The Spirit of the LORD Is on Me

If you have your Bible with you, you can open it up to the Gospel of Luke.

We're continuing on with that this morning.

Last Sunday we heard about how Jesus was tempted by the devil.

And we heard about how he resisted the devil perfectly, again and again, refusing to give in.

We're in Luke chapter 4, and Luke now moves on to tell us in summary fashion about Jesus' initial ministry.

Luke 4 · chapter mention

So he's just come out of this wilderness where he was for 40 days, and this is what Luke has to say.

He says,

If we read these words carefully, we notice that this is covering a period of time.

It would have taken time for the news to spread.

Of course, in those days, news traveled by foot.

But the tense of the verb in the second statement there helps us see that there's a period in view here.

He was teaching in their synagogues, going from town to town.

And overall, Luke tells us that the response was quite positive.

Everyone praised him. Everyone honored him.

What's interesting about this sort of summary of Jesus' early ministry is that Luke puts all the emphasis on Jesus' teaching,

rather than on the miracles of Jesus.

If we compare this carefully with the other gospel accounts,

we'll see that Jesus has been doing miracles in many of these towns at the same time.

And yet Luke doesn't even mention them.

He will talk about them.

He's going to get to it soon enough.

But for now, Luke wants to tell the story with an emphasis on the teaching of Jesus,

on the message of Jesus.

He wants to tell us about how Jesus' words were received.

At first, it was received very well,

very positive.

But then, things begin to take a turn.

Nazareth, the hometown of Jesus,

is the perfect example,

which highlights some of the early opposition

to Jesus' teaching and message.

And that's what Luke wants to tell us about first,

right out of the gate.

So we're going to see this in verses 16 all the way down to 30.

We're going to hear about Jesus' visit home to Nazareth,

where his teaching is utterly challenged and rejected.

One of the challenging questions when we come to this particular passage

is when did this happen?

When did it take place?

Luke has it right after the temptation of Jesus.

And if we're just quickly going through this,

not really digging too deep into it,

we might conclude that this is Jesus' first stop, almost.

Or at least his first visit to Nazareth

after getting back from the wilderness.

But if we look to the other Gospels,

Matthew and Mark,

we notice that the parallel accounts of this event

happen a fair bit later on in Jesus' ministry.

There's already been some things that have happened.

And there's basically, just quickly,

there's three ideas as to why this difference in order.

The first idea is that Jesus made two separate visits to Nazareth,

and that this one here in Luke is his first visit,

and the ones in Matthew and Mark are a second visit.

We'll notice that there's similar reactions and dialogue in both,

but maybe they just said the same sort of things in a second visit.

A second idea is that Luke's actually merging two or more visits to Nazareth

into one account here.

We call it conflation,

and sometimes we do this.

We're giving an account,

and just to keep it all together

and focus on that place or those people,

we tell the whole story of what happened there all at once,

even though there was maybe multiple visits.

A third idea,

and the one that I really lean towards and find most convincing,

is that all of these accounts,

Matthew, Mark, and Luke,

refer to the same visit of Jesus to Nazareth.

Not the first visit,

but a later visit

that Luke intentionally decides to tell us about

right up at the front

in order to illustrate the opposition

that Jesus began to face

after his earlier teaching in the synagogues.

And I think you'll see how it fits together

with the other accounts

as we go along here.

So let's jump into this.

Let's look at it,

starting in verse 16.

Jesus went to Nazareth,

where he had been brought up,

and on the Sabbath day

he went into the synagogue,

as was his custom,

he stood up to read,

and the scroll of the prophet Isaiah

was handed to him.

So Luke says this was the custom of Jesus,

this is what he did in every synagogue,

as he went from town to town.

The synagogue was like the local place for prayer

and for teaching from the scriptures,

where people would gather weekly.

Luke tells us that Jesus stood up to read,

and the scroll of Isaiah,

the prophet,

was handed to him.

And Jesus deliberately

finds a particular passage

in Isaiah.

the scroll of the prophet Isaiah,

the scroll of the prophet Isaiah

was handed to him.

Unrolling it,

he found the place

where it is written.

And then Jesus reads this passage

from Isaiah out loud

to everyone.

And Luke has this passage from Isaiah

quoted right here in his gospel

from verses 18 to 19.

This is the first couple verses

of Isaiah chapter 61.

Isaiah 61 · chapter mention

It says,

The spirit of the Lord is on me

because he has anointed me

to proclaim good news to the poor.

He has sent me

to proclaim freedom for the prisoners

and recovery of sight for the blind,

to set the oppressed free,

to proclaim the year

of the Lord's favor.

Then,

he rolled up the scroll,

gave it back to the attendant,

and sat down.

The eyes of everyone in the synagogue

were fastened on him.

He began by saying to them,

Today,

this scripture is fulfilled

in your hearing.

What's interesting about this passage

spoken by Isaiah

700 years before this,

is that it's unclear

in that passage

just who

it's referring to.

The person talking

in Isaiah

Isaiah 60 · chapter mention

chapter 60

in the verse

right before this one

in Isaiah

is clearly

the Lord himself.

It's clearly God.

But then as you turn

to the next chapter,

it says,

The spirit of the sovereign Lord

is on me.

He has anointed

me

to proclaim

good news

to the poor.

So who's the me

in these words of Isaiah

long ago?

Well, the natural assumption

since Isaiah

is the one

who spoke this

and wrote this

is that it's Isaiah himself.

In fact,

this was the understanding

of many

leading up to the time

of Jesus.

the good news

then would be

this being set free

from captivity

for Israel

who was conquered

by the Babylonians

and went into exile.

And it kind of

seems to fit

because Isaiah

had words of good news

to the people.

Seventy years later,

they were

able to return

in the days of

Zerubbabel

and Nehemiah.

But now

Jesus is here

long after all that

and he's saying

that this passage

is being fulfilled

today

in your hearing

people of Nazareth.

In other words,

Jesus is saying

the spirit

of the Lord

is on

me

because he

has anointed

me

to proclaim

good news

to the poor.

He has sent

me

to proclaim

freedom

for the prisoners

and recovery

of sight

for the blind.

He has sent

me

to proclaim

the year

of the Lord's

favor.

When Jesus

says

today

this scripture

is fulfilled

in your hearing

he's saying

God's causing

these words

of Isaiah

to come

true

today

right now

through me

in your presence

in your hearing.

Maybe we

jumped to

conclusions

long ago

about the

me

of Isaiah

61

being Isaiah

or maybe

there's a

double fulfillment

maybe

the me

was Isaiah

but there's

a sense

in which

God

has caused

us to

come

true

in an

even

greater

way

in the

future

through

Jesus.

Either way

Jesus is

basically

saying

that God

was speaking

ultimately

of him

when he

spoke those

words

through Isaiah

long ago.

It's as if

Jesus is

saying

I am

the one

who God

has specially

chosen

and anointed.

I am

the one

upon whom

he has

put his

spirit.

If we

look back

to the

moment

Jesus

was

baptized

this is

what we

saw

right?

The

spirit

of God

came down

upon

Jesus.

Notice

how Luke

started

this whole

section

back up

in verse

14.

Jesus

returned

to

Galilee

in the

power

of the

spirit.

whether

the

people

of

Nazareth

understood

it

or

not

Jesus

knew

exactly

who

he

was

and

he

knew

exactly

what

he

had

come

to

do

what

he

had

been

sent

by

God

chosen

by

God

to

do.

Let's

look at

these

words

from

Isaiah

just a

bit.

Let's

look at

the

mission

that

God

has

given

or

gave

to

Jesus.

He

has

anointed

me

to

proclaim

good

news

to

the

poor.

He

has

sent

me

to

proclaim

freedom

for

the

prisoners

and

recovery

of

sight

for

the

blind

to

set

the

oppressed

free

to

proclaim

the

year

of the

Lord's

favor.

Notice

how many

times the

word

proclaim

is

used

here.

a

huge

part

of

Jesus

purpose

and

ministry

his

mission

is

preaching

proclamation.

Sometimes

there's a

tendency

to

focus

mainly

on

the

miracles

of

Jesus

those

wonderful

things

that

he

did

but

that's

not

all

that

Jesus

has

come

to

do.

He

has

come

to

proclaim

a

message

and

what

message

is

it

we

can

see

it

highlighted

in

the

different

spots

there

on

the

screen

to

proclaim

a

message

of

good

news

to

the

poor

a

message

of

freedom

for

the

prisoners

and

recovery

of

sight

for

the

blind

a

message

that

the

Lord's

favor

has

come

the

time

the

year

of

the

Lord's

favor

is

here

this

is

what

I've

come

to

proclaim

says

Jesus

the

good

news

of

God's

favor

towards

you

this

is

the

time

of

his

favor

I'm

here

to

tell

you

how

you

can

be

set

free

from

the

prison

that

you

are

all

in

and

already

you

can

begin

to

feel

how

this

declaration

by

Jesus

might

rub

some

people

the

wrong

way

like

what

do

you

mean

set

free

what

do

you

mean

who

are

these

prisoners

which

blind

people

are

you

talking

about

there's

a

similar

exchange

between

Jesus

and

some

of

the

Jews

in

the

gospel

of

John

which

we'll

look

at

quickly

here

John

John 8:31

chapter

8

verse

31

this

happens

later

on

but

Jesus

to the

Jews

who

had

believed

in

him

said

if

you

hold

to

my

teaching

you

are

really

my

disciples

then

you

will

know

the

truth

and

the

truth

will

set

you

free

they

answered

him

we

are

Abraham's

descendants

and have

never been

slaves

of

anyone

how

can

you

say

that

we

shall

be

set

free

Jesus

replied

very

truly

I

tell

you

everyone

who

sins

is a

slave

to

sin

now

a

slave

has

no

permanent

place

in the

family

but a

son

belongs

to it

forever

so if

the

son

sets

you

free

you

will

be

free

indeed

so on

this

other

later

occasion

Jesus

tells

people

that

they

need

to

be

set

free

and

the

people

were

confused

like

what

do

you

mean

we

are

free

and

Jesus

makes

it

clear

that

the

freedom

they

need

is

spiritual

freedom

freedom

from

slavery

to

sin

it's

a

similar

kind

of

statement

as we

just

heard

back

here

in

Luke

chapter

four

our

bondage

!

and our

imprisonment

is not

physical

but

spiritual

our

transgressions

against

God

have

locked

us

up

and

put

us

on

death

row

a

prison

of

our

own

making

and

God

is

obligated

because

he

is

just

to

give

us

the

punishment

that

we

deserve

so

we're

in

big

trouble

we

are

prisoners

because

we

have

all

broken

God's

law

spiritually

we're

criminals

but

the

good

news

is

that

God

is

merciful

he

is

full

of

grace

full

of

favor

he

has

sent

his

son

to

proclaim

this

good

news

of

freedom

God's

going

to

provide

a

way

for

us

to

be

set

free

from

the

chains

!

of

our

sin

and

guilt

in

fact

this

is

the

same

lesson

that

the

Israelites

of

Isaiah's

day

I

think

were

meant

to

take

from

these

words

back

then

it

was

physical

imprisonment

and

physically

being

set

free

but

why

were

they

imprisoned

in

the

first

place

was

it

not

because

of

their

sins

God

gave

them

over

to

the

Babylonians

to

be

conquered

and

led

away

as

prisoners

into

exile

and

was

it

not

because

of

God's

mercy

and

favor

that

he

later

made

a way

for

them

to

be

released

from

that

and

to

return

to

Jerusalem

our

relationship

with

God

has

always

been

the

central

issue

our

sins

against

God

have

always

been

the

thing

which

entrap

us

and

destine

us

for

God's

punishment

and

the

undeserved

mercy

and

favor

of

God

has

always

been

the

thing

that

sets

us

free

and

saves

us

how

much

of

this

did

the

people

clue

into

that

day

as

Jesus

was

making

this

declaration

in

the

synagogue

as

he

declared

today

this

scripture

is

fulfilled

in

your

hearing

listen

to the

response

of the

people

in

verse

22

all

spoke

well

of him

and

were

amazed

at

the

gracious

words

that

came

from

his

lips

so

at

first

there

was

a

buzz

of

excitement

this

sounds

like

good

news

God's

favor

is

coming

to

us

God

wants

to

alleviate

our

hardship

and

our

suffering

but

then

all

of

a

sudden

out

of

nowhere

in

the

same

verse

the

conversation

takes

a turn

in the

complete

opposite

direction

isn't

this

Joseph's

son

they

asked

we

might

be

tempted

to

take

this

as

an

honest

sincere

question

maybe

even

a

question

of

surprise

and

delight

how

is

it

that

such

good

words

could

be

coming

from

Joseph's

son

that

guy

that

we

all

know

is

the

carpenter

but

this

question

is

actually

a

rhetorical

statement

it's

actually

an

objection

and

this

is

where

the

parallel

accounts

of

Matthew

and

Mark

are

invaluable

let's

look

at

this

moment

in

Matthew

Matthew 13:54

chapter

13

verse

54

coming

to his

hometown

he began

teaching

the

in

their

synagogue

this

is

Matthew's

account

and

they

were

amazed

where

did

this

man

get

this

wisdom

and

these

miraculous

powers

they

asked

isn't

this

the

carpenter's

son

isn't

his

mother's

name

Mary

and

aren't

his

brothers

James

Joseph

Simon

and

Judas

aren't

all

his

sisters

with

us

where

then

did

this

man

get

all

these

things

and

they

took

offense

at

him

so

Matthew

makes

it

clear

that

the

familiarity

they

had

with

Jesus

being

a

relative

of

people

that

they

knew

in

their

town

was

actually

a

barrier

to

them

they

took

offense

at

him

!

like

who

are

you

to

stand

up

there

in

front

of

us

and

say

these

things

you're

just

the

son

of

the

carpenter

you

grew

up

here

we

know

you

who

do

you

think

you

are

a

great

teacher

a

prophet

how

can

he

be

he's

the

son

of

Joseph

the

carpenter

notice

the

question

that

the

people

ask

!

Jesus

in

Mark's

!

account

of

all

this

from

Mark

Mark 6:2

chapter

6

verse

2

when

the

Sabbath

came

Jesus

began

to

teach

in

the

synagogue

and

many

who

heard

him

were

amazed

where

did

this

man

get

these

things

they

asked

what's

this

wisdom

that's

been

given

him

what

are

these

remarkable

miracles

he's

performing

isn't

this

the

carpenter

isn't

this

Mary's

son

and

the

brother

of

James

Joseph

Judas

and

Simon

aren't

his

sisters

here

with

us

and

they

took

offense

at

him

so

at

first

the

tone

of

these

questions

seems

like

it

could

be

sincere

but

by

the

time

we

get

to

the

end

of

them

we

see

the

people

asked

these

because

they

took

offense

at

Jesus

it

wasn't

sincerity

it

was

suspicion

we've

known

you

all

your

life

your

family

still

lives

here

with

us

and

now

suddenly

you're

claiming

to

know

things

to

be

a

rabbi

to

be

a

teacher

where's

all

this

stuff

coming

from

what

are

these

remarkable

miracles

that

we've

heard

that

you're

performing

so

the

people

here

in

Nazareth

they've

heard

about

the

miracles

that

Jesus

has

been

doing

in

all

these

places

in

Galilee

they've

likely

heard

about

the

miraculous

catch

of

fish

no

doubt

about

the

many

healings

and

even

the

casting

out

of

demons

now

when we

look back

at

Luke's

account

things

start

to

make

more

sense

this

question

isn't

this

Joseph's

son

was

an

objection

and

look at

how

Jesus

responds

he

can

see

he

on

the

defensive

in

a

sense

Jesus

said

to

them

surely

you

will

quote

this

proverb

!

to

me

physician

heal

yourself

and

you

will

tell

me

do

here

in

your

own

hometown

what

we

have

heard

that

you

did

in

Capernaum

so the

people

know

about

the

miracles

that

Jesus

has

been

doing

they

heard

about

the

miracles

he

did

in

Capernaum

and

Jesus

just

tackles

the

doubt

and

the

skepticism

head

on

he

says

I

know

what

you're

thinking

you're

thinking

that

if I

truly

did

remarkable

things

miracles

in

Capernaum

then

why

not

do

the

same

here

and

now

right

now

you're

thinking

if you

really

have

the

power

to

do

these

things

prove

it

heal

so

and

so

over

there

who

you

know

has

been

suffering

from

whatever

all

these

years

or

do

your

powers

only

work

when

you

are

away

from

the

people

who

know

you

best

what

kind

of

trickery

and

deception

have

you

been

up

to

it's

at this

point

that

Jesus

makes

the

famous

statement

truly

I

tell

you

he

continued

no

prophet

is

accepted

in

his

hometown

no

prophet

is

accepted

in

his

hometown

Matthew

and

Mark

have

probably

the

more

literal

version

a

prophet

is

not

without

honor

except

in

his

own

town

among

his

relatives

and

in

his

own

home

we

have

a

modern

day

English

saying

that

kind

of

gets

at

some

of

the

meaning

of

this

familiarity

breeds

contempt

!

We

have

a

tendency

to

overlook

what is

truly

great

and

commendable

if it

comes

from a

source

that

is

all

too

familiar

to

us

we

can

easily

take

a

person

for

granted

or

minimize

what's

exceptional

about

them

because

after

all

they're

just

one

of

us

right

and

that

gets

that

part

of

the

meaning

but

I

think

there's

a

little

more

here

in

Jesus

statement

this

saying

is

specifically

about

a