What is Your Purpose?

Book Context: Luke wrote the Gospel of Luke. He wrote these things to make sure that we might be certain about the things that have been written about Jesus.

Prior Context: John just baptized Jesus in the water and God said, “you are my beloved son, with you and I am well-pleased”.

M.O.T: Evangelistic

C.I.T: Jesus is the Son of God and had power over Satan and Sin.

Thesis: Jesus is the Son of God and overcame Sin and Satan for us.

“What’s Your Purpose?”

Why did Jesus come?

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Introduction:

1. Have any of you seen the pirates of the Caribbean movies? They are great, captain Jack Sparrow is hilarious and always seems to get everyone into trouble somehow. In the second movie when Jack is being forced to pay for his debt to the flying dutchman, he sends Will Turner to the dutchman’s ship to settle his debt. And that’s what Jack told Will to say if he got captured, “Jake Sparrow sent me to settle his debt”. Well Will ends up being captured and is lined up with all of these other pirates that are dead or dying, they are about to get an offer from the Dutchman if they want to work for him and live for a while longer or die and face judgement. When he gets to Will the Dutchman realizes he isn’t dead or dying. So he asks him, “what’s your purpose here”. Why are you here? He tells him, “Jack Sparrow sent me to settle his debt”. The Dutchman repeats, “What’s your purpose here”. This question made me think through this text, what was Jesus’ purpose here on earth. What did he come to do? And how did he do it? This is the question Jesus is going to answer for us in these passages, what is your purpose? Why did you come to earth Jesus?

#1 To proclaim the Good News to the Poor (4:18)

1. It was the Sabbath day, everyone was going to Church. It says, “as usual, he entered the synagogue on the Sabbath day and stood up to read.” Jesus was doing this every Sabbath day, he was faithful going to the synagogue on the Sabbath and reading the Word of God. He didn’t do this out of the ordinary randomly, he didn’t wake up and say, “hey I think I’ll obey the Sabbath finally today”. No Jesus as usual was faithful and obeyed the will of God. Someone handed him the scroll of Isaiah and he unrolled it and began to read from it. Jesus specifically read this portion of scripture because it spoke about Him. Well, all the Bible is about Jesus and speaks about Him, but this portion foretold why he came and what his purpose was. And his purpose was to proclaim the good news to the poor. What is the good news? The good news is that Jesus Christ is God himself wrapped in human flesh, who has come to bear our sins on his body and be punished in our place. The good news is that we saw God in person! And he didn’t come to punish us, but to live among us and be punished for us. Let me confess to your students, I am your youth minister who struggles with pride, arrogance, sin, all sorts of things. My wonderful wife knows this best, but I am glad so glad to tell you this tonight that there is good news, my Jesus came to this earth according to the will of the Father to pay for my sins and make me his Child. He came to do that for you as well. Jesus came to proclaim the good news to the poor. What does is mean by the poor? This is the spiritually poor, the people who know they need something this world cannot provide. Who knows theirs sins cannot be atoned and payed for by anything or anyone from this world? Thank God that Jesus opened my eyes to when I finally saw I was spiritually poor and bankrupt, because then I heard his proclamation of the good news and I believed it. But the only way you will believe in the good news is if you recognize your spiritual bankruptcy and see Jesus as your only hope.

2. The people Jesus is reading this to don’t fit that category. They don’t think they are spiritually poor; they actually think they deserve something from Jesus according to verse 28. And they don’t think that Jesus is the Son of God because of their response in verse 22, “isn’t this Josephs Son”? Jesus begins to explain using OT accounts of Elijah and Elisha. There was a widow in Elijah’s day that was poor and her son had just died. She was the only one that was blessed by Elijah and he raised he Son from the dead by the power of God. In Elisha’s day there was a man named Naaman with leprosy. He was told to go to a river and dip down seven times in order to be healed, he was healed. What was the point Jesus was making? There were many widows and Lepers in those days but it was only God’s will for those two to be healed and taken care of physically experience a miracle. Jesus was saying he came to proclaim the good news! But that doesn’t mean he will physically do a miracle for everyone. The people understood what he meant, and they were furious. They thought they deserved something from Jesus. They end up driving Jesus out of town in hopes of killing him! They wanted to throw him off a cliff at the edge of town. But Jesus’ time wasn’t yet, so he passed right through them unharmed. Jesus came to proclaim the good news to people, not make everyone’s life better physically.

#2 To set the Captives Free (4:35)

1. Jesus read in the scriptures in Isaiah in the passage before that he came also to set the captives free or proclaim release to the captives. We see this demonstrated here when Jesus cast out a demon from someone. It’s kind of the same scene now, he travels to Capernaum in Galilee and was teaching on the same sabbath. He would have walked this journey and would have been tired at this point. But he is teaching, and the people are blown away by his Words because he was saying it like someone with real authority. It’s like when you’re speeding and you see a car that looks like a police car and you panic, but you look closely and it says school security and you’re like “ahahahaha I’m fine”. Why? Because you know they have no authority. But Jesus had all the Authority, he is the Son of God. Everything he says is true and right, therefore it must be obeyed. The people could sense that he had the authority and they listened. His authority was about to be demonstrated as well. In Church with them is a man who is possessed, and he cried out loudly, Leave us alone! What do you want?! Are you here to destroy us? I know you are the Holy one of God! The demon cried out from the man to Jesus and was begging him to leave him alone. But the text says that Jesus rebuked him and said, “Be silent and come out of him!”. Without even hurting the man the demon comes out. Jesus commands the spirits and they listen. Jesus has authority and power of the demons, and he can set the captives free. Tonight, if you are in bondage of sin and a slave to wickedness, come to Jesus he can set you free. There has never been anyone involved in any sin that Jesus couldn’t set free and cleanse. Come to Jesus. This is why Jesus came to this earth, to set the spiritually captive free. Does anyone remember king Manasseh? He was one of the most wicked kings that ever-ruled Israel. He set up many idols and bowed in worship to them, his life is recorded in . But he was so wicked the Lord sent the Assyrian army to punish him, they ended up capturing Manasseh and bound him in chains. Manasseh humbled himself before the Lord and called out for mercy to God. God heard his prayer and allowed his freedom back to Israel where he continued to reign. God is a merciful God, one who sets the captives free. This demon possessed man is a picture of sinners like us who are bound by sin. Jesus came to set us free, and he can! Look he has power over the demons, he has authority to speak a Word and they obey. News about him began to spread quickly because of what he did.

#3 Heal the Spiritually Sick (4:38-40)

1. After Jesus casts out the demon he goes to Peters house. And Peters mother in-law is sick with a high fever. I am not sure what temperature that is, maybe 105 fever. Some of them ask Jesus about her. “Jesus did you know Peters mother in-law is sick? Could you take a look at her? She could die”. Jesus then goes and stands over her. She was probably laying down from the sickness and resting, she might have been unconscious. Jesus rebukes the fever and it leaves. She demonstrates that it left her by immediately getting up and serving the people in the room. I mean one minuet she is down for the count, the next she is up and putting pizza rolls in the over and mixing country time lemonade in a pitcher for everyone to drink. Jesus had healed her. She had a need, she was physically sick, and Jesus healed her.

2. The Sun is setting on this long Sabbath day that Jesus has been doing miracles, and many people are coming still to be set free, to be healed of their diseases. And Jesus is healing them, he is setting them free from the demons. The demons are shouting the truth about Jesus as they are leaving their hosts body. What does the text say? Because they knew he was the Christ. He is doing this all night, and when day comes the next morning on Sunday Jesus makes his way to a deserted place. He was going to go there and pray, but the people follow him, and try to keep him from leaving. They want him to help them some more, that maybe have more lame who need healing, they maybe have more possessed that need to be cast out. But Jesus says it is necessary for me to proclaim the good news about the kingdom of God to the other towns also, because I was sent for this purpose. And he was preaching in the synagogues. Why did Jesus come to this earth? To proclaim the good news, to set the captives free, and to heal the spiritually sick. Jesus is healing all of these sick people, which he did to fulfill the OT and authenticate himself as the Messiah. Because what was the greatest thing Jesus came to do? He came to over healing spiritually to all those who are spiritually sick. Just a little later in Chapter 5 Jesus is going to be hanging out with well-known sinners. Reputable sinners. And the Pharisees and scribes will complain about that because Jesus should be hanging out with righteous people if he really is righteous. But Jesus tells them, “It is not those who are healthy who need a doctor, but those who are sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance”. Jesus came to heal those who are spiritually sick, who recognize there are sinners who cannot help themselves. Jesus came to grant salvation and life to those who know they are unrighteous, not those who think they are righteous. The reality is the Pharisees and scribes were unrighteous because everyone is. Jesus came to call them to repentance as well! But he is trying to get their attention by doing these signs in their midst and help them understand he is the great physician. And they need his help, his forgiveness.

3. I had the flu all week last week. It was awful. Praise God we have medicine because Hayley got some for me and it made my life a little better while I was sick. But I had to take the medicine, otherwise it does me no good. I had to understand I needed it, and then take it. God has shown us that we need him. He has made it clear. And the only solution is Jesus. There is no other prescription medicine that can help you with your sin problem against a Holy God. Only Jesus can. And Jesus came to tell us this good news, he came to set the captives free who are in bondage to sin. And he came to heal the spiritually sick. Are you sick tonight? You’re a Christian and you’ve got sin, come to Jesus tonight in your heart and confess it. Leave this place right with God. And if you’re like the pharisees tonight, you think that Jesus only died for the really bad people, and not good people like you. Think again. If you have ever sinned, you are in the category of hopeless. You are held captive, you are sick. And Only Jesus can help you. Trust in him.