Select all the text in this box and paste your sermon here...

Introduction

Welcome to all who have come to the service, in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. We join together as individuals into the great body of Christ. We believe that the act of coming together is itself worship. We believe that the acts of singing and worship are glorifying to God, that through fellowship with one another we can more greatly understand God's love for his people, and that through the hearing of the Word of God, lives can be changed. And it is not only our individual lives that are changed, but our families, our neighborhoods, our cities and states, nations, and the whole world. We believe that God continues to speak and reveal himself through people and the Word, and therefore we come with great expectation and hope to meet with our maker and Savior.

But it is often difficult to realize God's presence in our lives. Those who preach the Christian message claim that God can be found in the Scripture. But often times it appears to be an outdated book: that the people and events are long forgotten. At times it appears to be void of any life and energy. Dates, geneologies, "who-begat-whom," and so forth. We are sometimes tempted to believe that our context is all-too different, and therefore the words cannot apply. But, just as John Bright says: "It takes no skill, nor even a very sharp conscience, to point out that our society, like that of ancient Israel, is shot through with the crimes which Amos denounced: injustice and greed, immorality, pleasure-loving ease, and venality." Do you know what the definition of venality is? I didn't, and so I looked it up: "The use of position of trust for dishonest gain." How fallen is our culture, that we would dare to use our positions of trust to gain at the expense of others. But we believe that God continues to speak through his Word. And we believe that not only is it full of life, but it is life itself! We believe that the Holy Spirit continues to speak and move when God's people join together in fellowship, in humility, and in worship. Praise God!

I have experienced a greater belief in the reading of the Word of God and the belief in the act of preaching as I have prepared for this mornings message. Just as it is easy to think that the Scriptures are at times lifeless, we can also succumb to the belief that the act of preaching is merely a human event. That is is my words and thoughts, spoken at people. We forget that Jesus example is one of preaching the Good News with great power through the Holy Spirit. And we have that same Spirit. We believe that the Holy Spirit continues to speak through his Word and through those who preach it. So, I pray with great humility, that this morning we, as the body of Christ, will hear a message that God has for us, despite my own failures and difficulties.

And so it is with great hope and expectation of God moving in this place that we turn to the Scriptures. The text for this morning comes from Luke 4:14-30. But before we read and study the specified text, we need to understand a bit of history. For Jesus lived and preached to a real people at a real time, who were faced with very real expectations. The understanding of the expectations of the Jewish people he spoke to is a necessity when interpreting this text.

History

The Jewish people were a people expected with great hope the working of God in their own lives. We can trace this expectation back to Genesis, where we read of the covenant made with God's servant Abram (Genesis 12:2-3), (Genesis 17:4-8). It is in these verses that "The God," Yahweh, establishes a covenant with a man. It is to be a promise not only to this man, but to all of his descendants. He will be there God, and they will be his people. He will bless them, and they will be a blessing to others.

Years later, this group of people is more greatly defined through the Exodus event (Ezekiel 20:5-7). The understanding of this people is that they, ethnic Israel, who have been brought out of captivity into the wilderness and into the promised land, are the people of God. God's covenant is made and promised to them. Even though they constantly face oppression and hardship, this nation never gave up on their belief in Yahweh, the I AM, and his selection of his people. He would one day make this people great. This was never doubted. John Bright says that, "we can find no period in her history when Israel did not believe that she was the chosen people of Yahweh."

There were differing expectations from the Israelites. Some awaited political restoration. These people (the Zealots) had high hopes of the nation becoming like that of old: like that of the reign of King David. Other nations would see the greatness of Israel's wealth and power and look with envy. Other nations would know that Yahweh is the True God. For look how he has blessed his people!

There were some who looked expectantly for what is known as the Holy Commonwealth. These people (the Pharisees) understood that God would not restore the nation of Israel until the people became righteouss enough. The encouraged and taught that the peoples' needed to follow the law more closely, and then, when righteousness was at the appropriate level, God would intervene.

And finally, there were those who awaited an apocolyptic fulfillment of the covenant (Daniel 7:13-14).That no person, no amount of adhering to the law in righteousness, would spurn the coming of the Kingdom of God. It had to be through Yahweh, through the coming of the Messiah. The apocolyptic fulfillment is actually one of great destruction. "Things cannot get better until they are made anew."

What we need to understand before moving on, is that these people were defined by their hope. Never did they doubt who they were or their God. They were actively looking for the political leader, the Messiah, or God himself, who would reach into their nation and land and lead his people to great status and fully establish his people. It is to these people that Jesus' lived and preached. And understanding this history helps us to better understand why Jesus' message was so rejected.

• Jesus lived, preached, and taught within a particular setting. Verses 14-17 describe this setting. Jesus, being full of the Holy Spirit, came to the area of Galilee. He was in his hometown, and found in the synagogue on the sabbath as was his custom. First it is important to note that Jesus was full of the Holy Spirit. Earlier in Luke, chapter 3, we read that Jesus was filled at his baptism with the Holy Spirit, as evidenced by the dove coming upon him. Then, in chapter 4, we read that the Spirit led Jesus into the wilderness where he was tempted for 40 days by the devil. Now, Jesus enters into his hometown with the power of that same Spirit. It was his custom to be found in the synagogue, reading and explaining Scripture. And he was well accepted. We find that these people have heard about the man named Jesus. He had been doing miracles in Capernaum. Already at this point, we have to imagine that the people were asking questions: "Could he be the political answer we were waiting for?" "Could he be the Messiah?" "Is he the answer?" For he was doing great things, and he was being accepted.
• Jesus is found in the synagogue as was his custom. It was common custom to be in the synagogue, engaged in preaching and prayer. The syngague differs from the temple. For any place where there were 10 or more Jewish men, a synagogue would be found.
• Level 2
• Level 3