Jesus Rejected
Notes
Transcript
Introduction
Introduction
14 Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit, and news about him spread through the whole countryside. 15 He was teaching in their synagogues, and everyone praised him.
16 He went to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, and on the Sabbath day he went into the synagogue, as was his custom. He stood up to read, 17 and the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him. Unrolling it, he found the place where it is written:
18 “The Spirit of the Lord is on me,
because he has anointed me
to proclaim good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners
and recovery of sight for the blind,
to set the oppressed free,
19 to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”
20 Then he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant and sat down. The eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fastened on him. 21 He began by saying to them, “Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.”
22 All spoke well of him and were amazed at the gracious words that came from his lips. “Isn’t this Joseph’s son?” they asked.
23 Jesus said to them, “Surely you will quote this proverb to me: ‘Physician, heal yourself!’ And you will tell me, ‘Do here in your hometown what we have heard that you did in Capernaum.’ ”
24 “Truly I tell you,” he continued, “no prophet is accepted in his hometown. 25 I assure you that there were many widows in Israel in Elijah’s time, when the sky was shut for three and a half years and there was a severe famine throughout the land. 26 Yet Elijah was not sent to any of them, but to a widow in Zarephath in the region of Sidon. 27 And there were many in Israel with leprosy in the time of Elisha the prophet, yet not one of them was cleansed—only Naaman the Syrian.”
28 All the people in the synagogue were furious when they heard this. 29 They got up, drove him out of the town, and took him to the brow of the hill on which the town was built, in order to throw him off the cliff. 30 But he walked right through the crowd and went on his way.
A challenging week
A challenging week
Different backgrounds
Maybe you didn’t know who Charlie Kirk was
Maybe you loved Charlie Kirk
Maybe you agreed with most of what he believed and disagreed with his methods
Maybe you resist everything he stood for
United in horror
Horror at the evil of one man
Horror at the evil of gloating
Horror at the increasing polarization
My Inadequacy
My Inadequacy
I don’t know the whole truth about what’s going on
I can’t see the future
COVID will unite us!
How should I respond
What do I have to add?
Am I a coward if I say nothing?
Am I a fool if I say too much?
I can’t explain specifically why these things happen
Jesus Speaks
Jesus Speaks
So lets open God’s Word and see if Jesus has something to say
Jesus speaks into a world not altogether different
Roman oppression
Revolutionary violence
A corrupt ruling class
Jesus’s Sermon
Jesus’s Sermon
14 Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit, and news about him spread through the whole countryside. 15 He was teaching in their synagogues, and everyone praised him.
16 He went to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, and on the Sabbath day he went into the synagogue, as was his custom. He stood up to read, 17 and the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him. Unrolling it, he found the place where it is written:
18 “The Spirit of the Lord is on me,
because he has anointed me
to proclaim good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners
and recovery of sight for the blind,
to set the oppressed free,
19 to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”
20 Then he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant and sat down. The eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fastened on him. 21 He began by saying to them,
“Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.”
He is anointed by the Spirit
He is anointed by the Spirit
Luke is focused on the Spirit empowered work of Jesus
Conceived by the Spirit
Spirit like a dove
Led into the wilderness by the Spirit
Returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit
The Spirit of the Lord is on me
The Spirit empowers him
The Spirit anoints (Christ) him
The Spirit gives him his mission – proclamation
He has a merciful message
He has a merciful message
The emphasis is on preaching
None of those miracles was happening in Nazareth yet he says “Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.”
Jesus never frees prisoners
Ps 61
Good news to the poor
Freedom for the prisoners
Recovery of sight for the blind
Set the oppressed free
The year of the Lord’s favor (Jubilee)
He is the fulfillment of OT hope
He is the fulfillment of OT hope
20 Then he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant and sat down. The eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fastened on him. 21 He began by saying to them, “Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.”
Stops before the prophesy ends
2 to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor
and the day of vengeance of our God,
to comfort all who mourn,
Jesus will bring vengeance but that wasn’t his focus here
Jesus is the answer to OT covenant failure
Nazareth’s Response
Nazareth’s Response
Affirm
Affirm
22 All spoke well of him and were amazed at the gracious words that came from his lips. “Isn’t this Joseph’s son?” they asked.
They’re excited – the hometown hero is going to make them look good.
Nate Oats
Maybe they’ll even get some perks if he really does do all he said.
This is not ironic – they are excited to hear Jesus’s message
Who wouldn’t be? We all think we’re the oppressed and poor rather than the wealthy oppressor
Jesus goal isn’t to build a crowd though – his mission is much more significant.
Jesus Clarifies
Jesus Clarifies
23 Jesus said to them, “Surely you will quote this proverb to me: ‘Physician, heal yourself!’ And you will tell me, ‘Do here in your hometown what we have heard that you did in Capernaum.’ ”
24 “Truly I tell you,” he continued, “no prophet is accepted in his hometown. 25 I assure you that there were many widows in Israel in Elijah’s time, when the sky was shut for three and a half years and there was a severe famine throughout the land. 26 Yet Elijah was not sent to any of them, but to a widow in Zarephath in the region of Sidon. 27 And there were many in Israel with leprosy in the time of Elisha the prophet, yet not one of them was cleansed—only Naaman the Syrian.”
Much like John in the last chapter Jesus gets aggressive his audience
He recognizes the people want his power but they don’t want message
Miracles
Preaching
He recognizes that he inherits the role of OT prophets
He will be rejected by his own
He is connected with Elijah and Elisha
His message will ultimately be rejected
The People Reject
The People Reject
28 All the people in the synagogue were furious when they heard this. 29 They got up, drove him out of the town, and took him to the brow of the hill on which the town was built, in order to throw him off the cliff.
When Jesus doesn’t meet their expectations the previously friendly crowd rejects him
They want a Messiah of their own design. When they realize that Jesus isn’t who they want him to be they try to kill him
This is foreshadowing of what Jesus ministry is going to look like
Conclusion
Conclusion
Jesus’s Fuller Message
Jesus’s Fuller Message
This sermon doesn’t include all of Jesus’s message, nor does it include all of what he did
Jesus does bring healing and freedom, but how does he do that?
Jesus doesn’t just heal diseases and give sight
Every person he healed in his earthly ministry is now dead
The blind eyes saw for a time but sight faded again in death.
Jesus healing ministry authenticates his divine power and anticipates a greater healing
Jesus is the one who will bring justice
8 “For I, the Lord, love justice;
I hate robbery and wrongdoing.
In my faithfulness I will reward my people
and make an everlasting covenant with them.
Jesus brings justice
There is a beauty in Jesus’s justice
Isaiah 61 goes on to provide more detail about what God will do.
10 I delight greatly in the Lord;
my soul rejoices in my God.
For he has clothed me with garments of salvation
and arrayed me in a robe of his righteousness,
as a bridegroom adorns his head like a priest,
and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.
Jesus comes not just to make the world a better place
In fact he warns that those who follow him on this earth will face persecution
Jesus comes as a sacrifice for you
The condition of coming to Jesus is recognizing that you need to - true poverty
So many people try to make the message of Jesus a message of earthly power and prosperity
They make it a story where they are the hero
Jesus message at Nazareth was an invitation to come to him on his terms.
Trust
Trust
