And [Jesus] 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.” (Luke 4:16–30, ESV)Grace and peace to you from our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen.
Wow! This is quite a way to criticize a sermon. I would ask you to please find a more productive way to critique my sermons.
Jesus visits home. He has a plan. As was his custom, means he had done it before, preaching in the hometown synagogue. He stood up to read, as was the privilege of any adult male, especially one who was recognized as a teacher. He takes the scroll and unrolls it to Isaiah. It was probably the assigned reading for that sabbath. He reads it and sits down for his commentary. All eyes are upon him. The anticipation is thick as they wait for what Jesus will say and do.
In the paragraph just before this account we see Jesus has been doing the all-around Gallilee.
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.” (Luke 4:14–15, ESV)They were anxious to hear what they had heard about.
Then Jesus says,
Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.The words are pregnant with meaning. Today, right now, Scripture has been fulfilled. The same words he will use with the thief on the cross beside him.
And he said to him, “Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in paradise.”” (Luke 23:43, ESV)The word fulfilled means has been fulfilled and will continue to be fulfilled. (perfect, passive, indicative, for the grammar pros among us). In your hearing, the one they hear, Jesus, is fulfilling it. So, what is Jesus saying?
Jesus is talking about his ongoing ministry forthtold by Isaiah. Listen again for the three times preaching is referenced.
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. (Luke 4:18–19, ESV)The word proclaim here is three different words in Greek. It highlights the primary purpose of Jesus ministry. Preaching. The Messiah will be a teacher, it was exactly what the hearers in the Synagogue expected. But the wonderous, confusing thing is that Jesus says the Messiah is here, now.
The crowd marveled at what Jesus said. Could their expectations of the coming of the Messiah be happening? They spoke well of Jesus. What he said was a positive thing. But how could this boy that we have known all our lives be saying such a thing. “Isn’t this Joseph’s son?” The expectation rise, “Will Jesus speak more? Will he heal people, right here, right now?”
Then everything goes south.
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.The room exploded in wrath. Not just anger but wrath, it says. They are overcome with extreme anger. They aren’t just a little bit angry. They are so mad, in fact, they push him out of the synagogue to the precipice of a hill to throw him down and most likely stone him. They want him dead.
The truth is that Jesus has told them, beyond doubt, that he is the Messiah. He wasn’t just Joseph’s son. Their familiarity breeds contempt. They expected the Messiah to appear in power and glory, not the son of someone they knew, a simple tradesman.
Jesus also confronts them with their false understanding of God’s grace. Grace is universal, gentiles also. Jesus points to the nature of the healings in the OT as example. Every example he gives is the healing of a Gentile. They were depending on God’s grace only to themselves. God blesses only the sons of Abraham.
The words Jesus spoke also violated what they expected from the Messiah. They wanted freedom from the Romans. They were not looking for a Savior from sin. They didn’t want repentance and faith to be the means of salvation. Jesus preaches law that cuts them to the heart.
And more so, their hatred is aimed at the truth. Jesus confronts them with the truth about their sinful condition. God intends for the Gospel to be proclaimed to all nations. Instead of repentance and faith, their hearts turn to extreme anger.
All in all, this is a complete rejection of Jesus, the Messiah. He told them it would happen.
Truly, I say to you, no prophet is acceptable in his hometown.And in fact, John’s gospel starts with the same idea.
He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him.” (John 1:11, ESV)Jesus sets before them who he is as their savior. He tells them what the Messiah had come to do, preach the Good News to everyone, including Gentiles. They understood it very well. The knew full well who Jesus said he is, but he was not the savior they wanted.
On the edge of the cliff, they intend to kill him, and make God send a different messiah. But
But passing through their midst, he went away.Jesus would indeed suffer death at the hands of the Jews, but this wasn’t the time. His time was not now but on the cross. There he would suffer at the hands of sinful men. There he would suffer for the sins of the world, and not only for the children of Abraham, but for all. Wonderfully, unexpectedly, that includes you and me. On the cross, God shows himself, his power and grace hidden in suffering and weakness. It is the very thing the people of Nazareth rejected. The hometown boy, born in their very town, not anything special. Jesus went on his way. He passed through their midst. It wasn’t his day to suffer and die. He had much to do. His ministry is based on preaching and teaching as emphasized in the Prophet Isaiah.
Preaching and teaching. The church continues Jesus’ ministry, it is, in fact, Jesus preaching and teaching through simple means right here and now,
Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.Fulfilled. Scripture has been fulfilled today and will continue to be fulfilled in your hearing. The universal Gospel is preached and taught thorough Christ’s Church. Our little church here, the large churches in St. Louis, the thousands of rural churches, dotted across the Midwest, the churches in Europe, Africa, Asia, and all over the world. Everywhere the Gospel is taught in its truth and purity. Oh, and the sacraments are administered according to Jesus words. That is the ongoing ministry of Jesus.
I hope you have a sense of wonder at all of this. You and I can freely gather to receive the ongoing ministry of Jesus. It hasn’t always been the case for Christians of the world. Every Sunday, Jesus himself, reaches out to press the Good News of the forgiveness of sins right into your ears. Every Sunday, Jesus himself, puts his body and blood on your tongue, into your body, and you receive him, and the forgiveness he offers. This is exactly what Jesus foretold on that Sabbath so long ago in Nazareth.
So, the ongoing ministry of Jesus is preaching, particularly the preaching of repentance and forgiveness. I urge you to remember what I said about sermon critic at the beginning of this sermon!
You are a sinner. Sin permeates all you do. If you need a stronger reminder of that look at the Commandments. You sin against them, and God, every day in thought, word and deed. But let’s get very specific. We, collectively, and individually, don’t do enough in our community to ease suffering and share the Gospel. We do send our tithe to the district, and that is good, and rare, but we are place here in this community for God’s purpose. We have been blessed with so many resources, should we not be doing more? Have you given your gifts of income to help those who have lost everything on both coasts? Have you invited a friend or acquaintance to church? Are you afraid of losing your friendship? Are we so focused on our new building that we are ignoring the other needs of the community, and the world?
Jesus says, Repent! Turn to him for forgiveness he so freely gives on the cross. He has suffered for those specific sins, and all your sin, there. He took them to death and the grave. He rose from death to show you your resurrection from death. The penalty for your sin is paid in full. You are his through faith in what he has done for you. Holy Baptism is the sign of his ongoing forgiveness. And even though you continue to sin, every day, he forgives. It is only the power of God, in Jesus on the cross, that changes anything.
Every Sunday, Jesus comes to you in his body and blood on this altar. He comes to strengthen you in your faith. He, along with the deposit of the Holy Spirit, comes to guide you into doing the things you should be doing. When you have Jesus in you, you can and will do what is pleasing to God.
That is the ongoing ministry of Jesus. He said so in his sermon to the people of his hometown, Nazareth. Amen.
The peace of God that passes all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.
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