Rejected at Nazareth | Under Pressure

Under pressure. You've gotten that gist a little

bit over the course of this service. Maybe you

caught the Ash Wednesday devotion where I kind

of introduced this theme and where we're going

to be in the Gospel of Luke. But this understanding

of pressure is something that we feel on a day

-to -day basis. I would say, and I'm not even

making this stat up, probably 50 % of the people

that come into my office on a week -to -week

basis talking about some level of pressure in

their life. Some level of pressure, whether it's

job performance, relationships, finances, that's

a huge one, that we put pressure on ourselves.

And believe me, I'm looking at myself first in

the understanding of what pressure actually is.

Pressure is sometimes things we put on ourselves

that aren't really there. That sometimes we are

our own worst enemy, or this is the enemy, the

enemy of the world, right, the evil one, Satan.

He and his demons have a way of putting and making

us feel pressure on us. And what the hope is

for this sermon series, what my heart is, is

as we prepare, that we prepare for this season,

in this season of Lent, that Jesus sees the pressure

you are under. And he is going to enter that

pressure in a variety of ways. We saw that in

Luke, in the beginning of Luke, when he's driven

out to the wilderness. Where Satan tempts him.

Satan tempts the Son of God with things like

power, prestige, and money. Things that we put

pressure on ourselves to get or achieve all the

time. And as Luke tells us, he leaves him for

a more opportune time. And we see in these different

scenes that we're going to jump in every Sunday.

The pressure that gets put on Jesus. So we're

going to start in Luke chapter 4. And we're going

Luke 4 · chapter mention

to start with being rejected at Nazareth. Not

that we were rejected at Nazareth, but Jesus

was. And so my first kind of conversation point

this morning is this understanding of when familiarity

breeds rejection. And you may be wondering, what

in the world are you talking about? You've heard

it said at times that maybe a prophet's not welcome

in his hometown. Maybe you've been told that

about certain aspects of your life. Maybe you've

heard that in church speak. Maybe you haven't.

It's going to be clear today what that means.

But there is a strange pressure that comes when

something happens in your life that you deem

as holy. whether that's a birth of a child, whether

that's a covenant of marriage, that we have these

things in life. I will still remember that first

week in June 2022 when Jess Fisher, then now

Fisher, came into my office and I got to see

the scales over her eyes fall as she accepted

Christ as her Lord and Savior. And we go through

that kind of honeymoon period. We talked about

it last week, about when you join a church, it's

new and exciting, ways to get involved, all of

those things. But what happens when it's just

kind of there, and it's that holiness and that

relationship with God, it's there, it's fine,

you know, that those highs you're not sensing.

Or maybe you go into the pastor's office, you

talk to a friend over coffee, and all you're

sitting in is in valleys. Valleys of life, valleys

of depression, valleys of sadness, valleys of

pressure, broken relationships. You have to engage

a conversation. What happens when the holy in

your life becomes just the mundane? Now, if we

really center on it, it should never be. God

is holy. He saved you from sin. You're going

to heaven when you die. Whatever it is that faith

means to you in this moment should never just

be ho -hum. But in church and in being a believer,

it can happen. You've heard it before. You're

like, oh, I've heard Jim preach on Luke 4 before

probably six times. I'm weird that you're counting,

but understanding that we are going to look at

it maybe a little different, but the word of

God stays the same. It's everlasting upon everlasting,

and it means the world to us. But even in church,

sometimes we have the mentality. We've sung that

song before. Not this last one. That's a new

one. It's a teaching song. But we've sat in the

same chair or pew. We've heard the gospel. We

hear it almost every Sunday if Jim's on. And

what happens when it doesn't mean much to you

anymore? Friends, I think that's a problem. What

you once felt amazed about, the grace of God

coming into your life, just kind of, all right,

I'm saved. Great. That can be a real struggle

for people. We're going to see that as Jesus

enters back into the town of Nazareth. You see,

Nazareth knew Jesus. They knew his family. They

knew the childhood stories. They grew up with

him. They knew him in the way they believed they

needed to. And all of a sudden, that familiarity

becomes a pressure. That pressure turns into

rejection. And Luke starts us off with something

stunning. The first sermon that Jesus ever gives,

and we're going to break it down, is not met

with applause, is not met with an altar call,

is not met with a way to go, let's have you back.

They actually try to kill him. So we're going

to ask today, what happens in our life when Jesus

gets so close to us, he offends us? What happens

when truth presses against our comfort? Friends,

that is the season of Lent. Revealing the heart

and the solution that Jesus gives us. So let's

dive in. We'll be in Luke chapter 4, starting

Luke 4 · chapter mention

with verse 16. And we're going to start by reading

verse 16 to 29. And he, Jesus, came to Nazareth

where he had been brought up. And as was his

custom, that's important, remember that, he went

to the synagogue on the Sabbath day. He stood

up to read. 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 the sight of the blind and has 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 the 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 this not 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 to them,

truly I say to you, no prophet is acceptable

in his hometown. But in truth I tell you that

there were many widows in Israel in the days

of Elijah. And when the heavens were shut up

for 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 the time of the prophet Elisha,

and none of them were cleansed but only Nahum

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 up to the brow of the hill on which

the town was built so they could throw him down

the cliff. This is the word of the Lord. So pressure

point one. We're going to look at these pressure

points in the story and the gospel of Christ.

First is Jesus reveals who he is. Notice, this

was his... custom. Jesus was known as a teacher.

The only way he could stand up in church and

would be given a scroll is if it had happened

before. This wasn't just some random day. This

was the Sabbath in the synagogue. Jesus was there

and he was going to read the scroll. This is

something that average ordinary people did not

do. They did not. This is something that Jesus

We need to understand that because this is just,

again, this is just kind of an average Sabbath

day. This is just a Saturday service. But Jesus

does something different today. He reads Isaiah

61. The Spirit of the Lord is upon me. This is

Messianic text. So if we understand the culture

of the time, they are looking for the Messiah.

But as we're going to see, the Messiah they want

to the Messiah Jesus is, is not going to be the

same. The people hear about good news to the

poor, a good flag is going to go up in their

minds. Freedom from the captive, well, two for

two. Sight to the blind, three for three. Jubilee

for the oppressed, four for four. They're amazed.

They're staring at him. No one has done this

yet in a complete way. There have been little

M Messiahs all over. People that all try to thought

that they were the coming of the Messiah. And

maybe you're thinking to yourself, I've heard

that before. Why in the world would they do that?

Because if you're an Israelite, you've had centuries

of stories. Going all the way back to the Old

Testament. Minor prophets, we just did it. Pointing

towards this person. We don't fully grasp that

today. We're in a post -resurrected society.

Though we are looking to the time that Jesus

is going to come back, he's not even named yet.

This is still ongoing. So all the family heritage,

all the family lineage, all of the Israelites

are pointing toward this capital M Messiah. And

Jesus now goes four for four. And then he...

Really, he ties a nice bow on it, exclamation

point, if you will. Today, this scripture has

been fulfilled in your hearing. What is he saying?

I am the Messiah. Luke 4, here we go. We're starting

it. I am the Messiah. the Messiah. He didn't

say, I might be the Messiah, or hang with me,

friends, we'll get to the Messiah. This isn't,

I'm one of the other Messiahs, little m. I am

the Messiah. Friends, Nazareth was small. 400

people. Everybody knew Jesus. Again, he doesn't

just come in as this secret character. It's a

large family. Everyone knew him. He was Joseph's

son. And what did Joseph do? He was a carpenter,

right? So he's a carpenter's kid, right? He's

a laborer's kid. He's a local kid. So the reaction

isn't theological at first. It's relational,

and that's okay. I think that's fine. Then all

of a sudden we see it start to turn. You see

some people go, who? Who do you think? Or who

does he think he is? The familiarity, well, this

is just Joseph's son. How could Joseph's son

be the Messiah? People are starting to put kind

of the dominoes effect in their minds. And this

is why I think the Heidelberg Catechism Lord's

Day 12 is important. Because the question is

asked, why is he called Christ, meaning anointed?

The answer, because he is ordained by God the

Father and anointed by the Holy Spirit to be

our chief prophet, only high priest, and eternal

king. Nazareth hears from a prophet. And we just

talked about last week, they're going to go through

centuries of silence. John the Baptist is going

to step on the scene, but now Jesus is on the

scene. But they don't want a king. They certainly

don't want a priest who just says that they're

all sinners and be better. So they admire him

until the pressure comes, until he pushes back.

In your life, friends, isn't Jesus great? Having

this Savior, the WWJD culture, right? I know

where I'm going when I die. I love this Jesus.

I will follow this Jesus. But what happens when

the truth of Jesus' life starts to bump up against

our comfortability? Whoa! I'm all about this

Jesus thing, but that means I have to stop doing

this, this, and this? Well, if it's bad for you,

if it's a sin in the Bible, yeah, you do. Because

you can't follow Jesus that way. Munster Church,

this is us. This is where the rub of the relationship

that we have with Jesus individually, corporately,

when Jesus starts to bump up against our comfortability.

I think we would agree. Right? Umbrella of grace.

But I think we would agree that we love Jesus

as long as he stays manageable in our life. As

long as I can fit him in my calendar. As long

as I can give him the time that I have or else

it's just going to be too much. We love Jesus'

teacher, but we don't like him as the Lord of

our pocketbook. We love Jesus' healer, but we

don't want him to be the judge of our pride.

We love Jesus' Savior. Until he tells us that

we're not in control. Friends, we can't have

it both ways. Pressure reveals what we really

believe. When life starts to fall apart, when

you're in the valley, we see who we really are.

And the hope and the prayer is that we recognize

that Jesus is with us every step of the way.

Why? Because Jesus is going to start to reveal

their hearts and ours. You see, at first, people

marvel. But then Jesus quotes two stories. Okay?

First one, Elijah helping a Gentile widow, and

Elisha healing Nahum the Cyrene. Why these stories?

Why couldn't Jesus have just done something about

King David, or building up the temple, or the

good things about the people of Israel? Because

what Jesus is going to show? is that God's grace

is also for outsiders. You see, he's talking

to a pretty exclusive group. He's talking to

the Jews. He's talking to the Israelites, right?

Put it in our context, he's talking to the CRCs,

right? He's talking to the Class Siciliana. He's

talking to all these churches that Munster Church

helped start over the last 156 years. It's insider

language. He should be for us, not for them.

But Jesus says no. Just like Elijah and Elisha

were called to help Gentiles, so the grace of

God is going to be extended to everyone. Oh,

we don't like that. They didn't like that either.

Why? Because what is Jesus saying? Why did the

room all of a sudden turn? What Jesus is saying

is God's grace is sovereign. God's grace does

not belong to you. It is not controlled by your

heritage. It is not earned by your morality.

It is given to whom God wills. Whoa! Time out!

What is this one, Dan? 30 seconds. This is full,

right? Full stop! Okay? Full stop. I did baseball.

We don't call time outs. The Israelites have

tried to keep the law. They tried to keep the

Torah, the first five books of this word. They

heard the stories. They heard the prophecies.

This is now generation, heritage, lineage of

doing all the right things, 50%. But we did our

best. Jesus is saying something radical. It is

given to whom God wills. Well, God's will better

be the life of the elect. That's what they're

saying. That's what's making them uncomfortable.

What do you mean there's going to be Gentiles?

What do you mean there's going to be Lutherans?

What do you mean there's going to be Methodists?

I thought this was just all reformed all day,

every day. Wrong. Putting that in the context

there weren't Lutherans back then or reformed.

But that's how we can be. That's how the church

can be. That's why the church can be seen as

a group of jerks. Instead of the holiness of

God extending God's grace. Because one thing

that Jesus is bringing everybody to in the synagogue

then, and hopefully here today, is that we're

sinners. The Heidelberg Catechism, Lord's Day

2, reminds us we know our sin and misery by the

law of God. We know our sin and misery by the

law of God. The Ten Commandments help us with

that. Reflect on that this week as we go to come

to the table next week in communion. We know

our sin and misery by the law of God. Nazareth

thought they were fine. Jesus shows that they're

actually in need. When grace exposes pride, what

erupts? Not being okay with it, but anger. Wanting

to reject it. Nazareth expected Messiah to bless

what they were already doing. They were waiting

for their local hero and they thought they were

all good. But Jesus shows a kingdom bigger than

their tribe. Bigger than their denomination.

Bigger than their family line. Bigger than who

they are. That what God was creating through

Christ was a vision of every tribe and tongue.

And guess what? They fail. the pressure gets

to them and it breaks. So what does that mean

for us? What does that mean for a church that's

over 150 years old? I think this church has faced

that temptation before. We might be facing it

even now. We start thinking, this is our church.

This is our tradition. This is our way of worship.

This is our history. But what Jesus is saying,

what the gospel is saying, is this has been and

always will be Christ's church. He saves whom

he wills. He brings people we don't always expect.

He changes things that we thought were permanent.

This Luke 4 sermon's a doozy. Sometimes the pressure

we feel in church life is actually God expanding.

Our heart and our mind. But here's the thing.

As Jesus is taking on this pressure, he's also

going to show early on he is faithful. How do

we know? Because friends, this could have been

the end of Jesus' story. They're so angry. He

has so broken what they wanted to hear that they

drag him out to a cliff. Imagine the scene. Childhood

neighbors, family, friends of Joseph and Mary,

people who watched him grow up, maybe the person

that received the first table he ever built with

Joseph, dragging him out to the cliff. They wanted

him dead. I know I've said things in the pulpit

that you probably haven't liked, right? And a

lot of you let me know, usually by one o 'clock.

Some of you wait and have discernment and do

it at noon the next day, and I appreciate that.

But I've never gone out, and this is not a challenge,

I've never gone out to flat tires, right? I've

never gone out, well, that's not true. I have

had my car teepeed by the youth group years ago,

but I don't think that was because of a sermon.

I may have said things that offended you over

time, and I'm sorry, I probably will again, but

I don't think any of you want me dead, and if

you do, please don't tell me. They not only want,

this doesn't an email string after this email.

This wasn't a call to all the elders going, get

them out of the pulpit. Emoji, prayer hands,

no. They actually take matters into their own

hands. They take them to the cliff. They're going

to stone them. Because again, what is stoning

back in the days? Either the stone comes to you

or you go to the stones. It's either one. They

want them dead. And what does Luke tell us? But

passing through their midst, he went away. Why?

Because his time hadn't come yet. He is going

to move towards the hill, but it's not this hill,

it's Calvary. The height of our catechism, Lord's

Day 1, is a great reminder that he has fully

paid for all of my sins with his precious blood.

Nazareth's rejection is a preview to the cross.

The pressure is building, and Jesus walks into

it willingly. Not because he is weak, but because

he loves us. And here is that Messiah insight.

Every prophet was rejected. We just went through

it. But Jesus, the final prophet, and his rejection

comes with something much greater. Isaiah 53.

He was despised and rejected by men. Why? So

we could have everlasting life. Nazareth is the

beginning of the road. So what does this mean

for our Lent? Where's the pressure coming in

the weeks to come? Lent is a season of pressure.

It's not a punishment. It's not doom and gloom.

It should be honest reflection. And what is that

reflection? Well, for this week, the reflection,

my friends, and we'll send this out in an email

and on our socials, where do you reject Jesus

in your life? When he challenges our politics.

Our comfort, our habits, our pride, our spending,

our unforgiveness, our disinterest. Where do

we say, all right, Jesus, you're great, but really

you're only Joseph's son. Where do we make Jesus

small in our life? Friend, Jesus should never

have that position in your life or mine. I liken

it to now my son's learning the art of rolling

their eyes. Like when a kid hears dad's advice

and rolls their eyes. Drives me absolutely crazy.

And I know where they learned it. Carrie. Because

familiarity makes wisdom easy to ignore. Yeah,

mom. Yeah, dad. I hear it all the time. Or like

hearing the gospel every Sunday. Let me ask.

Has it stopped moving you? I can lovingly say

that's not a me problem. That's a you problem.

That could be an us problem, and that's a big

problem. You can be close to Jesus and still

reject him. When we only use Jesus like some

kind of get out of hell free card, right, or

some kind of card that we only like to use when

it's convenient for us, we miss the point. But

the good news of today is that The gospel is

for rejecters. There's good news for us who reject

Jesus and the small things and the big things,

and that is the hope of Lent. Jesus does not

stop preaching. He does not pass through them

and look up at the Father and go, we're not doing

this. No, he enters the scenes. He enters our

lives. He goes to Capernaum. He goes to Jerusalem.

He goes to the cross for Nazareth, for Jim. For

Munster. For you. Lord's Day 23 reminds us. God

grants and credits me the perfect satisfaction,

righteousness, and holiness of Christ. Even when

your heart dares to resist him. So at the end

of these sermons, we're going to look at a then

and now to see the comparison. Then. The Messiah

came to his hometown, and they rejected him because

he was not the Savior they wanted. Now, Jesus

still comes close to us today through word, through

sacrament, through discipline and community,

and asks us to surrender what we cling to. I

know a lot of people use the season of Lent to

give things up, right? It's a practice that the

Catholic Church uses and some other high liturgical

denominations. We don't necessarily talk about

it that way. Is it a bad thing if you do it?

No. It's a bad thing if you're doing it so you

can have everyone go, look at me, look what I'm

giving up. Right? Or you gave up caffeine and

by day two no one could stand to be around you

so you picked it up again. I'm not talking about

anybody here. Maybe 12 people. But what do you

need to surrender that's your go -to instead

of Jesus? The pressure reveals our hearts. It

also reveals God's grace. Because the one rejected

at Nazareth is the one who welcomes sinners.

Who will welcome you to the table of the Lord

next week in communion. Who shows us that the

road from Nazareth is the road to the cross.

You see, Nazareth is the first step to Calvary.

Rejection is going to lead to redemption. Pressure

is going to lead to salvation. And the question

today is simple. Will we marvel? This is great.

Or will we trust? Will we admire Jesus for what

he does? Man, he's a great guy. He's my homeboy.

Or will we surrender our life to him? Will we

cling to our traditions and our heritage and

our familiarity? Or will we follow him to new

obedience? Because the same Jesus who walked

through that angry crowd walks into our sanctuary

every Sunday. The Holy Spirit hangs low for us

to receive him. Into our church, into our council

rooms, into our children's ministries, our youth

ministries, into hopefully one day small group

ministries, into families and into hearts. And

he says, today this scripture is being fulfilled.

Today grace is offered. Today salvation. My friend,

you have a choice. Please don't reject that message.

Trust him even when it's hard. And let's do it

together. Let's pray.