#26 Lu. 4:16-21 JESUS IN THE SYNAGOGUE AT NAZARETH

 

Introduction:

 

    After His baptism and temptation Jesus went back to Galilee and began to

do the work that God had sent Him to the earth to do.  He went from village

to village and from city to city.  He worked His first miracle in Cana of

Galilee at a wedding feast.  After that He worked many miracles.  The

greater number of miracles and the miracles with the greater demonstration

of His power were at the city of Capernaum.  Capernaum, according to Matthew

was the headquarters city for His Galilee ministry.  It has been about a

year now since He has been back to His home town, Nazareth.  In our text

today we see Him return to Nazareth for a brief visit.

 

I.  The return of Jesus to Nazareth and His appearance in the synagogue

    there

 

    V. 16, "And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up: and, as

his custom was, he went into the synagogue on the sabbath day..."  It

appears that Jesus arrived in Nazareth somewhere about mid-week.  He was

there at least a day or two before the sabbath.  Matthew seems to indicate

that He did a few miracles there, but states that He did not do any mighty

miracles there like He had done in Capernaum.  Then when the sabbath did

come, as usual, He went into the synagogue to worship.

    I told you last Sunday that when a noted man would come into the

synagogue, it was the custom of the Jewish rabbi to invite that man to read

the Scripture and to make whatever comments he might have.  I did not tell

you last Sunday that they usually had two Scripture readings in the same

service.  They would first read some passage from the law books, Genesis

through Deuteronomy.  Then they would read a passage from one of the Old

Testament prophets.

    On this particular Sabbath day at Nazareth, Jesus was again called on to

read and to speak as had become common throughout Galilee.  He had sat in

this very synagogue every sabbath day in His earlier years and had never

spoken there.  He had sat silently listening.  But this time as He returns,

He is no longer just an ordinary worshiper in the house of God.  He is now a

famous man.  He has become famous for the miracles that He has performed.

He is famous particularly for the miracles that He had performed in

Capernaum.  He is also at least somewhat famous for the teaching that He has

done in the synagogues throughout Galilee.  So, when Jesus came in this

time, He was asked to read and to speak even there in His some synagogue.

(V.  16), "...and stood up for to read."

 

II.  The Scripture that He read

 

    It was the custom of the day that whoever would read would stand to read

the Scripture and then he would sit down to speak and explain the Scripture.

It is interesting to me that Jesus followed their customs as long as their

customs did not violate a principle of Scripture.

    It is apparent that somebody else had already read from the law books on

this occasion and had already concluded their remarks whatever they may have

been.  When the Scripture was handed to Jesus to read it was a copy of the

Book of Isaiah.  They did not have just one Book which contained all of the

Old Testament books in it.  Each Book of the Bible was written separately.

It was written on a scroll.  That it, it was written on papyrus or animal

skins and was rolled into a roll on two sticks.  It was rolled up on one

stick and the reader would roll it off onto the other stick.  Jesus was

handed the scroll that contained the writings of Isaiah.

    V. 17, "And there was delivered unto him the book of the prophet Esaias.

And when he had opened the book, he found the place where it was written..."

Jesus took the scroll and rolled off a considerable amount of scroll before

He began to read.  Finally He stopped rolling the scroll and He read from

Isaiah 61:1,2.

    Here is what He read:  V. 18-19, "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,

because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent

me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and

recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised,

To preach the acceptable year of the Lord."

    Now note what the prophecy of the Scripture is all about.  It prophesied

that the Spirit of the Lord would come on somebody.  That is, the Holy

Spirit of God would come on somebody to empower Him in what He would do and

to inspire Him in what He would say.

    The prophecy says that this person upon whom the Spirit of the Lord

would come would be anointed of God.  In Old Testament times when a person

was anointed, he was anointed with oil.  The prophets of Old Testament times

were anointed with oil.  So were the Levitical priests anointed.  Also so

were the kings.

    The prophecy goes on to say that the Lord has anointed this person to

preach.  He is to preach the gospel to the poor.  He is to heal the

brokenhearted.  He is to preach deliverance to the captives.  He is to

recover sight to the blind.  He is to set at liberty those who are bruised.

He is to preach the acceptable year of the Lord.

 

III.  What Jesus said about that Scripture

 

    V. 20, "And he closed the book, and he gave it again to the minister,

and sat down. And the eyes of all them that were in the synagogue were

fastened on him."  It was at this point that Jesus gave a brief explanation

of this prophecy.  V. 21, "And he began to say unto them, This day is this

scripture fulfilled in your ears."

    In other words, Jesus said, "I am the one that the prophecy was speaking

about.  I am the one upon whom the Holy Spirit would come.  I am the one who

is anointed of God.  I am the one who is anointed to preach the gospel to

the poor.  I am the one who is to heal the brokenhearted.  I am the one who

is to recover sight to the blind.  I am the one who is to set at liberty

those who are bruised.  I am the one who is to preach the acceptable year of

the Lord." And that is all that He said to them in explanation of the

passage of Scripture.

    Now in the following verses we are going to see the reaction of the

people to what Jesus here said about the prophecies of Isaiah.  But we will

not go on to see their reaction in this sermon.  Rather, I want us to stop

and take a look at the prophecy of Isaiah and see how it applies to Jesus.

    First of all we note that it said that the Spirit of God is upon Jesus.

Luke has already called this to our attention back when he was telling about

the baptism of Jesus.  He said that the Holy Spirit of God came down upon

Jesus in the form of a dove when Jesus was baptized.

    Luke has also called attention to the Spirit being upon Him in the works

of His ministry.  He said that Jesus came in the power of the Spirit into

Galilee.  That is, it was by the power of the Spirit that He worked the

miracles that He worked.  It was by the power of the Spirit that He taught

in the synagogues in such a marvelous way.

    Note also that it was by the Holy Spirit that Jesus was anointed of God

as the prophecy had said that He would be.  He was not anointed with oil.

Rather He was anointed by the Holy Spirit of God.  He was anointed as a

prophet of God.  Moses had said that God would raise up a prophet like unto

him.  Jesus is that prophet.  Jesus is God's spokesman to the world.  Jesus

speaks with the absolute authority of God in all that He says.

    He is also anointed as a Priest.  He is not of the tribe of Levi and so

He is not a Levitical priest.  Rather He is a priest after the order of

Melchizedek.  The book of Hebrews says that He is our High Priest.  He did

not present the blood of bulls or goats or lambs or turtle doves before God.

He presented His own blood a sacrifice for sins.  The blood of the

sacrificial animals could not take away our sin, but the Scripture says that

the blood of Jesus Christ cleanseth us from all sin.

    He is also anointed to be the King.  He did not serve as King at His

first coming.  He could have and would have if that had been in the plan of

God the Father for Him.  But God did not intend for Him to serve as King at

His first coming.  God wanted Him to serve as Prophet and Priest at His

first coming.  As God's prophet He preached and gave God's message to the

world.  Then as our High Priest He gave Himself as a sacrifice for our sin.

But when He comes again it is in the plan of God that Jesus will be King.

He will sit upon the throne of David in Jerusalem and rule the world for a

thousand years.  Then after the millennium is over and the New Jerusalem

comes down to the new earth, Jesus will sit upon the throne of God and rule

the world throughout all eternity.

    The very word, anointed, is involved in the word, Christ.  The Old

Testament word, Messiah, means "The anointed one."  The New Testament word,

Christ, means the same thing.

    Isaiah said further about Jesus that Jesus was anointed to preach the

gospel to the poor.  The word, poor, here is used in two different ways.  It

is used literally and it is used figuratively.

    First of all it is used literally.  God has provided a plan of salvation

that invites all men to be saved, but it almost exclusively the poor who

will turn to Him and be saved.  Jesus told His disciples that it is easier

for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than it is for a rich man to

be saved.  It is not that God does not want the rich to be saved.  It is

just that the rich find it hard to depend totally on Jesus in order to be

saved.  They still feel self-sufficient because of their riches.

    The word, poor, is also used here figuratively.  It is used to express

the idea that those who repent of their sins and trust in Jesus have come to

realize that they have nothing what-so-ever that they can depend on except

Jesus Christ.  When one will reach that state in his life he will call on

Jesus and trust in Jesus and he will be saved.

    Jesus said, "...He hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted..."  Those who

are burdened down with the weight of their own sin can call on Jesus and

have those broken hearts healed.  They will find joy unspeakable and full of

glory.

    Jesus said further, "He hath sent me...to preach deliverance to the

captives."  This is an expression that is taken form the Children of Israel

being in captivity in a foreign land.  Eventually, God had king Cyrus to

make the announcement throughout all his kingdom that all of the Jews who

wanted to could go back to their homeland.  They could go back to Jerusalem.

In a similar way God has seen that we were all held captive by sin.  He has

sent Jesus Christ to call us from that captivity.  Jesus has come to set the

lost sinner free.  Jesus said on one occasion, "If the Son shall make you

free, ye shall be free indeed."

    The prophecy said further of Jesus that He would recover the sight of

the blind.  That was true literally for those blind people who came in

contact with Jesus during His earthly ministry.  But it is true figuratively

for every lost sinner who will call on Jesus for the salvation of the soul.

The writer of the hymn has expressed it this way, "I once was blind, but now

I see."  As lost sinners we were spiritually blind.  The Devil had blinded

our eyes lest we should trust in Jesus and be saved.  But when we did trust

in Jesus to save our souls, we received our spiritual sight.  Now that we

are saved, we will never be blinded by Satan again.

    The prophecy said that the Christ would set at liberty them that are

bruised.  Again the picture is that of captivity to Satan and to sin.  But

it is not captivity only.  The lost sinner is pictured as being battered and

bruised in that captivity.  He is severely battered and bruised by Satan.

In Jesus Christ there is not only liberty from the bondage, but there is

healing for the bruise.  We find not only liberty in Jesus Christ;  we find

great blessings and great joy.

    Finally, the prophet says that the Christ would preach the acceptable

year of the Lord.  There will come the time of judgment for the unsaved.

There will come the time when it will be too late to call on Jesus and ask

Him to have mercy on the soul.  But while there is time to repent and while

there is time to call on Him and be saved, the Lord is busy sending out the

invitation.  The invitation is in keeping with what He said in Isaiah 45:22.

There He said, "Look unto me and be ye saved all ye ends of the earth:  for

I am God and there is none else."

 

IV.  The fulfillment of the Scripture as it applies to our service here

    today

 

    Even right here right now today Jesus is still carrying out His

ministry.  It is only I who stands before you and preaches the word, but it

is the Lord Jesus Christ who has the power to save.  It is Jesus Christ who

is calling out to those who are lost in sin and inviting them to be saved.

It is not that lost sinners should respond to my message today.  Rather it

is that they should respond to the message that Jesus Christ is sending to

them through me and through His word and through the Holy Spirit.  That is

why men ought to respond to the message and call on Jesus Christ and be

saved.  That is why you ought to turn to Jesus Christ and be saved.

    Let me assure you of one thing.  You will never regret it if you turn to

Jesus and ask Him to save your soul.  You will regret it forever and ever if

you don't.   You will thank God for the salvation of your soul throughout

all eternity if you will turn to Him and trust in Him today.

    Won't you come?  You who are lost in sin, won't you come to Jesus Christ

and let Him save your soul?

    If you are saved and you have a need of a good church home, I know of a

good one that I can recommend.  I have no hesitancy in recommending to you

the Pleasant Hill Missionary Baptist Church.

    Conclusion