is the first recorded sermon we have of Jesus — and at first the people are amazed.

He is speaking of freedom, healing, and restoration.

These are the blessings of the kingdom.

But by the end of the passage - these same people are trying to kill him.

What happened?

Jesus, unmistakably, draws out that the kingdom is not for the self-assured or the entitled.

It is not for those who think they deserve it.

May we come to see that the kingdom is everything - but only to those who know they have nothing.

That is what we will learn today.

And if you feel you are too broken, too far gone, to spiritually unqualified, this message is for you.

Jesus came not to reward the worthy — but to rescue the desperate.

A Kingdom for the Desperate (v. 16-21)

Jesus has come home — and is in the synagogue on the Sabbath.

This is where he would have been as a child and as a youth and as a man.

In the past, he would have worshipped in the humble retirement of his rank — not sitting up front with the elders and the honored, but far back.

The old well-known faces were around him.

His mom is probably there … along with his brothers and sisters and their families.

The old well-remembered words in the services fell on his ears.

Now, here he is again … this time … probably sitting up front as an honored guest, a stranger among his own countrymen.

This time to be looked at, listened to, tested, tried, and cast aside.

The scroll is opened to Isaiah 61 - a passage every Jew would have known by heart.

This passage speaks of the coming of God’s kingdom.

It is a messianic prophecy.

They would have known when the Messiah came he would be anointed by the Spirit.

“Anointed” means “set apart or empowered for special service.”

This of course happened to Jesus at His baptism, Matthew 3:16-17.

A time when God would rescue his people by lifting the brokenhearted, and restore what had been ruined.

Jesus stands to read these words aloud for the assembly:

Luke 4:18–19 CSB

The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to set free the oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.

Then, v. 20:

Luke 4:20 CSB

He then rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant, and sat down. And the eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fixed on him.

He says, v. 21:

Luke 4:21 CSB

He began by saying to them, “Today as you listen, this Scripture has been fulfilled.”

In other words, the kingdom you’ve been waiting for is here and I’m the king who brings it.

Imagine being in this moment - and hearing the carpenter’s son - say this.

The tension in the room is rising exponentially. More on that in a moment…

But, let’s go back to v. 18:

The Kingdom is for the Spiritually Poor

Luke 4:18 CSB

The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor.

This is not about physical poverty - here he is speaking of spiritual bankruptcy.

These are people who have no spiritual resume to boast about.

No righteousness to bring to God.

Those who are under no illusion they can fix things themselves.

The Kingdom is for the Enslaved

Luke 4:18 CSB

The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me… to proclaim release to the captives

Sin is a cruel task master. It binds people in:

shame and addiction

bitterness and guilt

spiritual darkness.

With the kingdom at hand, Jesus is proclaiming the beginning of a new Exodus.

Jesus came to break chains — not of Roman oppression — but the chains of sin that keep souls enslaved.

The Kingdom is for the Blind

Luke 4:18 CSB

The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to … (recover) sight to the blind, …

While Jesus did restore physical sight to untold numbers of people, His greater mission was to open spiritual eyes.

The eyes of people who had been blinded by pride, religion, and self-reliance.

When the kingdom breaks in, Jesus restores vision.

He helps people see truth — see themselves — and God clearly.

The Kingdom is for the Oppressed

Luke 4:18 CSB

The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to … set free the oppressed,

“Oppressed” means crushed or broken. Weighed down.

This is describing people carrying the trauma of abuse.

The shame of past sin.

The wounds of injustice.

Isaiah 42:3 CSB

He will not break a bruised reed, and he will not put out a smoldering wick; he will faithfully bring justice.

Jesus is not a messiah who crushes the weak - He lifts them up.

The kingdom is where the crushed are healed and made whole.

The Kingdom Comes in the Year of the Lord’s Favor

Luke 4:18–19 CSB

The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to …proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.

This comes from Isaiah 61:2.

Isaiah 61:2 CSB

2 to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor, and the day of our God’s vengeance; to comfort all who mourn,

We may miss this in our modern context.

Every 50 years in Israel, slaves were freed, debts were canceled, and land was restored.

This is Jubilee language — freedom, forgiveness, release.

Salvation has come. The age for which they had long awaited had arrived.

The Lord would them, and all of humanity, favor because the Messiah had come, providing the sacrifice for sin.

Insight for Us

Everything Jesus lists here has one thing in common:

The people he came for are desperate.

They are poor.

They are trapped.

They are blind.

They are broken.

They know they need help. And their not too proud to admit it.

A few years ago, a minister in San Antonio was right in the middle of preaching when a homeless man name Anthony interrupted his sermon.

He was loud, unfiltered, and clearly hurting.

His words were loud, unfiltered, and clearly hurting, laced with profanity.

He was exhausted, addicted, and done with everything.

As he spoke out, the room froze. Security moved in.

The minister didn’t panic, he paused, sat down on the edge of the stage, and responded with grace.

Over the next few minutes he explained what the church didn’t know.

Earlier that morning, Anthony had been standing at a bus stop — planning to step out in front of a bus and end his life.

A church member, Michael, happened to be at this place, planning on giving a meal to another homeless person who didn’t show up.

This man wound up inviting Anthony to church — to which Anthony came — and ultimately saved his life.

You never know what someone is going through — and you never know how God will use you today to bring salvation to someone desperate and at the end of their rope.

This is what the kingdom is for.

Not for the polished. Not for the elite.

But for the desperate. The broken. For those who are at the point of they don’t know what to do but they know they need help.

This is Anthony’s story, raw, unscripted, and messy … but it’s the kind of situation the kingdom came for … the kingdom colliding with a desperate soul.

But not everyone responds this way … and that is where things begin to be uncomfortable in this story.

Jesus wasn’t rejected in Nazareth because he preached too little grace, it was because He preached too much of it — to the wrong people.

And that brings us to the next point

The Kingdom Offends the Self-Righteous (v. 22-27)

At first, everyone was impressed — but only superficially.

Luke 4:22 CSB

They were all speaking well of him and were amazed by the gracious words that came from his mouth; yet they said, “Isn’t this Joseph’s son?”

They’re intrigued.

They love the sound of hope, healing, and deliverance.

They love what the kingdom might mean for them.

But underneath all this is skepticism and entitlement.

“Isn’t this Joseph’s son?”

This is condescension.

“We know this guy. Who does He think he is?”

Jesus Confronts Their Hidden Demands

Jesus knows what they’re thinking. And he speaks to that:

Luke 4:23 CSB

Then he said to them, “No doubt you will quote this proverb to me: ‘Doctor, heal yourself. What we’ve heard that took place in Capernaum, do here in your hometown also.’ ”

They’re thinking: “If you are really the Messiah, prove it. Do a miracle. Earn our faith.”

They’ve heard all the stories: miracles in Capernaum, healings, wonders.

And now, they want to see it for themselves. They want to be impressed.

But Jesus refuses to perform.

Jesus knows that even if he performed every miracle in front of them — their hearts would remain closed.

This is a sobering truth seen throughout the gospels.

The same people who saw Jesus raise the dead plotted his death.

The crowds who watched him feed 5000 walked away when his teaching got hard.

The religious leaders never denied his miracles — they just hardened their hearts against him.

John 12:37 CSB

Even though he had performed so many signs in their presence, they did not believe in him.

Why?

Because unbelief is not a matter of the intellect — it is a matter of the will.

Application

If you’re waiting for God to prove himself before you follow him, you need to consider:

Would that really be enough?

The truth is:

God has already proved his love at the cross.

He has already declared his kingdom.

He has already extended his invitation.

But he won’t force himself on a heart that is closed.

Will you open your heart?

Jesus Exposes Their Pride with Two Outsiders

Luke 4:25–27 CSB

But I say to you, there were certainly many widows in Israel in Elijah’s days, when the sky was shut up for three years and six months while a great famine came over all the land. Yet Elijah was not sent to any of them except a widow at Zarephath in Sidon. And in the prophet Elisha’s time, there were many in Israel who had leprosy, and yet not one of them was cleansed except Naaman the Syrian.”

They would have known these stories well.

I think Jesus is now provoking them. Deliberately.

He names two Gentiles — two outsiders — who received God’s mercy when Israel did not.

And this really becomes the breaking point in this story.

Elijah and the Widow at Zarephath (1 Kings 17)

Famine had struck Israel - judgment for idolatry.

There were many widows in Israel - yet God sent Elijah to none of them (1 Kings 17:26).

Instead, he was sent to a Gentile woman — a widow in pagan Sidon.

Zarephath was the home of the Father of Jezebel.

Ethbaal was so devoted to his idol that he named himself after it. Name means “Baal is alive.”

And here, God sends His prophet to a woman from the home region of Jezebel…

And this is a widow who believes in the true God.

She is poor, hopeless, and preparing for death with her last meal.

She is a pagan gentile widow in the midst of a godless area - but believes in the true and living God.

When Elijah comes, she believed the his word.

She gave her last handful of flour to God’s messenger.

read through the story in 1 Kings 17. Hers is an amazing faith.

And she received God’s provision.

She is poor, desperate, and full of faith.

Israel was proud, resourced, and full of unbelief.

Elisha and Naaman the Syrian

Naaman was a commander in the Syrian army — a foreigner, a military enemy.

He had leprosy and sought healing.

Elisha didn’t even go out to meet him — he sent instructions for him to wash in the Jordan river.

At first, Naaman was offended. But when he humbled himself and obeyed, he was cleansed.

Again, God’s healing didn’t go to the “deserving” insiders.

It went to an outsider who humbled himself.

Jesus’ point is unmistakable — and unacceptable

So, now we see…

Religious Pride Turns to Rage

Luke 4:28–29 CSB

When they heard this, everyone in the synagogue was enraged.

This is one of the most dramatic mood shifts in the Bible.

Moments earlier they were speaking well of Jesus.

But now now.

Religious Pride is the Most Dangerous Kind of Pride

Why?

Because it feels righteous.

The people in Nazareth didn’t see themselves as rebels.

They weren’t immoral pagans.

They were synagogue attending, scripture quoting people of the covenant.

And this is why Jesus’ message offended them so greatly.

Their fury wasn’t about politics, economics, or even nationalism — it was about grace.

They couldn’t stand that God would give his kingdom to the unworthy - and bypass the righteous.

Their Rage Reveals Their Rejection of the King

Luke 4:29 CSB

They got up, drove him out of town, and brought him to the edge of the hill that their town was built on, intending to hurl him over the cliff.

Attempted murder — in the church!

And who were the murderers?

Not thugs. Not athiests.

But “good religious people” who couldn’t accept that the kingdom wasn’t about them.

This previews what will ultimately happen.

They will crucify their king - because his kingdom humbles human pride.

Jesus Walks Away — On His Own Terms

Luke 4:30 CSB

But he passed right through the crowd and went on his way.

They couldn’t touch him. His time had not yet come.

Jesus would not die on a hill outside Nazareth.

He would die on a cross outside Jerusalem - on His tmers, in His timing, for the purpose of opening the door to the kingdom they rejected.

The kingdom will either humble you or it will offend you.

But it will never leave you neutral.

The Kingdom Still Divides

We like the idea of a Savior.

We’re fine with Jesus as a helper or healer.

But to tell people:

They are spiritually bankrupt?

They need to be rescued, not improved?

The only way is humble faith, not moral effort?

And suddenly the gospel becomes offensive.

Modern culture may not try to throw Jesus off a cliff — but it still finds a thousand ways to reject his voice:

I’m not that bad

That message is too exclusive

I’m spiritual but not religious

I believe in God, but I don’t need church

Everyone finds their own truth

These are just modern ways of saying:

“I don’t need to come poor and empty, I’m good on my own.”

The kingdom will never bow to self-righteousness.

You must come with nothing, or you cannot come at all.

As We Close…

Jesus didn’t come to impress, entertain, or reward the religious elite.

He came to bring a kingdom.

A kingdom of mercy, power, and grace.

That was true in Nazareth and its still true today.

Will you be amazed by Jesus but walk away unchanged?

Or will you humble yourselves before the king?

Come desperate.

Come empty.

Come and receive the riches of grace that only Jesus can give.