Who is Jesus? Luke 4:14-30

Who Is Jesus? • Sermon • Submitted 3 months ago • Presented 3 months ago

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Epiphany is about discovery. It is a sudden breakthrough of realization about something. During the season of Epiphany, our subject of discover is the identity of Jesus. This baby whose birth we celebrate at Christmas, was no ordinary child. He was human, but He was also God. This season we will look behind Jesus childhood and the beginning of His ministry looking for the gems that reveal that He was more than an ordinary person. He was in fact, God incarnate.

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Psalm 91:1 NIV

1 Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.

Psalm 91:9–16 NIV

9 If you say, “The Lord is my refuge,” and you make the Most High your dwelling, 10 no harm will overtake you, no disaster will come near your tent. 11 For he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways; 12 they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone. 13 You will tread on the lion and the cobra; you will trample the great lion and the serpent. 14 “Because he loves me,” says the Lord, “I will rescue him; I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name. 15 He will call on me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble, I will deliver him and honor him. 16 With long life I will satisfy him and show him my salvation.”

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Who Is Jesus?

Occasionally, some local town sports a headline that states something like, “Local Boy Makes Good.” The article then proceeds to share about some local boy (or it could be a girl), who has achieved some award or success in some endeavor. The person identified gets accolades for a short time, but it doesn’t take long before they are just the person next door once again. To illustrate this, allow me to share such a story about James Kraft, founder of the Kraft brand products.

The return of the local-boy-made-good is not always the triumph that legend has it. Around the turn of the century there was a young man named James Lewis Kraft who was a clerk in Ferguson’s general store at Fort Erie, Ontario, across the Niagara River from Buffalo. Kraft was born on a farm near there. He was obviously a good clerk, appreciated by his employer, because he was making $150 a month—a good salary in those days. A neighboring storekeeper, a man named Land, remembered him very well. Years later, when Kraft revisited the Land store on a trip home, the elderly proprietor identified him with every sign of pleasure. A good deal of water had gone over the falls during that interval. James Kraft had founded the Kraft Cheese Company in Chicago. The company’s products had reached practically every grocery store in the U.S.A. and adjacent Canada as well. Millions of dollars in advertising had etched the Kraft name into public consciousness, and J.L. Kraft had every expectation that neither the name nor the products had bypassed the admiring attention of his old friend. However, when he crossed paths with Land, he merely said, “Why, hello, Lew. Haven’t seen you for years. You still clerkin’ up at Ferguson’s?” It couldn’t, as the saying goes, have happened to a nicer guy. For J.L. Kraft was a humble man, even though he built a multi-million-dollar business. Bits & Pieces, July 21, 1994, pp. 19-21

Now, is it any wonder that Jesus’ first recorded sermon and first recorded rejection took place in His hometown? That is where we are going today as we continue with our epiphany series.

Luke 4:14–30 NIV

14 Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit, and news about him spread through the whole countryside. 15 He was teaching 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. He stood up to read, 17 and the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him. Unrolling it, he found the place where it is written: 18 “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, 19 to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.” 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. 21 He began by saying to them, “Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.” 22 All spoke well of him and were amazed at the gracious words that came from his lips. “Isn’t this Joseph’s son?” they asked. 23 Jesus said to them, “Surely you will quote this proverb to me: ‘Physician, heal yourself!’ And you will tell me, ‘Do here in your hometown what we have heard that you did in Capernaum.’ ” 24 “Truly I tell you,” he continued, “no prophet is accepted in his hometown. 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. 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.” 28 All the people in the synagogue were furious when they heard this. 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 off the cliff. 30 But he walked right through the crowd and went on his way.

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I. Jesus’ First Recorded Sermon Luke 4:14-30

This account has several interesting details to consider regarding His reception by the people. We also find Jesus’ first recorded sermon or part of that sermon at least, in which Jesus makes an astounding pronouncement. Then we will see if Jesus was proved a liar or if He fulfilled what He declared on that day. Because if He fulfilled what He said, we must believe Him. It would prove this to be yet another moment of epiphany regarding His identity.

As we open the account, we find that...

A. Jesus is Received in Galilee. Luke 4:14-15

Luke 4:14–15 NIV

14 Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit, and news about him spread through the whole countryside. 15 He was teaching in their synagogues, and everyone praised him.

Several of the gospels share of Jesus’ traveling and preaching across Galilee, but only Luke shares the account from His hometown. We know that Jesus returned to the territory of Galilee after His wilderness experience. It is important to remember why Jesus was in the desert. We often focus on the temptations as that is what is spoken on the most in these passages, however, Jesus was there praying and fasting to hear from the Father. He was seeking the Father’s wisdom and direction for where to start in His ministry. The testing time was just normal work on Satan’s part and is common to anyone praying and fasting for God’s will.

By the time Jesus leaves the wilderness, He knows His first assignment and heads out directly for Galilee, collecting six male companions who would become some of His closest friends.

The impression is that they left Bethany and went directly to the wedding in Cana. Now, they have made their way to Nazareth (probably accompanying Mary back home), and evidently Jesus has been preaching along the way. His teaching has caused quite a stir, and the people have gladly received Him, anxious to hear them for themselves.

It is important to notice that all this was done under the power of the Spirit. It is important to notice this as it speaks to our own need for the Spirit’s leadership in all we do. If it was important for Jesus, it is twice as important for us. Whenever we hear God’s call, we also should take time to pull away for prayer and fasting, listening for God’s direction and leaving with confidence that God’s Spirit is upon us. The Spirit will only avail Himself to us if we are doing God’s will.

Now it had been a long time since Israel had such a dynamic speaker. They had once experienced this kind of power of the Spirit when prophets had spoken, but a long time had passed since they had heard one speak. So, the news of Jesus’ powerful teaching spread and no doubt Nazareth was excited to hear that their local boy was making good around the Galilean countryside. It would be with a great deal of pride, that they looked forward to His arrival.

Before I get into that part of our passage, I want to give you an idea of what a local synagogue service was like. You may be surprised to find that it wasn’t very different from our own services today.

The typical order of service was something like this:

1. Prayer - It began with a prayer of invocation for God’s blessing.

2. Confession of Faith - Next came the recitation of the traditional Hebrew confession of faith. The most common was…

Deuteronomy 6:4–9 NIV

4 Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. 5 Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. 6 These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. 7 Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. 8 Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. 9 Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates.

This was often followed with Deut 11:13-21, which I will refrain from reading due to its length.

3. Scripture reading - someone would read a prescribed reading from the law and from the prophets. It appears they had designated books to read from on different weeks. We have something similar called a Lectionary. More liturgical denominations tend to use it faithfully to my knowledge. For other denominations, such as the Nazarenes, it is usually up to the pastor. I use it on occasion, but not very regularly. It tends to skip around the Bible, and I prefer to preach from a book at a time. It is easier to study for multiple sermons when I am in the same book of the Bible, and it is easier for you to see that the sermons are in context with the other passages around it.

4. Aramaic paraphrasing - After the reading of the scriptures, which were always in Hebrew, someone would paraphrase them in Aramaic for the congregation.

5. Sermon – After the scriptures were read, a brief sermon was given by either a layman or a visiting rabbi. It is interesting that the person reading the scriptures would stand, but then they would sit down to preach.

6. Closing prayer/benediction - The service was then closed with either a benediction by a priest or with a prayer of dismissal by a layman. If you are unfamiliar with the difference, basically, the benediction was a blessing spoken over the people by a priest.

Now that we have an idea of what their services were like, let’s continue with our account of Jesus’ preaching. Where the people of Galilee widely accepted Jesus, we find a different response in Nazareth, Jesus’ hometown. Instead…

B. Jesus’ is Rejected in Nazareth. Luke 4:16-30

It is always amazing how someone can be so looked up to and received in other places but find greater expectations of those they are the closest to. Let’s consider somethings about Jesus I this moment.

1. Jesus is in His hometown . Luke 4:16

Luke 4:16 NIV

16 He went to Nazareth, where he had been brought up,

Jesus had lived among these people for 30 years, assuming he left just before His baptism. I am sure they all knew him and thought He was a good guy. He was respectful to His parents. He would have overseen his siblings at times, and he had treated them well. He was a hard worker. It is difficult to know what they understood about his leaving town or even how long he had been gone. Surely his leaving would have brought some curious speculation since he was the oldest. As the oldest, the household and the other children would have been considered his responsibility. There may have been some whispers of concern that he left since His mother and family would be considered his responsibility, however, word has now come to them that he is returning home, and he is making headlines that are good, thus making them look good.

One thing the Jews could appreciate was someone leaving home for spiritual purposes. To be a Rabbi was a great occupation when you lived in a society as religious as the Jewish culture. It would be with great anticipation that they now awaited his arrival. Then the Sabbath arrives. Perhaps it was a packed synagogue on this day, everyone anxious to hear what all the hubbub has been about.

2. Jesus preaches in his home church. Luke 4:16

Luke 4:16 NIV

and on the Sabbath day he went into the synagogue, as was his custom. He stood up to read,

It is my understanding that it was a common practice for visitors, especially ones considered a Rabbi, to take this place of honor of reading and preaching the scriptures. The practice consisted of one standing to read the Word and then sitting to teach and that is what Jesus did. He stood and read the word and then he sat to teach.

Now, it so happens that the scroll handed Jesus was that of the prophet Isaiah. This was probably the prescribed book of the prophet to be read on this particular week as we spoke of earlier, however, once opened, Jesus selected what scriptures he chose to read.

We have no idea what Jesus preached or taught in the other Galilean towns, but here in his hometown, Jesus makes a startling declaration.

3. Jesus identifies himself as the Messiah according to Isaiah 61. Luke 4:17-21

It was well accepted by the people that this passage in Isaiah speaks about the Messiah. Jesus reads the passage and then sits and says,

Luke 4:21 NIV

21…“Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.”

Now, this is how he began, but he must have said more because the following verses indicate more was said and the response was not too bad, however, even though the people seem in awe of what he is saying, they react in disbelief and here is where things turn because we find that...

4. Jesus confronts their unbelief. Luke 4:23-27

The people are amazed by what he has said, but they are struggling to accept it due to their familiarity with Him. However, this attitude of unbelief was not new in Israel. The prophets had forever struggled with the same attitude. So, Jesus refers them to the issue of the prophets not being received by their own people and here is where things go from pleasant to disgraceful. Look with me at what happens next.

C. The Congregation Moves From Passive Aggressive to Outright Violence . Luke 4:22, 28-30

It is interesting to note the progression of their emotions here and what it was that turned them. Remember, Jesus spoke in the power of the Spirit and the people were often amazed by the authority by which he spoke. Notice the first response of these locals. Luke says,

1. All spoke well of him. Luke 4:22

Luke 4:22 NIV

22 All spoke well of him and were amazed at the gracious words that came from his lips...

As Jesus read the scripture and even as he made his pronouncement and began teaching, the people were impressed. They found his words “gracious” and they were amazed. This is not so different from what we read of the other communities where it said, “they praised him.” So, what happened? Why did it turn negative? It is because...

2. They did not believe him. Luke 4:22

Let’s look at the next sentence.

Luke 4:22 NIV

22 All spoke well of him and were amazed at the gracious words that came from his lips. “Isn’t this Joseph’s son?” they asked.

The people liked what he said, but they rejected them because they could not justify his words with their recollection of the little boy that grew up in their midst. However, their reaction was in a form that was passive aggressive. They were speaking to each other but not speaking to him.

We expect the ones who know us best will trust us, however, too frequently, they are the more difficult to convince. These people had seen him grow up. They would be able to give account to the respective, obedient child he had been. Surely, they would know of the story how he disappeared at age 12 and was found in the temple, the least likely place to find a boy that age. You would think they would say, “He always was a good boy well better behaved then any in town. Should we be shocked to see him turn out so well?” But that was not their response. Instead of trusting the boy they had always known, they wanted proof. They wanted him to demonstrate by providing signs that they had heard were taking place in other places. Perhaps there were signs even as a child, that he knew they had witnessed. Yet, they fell in the direction of unbelief. As they whispered to each other, Jesus addresses their whispers. He draws their attention to how the prophets were never believed either and always had a positive response among Gentiles instead of their fellow Jews, which would draw the people to the good reports from other areas of Galilee.

At this point,

3. The congregation becomes angry . Luke 4:28

Luke 4:28 NIV

28 All the people in the synagogue were furious when they heard this.

It was Jesus’ message of inclusion of the Gentiles that really turned things. Israel had become arrogant and put themselves above the Gentiles. Yet often, it was the Gentiles that opened themselves to the prophets and their message. A couple weeks ago, Jose Acosta shared the account of Jonah. What a perfect example of what Jesus is up against here in his own hometown. Jonah had this same kind of arrogance, yet God used Jonah despite Jonah’s bitter attitude. Jonah, a Jew, did not change his bitter attitude toward God, yet Ninevah repented and turned to God. Elijah and Elisha both experienced this same kind of rejection from Israel yet had positive responses from Gentile believers.

Their final response sealed their fate. You see,

4. They attempted to kill Jesus. Luke 4:29

Luke 4:29 NIV

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 off the cliff.

Just think of all the firsts that Jesus experienced here. His first homecoming. His first recorded sermon. His first rejection. The first time his life was threatened. And it all took place in his hometown. How heartbreaking that must have been! There is no indication in scripture that he ever returned to Nazareth after this. God never goes where He is not wanted.

I wonder if it ever occurred to them that they did see a miracle that day. We see it in the last verse, though it was not the positive kind they would have witnessed if things had been different.

Luke 4:30 NIV

30 But he walked right through the crowd and went on his way.

This occurred a few times in Jesus’ lifetime. It was not His time yet, and God protected him, and he just walked away. It reminds me of our opening Psalm today that says...

Psalm 91:9–12 NIV

This occurred more than once while Jesus walked this earth. It always makes me think of those cartoons where a group of people (or animals) all dogpile on an individual, and then you see that person walk out from the crowd unscathed while everyone else is piled on the wrong person.

This account of Nazareth is heartrending. The people who had the best vantage point to see it all totally missed out because of their arrogance. How often do we witness people missing out because of their arrogance or refusal to believe? If they had only kept quiet and watched, they would have found the truth. What is that truth?

D. Did Jesus Fulfill What He Claimed on That Day? Isaiah 61:1-2

Let’s look again at His declaration as read from Isaiah 61:1-2 and see if it was fulfilled.

Isaiah 61:1–2 NIV

1 The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me, because the Lord has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners, 2 to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor…

The Year of the Lord’s favor was a reference to the Year of Jubilee. Every 7 years was a Sabbath year in which they allowed the land to rest from farming. Every 50th year was a sabbath rest for all and brought freedom and economic restoration to everyone, or it would have if they had practiced it according to God’s law. The 50th year was the year that followed 7, Sabbath years. Slaves were to be set free. Debts were to be forgiven. The covenant land grants that had been sold due to hardships were to be returned. It was a time of economic restoration for all in the nation of Israel. However, when Jesus makes this declaration in this moment, He is promising spiritual restoration and freedom. Did He do so? Because if He did, it does not matter whether the people in his hometown believed him or not. Their response does not dictate his identity, only his ability to do what he claimed. So, let’s quickly list them and see.

1. Was the Spirit of the Lord upon Jesus? Yes!

Yes! The authority and power of his words, as well as his ability to walk away unscathed from the crowd are proof that the Spirit of God was upon Jesus.

2. Did Jesus preach the good news to the poor? Yes!

The scriptures record him doing this for three years.

3. Did Jesus proclaim freedom for the prisoners? Yes!

Jesus continually proclaimed freedom from the bondage of sin. He was willing to go where others were unwilling to go. He preached and loved the downtrodden, abused, and ignored. Wherever he traveled, we witness people finding freedom and joy!

4. Did Jesus bring sight to the blind? Yes!

Both physically and spiritually! There were certain miracles that were only believed that the Messiah could do. One of them was to give sight to a man born blind. No one had ever been able to do so, but Jesus did!

5. Did Jesus release the oppressed? Yes!

Many times, over! Who can forget Mary Magdalene freed from demons. Or Zaccheus, a social outcast restored to society. Or the lame who were subjected to begging for a living that were restored to a normal lifestyle.

Finally,

6. Was Jesus anointed? Yes!

How could Jesus have done all those things if He weren’t anointed. God had anointed Him for this service. Did you know that Messiah literally means, “Anointed One?” The year of the Lord’s favor was that the Messiah had finally arrived! For thousands of years, the Jews had waited and now he had arrived. There were those who accepted Him. People like Andrew, Peter, James, John, Philip, and Nathanael. There were many, like the people of Nazareth who rejected Him because He came with a message that did not fit what they wanted to hear.

Conclusion:

Which camp do you fall in? Do you look at the evidence and put your faith in Him? Or do you reject Him because His message is not something you are willing to accept. Perhaps it doesn’t fit your agenda or your desire. Or maybe you just have not decided yet. You are riding on the fence still trying to decide which way to swing. You need to make your choice soon. I do not believe we have much time. I believe things will continue to get harder and without God, you fall prey to falling away completely. Riding the fence is a “no” vote in God’s book. The only safe choice is to believe and follow.

If you have been riding that fence and today you can see from the evidence that Jesus is the Son of God, it is a simple step over the fence. Just admit that Jesus is Lord. Believe He died for your sins. Confess your sin and ask for his forgiveness. Step down from the fence into His care.

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