I know it is hard to believe but it has been four months since we looked at St. Luke’s Gospel. The good news is that we have twenty six weeks of Trinity season ahead of us to get caught up. I am going to continue our tour at the beginning of Christ’s ministry and as we go through this Gospel and look at the passages that are not normally taught in the lectionary. I also hope to have handouts each week to help you remember the main points.

to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor." Luke 4:18, 19

These were the words spoken by Jesus, the first and last time he preached in his home town of Nazareth. However, this was not the first time he preached in a synagogue, in fact, he was a very popular preacher by this time. According to Josephus, there were no less than 204 towns or villages in Galilee with populations of at least 15,000. Every village with 10 or more families had to have a synagogue. That means there were at least 204 synagogues in an area of about 1250 sq. miles with a population of at least 3 million people. Jesus was becoming quit well known throughout the region.

Many scholars believe that it may have been up to a year that Jesus was teaching before he went to Nazareth. This is recorded in the other gospels and alluded to in the verses preceding our lesson today.

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

This was part of the Jesus tour! He had been performing miracles all over Galilee and was attracting a lot of attention. His teachings were getting rave reviews, and everyone wanted to hear him speak. The people of his home town were no exception.

Let’s pause here for a moment and look at this verse.

We have no reason to believe that Jesus was not in synagogue every Sabbath day that he could be. Scripture clearly states that it was his custom to be in synagogue. He may not have agreed with everything that was taught by the Scribes and Pharisees, but it was his Father’s day and this was the place that God was being publicly recognized and worshipped. Is there a practical lesson for the Christian here? Listen to the words of Bp. Ryle:

"[Jesus] would have us know that we are not lightly to forsake any assembly of worshippers, which professes to respect the name, the day and the book of God……If there be but two or three in the congregation who meet in the name of Jesus, there is a special blessing promised. But there is no like blessing promised to him who tarries at home."

Weekly attendance at church is expected of a Christian. Christ is our example and Heb. 10:24,25 bares repeating; "And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another…"

Charles Spurgeon once said; "Some Christians try to go to heaven alone, in solitude. But believers are not compared to bears or lions or any other animals that wander alone. Those who belong to Christ are sheep in this respect, that they love to get together. Sheep go in flocks, and so do God’s people."

Let’s continue; "…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."

After that an honored guest would read from the Prophets and then sit down and teach from that reading. This is where Luke picked things up.

"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. vv17b-20

Why were the eyes of everyone fixed on Jesus? Because this was the great preacher that they had been waiting to hear; this was the home town boy that had made the big time and had now returned to his roots; this was going to be one heck of a sermon.

"That’s it! Today this Scripture has been filled at your hearing! I always knew there was something funny about that kid. This is Joseph and Mary’s son, right. His brothers and sisters still live around here don’t they? He seems nice enough and he speaks well but he must be on something. It sounded like he was saying he is the Messiah."

As it happens, that is exactly what Jesus was saying. They hadn’t heard wrong, they just couldn’t believe what they heard.

Have you ever waited a long time for something? The closer you get to receiving it, the more exited you become. When we were kids it was Christmas that we waited for. Maybe you have waited for a grandchild to arrive? It could be the anticipation of moving into a new home that you are having built? You know that your expectations will be realized when the day arrives.

That is what it was like in Palestine two thousand years ago. The people knew the arrival of the Messiah would be soon. In fact, they had known this for generations. When he arrived he would rescue them from the oppression of the Roman Empire and restore Israel to the people of God. Everyone knew the Messiah would be a political leader, not some traveling preacher!

"Maybe if we just play along he will perform some miracles for us like he did in Capernaum" they thought. But Jesus knew exactly what they were thinking and as usual responded in a manner that would admonish them for their thoughts. Allow me to summarize his response, "Not only are you not going to witness any miracles from me today, but the grace of God that you have been blessed with will be given to the Gentiles. How do you like that?"

They didn’t like it! Not at all! But what was it that Jesus said that made them so mad? Mad enough to take him to a nearby cliff in an attempt to through him off and kill him. Let’s go back and look at his sermon.

When Jesus was handed the scroll it appears that the attendant chose the book but the teacher chose the passage. Jesus "found the place where it was written", and that place was Isaiah 61:1, 2. This was a well known verse that described the vocation of the coming Messiah and, as I have already stated, Jesus applied it to himself. Was there something here that would anger the congregation that day?

Jesus said that the Spirit of the Lord was upon him. This may not have meant as much to his first century audience as it does to us because of the knowledge we have of our Lords baptism, but if the result is the proclamation of good news to the poor, who could argue against that? That was supposed to be Israel’s gift to the world, but somehow the message was never delivered.

The Messiah would also come to free the oppressed and the captive. No doubt the first century Jews saw this as political freedom from Rome, but that is not what God had in mind for His kingdom. Jesus came to set the captives free, but he was not talking about political prisoners or physical oppression. He was referring to the power of sin and Satan over mankind.

Christ defeated both of these enemies on the cross at Calvary and they no longer rule over the life of the Christian. That is the grace of God in our lives but once again, those in the synagogue would have seen this as referring to Israel and there would be no reason to get angry.

Jesus also said that he would give sight to the blind. He had already been doing that by the miracles performed throughout the region. Perhaps his former neighbors were not happy that he didn’t look after the home town folks first?

Their problem wasn’t physical blindness, it was spiritual blindness. The Son of God was sitting before them with a message of salvation. Freedom awaited those who would step forward in faith and believe the good news. Nothing was stopping them from receiving the blessings available to them that day, except their own pride and prejudices.

What was it that the Jews did not want to hear? They did not want to hear that God was going to give the blessings promised to them, to those filthy Gentiles. That is what made them mad. They wanted the wrath of God to be poured out on the Gentiles but instead, the opposite was to happen. God was about to pour out his love upon them.

Rejecting Christ has its consequences, as they found out in Nazareth that day. They had a decision to make after the truth was set before them. They could take it or leave it. They chose to reject it, to their own ruin.

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. vv29-30

That is what happens when we reject Jesus, he just goes away. He doesn’t force himself upon us. He doesn’t beg us to follow him. He leaves us alone. He allows us to live and die with the decisions we make. It is call responsibility and he leaves us with it.

This leaves us with one final thought, what do you do when you are told something that you do not want to hear?

Do you reject it outright?

Do you investigate to find out if it is true?

Do you get mad?

Do you get frustrated?

Do you ignore it?

There are many things Jesus taught that go against what society teaches, but in the end, are we responsible to God, or to society? That is the question we are faced with. We may not like to hear it, but we will be held accountable for the answer. Amen…………