I am glad to be back posting again. Thank you for taking the time to read the Weekend Sermon. I hope the everyone is having a good week.
I have been recovering from a kidney infection. I have been very sick, and I had to take some time off of work. I am doing better, but I don't feel that well today. Please pray that I will be able to fully recover from this bad episode. Also, we have been having terrible weather in my part of the country. Please pray that some of this will stop. Thank you for your prayers.
In other matters, please continue to pray for my uncle. He has come home after being in the hospital for three weeks with pneumonia. Pray that he will make a full recovery.
In prayer this week, pray that the Ebola outbreak in Congo will come to an end. Pray that those who are sick will make a full recovery.
Please pray for peace in this world. Pray that there might be peace in Yemen, Libya, Syria and Afghanistan. Pray for peace in every part of the world where there is violence.
For our prayer focus countries this week, let us pray for those living in Togo and Bahrain. Pray that many will hear about the love and mercy of the Lord Jesus.
Today, we will continue with our series of messages about the teachings of Jesus. Our focus will center around the incident when Jesus spoke in the synagogue in His hometown of Nazareth and how He was rejected by the people of His hometown. I want to focus on two aspects of this passage. I want us to look at the message that Jesus proclaimed to the people, and the people's rejection of Jesus.
According to Luke's Gospel, Jesus came back to His home region of Galilee after his fast of 40 days and nights in the wilderness. Jesus performed miracles and taught the people.
One day, Jesus came back to His hometown of Nazareth. On the Sabbath Day, Jesus went to the synagogue. According to Luke, it was Jesus' custom to read the Scriptures in the synagogue in His hometown. On this occasion, Jesus read from a portion of the book of Isaiah. Jesus read, "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 to the prisoners and recovery of sight to the blind, to set the oppressed free, and to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor."
After reading this, Jesus sat down to teach the people. He told the people that the Scripture that He had just read was fulfilled in their hearing. In other words, He was the fulfillment of the prophecy in Isaiah.
Jesus went on to say that no prophet was accepted in his own hometown. In fact, Jesus said that both Elijah and Elisha performed miracles for those who were not even of the Jewish faith.
The people became enraged at what Jesus had to say. They drove Jesus out of town, and they were going to throw Him off a cliff. However, Jesus walked right through them and went on His way.
What are we to make of this? What can we learn from this?
First of all, I want to look at what Jesus said He was fulfilling. The verses that Jesus read from the prophet Isaiah are verses that tell about the coming Messiah. Jesus was telling the people that He was the Messiah that was predicted and told about in the prophetic books of the Old Testament.
First of all, Jesus said that the Spirit of the Lord was on Him. We know that this happened at Jesus' baptism when the Spirit descended on Jesus in the form of a dove. The voice of the Father spoke saying, "This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased."
Jesus said that His anointing by the Spirit was so that He could preach good news for the poor. I believe that this had a two-fold meaning. The message that Jesus brought to the people during His time on earth was a message the transformed those who were in spiritual poverty. They could come to faith in Him, and they could receive eternal life and forgiveness of sins. By responding to the teachings and commandments of Jesus, people could become spiritually rich.
Jesus also preached a message of social justice. We see this in the Sermon on the Mount and in other teachings of Jesus. Jesus taught the way of love and compassion. His message was good news for those who had been oppressed by the religious and political establishment of the day.
Jesus also came to bring freedom to those who were in prison. A major part of Jesus ministry on earth was freeing people from the bondage of demoniac possession. Though these people were imprisoned by the forces of darkness, they were set free by the power of Jesus Christ.
Jesus also performed many other miracles while He was here on this earth. Jesus opened the eyes of the blind. He restored hearing to the deaf. He healed the lepers and those afflicted with many other diseases. It was a preview of the total restoration that would one day come upon the entire earth when Jesus comes again to rule and reign over all of the earth.
Jesus came to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor. He came to tall everyone that no matter who they are, they are loved by God. All people can come and experience the love and mercy of Jesus. Also, the year of the Lord's favor refers to the Year of Jubilee when all the old debts are wiped away. A new fresh thing was coming. Jesus ushered in a new way of living. He ushered in the kingdom of heaven, and He invites all people everywhere to be a part of it.
Now, I want to focus on the second aspect of this passage. The people in Jesus' hometown didn't want to have anything to do with Him. Other passages of Scripture tell us that the people couldn't believe that this one who had grown up in their midst was the Messiah and the Son of the Most High God. The Bible says that they took offence at Him.
This passage leads me to believe that Jesus had a rough early life. The people in His hometown didn't think much of Him. I think that this had to do with the fact that Mary was found to be pregnant before she was married to Joseph. The people in town probably spread a lot of rumors, and Jesus was probably not really too welcome by most people in town. That is just my opinion.
We know from this passage that they drove Jesus out of town and wanted to push Him off a cliff. He was despised and rejected. He was a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief.
Passages like this let me know that Jesus understands what it is like to be hurt by others. He understands the hardships and struggles that I and others go through everyday. He is able to supply comfort and help to those who feel the pain of rejection.
Next week, we will continue with our messages about Jesus. I will try to get back to a regular schedule of posting next week. I hope to post the verses on Monday and a review on Wednesday. May God bless you all. Amen.
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