Luke 4:14-30

Gospel of Luke chapter 4.

Luke 4 · chapter mention

If you're looking in one of the Pew Bibles, it's page 859.

As we prepare to look into God's Word, let's pray.

Lord, as we just sung, we acknowledge you as the fount of every blessing.

Lord, we acknowledge that we are prone to wander away.

We pray that through your Word this morning that you would once again seal our hearts,

work in us by your Spirit to draw us near to you,

to assure us of your grace and mercy,

and to call us and equip us for what you've called us to do.

Be with us today in Jesus' name. Amen.

Well, this morning we're beginning a new series in the Gospel of Luke entitled,

Who is This?

From now until Easter, we'll be walking through chapters 4 through 8 of the Gospel of Luke.

And we've chosen this part of Scripture to focus on,

partly because it's just been a few years since we've preached through part of one of the Gospels in the morning service,

and partly because the Gospels, perhaps more than any other part of Scripture,

focus our attention directly on the person of Jesus.

The heart of Christianity is not just a theological idea,

or an ethical directive,

or a spiritual experience.

At the heart of Christianity is the person of Jesus Christ.

And one of the main questions that the disciples and the crowds ask over and over in this section of Luke is,

Who is this one?

And Jesus himself will ask that question to his disciples,

Who do you say that I am?

And that's the question we want to focus on over the next few months,

is looking at the person of Jesus.

If you're not a follower of Jesus,

if you're exploring Christianity,

this is a great series for you,

because we're focusing on the person who's right at the heart of the Christian faith.

This is who it's all about.

This is the one on whom Christianity stands or falls.

This is the person whom you need to know above all else.

If you're a new believer in Jesus,

this will help you grow.

As we look at the beginning of Jesus' ministry,

when he calls his disciples to him,

and begins teaching them who he is and what he's all about.

And if you've been following Jesus for a long time,

I hope that this time in the Gospel of Luke will refocus our attention once again,

on the one who is truly central in our faith.

And sometimes we can get distracted,

even disillusioned by life's trials and troubles.

Sometimes we can get excited and engaged in many good and worthwhile endeavors.

But along the way, we can lose our focus on Jesus himself.

And I hope this series will help us fix our eyes on him in a fresh way.

So this morning we're reading Luke chapter 4, verses 14 to 30.

Luke 4:14–30

Let's read these verses together.

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.

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.

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.

Then 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 in 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.

This morning we're looking at

the opening of Jesus' public ministry

in the Gospel of Luke,

his inaugural speech, if you will,

that sets the stage for all that is to come.

And this morning we'll see two main things

about Jesus and his mission.

The first thing that we'll see

is that Jesus came to comfort the afflicted.

Verse 14 to 22.

The first half of this passage

is focused primarily on Jesus' words

in verses 18 and 19.

If you notice, verse 16 to 20

all sort of surround these words.

Verse 16 begins,

he went to the synagogue,

he stood up to read,

the scroll was given to him,

he unrolls the scroll,

and then he reads.

And then the same things happen

in reverse order.

He rolls up the scroll,

he gives it back,

he sits down,

and then there's another reference

to the people in the synagogue.

And so this beginning of this passage

focuses us on these words

that he quotes from the prophet Isaiah,

and then what he says in verse 21,

today this scripture has been fulfilled

in your hearing.

Jesus came to comfort the afflicted.

And he did so by teaching from the scriptures.

That's the,

under the heading of comforting the afflicted,

I want to make three sub points,

and this is the first one.

He comforted the afflicted from the scriptures.

Now this is actually the only recorded sermon

of Jesus in a synagogue

that we have recorded for us in the gospels.

And obviously it's a summary of what he said,

it's not every word he said,

but the focus is

how Jesus' ministry is to be interpreted

by scripture,

how he's the fulfillment of scripture.

The first thing Jesus did to begin his public ministry

was reading the scriptures.

So we see that Jesus' public ministry

was not only about healing sicknesses

or driving out demons

or being present with hurting people,

though he would do all of those things,

it began with proclaiming and teaching

the word of God.

Verse 15 says,

he taught in their synagogues.

And that's a word that indicates

an ongoing pattern,

not just a one-time action.

But this was what Jesus was going around doing,

teaching.

Now, of course,

Jesus' word and Jesus' works go together.

Jesus did all the kinds of works

that he talks about in his word.

But here we see the importance of the scriptures

to Jesus and his ministry.

And before we get into the content of those,

I want us to see that we can't understand Jesus

apart from the scriptures that he quoted.

You know, even think about it.

When Jesus stood up,

they gave him a scroll of the prophet Isaiah.

Now, if you've ever read Isaiah,

it's a long book.

Right now, in the modern Bibles,

there are 66 chapters.

Back then, there were no chapter and verse divisions.

It was just a long scroll.

So how did Jesus know where to turn in the scroll?

Think about it.

Most of us would get up there,

they give you a big scroll,

and you think,

hmm, yeah, there's this passage

that's in here somewhere.

Hmm, hmm, is it here?

Fumbling around for five minutes.

Jesus wasn't fumbling around for five minutes.

He opened the scroll.

He knew the scriptures because he had studied them.

He had meditated on them.

He had reflected on them.

He knew the scriptures.

And so he could open up the scriptures

and speak to the people

and speak about what he himself

had come to do and to be.

So let me encourage us

in this new year to read the scriptures.

You know, maybe you have trouble reading.

Well, there are many other options.

You can listen to the Bible on CD.

You can download it on your phone.

Listen to it while you're in the car,

on the bus, walking to work.

Maybe you have trouble understanding the scriptures.

Join a Bible study group.

Or talk to someone

who's maybe been a Christian for a little while

and say, I'm having trouble understanding.

Can we get together and read the Bible together?

If you're not sure who to ask,

come and talk to one of the pastors or the elders.

Or to one of the Bible study leaders.

If Jesus defined his own ministry

with reference to the scriptures,

so must we.

If Jesus prioritized teaching

and learning from the scriptures,

so must we.

If Jesus looked, directed his hearers

to the scriptures to find comfort

and direction, so must we.

So brothers and sisters,

let us spend time in God's word this year.

Sometimes we can look for comfort

when we long for comfort everywhere else

except in the word of God.

And Jesus says, start in the word of God.

That's how he comforts the afflicted

through the word of God.

Second sub point,

Jesus came to comfort the afflicted

as God's servant.

Now Jesus quoted

from the passage we read earlier

in the service, Isaiah 61,

the spirit of the Lord is upon me

because he has anointed me.

Now if you read the book of Isaiah,

and especially if you come to chapter 42,

you'll notice that Isaiah

at several points

talks about this figure

whom he calls

the servant of the Lord.

So chapter 42 of Isaiah begins,

behold my servant

whom I uphold,

I have put my spirit upon him.

So Isaiah is speaking

of this person

who is a spirit-filled servant

of the Lord.

Now in some ways,

does Isaiah see himself

as that spirit-filled servant

of the Lord?

Perhaps in some ways.

Does he see Israel as a nation,

as being called to that?

Perhaps in some ways.

But Jesus sees himself

as the ultimate,

as the fulfillment

of Isaiah's figure,

of the servant.

So let me just sort of

explain this figure of the servant

a little that Isaiah speaks about.

So Isaiah 42 begins,

behold my servant,

I've put my spirit upon him.

And then we see this servant

is gentle and compassionate

to comfort.

Chapter 42, verses 2 and 3,

he will not cry aloud

or lift up his voice

or make it heard in the street.

A bruised reed

he will not break

and a faintly burning wick

he will not snuff out.

He's gentle.

He's compassionate

to comfort the weak

and helpless.

But he's also powerful

and mighty to save.

Chapter 42, verse 6 and 7,

I will give you

as a covenant for the people,

a light for the nations

to open blind eyes,

to bring out prisoners

from the dungeon,

from the prison,

those who sit in darkness.

Isaiah 49 says

that the servant

will bring salvation

not just to Israel

but to the ends of the earth.

He says,

I will make you a light

to the nations

that my salvation

may reach to the end

of the earth.

And then if you go on,

Isaiah 50 and 52 and 53

speak about the suffering

and then the victory

of this servant.

He's one who would be

despised and rejected,

a man of sorrows,

well acquainted with grief,

one who would be pierced

for our transgressions,

crushed for our iniquities.

He would suffer

in the place of sinners.

And then yet he would be victorious.

The end of chapter 53 says,

he shall see his offspring

and prolong his days.

The righteous one,

my servant,

shall make many

to be accounted righteous.

And Isaiah 61,

even though it doesn't use

the phrase,

the servant of the Lord,

it seems very clearly

to be talking about

the same person.

Look at these verses

that Jesus quotes from.

The spirit of the Lord

is upon me.

He's a spirit anointed person.

And Luke has pointed out

several times

Jesus is full of the spirit.

Chapter 4, verse 1 and 14.

He's gentle and compassionate

to comfort,

bringing good news to the poor.

Isaiah speaks of him

binding up the brokenhearted.

But he's also powerful

and mighty to save,

proclaiming liberty

to the captives

and recovering of sight

to the blind.

And as we'll see later

in this passage,

he came to bring salvation

not just for the people of Israel

but to all the nations

of the earth.

And later on,

the Gospel of Luke

will show us

that the salvation

Jesus came to bring

would come through

his suffering

and ultimately

through his death

on the cross.

That's how he would

achieve his victory.

So Luke is introducing us

and Jesus is saying,

I am this servant

of the Lord,

the one of whom

Isaiah prophesied

so long ago.

in him,

in Jesus,

we will find

all the strength

and all the comfort

and all the salvation

that we need.

You see,

when Jesus preached,

he didn't just start

by giving us good advice.

He didn't just start

by saying,

here are the things

that you need to change

to make your life better.

He started by saying,

God has sent me.

This is what I've come

to do.

I've come to do

what you could never

do on your own.

I've come to bring

good news

that you could never earn

and never deserve.

So Jesus came

to comfort the afflicted

through the Scriptures.

He came to comfort

the afflicted

as God's servant.

And he came to comfort

the afflicted

both physically

and spiritually.

You know,

many people have asked,

well,

who is Jesus speaking about?

Is he speaking about

people who are

physically poor,

blind,

oppressed?

Or is he speaking

about spiritual poverty,

blindness,

oppression?

I think the answer

is yes.

Both.

There's an important sense

in which Jesus

is speaking about

people who are literally

poor,

captive,

blind,

and oppressed.

Howard Thurman,

who is a close friend

of Martin Luther King,

Sr.,

wrote this

back in about 1949.

He said,

I can count on the fingers

of one hand

the number of times

that I have heard

a sermon on the meaning

of Christianity

to the man who stands

with his back

against the wall.

The masses of men

and women live

with their backs

constantly against

the wall.

They are the poor,

the disinherited,

the dispossessed.

What does Christianity

say to them?

The search for an answer

to this question

is perhaps the most

important religious quest

of modern life.

And maybe that's exactly

how you feel.

You feel like your back

is against the wall.

You feel desperate,

trapped,

distressed,

depressed.

Impossible demands

are being made of you.

How can you ever meet them?

Terrible things

have been done to you.

Is there any hope

of healing?

Life seems perpetually

overwhelming

and there seems

no way out.

And Jesus speaks

specifically to you

here.

You know,

he doesn't just say

I've come for anybody

and everybody,

though he will say that

at other times.

He says I've come

for the poor,

for the captives,

for the blind,

for the oppressed,

for the people who

would think that

anybody and everybody

means anybody

and everybody else

except me.

and Jesus says

to you specifically

I've come for you.

He chose to be born

as a Jew

in the line of Abraham

in a time and place

where Jews were

an oppressed minority

in a family

that was not rich

because he wants

to communicate

he can identify

with you

whatever your

affliction may be.

And you know,

in the history

of the world,

whenever Jesus'

teachings have been

taken seriously,

the poor,

the captives,

the blind,

the oppressed

have found renewed

hope and joy

and they've been

treated with increased

dignity

and compassion.

Even many

non-Christians

have recognized

this.

In the ancient world,

in the fourth

century AD,

the pagan Roman

emperor Julian

said this.

He said,

these impious

Galileans,

that was his

derogatory name

for Christians,

these impious

Galileans not only

feed their own

poor people,

they feed ours.

Also,

they devote

themselves to

works of charity,

see their love

feasts,

their Christian

assemblies,

and their tables

spread for the

destitute.

Such practice

is common

among them

and causes

contempt for

our traditional

pagan gods.

Or in the

modern world,

Gandhi.

Gandhi never

embraced

Christianity.

He said he was

a Hindu to the

end of his

life,

but he was

deeply attracted

to something

in Jesus,

in the Sermon

on the Mount,

and in Jesus'

example of

self-sacrificial

love.

And his

non-violent

movement was

deeply influenced

by Jesus'

example and

teachings.

Or consider

Jürgen

Habermas,

the Christian

social,

he's not a

Christian,

the German

social theorist

who wrote

this,

the ideals

of freedom,

conscience,

human rights,

and democracy

are the direct

legacy of the

Judaic ethic

of justice,

that is the

Old Testament

ethic of justice,

and the Christian

ethic of love.

Up to this

very day,

there is no

alternative to it.

everything else

is idle

post-modern

talk.

Strong words

from a scholar

who back in

the 80s said,

religion is just

an alienating

reality and a

tool of control.

And he says,

the Jewish

and Christian

legacy of

justice and

love that

comes from

the Bible

is the root

of our ideals

of freedom,

conscience,

human rights,

and democracy.

Yes,

the Bible

has been

misused

to control

and manipulate

people.

Yes,

the Bible

has been

twisted out

of context

to support

slavery and

segregation and

all kinds of

other evils,

but Jesus came

to bring good

news for the

poor and the

oppressed.

And whenever

people have

taken his

teachings seriously,

it has made

a difference.

Jesus is not

just speaking

about people

who are

physically

poor,

captive,

blind,

and oppressed.

He's also

speaking about

a spiritual

reality.

And this is

actually a

challenging

thing because

Jesus is saying,

do you realize

that you too

are spiritually

speaking

poor,

captive,

blind,

and oppressed.

Jesus says,

you're spiritually

poor.

In other words,

as a finite

creature,

everything that

you have

is on loan

from God.

You own

nothing.

You didn't

create yourself.

Even more than

that,

you are in debt

to God because

you have not

done what you

should have done

and you have

done things that

you shouldn't

have done.

And there's no

way that you

can pay God

back.

You are

spiritually poor.

you're spiritually

captive.

We are by

nature captives

to our sin

whether it's

manifest itself

as pride

or greed

or lust

or fear

of other

people.

Jesus says,

we cannot

simply free

ourselves

because we're

spiritually blind.

You know,

most of the

ways that we

hurt other

people,

we don't even

realize.

realize.

Maybe the

people around

us realize.

They can see

and feel

all the ways

that we hurt

one another.

But we're

often blind

to our

greatest

weaknesses.

And the

Bible also

says that we

don't even

recognize most

of the ways

that we

deeply

offend

God,

our

creator.

Jesus says

we're

spiritually

oppressed.

Not only

by our

own

patterns

of sin

but

vulnerable

to dark

spiritual

forces

that are

out to

steal

and kill

and destroy.

And ultimately

Jesus' message

is only good

news

for us

if we

identify

ourselves

spiritually

in these

ways.

If we

acknowledge

that we

are not

self-sufficient

and we

need

help

from

outside

ourselves.

But if we

acknowledge

that then

his word

is good

news

because

he's

come

to

comfort

the

afflicted

to

proclaim

good

news

for the

poor

and

freedom

for the

captives

and light.

He shows

us who

we really

are.

He gives

us insight

and wisdom

into who

we are

and into

the world

that he's

made

and into

who God

is most

of all.

And he

gives us

release.

That word

release is

the same

word that

is sometimes

translated

forgiveness.

Release

from the

burden

of our

sin.

Forgiveness

for our

guilt

and favor

from God.

Jesus

has come

to comfort

the afflicted

from the

scriptures

as God's

servant

both physically

and spiritually.

That's the

first thing

we see

in this

passage.

But we

also see

a second

thing

in verses

22 to

30

that Jesus

has come

to challenge

the comfortable.

Notice

the crowd's

initial reaction

to Jesus.

Verse

14.

A report

about him

went out

through all

the surrounding

country.

His fame

is growing.

Verse

15.

He's being

glorified

by all.

Verse

17.

He's given

the honor

of reading

the scriptures

publicly

in the

synagogue

and given

the invitation

to expound

upon them

publicly.

Verse

19.

The eyes

of all

are fixed

on him

in a sense

of expectant

trust.

Verse

22.

All

spoke

well

of him

and marveled

at the words

coming from

his mouth.

But then

notice how

the crowd's

reaction

flips.

And it

starts in

verse 22

when they

say,

isn't this

Joseph's

son?

Now what

does that

statement

mean?

It seems

like there's

at least

some

criticism

or skepticism

expressed

in that

statement.

Perhaps

even

mockery

or scorn.

What

is this

carpenter's

son?

This

small town

boy that

we've all

grown up

with.

What is

he doing

saying that

the scriptures

are fulfilled

in him?

That he

is the

promised

servant

of the

Lord.

That seems

rather arrogant

and self

important.

How can

he be

saying that

about himself?

Isn't

he just

Joseph's

son?

And then

in verse

28 and

29 it

gets worse.

They're

filled with

wrath.

They drive

him out

of town

and they

try to

throw him

off a

cliff.

They

start out

praising

him,

marveling

at him,

adoring

him.

They end

up furious

at him.

Wanting

to get

rid

of him.

What did

Jesus say

here that

was so

challenging,

that was so

provocative to

them?

We'll look

down at

verse 23

to 27.

Verse 23

and 24,

Jesus refers

to two

well-known

proverbs.

Physician,

heal yourself

and then

no prophet

is acceptable

in his

hometown.

both

were well-known

statements

that

acknowledged

people's

tendency

to reject

prophets

and

teachers,

especially

those who

are closest

to them.

And it's

sort of like

Jesus is

looking at

them and

saying,

yeah,

I know

how this

is going

to end

and it's

not going

to be

pretty

because I

won't be

able to

please you

because

ultimately

I haven't

come to

please you.

My purpose

is to do

the will

of my

father in

heaven.

And I

see

that you're

not going

to understand

that.

Now this

is where

Jesus had

been brought

up.

This is

Nazareth.

This was

his hometown.

He knew

these people

pretty well.

And so

he didn't

get caught

up in

their initial

expressions

of enthusiasm

and admiration.

He perceived

that underneath

they were

deeply at

odds with

his mission

and his

message.

And so

he spoke

some

challenging

words that

exposed their

underlying

attitudes.

Now verse

25 to

27,

Jesus gets

even more

specific.

He doesn't

just point

to this

general

pattern that

people often

reject,

prophets and

teachers,

especially those

closest to

them.

But he

says this,

he says,

there were

many widows

in Israel

in the days

of Elijah

during a

great famine,

a time of

divine judgment,

and Elijah

was sent to

none of

them,

but only

to a

woman who

was a

widow in

Zarephath

in the

land of

Sidon.

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.

And you

might say,

what exactly

is the

point that

Jesus is

making here?

Well,

Jesus is

speaking about

two of the

greatest

prophets in

the Old

Testament,

Elijah and

Elisha.

And he's

pointing out a

pattern that

happened in

both of their

ministries.

In both

cases,

native Israelites

were passed

over in

favor of

foreign

outsiders.

outsiders.

And even

more than

that,

they were

passed over

in favor

of foreign

outsiders who

were historically

hostile to the

nation of

Israel.

The land of

Sidon had

often been at

war with

Israel.

Naaman,

the Syrian,

was a military

commander.

He had

attacked

Israel.

And Jesus

says this was

not an

accident.

It was part

of God's

plan.

Do you

notice verse

26?

It says,

Elijah was

sent.

It's what

is sometimes

called a

divine

passive.

In other

words,

it's a

passive

verb,

he was

sent,

that points

to divine

action.

Who sent

him?

God sent

him.

Elijah was

sent by

God.

Verse 27,

none of

them was

cleansed by

God,

only Naaman.

Now,

why would

this so

infuriate

the people

of Nazareth?

Well,

Jesus was

living in

a historical

time period

when many

people in

Israel were

fervently

hoping for

a restoration

of their

nation under

God.

Many people

were fed up

with the

powerful

pagan

Roman

elites,

the cultural

progressives

of the

day,

who were

gradually,

sometimes

violently

imposing

their will

on the

native

Israelites

and

offending

against

their

religious

and

cultural

traditions.

And so

various

popular

movements

had sprung

up

in response.

Some

were violent,

the zealots.

Some

were separatist,

the Essenes,

who lived

on top of a

cliff.

Some

were focused

on maintaining

cultural

boundaries against

foreign influence,

the Pharisees.

they were

all along

the lines

of,

make Israel

great again.

And many

in Jesus'

hometown

would have

been sympathetic

to such

movements.

And Jesus

had the

nerve

in that

context

to remind

them

that two

of the

greatest

prophets

of Israel,

whom they

all recognized,

had been

sent by God

to bless

not only

Israelites,

but also

foreign

outsiders,

even those

who were

natural

enemies

of God's

people.

And of

course,

the implication

is that

Jesus'

ministry

would not

just be

about

restoring

Israel

to

greatness,

but fulfilling

God's

promise to

Abraham,

in you

all the

nations of

the earth

will be

blessed.

You see,

Jesus didn't

completely buy

into the

agenda of

any of

the political

parties of

his day.

And sometimes

that made

some people

really mad.

Jesus didn't

side with

the pagan

Roman elites

who promised

peace and

security under

their rule.

Jesus warned,

don't believe

their promises.

They always

come at a

high cost

and they

won't last.

It's in me

that you'll

find true

liberation

and genuine

peace and

lasting hope.

It's my

kingdom that

will last

forever,

not theirs.

And yet

he didn't

scorn the

pagan

progressive

elites.

He healed

the son

of a

Roman

centurion.

He called

tax collectors

who were

back then

corrupt

government

employees

to be

his

disciples.

But neither

did Jesus

jump on

the popular

bandwagons

which promised

to restore

the kingdom

to Israel.

As we see

right here,

he challenged

their excessively

nationalistic

focus.

He said

God's plans

are bigger

and sometimes

different than

yours.

But he didn't

write them

off either.

He came to

Nazareth

even though the

majority of

people there

would reject

him.

He spent

time with

Pharisees.

And Jesus

called his

disciples from

the whole

range of

political parties

all the way

from Simon

the Zealot.

The Zealots

were the

violent

revolution group

drive out

the Romans

to Matthew

the tax

collector,

the Roman

government

employee.

I mean,

just imagine

the political

conversations

among Jesus'

twelve

disciples.

So here's

the point.

If within

the church

we're not

all on the

same page

about politics

but we're

united in

our allegiance

to Jesus

Christ,

I think

that's actually

a good

sign.

Because our

calling as

Jesus'

disciples is

first and

foremost

to the

lordship of

Christ.

And secondly

to carefully

work out

the implications

of that

lordship

over all

things together

in politics

and everywhere

else.

Jesus was

willing to

challenge

the comfortable

in his

hometown of

Nazareth.

And through

his word

and his

spirit he

continues to

challenge us

today.

So let me

conclude this

section with

three challenges

to us.

Number one,

a warning.

thing.

And this is

in the words

of James

Edwards,

commentator

on this

passage.

He said,

the greatest

danger to

the way

of God

in this

world is

posed by

those who

are closest

to it.

You see,

what should

surprise and

disturb us

in this

passage is

not just

that some

people reject

Jesus.

there's

always some

people who

reject Jesus.

But look at

who it is

that rejects

him here.

It's the

people who

would have

known him

best.

It's the

people who

grew up

around him.

The people

in his

hometown.

The people

who had been

around him

longer than

anyone else.

And later

on, who

would betray

Jesus?

Not a

Roman government

official.

but one of

his close

associates.

One of

his 12

disciples.

The one

whom he

had entrusted

to keep

track of

their

finances.

And where

was Jesus

crucified?

Not in

pagan Rome,

but in

the holy

city,

Jerusalem.

The warning

is this.

You can

be so

close to

Jesus,

but at

the same

time,

so far

away.

You can

be very

involved

in

church

activities.

You can

spend

lots of

social

time with

other

Christians.

You can

be very

knowledgeable

about

Christian

theology

and

church

polity.

But is

your gaze

fixed on

the person

of Jesus

himself?

all the

spiritual

benefits

that Christ

promises

are found

in union

with him

and nowhere

else.

Jesus

said,

abide in

me.

Keep

your gaze

fixed on

him.

Second

challenge.

The good

news that

Jesus came

to bring

is not

just for

people like

you and

people who

you like.

It is also

for people

unlike you

and people

who don't

like you.

That's the

challenge of

verse 25 to

27.

Jesus is

saying,

sometimes

God,

in his

unfathomable

kindness,

chooses to

bless someone

else in a

way that he

has not yet

blessed you.

that doesn't

mean he's

never going

to bless

you.

It doesn't

mean he's

forever

cast you

off.

But he

might choose

to bless

someone that

you don't

like.

Or someone

who doesn't

like you.

Or someone

who clearly

doesn't

deserve

his blessing

in some

particular

way.

Maybe God

gives someone

else a

job.

Or a

house.

Or a

spouse.

child.

Or good

health.

Or close

community.

Maybe that's

something that

you desperately

long for.

And don't

yet have.

And Jesus

says,

you have no

right to

resent God

for that.

Because God

didn't have to

give you any

blessings at all

in the first

place.

He will show

mercy on whom

he will show

mercy.

Don't be

envious because

he's generous.

Have you

ever looked at

someone else

and felt

on the

inside?

No.

Not

them.

No.

I don't

want them

to receive

mercy and

forgiveness in

a second

chance.

They don't

deserve it.

They deserve

to be

punished.

judged.

And Jesus

says, don't

you remember

you did

too.

Those who've

been forgiven

much will

love much.

Those who've

been forgiven

little will

love little.

Third

challenge.

If Jesus

came to

proclaim good

news to

the poor,

the captive,

the blind,

the oppressed,

both physically

and spiritually,

then we as

spirit-filled

followers of

Jesus are to

join in that

mission.

In chapter

nine, Jesus

will send out

his disciples

to heal and

to proclaim

the kingdom

of God.

In the book

of Acts, we

see the

disciples carrying

out that

mission and

going into

the nations

of the

world.

Does this

mission of

Jesus

characterize us?

Are we

actually

participating

in what

Jesus describes

in verse

18 and

19?

Or are we