The Blessings of the Gospel

“The Blessings of the Gospel”

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What is the best sermon you have ever heard? For some of you it is the sermon that brought you to saving faith in Jesus. For some of you it is the sermon that brought you back to God from a backslidden condition. Others maybe it was a sermon that brought you some direction, or comfort in a time of sorrow in your life.

But of all the great sermons that have ever been preached since the beginning of time; no one has ever preached a better sermon than Jesus first sermon that he preached in his hometown of Nazareth. This sermon could easily be called; the gospel according to Jesus. This sermon is about the blessings of the gospel; about what God does for us through Jesus Christ in salvation!

I remember my first sermon, I was a teenager, and we were on a bus on the way back from youth camp. I stood up in the aisle of that bus, opened my Bible and preached; it was really, really bad. Tess and I were dating, it was an own and off relationship at that time. I remember that she was mad at me, and wore her sunglasses while I was preaching; which made me extremely nervous!

I wanted to say; take off those sunglasses you heathen; but I was scared of her; come to think of it, I still am!

But what we have here in these verses, is the first sermon that Jesus ever preached; and it is packed full of the blessings that come to a person who is saved.

Jesus has returned from the temptation in the wilderness in the power of the Holy Spirit into Galilee; and begin to teach in the synagogues. Jesus ministry was first and foremost a preaching ministry in the power of the Holy Spirit!

And Jesus was honored and glorified by all the people that heard him. The secret to the ministry of the Lord Jesus; and the secret of any effective ministry is the power of the Holy Spirit! The power of the Holy Spirit is available to anyone who comes to God in faith asking for it. But Jesus possessed the Holy Spirit in a unique way and to the fullest measure.

If Jesus depended on the Holy Spirit, how much more should we rely on the Holy Spirit!

Jesus is teaching in the power of the Holy Spirit all around Galilee; and he comes to his own home town of Nazareth.

V:16-“and as his custom was, he went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day…

If anyone had a right to think he didn’t need to go to church it was Jesus! Can you imagine how many times he sat through a service with below average preaching? Every sermon he heard was below average for him! How easy it would have been for him to become critical, cynical and say, I can worship my father better in a boat on the Sea of Galilee, than with these hypocrites. Yet throughout his life, Jesus maintained a regular pattern of going to church; this was “His custom”.

Jesus sang the Psalms, listen to God’s word, prayed with the corrugation, and gave an offering. And if going to church to worship God was good enough for Jesus, then it needs to be a priority in my life! Weekly worship attendance is the foundation for any life that glorifies God! -“do not forsake the assembling together…

On this particular Sabbath Jesus is in the synagogue in his hometown of Nazareth.

Jesus grew up in this town; he was 30 years old when he left to be baptized by John the Baptist and began his public ministry. So the people here know him well.

Jesus goes to the synagogue and they hand him the scroll of the prophet Isaiah. This was not surprising, no doubt Jesus had read the Scripture in that synagogue many times.

He had become a local celebrity by this time, so it was natural for them to ask him to preach.

Jesus finds the verses in the book of Isaiah that he wanted to read; this shows how familiar he was with the Old Testament. This scroll that Jesus read from was not divided into chapters and verses. Jesus read from:

-“The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me; because the LORD hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound; To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD, and the day of vengeance of our God”.

These verses are a prophecy about the coming of Christ and about the great day of salvation.

If the people had been listening carefully, they would have heard that the Savior, and the gospel would bring great blessings to five kinds of people: the poor, the brokenhearted, the prisoner, the blind, and the oppressed.

If they knew the Bible, they would have also connected this prophecy with the ancient custom of the year of Jubilee. God told Moses, every 50th year was to be set aside as “the year of Jubilee” in the nation of Israel. The details of this year of Jubilee are given in .

It was called by Isaiah, and Luke, “The acceptable year of the Lord”…Jubilee was a year, when those who were slaves were set free; when debts were forgiven, when lost property was returned to its original owners. It was a time when they would blow the ram’s horn, and celebrate the liberty and freedom that God had given them from bondage.

But Isaiah is prophesying about a greater Jubilee; and Jesus is preaching his first sermon and telling those people, and us that He is the fulfillment of the Jubilee. Jesus had come to be the Jubilee.

The people who heard Jesus read the Scriptures should have known that it was a prophecy about the Messiah; V:18-“the one who was anointed”

Jesus read these verses about the anointed one, the Christ, the Savior; then when He finished reading,

V:20-21“He closed the book, and gave it back to the minister, and sat down. Every eye was on him. And he said to them, this day is this Scripture fulfilled in your ears”.

Jesus was announcing the fulfillment of Isaiah’s prophecy. Jesus was telling them He was the anointed one, the Messiah; the suffering servant had arrived, bringing salvation!

And all of the blessings that Isaiah had prophesied had arrived; Jesus said in, V:21-“today is this Scripture fulfilled in your ears”.

Jesus is telling us that everything Isaiah said was about him!

Jesus was clearly claiming to be the savior!

Who was Jesus? He was the son of God, the Savior of the world!

What had he come to do?

Jesus had not come to bring a social revolution; like liberation theology teaches from these verses.

Jesus had not come to bring a political revolution; to overthrow the Roman government.

Jesus had come to bring a spiritual revolution; deliverance from the power of sin.

In, V:18, Jesus announces that He is the anointed one; and that He had come to bring the blessings that Isaiah had prophesied about.

Can you picture, Jesus filled with the spirit of God, in the house of God, with the word of God, preaching the gospel… Listen to the blessing the gospel brings. Blessing #1:

1. Good News for the Destitute!

V:18-“The spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor…

The word gospel is good news; the gospel is the good news. Jesus came preaching the gospel to the poor. This means of course that Jesus cared for people who were poor financially; but it goes much deeper than finances.

The word poor means to be in abject poverty, utterly helpless, completely destitute. This was the person who must depend upon someone else to sustain them. It means this person realized they were poor, they had nothing; so they’re willing to crouch and beg. Jesus said, blessed are the poor in spirit; recognizing they have nothing, there destitute and broke and bankrupt spiritually! Someone said, it is a great day when you reach into your spiritual pockets, and turn them inside out and all you’ve got are little lint balls. You will never be delivered from spiritual poverty until you realize you are spiritually busted and need God in your life! This is the crux of becoming a Christian; salvation begins when you realize that you’re a sinner and that you have absolutely nothing to offer a holy, righteous God. -“all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God”.

-“The wages of sin is death… because of our sin we deserve death, separation from God; and we have nothing to offer God, we are helpless to save ourselves. Jesus came to preach the good news to the spiritually bankrupt and destitute like you and me. The good news is that Jesus died on the cross for our sins, was buried in a borrowed tomb for our sins; but praise God He rose up from the dead!

-“but God demonstrated his love toward us: while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us”

The rest of -“The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord”

You come as bankrupt sinner, and receive the gift of God; which is eternal life through faith in the Lord Jesus today! Jesus did not come to raise your standard of living; he came to give you far greater riches. When you trust in him you receive the riches of his grace, love, forgiveness and eternal life.

Are you spiritually bankrupt this morning? You are the perfect candidate to walk down this aisle and receive the riches of his grace.

The second blessing of the gospel He mentions is:

2. Healing for the Brokenhearted!

V:18-“he has sent me to heal the brokenhearted…

Here we have another evidence of Jesus deity; only God can heal broken hearts. The best man you know cannot heal a broken heart. There are times we wish we could heal broken hearts! We weep with those who weep; and there are people in this church who have broken hearts; and our hearts are often broken with them; but we cannot heal their broken heart. But the good news is; we can point people to someone who can heal broken hearts! And his name is Jesus!

Jesus, and Jesus alone is the great physician who not only cares when you are crushed, broken, emotionally bruised, and shattered. Jesus is also the great physician who can bind up your broken heart, and can put the pieces of your life back together, and bring comfort and healing.

-“The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit”.

There are those whose hearts have been broken by pain, those who have been deceived, and abused. There are people who are suffering under crushing grief, guilt and shame. There are those who are hopeless, and see no point in living. Maybe I just describe someone you know, maybe I just describe you. Jesus Christ can bind up your broken heart today! Will you right now this morning give your hurt to the healer? What is it that is breaking your heart today; that keeps you up at night? Give it to the Lord, he will take it, and he will heal your heart! Oh what a Savior!

The third blessing of the gospel is:

3. Freedom for the Prisoner!

V:18-“to preach deliverance to the captives…

One of the blessings of the year Jubilee, was all the people who had sold themselves into slavery in order to pay their debts were set free, released, and experienced freedom.

Jesus is the fulfillment of the year Jubilee; Jesus came to set people free from the greatest debt, the debt of your sin! Jesus came to release you from the prison of sin and death!

The Bible teaches that we are debtors to sin; and Jesus paid the debt of our sin that we might go free.

The Bible teaches that we are slaves to sin, and that we need someone who can set us free.

There were no literal prisoners sitting in that corrugation in Nazareth; and there are no literal prisoners sitting in this building this morning.

But there are other kind of prisoners sitting here this morning; there are those who are in bondage to money, alcohol, sex, gambling, bondage to guilt, bondage to hatred. To everyone in some prison house of sin; Jesus Christ has come to deliver you from the bondage of your sin!

Jesus Christ can deliver you, release you, and set you free!

Forgiveness of sin is what brings freedom from guilt, and power for living. There is no greater captivity than being in bondage to sin. It imprisons your mind, enslaves your heart, and incarceration your soul. There’s no greater bondage than the bondage of sin; and what Jesus Christ did on the cross is provide the world’s greatest deliverance; through his blood you have forgiveness of sins!

Charles Wesley in his great hymn put it this way:

He breaks the power of cancelled sin,

He sets the prisoner free;

His blood can make the foulest clean;

His blood availed for me.

The fourth blessing of the gospel is:

4. Sight for the Blind!

V:18-“and recovery of sight to the blind…

Jesus restored sight to the physically blind; one of the marks of the Messiah would be that he would give sight to the blind.

But Jesus came not only to restore physical sight; but Jesus came to give spiritual sight to spiritually blinded eyes. The apostle Paul was struck blind; and miraculously received his sight, as an illustration of the fact that Jesus opens spiritually blinded eyes. Later when Paul was giving his testimony, he said that God sent him to the Gentiles.

-“To open their eyes, and turn them from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins, and an inheritance among them who are sanctified by faith in Jesus”. John Newton was a spiritually blind man; he was a godless man who was a part of the slave trade in the early 1800s.

He was a mean, angry, ugly alcoholic. But John Newton met the Lord Jesus, and Jesus opened his blinded eyes! He became a changed man, he was an encouragement to William Wilberforce who was an abolitionist and broke the back of slavery. He also became a hymn writer and in his most famous hymn he described how he had received spiritual sight:

“Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound, that saved a wretch like me. I once was lost, but now I’m found; was blind but now I see”

Have you received spiritual sight? Is there a person that you have been praying for to receive their spiritual sight? Keep praying, and tell them about the gospel of Jesus Christ!

The fifth blessing of the gospel is:

5. Liberty to the Oppressed!

V:18-“to set at liberty them that are bruised…

All mankind has been bruised by the fall into sin; and its consequences.

Life in this sin curse world is often oppressing; as we are attacked by the forces of evil. Oppression is a biblical term for what people today would call abuse; Jesus cares for the people who have been abused. Jesus is able to release you from the oppression of Satan, unforgiveness, bitterness; that you might be released and set free.

The Bible promises that one day all oppression will cease; but in the meantime, God has Grace for you if you had been wounded by abuse. Thank God He is a refuge for the oppressed: -“The LORD also will be a refuge for the oppressed, a refuge in times of trouble”. Whatever oppression, abuse that you may be experiencing; Jesus is your stronghold, He is your shelter in the time of storm!

This gospel message preached by Jesus has two great implications for us:

#1-Jesus can save you no matter where you are in your life.

· The gospel of Jesus is for us in our spiritual poverty.

· The gospel of Jesus can heal your broken heart.

· The gospel of Jesus can set you free from sin’s bondage.

· The gospel of Jesus Christ can give you spiritual sight.

· The gospel of Jesus Christ is for you in your oppression.

The second implication:

The gospel that saved us is the same gospel that other people need to hear.

The same Holy Spirit that anointed Jesus is available for us. We have been called to proclaim his gospel to the people around us, who are just as needy as we were.

The people around you are spiritually poor, there prisoners to sin, their eyes are blinded to their need for the Savior, there oppressed, and under the control of Satan and sin. And what do they need? They need to hear the gospel of Jesus Christ in all its saving, liberating, healing power! If you want to see people’s lives transformed; you must give them the gospel! The salvation of souls, the renewal of the church, and Reformation of our culture will come by the preaching of the cross and the empty tomb!

It is our privilege to sound the trumpet of Jubilee, the trumpet of salvation, that through Jesus you can be released from sin’s slavery, be restored to the inheritance of the saints, and joined the family of God. Can you imagine hearing this sermon from the Lord Jesus Christ?

That because He has come all these blessings were available through him!

How will these people respond to this powerful sermon? How would you have responded?

Will they see themselves as destitute, broken, prisoners, blind and oppressed, in need of Jesus? Are will they refuse to see themselves and their need, and reject Jesus Christ and remain in their bondage?

V:22-“ they were amazed at the gracious words which he spoke, and they said is in this Joseph son?

They thought it was a good sermon, and were impressed; but sadly that was as far as it went.

They walked out the door shook the preacher’s hand and said good sermon; but they never recognized who Jesus Christ really was!

They only saw him as Joseph’s son; but if they had of listened to the message they would have heard that Jesus was much, much more than Joseph son!

Jesus had just told them he was the Christ, the son of God, the Savior of the world; but they refused to hear it or believe in. There are people today who admire Jesus for his teaching, miracles, and humanitarian work; and recognize him as one of the best man who ever lived. But unfortunately they never think of Him as anything more than a mere human being, a good prophet.

Listen friend, it is not enough to speak well of Jesus, or Marvel at his gracious words; he is not merely a good man; He is the son of God, the Savior of the world! We must never put him in the same category with ordinary men, as the people of Nazareth did.

Jesus doesn’t just deserve to be admired; Jesus Christ desert to be worshiped as God, and served as Lord! These people had become so familiar with Jesus; that they missed who He really was. We as Christians must not become so familiar that we don’t think highly enough of the Lord Jesus. We preach about Jesus, we sing about Jesus, we teach about Jesus, and so we should. But may we do it with fear, respect, love recognizing that he’s the sovereign Lord of the universe, the great and mighty God, the Savior of the world. Do not let familiarity with the gospel, keep you from experiencing the power of the gospel!

V:23-Read. In closing His sermon Jesus gave the people two stories from the Old Testament. Why did Jesus tell these two stories?

One-story was from the life and ministry of Elijah, and the other story was from the ministry of Elisha.

These two prophets like Jesus were not honored in their own country. Yet God use them to share His love and grace with two outsiders: the widow of Zarephath and Naaman the leper. Both of these people were Gentiles, outside the covenant people of God. Jesus was telling these people that if they rejected the gospel, then He would take His gospel to others; if they would not believe him and receive him, others would.

The gospel is not just for Jews, but also for Gentiles; not just for Americans, but for all the people groups of this world.

Two things about each one of these people that received a miracle from God in the Old Testament.

#1-they both had to believe God’s promise, before they saw God’s miracle.

The widow had to go and fix the meal for Elijah; before the barrel of flour and cruise of oil did not run out.

Naaman the leper, had to believe the promise of God, and dip 7 times in the Jordan River before he was cleansed of Leprous.

Faith in the son of God, and then salvation!

The same principle applies to the Christian life; “the just shall live by faith”! When it comes to our education, relationships, ministry, retirement, or our future, we do not know what God has in store for us. But we take it by faith, trusting that he will keep his promise to protect us and provide for us.

#2-they had to hit rock bottom, they had to be desperate enough to do what God said.

When Jesus told them that the people in Israel did not receive any miracles during the dark time of Elijah and Elisha’s ministry; but these two Gentiles did, it made the people of Nazareth angry.

And they tried to take Jesus to the edge of town and throw him off of a Clift.

Why were these people so angry?

Jesus had told them they were poor, blind and captive. But they didn’t want to hear that; they thought they were good, law-keeping Jews. Jesus told them you’re like the people of Israel in Elijah and Elisha’s day, you’re not going to experience any miracles; you worse off than a Gentile leper!

They rejected Jesus message, and tried to kill him. As far as we know this was the last time that Jesus ever went to Nazareth; he left that town and never returned. It was there last time ever hear Jesus preach, the last of to believe that he was a Christ, and place your faith in him. They missed their chance! Luke tells us these things to confront us with the claims of Christ, the question comes back to us this morning: who is Jesus, and how will you respond to him today?

You have heard the same gospel that the people of Nazareth heard that day. Jesus says that He can rescue you from your spiritual debt and the bondage of sin and restore your spiritual sight, and heal your broken heart and set you free. This is exactly what you need, if you will only admit it. If you will trust Jesus this morning, He will you’re your soul and set you free.

One of the most amazing parts of this sermon to me is the fact that Jesus only read half of -“To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD, and the day of vengeance of our God…

-“To preach the acceptable year of the Lord”.

Why didn’t Jesus read the rest of that verse? The day of Judgement will come; but thank God; it is not today! Today is the day of salvation; the day of salvation!!!