Download - In The Footsteps Of The Master: The Life and Times of Jesus Christ Jesus Rejected at Nazareth Luke 4:16-30 February 22, 2009

In The Footsteps Of The Master:In The Footsteps Of The Master:The Life and Times of Jesus ChristThe Life and Times of Jesus Christ

Jesus Rejected at Nazareth

Luke 4:16-30

February 22, 2009

www.FootstepsOfTheMaster.info

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Translation SpectrumTranslation Spectrum


The BeginningThe Beginning• Luke 4:14-16

– “14And Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit to Galilee, and a report about him went out through all the surrounding country. 15And he taught in their synagogues, being glorified by all. 16And 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.” (ESV)


SynagogueSynagogue• “Real” center of religious life in palestine• There was only ONE TEMPLE• Nearly every town and village had a

Synagogue• The law said that wherever there were 10

Jewish families there must be a Synagogue• No sacrifice in Synagogue (Temple only)• Synagogue was for teaching• How did Jesus get to deliver His message

there?


3-Part Synagogue Service3-Part Synagogue Service• 1. The worship part in prayer was offered

• 2. The reading of the scriptures– 7 men from the congregation read– Read in ancient Hebrew, which was translated

by the Targumist into Aramaic or Greek

• 3. Teaching part of the service– There were no “professional ministers” or a

single person to deliver the address– President would invite any distinguished person

present to speak - Jesus took the floor


First SermonFirst Sermon• Luke 4:16-19

– “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.” (ESV)


All Eyes FixedAll Eyes Fixed• Verse 20

– “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.”

• Opens up the scroll, reads a messianic prophecy, and sits down

• Everyone in the synagogue just stares at Him

• Crowd probably thinking “are you just going to read it or expound upon it.”


ElucidatingElucidating• Verse 21

– “And he began to say to them, ‘Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.’”

• What did Jesus just claim?

• “I’m THE MESSIAH.”

• So He's in His hometown. He grabs the scroll of Isaiah, opens it up, reads a messianic prophecy, and then He just sits down. He waits for everyone to stare at Him and goes, “That's Me.”

All Spoke Well of HimAll Spoke Well of Him• Luke 4:22

– “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?’"

• They are not saying: “Oh, we don’t have to listen to this guy”

• Instead: “How profound, how unbelievable is it that Jesus is teaching with such authority”– We know his background– We know his past, and he shouldn't be able to do

that– They are marveling, and are excited about Jesus


False ExpectationsFalse Expectations• “I am, I'm here now to fulfill this”—here's what

they're hearing: that, “Jesus has come, Joseph's son is going to make those of us who are poor not poor anymore.

• Hey, Rome is oppressing us, but Jesus is going to come; and He's going to make it so Rome will pay

• It's not just Israel, but it's the good people in Israel. Because there are some in Israel who like Rome, and who do not follow the Torah.

• So the coming Messiah is about the exaltation of Israel but not all of Israel, just Israel who followed the rules well enough



Its Goes Bad Its Goes Bad • He's reading the scroll. Everybody's

marveled. All this joy is taking place.• And it's going to go horribly, horribly

wrong/right. • Luke 4:23-24

– “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.’” ESV

Two Infuriating Stories Two Infuriating Stories • Luke 4:25-26

– “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.”(story from I Kings 17)

• Entire region was in a severe famine and people were dying


Two Stories ContinuedTwo Stories Continued• God chose to step in and save a widow; and

she wasn't an Israelite• She was a Phoenician• Luke 4:25

– “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”

• Story from 2 Kings 5 - Naaman is a Syrian King

• All of Israel is in a pandemic, and God extends mercy through the prophet Elisha to a foreign king.


Joy to WrathJoy to Wrath• So they're marveling. They're saying, “The

Messiah's here.” There’s great joy. “The Messiah’s here.”

• Then Jesus says, It's not going to look like you think it's going to look

• Luke 4:28-30– “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.”

• Wrath is beyond being upset, is it not?



MisunderstoodMisunderstood• From this moment on, everything He

teaches, how He engages the culture around Him, that the coming Messiah was not simply about the nation of Israel being restored to a prominence

• Or having all their enemies destroyed—even the enemies within the Israel who did not follow God, destroyed

• They completely misunderstood what the coming Messiah and what the gospel of Jesus Christ was always about


Four Major DifferencesFour Major Differences• #1 - It was going to include peoples

from all different ethnic backgrounds• Israel should have brought humility and

compassion for the world, and instead it brought arrogance and disdain

• They hated the Samaritans, Phoenicians, or everyone around them

• They believed Gentiles were created to fuel the fires of Hell!

• Jesus attacks this idea of ethnocentricity


Good SamaritanGood Samaritan• Example: Good Samaritan

• The Levite sees this man beat up and bleeding and passes him by

• The priest comes by and sees a man beaten up and bleeding and passes him by

• Who’s the hero of compassion in the story?

• Answer: The Samaritan

Attacking Ethnocentric ViewAttacking Ethnocentric View• Healing of Ten Lepers• Jesus does some “long distance” healing and

only one comes back….who?– The Samaritan

• Matthew 21:33-43 – Jesus tell the story of the vineyard owned by the great king– He sent his son, the prince, to gather up the fruit

of that vineyard– Workers rose up against the king's son and killed

him– So he throws the workers out, and he'll get new

workers (Israel representing the thrown workers)



Second DifferenceSecond Difference• #2 - The Kingdom was going to include

people with dark pasts and current struggles• Zaccheus, the tax collector - Luke 19• Woman at the well – John 4• Woman caught in adultery - John 8• He is accused by the Pharisees of sitting and

being the friend of tax collectors and sinners – Luke 15

• They thought the Messiah signified the death and destruction of these people. They were outside the kingdom.


Third DifferenceThird Difference• #3 - It was going to take root in the heart, not

in right action alone• The mantra is: “the law, the law, the law, the

law...”• “Hey, you've read in the law that you shouldn't

commit adultery. But I say if you look at every woman with lust, then you've committed the same sin.”

• Or Don’t kill anyone…anger in your heart committed the same sin

• That's horrible. Because up until that point, I'm not guilty (now everyone is guilty)


Going after the HeartGoing after the Heart• Not just love your neighbor”—because I

can love my neighbor—but, “love your enemies.”

• Those who harm you, talk evil of you, etc

• You are to love them ... WHAT?

• Jesus is attacking the heart

• This isn't about doing; this is about being. And to Israel, it was all about doing.


The KingdomThe Kingdom• It's going to be defined by faith in Christ

alone.

• And faith in Jesus is going to trump ethnicity.

• It's going to trump past

• It's going to trump present struggles

• It's going to trump the weight of the law


Let’s Go Back Let’s Go Back • Luke 4:18

– “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor.”

• He's going to teach almost immediately, “Blessed are the poor, and poor in sprit

• Because when you're in need, when difficulty is thrown upon you, you seek the Lord and find Him well

• When Is it easier to fall on your face and in humility cry out to God?


LibertyLiberty• Luke 4:18b

– “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”

• In this scenario, in this time period who is it that's held captive?

• The Pharisees - All they know is the law

• They know nothing of freedom, but a rugged disciplined, painful, behavioral pattern


Liberty (cont.)Liberty (cont.)• What do you think Jesus meant by saying

“recovering of sight to the blind”?

• Possibly people who are being pressed hard by the law?

• Do this, do this, do this and they couldn’t

• So they felt like God had no love for them, had no grace for them, had no mercy for them because they just couldn't get it right


The Lord’s FavorThe Lord’s Favor• What do you think Jesus meant by saying He

was going to “proclaim year of the Lord’s favor”?• To believe that God loves us because of the

cross of Jesus Christ and the shed blood. • Some haven't by faith embraced that. We can

embrace that God loves, but God loves those who do well.

• We've got to read our Bible daily. And we've got to pray every day, and we've got to do that and do this.

• Is that how we get the Lord's favor?


Good NewsGood News• It’s Easy to press in and love a God who

you believe has an infinite amount of love for you

• Versus one who is angry with me

• Children Example

• Dad is angry, child will hide

• Child know Dad will be filled with joy when he sees them, complete opposite behavior

Next WeekNext Week• Jesus Makes Fishers of Men

– Bob McClanahan


Download - In The Footsteps Of The Master: The Life and Times of Jesus Christ Jesus Rejected at Nazareth Luke 4:16-30 February 22, 2009

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