From Received to Rejected

Imagine with me that I’ve only got enough food to feed my family for one night. And we’re not talking a big Thanksgiving type meal…we’re talking just enough to keep us somewhat sustained and not drop dead. The pantry is empty. This is it. No idea where the next meal is coming from.

Now imagine that some other starving guy comes over to my house and says, “give me some of that bread”. Now ethically speaking what should I do? We only barely have enough to sustain our family. If I take bread from my table to feed it to this outsider then our children will starve.

Allow me to ask another question, you’re in a small town. Average income is pretty much at the poverty level. Now a hometown kid ends up making millions as an athlete. He grew up in your schools, was trained by your coaches, got his start because of your community investment. He’s now a millionaire and is now going to start giving back to his community so he decides to build a brand new school in the town adjacent to your own---the rival school.

What are you feeling?

Let me add another layer…you’ve now caught wind that he’s about to address your community. He’s going to invite you into this initiative of rebuilding the community.....now what are you feeling? What is your anticipation?

You’re in the synagogue on the Sabbath. That’s not the temple. No sacrifices made. It’s like a church service really. Some singing, some praying, reading of the Scripture, an exposition of the text. And on this particular Sabbath the hometown kid, Jesus, is with you again. He’s been lighting it up in Galilee. People are talking about him, he’s been teaching in all the synagogues…great things are happening....now he’s back home…what’s he going to do here....

Listen in....

Luke 4:14–30 ESV

And Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit to Galilee, and a report about him went out through all the surrounding country. And he taught in their synagogues, being glorified by all. 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. And the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to him. He unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written, “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, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.” 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. And he began to say to them, “Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.” 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?” 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.’ ” And he said, “Truly, I say to you, no prophet is acceptable in his hometown. 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, and Elijah was sent to none of them but only to Zarephath, in the land of Sidon, to a woman who was a widow. 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.” When they heard these things, all in the synagogue were filled with wrath. 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. But passing through their midst, he went away.

Sermon Introduction:

The story starts with excitement at Jesus’ gracious words and it ends with him almost being thrown off a cliff. What in the world happens in the middle there?

Let’s see if we can figure that out.

Verses 14-15 is that hometown kid making it big and blessing all the neighboring towns but now you hear that he’s coming back home. That’s verse 16 when he comes back home.

Now in verse 16 he comes back to Nazareth. And he continues his speaking tour by going to the synagogue on the Sabbath. Again, this was like a church service. They’d typically read a section, then sit down to explain the text. So that’s what happens here.

Now Luke’s pace here is interesting. He slows it down for a reason. He stood up to read. The scroll is givne to him. All eyes are fixed on him at this moment. He unrolls the scroll. He finds Isaiah 61....he reads.

Then looks slows the pace again. He rolls up the scroll. He gives it back to the attendant. He sits down. And everybody’s eyes are now on him. And he says to them....”Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.”

Now Isaiah 61 isn’t one of those verses that was typically one that had a ton of Messianic expectations. It was really only an interpretation of Isaiah 40-55. It’s about God reversing the fortunes of His people. That’s how it was read.

And so for him to say, “this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing...” it’s probably not going to cause them to immediately make the connection. At most their thinking, this guy is claiming to be one of the great prophets who is going to bring about a reversal of fortunes for us.

Now notice what’s happening in verse 22. They are marveling at him. Note here…at his gracious words.

Now for Matthew and Mark when they say, “isn’t this Joseph’s son...” it carries with it a bit more snark. Really what the problem is there is a cold-hearted familiarity. And that’s certainly present here in Luke. It’s always a danger for us…it’s good to get comfortable with Jesus. But if your relationship is so comfortable that he starts to look like you instead of the other way around…you’ve got some problems.

I think Jared Wilson is right...

“if you find the message of Jesus easy to digest, you’d better check the label on the box. You may be consuming a diluted version of Christianity. The message of Jesus—that he himself is life and you can’t get it anywhere else, least of all in yourself—is the hardest message we could ever hear, because it goes completely against our perceptions and conceptions, our prejudice and our opinions, It goes radically against the bent of our souls.

They are probably cool with Jesus’ message at first because they don’t get all that he is saying. Which leads me to ask this question. If Luke had stopped right here what would you think about their reception of him. If the sermon ends, this section ends at verse 22 then the story picks right back up at verse 31 what do you think?

We might say that they have a bit of skepticism but for the most part they are viewing him favorably. There’s no rejection. There is no throwing him off a cliff. So why doesn’t Jesus just close up shop, take his encouragement, call it a day, consider them on his side and then move on?

Because he wants more than lip service, he wants more than just a head nod and a misunderstood following. He wants truth. He knows what is in their hearts. And so he presses a little. He starts to meddle. He gets at the issue of the heart.

And he’s taking aim at their inadequate view of the good news. They view it as limited and insider. It’s a benefit to them and ONLY to them. I’m hoping to make two points here.

First, when we treat an unlimited gospel like a limited resource we get angry if someone suggests we share. Secondly, when we view the good news as OUR instead of THEIRS we get angry and feel left out when God includes THEM…it feels like he’s rejecting US.

Now let me show you both of these here. And it’ll help us see why they get so mad. What is Jesus doing in verses 23-27? Let’s consider that faulty view of the gospel as a limited resource first....

Limited Resource or Unlimited Gospel

Earlier I asked that ethical question. And it’s certainly true that ethically we are called to take care of our own first, there are biblical principles to this about caring for your own family. The Pharisees were condemned for the greedy way they played religion and neglected their families and called it service to God.

But the problem is when we apply a principle about limited resources to an unlimited gospel. We’re going to see Jesus start pressing this in verses 23.

You’re likely thinking, “physician, heal yourself.” That’s a saying which could mean…dude, if anybody needs liberated it’s you…crazy man.” OR and this is what it’s meaning here…if we’re talking about liberation, and healing, and the year of the Lord’s favor....you need to start in your own land. We know that’s what it means because of what comes next. What you did in Capernaum you need to do here.

“If you’re really the son of God...”

This is somewhat similar to the temptation he has just endured. Show your stuff. Bring it. If you are who you say you are....let us see it. It’s one thing for you to be healing people out there…but we know you…we are going to be able to see you better than anyone else, we’ve got women here who have changed your diaper.

This is why Jesus says, “No prophet is acceptable in his hometown.” This is where I said Matthew and Mark emphasize that cold-hearted familiarity. That’s certainly part of this.

But Luke actually uses a different word here. Acceptable. No prophet gains favor in his own hometown. Can I show you something interesting. Look back up at verse 19. See that word “favor” or “favorable” or “acceptable” in the KJV. That’s the same word used here in verse 24.

To proclaim the year of the Lord’s dektos. No prophet is dektos in his hometown. So what Luke has Jesus doing is connecting Isaiah 61 to their rejection. What you do with Jesus is connected with whether or not you receive the blessings of Isaiah 61. They are going to miss out on the good news, the year of the Lord’s favor, because they are trying to limit Jesus to themselves. He’s a limited resource to them.

Jesus now reminds them of two OT stories. One about a starving widow and the other about a Gentile with leprosy. But I want you to notice a couple of things happening in both of these texts.

The story of the widow is found in 1 Kings 17:8-24. There is a famine in the land. The people have gone after worshiping Baal instead of the Lord. Baal was the god of rain. And so God dries up the rain to show the Israelites that He is Lord and not Baal. But this drought is impacting everyone. And there is a widow with her son…only one piece of bread left. Her plan is to have one last meal and then die with her son of starvation. But Elijah comes and says, “give me a piece of that bread.” God had stirred her heart and she does what is absolutely against her parental instincts. She shares the bread. And what happens? “The jar of flour was not spent, neither did the jug of oil become empty, according to the word of the LORD that he spoke to Elijah”.

And Jesus says, “There were several widows in Israel...” why didn’t God go to them?

Similar thing with Naaman. He’s a Gentile leader. Gets leprosy. Is told if you bathe in the Jordan you’ll be cleansed. He says, “that’s just silly. We’ve got better rivers..with more healing properties than in this foreign land of the Jews. But he’s convinced. He ends up bathing in the Jordan and his leprosy is healed.

And Jesus says, “we had lots of lepers in Israel. Why’d only Naaman…the Syrian…why was it only him that was healed of his leprosy?”

“Physician, heal yourself.” The Father didn’t do that, remember those stories?

Now we have verse 28. They are filled with wrath. V29 they try to throw him off a cliff. But he escapes out of their grasp. Why are they so angry? Because they feel like those illustrations I shared in the beginning. How can he give the children’s bread to a Gentile? How can he not honor his hometown? How can he do this to us? He’s one of us…what kind of prophet doesn’t care for his own people first? This is a false teacher is what he is...

I like how one commentator put this:

It is not so much that Jesus goes elsewhere because he is rejected as that he is rejected because he announces that it is God’s will and his mission to go elsewhere.

But I think there is something that they missed in those OT stories. Notice what happens with the widow. She has bread…one piece of bread. If she eats it then it’s gone. Some outsider comes in and says…can you give me that bread.” You don’t do that, it isn’t right. Feed yourself first. But she does the unthinkable and what happens…? The bread last forever.

Same thing with Naaman. He wants healing in his own land. But instead he embraces the outsider…he bathes in the Jordan and he’s healed.

So what’s happening here? We must reject this idea that the bread of the Messiah can run out. We must reject the idea that when it comes to the gospel it’s insider first. This jubilee is for the outsider.

I’m indebted to Russell for this illustration. Do you know why the Dead Sea is dead? Because it doesn’t have anywhere to flow out to. It’s not connected to a river system. It only flows into and not out of. As such it’s stagnant, it’s stale, it ends up dying.

That’s what is happening here. And it’s what will happen to us as believers if we turn inward. If we treat the gospel like a limited resource.

Certainly something to be said for the necessity of self-care. There are seasons when we get broken and hurt and need to get filled back up for a bit. You can’t be rung out all the time. But there’s also something to be said for the Dead Sea. And that principle of the widow. There is a way in which being spent for others actually increases our ability to give even more.

If we think the gospel is limited…then we are going to limit it. We’re going to want it for ourselves. We’re going to try to get fat on the gospel and it’s going to shrivel up just like that manna did. I’m not equipped…I can’t....share what you’ve got and you’ll get more in the morning. You don’t share…it’ll whither.

One more thing from this text...

If I read a verse like Revelation 21:1-8....

Revelation 21:1–8 ESV

Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.” And he who was seated on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.” Also he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.” And he said to me, “It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. To the thirsty I will give from the spring of the water of life without payment. The one who conquers will have this heritage, and I will be his God and he will be my son. But as for the cowardly, the faithless, the detestable, as for murderers, the sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, their portion will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death.”

Why didn’t I read verse 8? What are you thinking? Are you troubled? Does it feel like I’m copping out? You know why we do that? Because we think Revelation 21:1-7 is our verse and verse 8 is for “them”. The outsiders. Be bold pastor. Tell those sinners that if they don’t repent they have no part in the kingdom.

And so if I leave it off it sounds like I’m just sharing a cushy gospel.

But can I show you something…I want you to read along in Luke 4:18-19. But I”m going to read straight out of Isaiah 61

Isaiah 61:1–2 ESV

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

So why leave that part out, Jesus? Because that’s part of what he’s doing here. That’s part of why this is so offensive. That’s why they celebrate at the beginning…because they are hearing “their verses”.

Good news to the poor. That’s not just economic. But it’s also not only spiritual. The poor in the Scriptures is a far-reaching term that points to all those of a disadvantaged status…those who would have been excluded.

Liberty to the captives. That’s going to be great news to those who are feeling the bondage of being exiles. Great to those In Jesus’ time who are under Roman rule. They are going to hear this as freedom from Rome.

Recovering sight to the blind. Again those who are disadvantaged…but has spiritual connotations as well. This should have been a clue even of Gentile inclusion. Those who are in darkness have seen a great light…that’s included here.

Liberty to those who are oppressed. Freedom. Ultimately freedom from sin. Freedom from Satan’s bondage.

All of those who are normally excluded now get to hear, “it is the year of the Lord’s favor. It is a year of Jubilee”. We love that message....for us. But what happens when Jesus turns that and instead he emphasizes this message of great and marvelous and endless grace to the outsider. That person you don't’ like.

I think far too often our message of the gospel would be more at home with the first century Jews than what Jesus is saying here. We are insiders..you guys can become insiders too if you’ll just....fill in the blank.

But Jesus is saying…go tell them they are free, go tell them liberty, go give them hope…go proclaim good news.

Doesn’t that change our gospel conversations and why we are doing this? It’s not so that we can go make an outsider an insider. We’ve done a somewhat decent job of trying to help people become Christians…but I don’t know that we’ve done the best of discipling people to actually be with Christ.

“There is always a secular mentality that no doubt wants to come to have the name of being Christian but wants to become Christian as cheaply as possible”. What the gospel is calling you to do is to come with all of your being to Jesus—humbly and desperately—and saying, Jesus I don’t know all of who you are but I want to trust you with all of me.

Do you see the difference here in how we view others. One beggar telling another where to get bread. That’s so much different than saying, “I’ve got the correct worldview, I know all the right facts, and you can have all the blessings of these right facts if you’ll just embrace my system of thinking”. What if instead the good news is actually you know....GOOD NEWS.

God saves sinners. God is for you. God aims to set you free.

I can free you. I can fix this. I can forgive you.

You are free. You are healed. You are forgiven.