Jesus Applies Isa.61 to Gentiles Lk.4:14-31  Lesson 13   12-14-97
Attempted Murder

We have been studying Jesus’ works.  What would it have been like to look at His daytimer?

Jesus’ method

Lk 4:14 Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit, and news about him spread through the whole countryside. 15 He taught in their synagogues, and everyone praised him. 16 He went to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, and on the Sabbath day he went into the synagogue, AS WAS HIS CUSTOM.

Barcley: It was Jesus' habit to go to the synagogue on the Sabbath every week.      There must have been many things with which he radically disagreed and which grated on him--yet he went.  The worship of  the synagogue might be far from perfect; yet Jesus never omitted to join himself to God's worshipping people on God's day. 

I think a person ought to find the best church, but some people can never seem to find a church that is adequate, so they don’t even go.  Not Jesus.
2:33
He attended every week – and not only attended…

This was Jesus’ approach to ministry.  We would go around teaching - lecture format  He was more devoted to that than any other form.

Lk.4:15 And He began teaching in their synagogues and was praised by all.  16 And He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up; and as was His custom, He entered the synagogue on the Sabbath, and stood up to read.

Lk.13:10 And He was teaching in one of the synagogues on the Sabbath.

Mt.4:23 Jesus was going throughout all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom, 

Mt.9:35 Jesus was going through all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom, 

Mt.13:54 He came to His hometown and began teaching them in their synagogue, so that they were astonished, and said, "Where did this man get this wisdom?

Mk.1:39 And He went into their synagogues throughout all Galilee, preaching.

It is fashionable to criticize preaching.  (Mark, schools) you need interaction

But God chose preaching and teaching 

The format in the synagogue was to read a text and explain it.  This is expository teaching.  Why did Jesus use this method?  Why bother with Scripture?  Everything he said was God’s word.  It was an example for us.
Preaching is the best form of feeding the flock.  
-	Can cover far more material
-	in one hour you gain the benefit of 20 hr. of study
-	In a sermon you can pile up evidences
-	A sermon allows for rhetorical methods of persuasion, encouragement, etc.   (I’ve seen people walk out of a sermon in tears – never a discussion group)
-	A sermon can address unknown situations (somewhere around 60% of you men struggle with porn – can’t say that in a group of 8)
-	A sermon is assisted meditation.
  Just to gain knowledge of Bible trivia?  No, because faith comes thru hearing  
"Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved."*
14 How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? ...
17 Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word of Christ.  
How will they believe if someone does not preach to them?  Easy.  CD Rom.  small group discussions, role play, drama, video, etc.

Want to support missions?  Support one that brings about the preaching of God’s Word.

1Co 1:21 For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not know him, God was pleased through the foolishness of preaching to save those who believe. 22 Jews demand miraculous signs and Greeks look for wisdom, 23 but we preach… 

- this is how you should pick a church (1 Ti.3)
6:00
Lk 4:14 Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit,
In our vernacular: Jesus exploded onto the scene in Galilee

(The other half of Jesus’ method was miracles – more about that in weeks to come.  For now, if you want to imitate Christ, expose people to He teaching (Sc) and to His miracles)

Jesus’ first home town sermon

They started out, as always, singing Ps.145-150, then the Shema:

 Wnyhel{a/ hw"hy> laer'f.yI [m;v
dx'a, hw"hy>

Next 18 benedictions

Then an officer of the synagogue walked over to the holy ark, reached in, and drew out the scroll for the reading from the Torah.  It was returned.

Next came a scroll from the prophets.  The attendant takes it out, removes the leather cover, and hands it to Jesus.  (Before the service, Jesus may have arranged to get the Isa. Scroll.

Next was to be a sermon, followed by the Aaronic benediction.

And he stood up to read. 17 The scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him. 
They would stand to read and sit to teach.   
Unrolling it, (61 chapters)  he found the place where it is written:

The Promise

18 "The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor.  He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners
 and recovery of sight for the blind,  to release the oppressed, 19 to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor."
8:00
This would have been a favorite passage.  It’s an end-times passage with some amazing promises.  They longed for Messiah to come and bring all the blessings they were waiting for.

The great miracle worker is about to preach on Isa.61!  (Everyone shows up for a class on Rev.)

Lk.4:20 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,

The synagogue was much less structured than the church - so this is significant.  They gathered around him and were dying to know what he was going to say.  This was a topic of real interest.  God had made them some pretty significant promises in the OT.
9:18
You always want a gripping introduction.  How about this…
21 and he began by saying to them, "This scripture is fulfilled in your hearing…Today."

Imagine that in a class on Rev.

Jesus is claiming to be the Messiah.
So often I have heard teachers refer to this and say, “He claimed to me Messiah and they went ballistic.”  But that isn’t what happened.
10:00
22 All spoke well of him and were amazed at the gracious words that came from his lips.

The people didn’t just follow everyone who claimed to be Messiah.  A neighboring town followed someone claiming to be the Messiah, and Rome burned their town.

They are not speaking to him, but of Him.  

People loved Jesus’ teaching.  It amazed them.   Not entertained - lots of speakers can do that.  Jesus astounded people.
10:36
You come with good news from God?  You are announcing freedom, relief from poverty?  Recovery of sight?  Spiritual insight?  Relief from all our troubles?  Bring it on!

Yes, we are poor - bring on the good news!  we are prisoners to Rome, let’s get on with the freedom!  We are the oppressed, we are the downtrodden.”

Eliminate Rome.  Stamp out those Gentiles pigs.  Bring us all the glorious rewards God has promised for His people.

Like any Rabi, Jesus reads just enough to call the people’s memory the whole passage.  The rest of the ch. talks about 

Paraphrase:
to comfort all who mourn, provision 
those who grieve in Israel a crown of beauty instead of ashes,  the oil of gladness instead of mourning, a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair.
 They will rebuild the ancient ruins and restore the places long devastated; they will renew the ruined cities    that have been devastated for generations.

Isa.61:5 Aliens will shepherd your flocks;    foreigners will work your fields and vineyards.  You will feed on the wealth of nations,    and in their riches you will boast.
7 Instead of their shame my people will receive a double portion, and instead of disgrace they will rejoice in their inheritance; (you can see why they are excited)  and so they will inherit a double portion in their land,  and everlasting joy will be theirs.  In my faithfulness I will reward them and make an everlasting covenant with them.
9 Their descendants will be known among the nations and their offspring among the peoples.  All who see them will acknowledge that they are a people the LORD has blessed."

Yes!  Bring on tbe salvation- devastate the Gentile dogs and lift us up to prominence!
12:15
v.19 the year of the Lord’s favor  - the year of Jubilee.  Once every 50 yr. – clean slate (debts canceled, slaves freed, everyone gets out of the messes they got themselves into)  Isa. – someday I am going to bring relief, restoration, salvation and every year will be like the Jubilee.  

They love it – eating it up.  But they had one problem:
12:45
22 "Isn't this Joseph's son?" they asked.

Jesus knew this would become a problem.

23 Jesus said to them, "Surely you will quote this proverb to me: `Physician, heal yourself! Do here in your hometown what we have heard that you did in Capernaum.' "  24 "I tell you the truth," he continued, "no prophet is accepted in his hometown.

Jesus sermon takes a very negative turn.  
Point 1   The Messiah is going to bring wonderful things.
Point 2   The Messiah is here!  You are looking at Him!
Point 3  You are ultimately going to reject Me.
The Illustration

Now, to make matters worse, Jesus brings up a problem passage.  (A passage that teaches or appears to teach something different that what you believe - a passage you can’t explain given your set of beliefs)

1 Ki.16:29 was a problem passage.
14:00
(Split kingdom)
29 In the thirty-eighth year of Asa king of Judah, Ahab son of Omri became king of Israel, and he reigned in Samaria over Israel twenty-two years. 30 Ahab son of Omri did more evil in the eyes of the LORD than any of those before him. (saying a lot – Jeraboam was before him, he got Israel hooked on idolatry)
31 He not only considered it trivial to commit the sins of Jeroboam son of Nebat, …(I can out-sin J any day) but he also married Jezebel (became symbol of evil.  What was so bad about her?  For one thing…) daughter of Ethbaal king of the Sidonians, and began to serve Baal and worship him. (Look what happens – every time these Israelite kings marry pagan women…)32He set up an altar for Baal in the temple of Baal that he built in Samaria. 33 Ahab also made an Asherah pole and did more to provoke the LORD, the God of Israel, to anger than did all the kings of Israel before him… 

1 Kings 17 

1Now Elijah the Tishbite, from Tishbe (!) in Gilead, said to Ahab, "As the LORD, the God of Israel, lives, whom I serve, there will be neither dew nor rain in the next few years except at my word." 
(disaster for agricultural society) 2 Then the word of the LORD came to Elijah: 3"Leave here, turn eastward and hide in the Kerith Ravine, east of the Jordan. 4You will drink from the brook, and I have ordered the ravens to feed you there." (room service)
5So he did what the LORD had told him. He went to the Kerith Ravine, east of the Jordan, and stayed there. 6The ravens brought him bread and meat in the morning and bread and meat in the evening, and he drank from the brook. 
(where did they get the bread?  Some lady keep baking bread?) 7 Some time later the brook dried up because there had been no rain in the land. 8 Then the word of the LORD came to him: (here comes the problem passage) 9"Go at once to Zarephath of Sidon (!!!  Don’t go there – they are the ones who got us into this mess) and stay there. I have commanded a widow in that place to supply you with food." 10 So he went to Zarephath. When he came to the town gate, a widow was there gathering sticks. He called to her and asked, "Would you bring me a little water in a jar so I may have a drink?" (Jewish prophet asking a gentile woman for a drink) 11 As she was going to get it, he called, "And bring me, please, a piece of bread." 
12"As surely as the LORD your God lives," she replied, "I don't have any bread-only a handful of flour in a jar and a little oil in a jug. I am gathering a few sticks to take home and make a meal for myself and my son, that we may eat it-and die." 
13 Elijah said to her, "Don't be afraid. Go home and do as you have said. But first make a small cake of bread for me from what you have and bring it to me, and then make something for yourself and your son. Does that sound like a little bit of an extreme request?  It depends on if you believe v.14
14 For this is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: `The jar of flour will not be used up and the jug of oil will not run dry until the day the LORD gives rain on the land.'" 

She did believe.  This was a woman of great faith.

God provides for the rest of the drought and famine.  Also a resurection.  What a great story!  (Except for v.9)
19:38
I can guess how they preached this passage – ignore it.  
-	Gn.1 & 2
-	predestination
-	eternal judgement
-	submission
-	election
-	The wrath of God

How does Jesus handle it?  He not only doesn’t skip it, but He makes it His main point!!!

Lk.4:25  I assure you that there were many widows in Israel in Elijah's time, when the sky was shut for three and a half years and there was a severe famine throughout the land. 26 Yet Elijah was not sent to any of them, but to a widow in Zarephath in the region of Sidon.

We need to follow Jesus’ example.  Don’t avoid the hard sayings - learn to love them.  Don’t cram them into your present beliefs and force them to fit your theology, submit to them.  There were no problem passages for Jesus - they are all his Word.

27 And there were many in Israel with leprosy in the time of Elisha the prophet, yet not one of them was cleansed--only Naaman the Syrian."
23:00
Read 2 Ki.5:1-15
Naaman was the commander of the Syrian army that kept raiding Israel.   Naaman was the Hitler of his time.  

On one of his raids, he found a young girl he liked, and took her.

He gets leprosy, the (remarkable) young girl is concerned and tells him about Elisha.

A great story of a healing, but why Naaman?

Again: 27 And there were many in Israel with leprosy in the time of Elisha the prophet, yet not one of them was cleansed--only Naaman the Syrian."

Naaman humbled himself.  

You may read this and say, “What is Jesus getting at?

It doesn’t take  a rocket scientist to get what Jesus is saying.
•	The time of salvation/deliverance is here!
•	It’s going to be like it was with Elijah – remember, Israel rejected God and so the blessings went to Gentiles?
And then, to top it off, Jesus says, “You will say, “Physician heal yourself…”
•	You will reject me.

Those people start realizing what He is getting at.  “You can’t mean…the promises are going to skip us and go to the Gentiles?

"God had created the gentiles to be fuel for the fires of hell." 
But that’s exactly what Jesus was saying.
Mt. shows this is a vivid, dramatic way.  In ch.12 their rejection reaches a climax (Jesus is from hell – blasphemy of the HS).  In ch.13 Jesus teaches a whole series of parables that depict the Gospel going to the Gentiles.

Paul explained this in detail - RO 11:25 I do not want you to be ignorant of this mystery, brothers, so that you may not be conceited: Israel has experienced a hardening in part until the full number of the Gentiles has come in. 26 And so all Israel will be saved

The apostasy of Israel is temporary, but in the mean time, we get in on the blessing.

That’s why Lk.4:28 All the people in the synagogue were furious when they heard this.
28:40
The reaction
How furious?
29 They got up, drove him out of the town, and took him to the brow of the hill on which the town was built, in order to throw him down the cliff. 

They were going to stone him.

Wow.  Tough crowd.  I have spoken to some somewhat tough crowds.  I have had people react negatively.  (CN story problem)

But this is something else.

“Agree to disagree agreeably”  Apparently they didn’t agree with agreeing to disagree agreeably. 
31:55
Do you suppose this was their policy for guest speakers?  Come speak at our synagogue.  If you say good things we  will praise you.  What if I say something you don’t like?  We will drag you out of town and throw you down a cliff.  

No, this wasn’t their policy.  This was very unusual (Sabbath).  Jesus made them so mad they completely lost control.  Picture the scene.  
Some Xians were attacked in Romania.  Tore off all their clothes, beat them – 71 yr old man, 13 yr old girl - Beat severely, whipped, threw rocks.

Newspaper – man in Iraq being dragged through the streets.  People in an angry mob lose their conscience.
33:27
What would it be like to be dragged out of town by a group of men this angry?  If they were mad enough to murder him, I’m sure it wasn’t a very pleasant walk out of town.  Suppose they said, “Jesus, would you please come with us?”

No, when you are that angry, all you can think about is inflicting pain.  You can imagine them shoving him and dragging him.  I’m sure they were as rough as they could be.  They were driven by unmitigated hate.
 
This situation had gotten completely out of control.  They will not listen to reason, they are pushing, shoving, dragging, tearing his clothes, yelling.  They hate him, and they are going to kill him.

Jesus knew this would happen.  When He was preparing, He could have thought it through and said, “Maybe I’ll preach on Ps.23 instead.  That’s not so controversial.  Preaching about the rejection of Israel would be in poor taste…”

But Jesus never compromised His calling.  If you can stay out of trouble, stay out of trouble.  Jesus fled from Pharisees, etc.  Don't just make trouble just to try to be a martyr.  

But, when it comes down to compromising your calling or getting into trouble – it’s a no-brainer.  
Like Paul in Acts 21.  Agabus says, “If you go to J, they’ll get you.  You’ll be bound and imprisoned.”

“So?”

“Don’t go!  They will capture you.  They will beat you, flog you, imprison you, kill you.  Don’t go down there – it will cost you your life!”

Ac 20:24   I consider my life worth nothing to me, if only I may finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me…

“What does me suffering and dying have to do with anything.  I was placed on this earth to accomplish a task.  My only concern is accomplishing my task.   I’m called to preach the Gospel.  Are you saying I won’t be able to preach down there?”

“Well, no.  You could still preach I guess…”

“Well then, why wouldn’t I go?”

Don’t compromise your calling.  Don’t sell out your very reason for existence.  Cultivate your calling.  
 
I don’t know what Jesus did while being dragged out of town.  I have never been in a situation like that, but I can imagine it would be terrifying.

Maybe you have a situation in your life that is out of control.  Things are moving too fast and they aren’t going according to your plan.  Tomorrow looks bleak - too scary even to think about what might take place.  Disaster seems certain.  

What happens?  (end here – cliffhanger)
We all know he didn’t die here.  How did he do it?  Maybe while they were all bending over to pick up a rock, he quick ducked behind a tree.  When they stood up, they didn’t see him and said, “Darn, we wanted to kill him and now he is gone.  Rats.  and they all walked home?

30 But he walked through the crowd and went on his way.
(Never does what I would have thought)
He could have struck them all blind and ran.  He could have dislocated all their knees.  He could have flattened out the cliff right when they threw him.  He would have made all the rocks stick to the ground.  He could have filled all their rocks with helium.  He could have thrown off their equilibrium so they couldn’t throw strait.

Where? 31 Then he went down to Capernaum, a town in Galilee, and on the Sabbath began to teach the people.	
39:41
Picture that.  What was that like for the people in the crowd?  “Now we are going to throw you down.”  and Jesus says, “Nope.”  They look at him.  He looks at them.  “Goodbye.”  

Instead, he chooses to walk right through their midst.  “Excuse me, coming through”  What were each one of them thinking as he passed by.  They wanted to throw him down, but just couldn’t...or didn’t, or something. 

Jesus, when He walked this earth, veiled Himself with humanity, but He was still 100% almighty God.  And when He decided something was going to happen or not happen, that was it.  Even in His humility, something about the commanding presence of the authority of the Sovereign King of the Universe just froze these people in their tracks.

Jesus Christ was in full control of this situation just like every other situation.  Sometimes it appears that your life is just raging out of control.  It is not.

Jesus let the scene play out all the way, but when it got the exact moment when they were going to try to derail part of God’s plan, it was over.

God never lets anything progress one inch beyond His perfect plan.

Let me ask you - do you really believe Jesus Christ has that kind of control over your situation?  How much do you worry?   How much do you complain?
41:35
Why did the widow up in Sidon get the blessings from God?  What great quality did she have?  Faith

What about Naaman?  Humility

Salvation and the blessings of God are not for some select club, not for a certain ethnic group, not for people who jump through the right religious hoops.

Salvation comes to people who have faith and humility.

Can you find us in this passage?  (Where’s Waldo?)
We are right there is v.18.  We are the Poor, Captive, Blind, Oppressed gentile down-and-outers – who can receive the promised blessings if only we humble ourselves before God in faith.
42:45
Growing up in America we may think we have first dibs on the Gospel.  No, we are the dogs that get the scraps from the table after the true children have rejected them and thrown them down.

There is one way to approach God - as
Poor  (destitute, dependent)
Captive  (prisoner of sin, helpless – in need of being rescued)
Blind  Totally dependant upon God for understanding
Oppressed  (not self-sufficient, but desperate for God’s deliverance)
Jesus was sent to preach the Gospel to one group and one group only – Heaven is available only to one category of people: the humble.

At Christmas we gave gifts to our children.  What if they rejected it and threw it out in the street, and some down and out street person got it?  That’s what happened to us.
44

-	Pass out cards
-	Nursery sign up
-	Albertson’s cards
-	Hannah’s offer
-	Tape gift

Benediction: Josh 1:7  Be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey all the law my servant Moses gave you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, that you may be successful wherever you go.

Jesus Applies Isa.61 to Gentiles Lk.4:14-31  Lesson 13   12-14-97

Jesus’ method
Lk 4:16  He went to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, and on the Sabbath day he went into the synagogue, as was his custom.
As many inadequacies as there must have been, Jesus still went every week.  Scripture calls us to meet with one another on a regular basis (Heb.10:  , Ps.)

What constitutes a “regular basis” for you?  How big of an event does it have to be to keep you away from church?
I think it is different for different people (priorities and values vary), but you can measure your level of commitment to church (or anything else) by how often you miss.

In your own life, how many Sundays a year would you have to be missing before you would become concerned enough to make a change?  CREEKSIDE membership is based on “regular” attendance.  How often should a person come in order to be considered a “regular attendee”?
For me, the limit is about 5 (one out of 10).  We have not yet set an amount for membership at CREEKSIDE.  We will probably require 45 times a year unless there is a special circumstance.

What would you say to someone who said, “I don’t learn anything, and I can worship at home.

The Promise
22 "Isn't this Joseph's son?" they asked.  23 Jesus said to them, "Surely you will quote this proverb to me: `Physician, heal yourself! Do here in your hometown what we have heard that you did in Capernaum.' "  24 "I tell you the truth," he continued, "no prophet is accepted in his hometown.
Familiarity breeds contempt.  

In light of this principle, what dangers should we watch out for?
Taking the grace of God for granted
Failing to show God the proper respect
Failing to take seriously “God’s anointed” if they are local.
Not being kind to other believers (like family)

The Illustration
Jesus illustrated His point with two “problem” passages.  He made a big point out of the very thing that was the problem.  When we face a problem passage, there are two possibilities: we are misunderstanding the passage, or our theology is wrong.

What should you do when you find a problem passage?
Do an in-depth study of that passage and the one it appears to contradict.  Keep in mind the error could be in either one..
The reaction
Lk.4:28 All the people in the synagogue were furious when they heard this.
How furious?
29 They got up, drove him out of the town, and took him to the brow of the hill on which the town was built, in order to throw him down the cliff.   (They were going to stone him.)

Some people, when confronted with a convicting sermon, love it.  Others respond in anger.  

Why?  What is the difference in those people?
A soft heart and a hard heart.  Humility vs. pride  James 1:19-21

What value is there in noticing an angry response in Scripture.  
Shows you the condition of your heart.  Like acid paper

They brutally dragged Jesus out of town and attempted to murder Him.  Jesus knew this would happen, yet He still preached on Isa.61.  He never compromised His calling.

In what areas might you be tempted to compromise your calling?
Altering the message, softening the hard sayings, abdicate leadership in the home, failing to rebuke sin.

Jesus let the scene play out all the way, but when it got the exact moment when they were going to try to derail part of God’s plan, it was over.
God never lets anything progress one inch beyond His perfect plan.

Think of all the anxiety in your life.  What percentage of it is concerning the present, and how much is concerning the future?

If we obeyed Mt.6:34 (“Do not worry about tomorrow…”), what effect would that have on the total amount of your anxiety?
It would be reduced by at least 90%

The Sidonian widow and Syrian commander received the blessings in place of Israel, because they responded in humble faith.  Jesus was sent to preach the Gospel to one group and one group only – Heaven is available only to one category of people: humble believers.

Should that information cause us to take a different approach to evangelism than is commonly used?

Yes.  We should appeal to the humble-hearted, not the fat-walleted, or the most attractive, or most skilled, or to the largest number.