#1358 Luke 4 Part 2 Today Is

 

16 And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up. And as was his custom, he went to the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and he stood up to read. 17 And the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to him. He unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written,

18 “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 of sight to the blind,

to set at liberty those who are oppressed,

19 to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor.”

20 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. 21 And he began to say to them, “Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.” 22 And all spoke well of him and marveled at the gracious words that were coming from his mouth. And they said, “Is not this Joseph's son?” 23 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.’” 24 And he said, “Truly, I say to you, no prophet is acceptable in his hometown. 25 But in truth, I tell you, there were many widows in Israel in the days of Elijah, when the heavens were shut up three years and six months, and a great famine came over all the land, 26 and Elijah was sent to none of them but only to Zarephath, in the land of Sidon, to a woman who was a widow. 27 And there were many lepers in Israel in the time of the prophet Elisha, and none of them was cleansed, but only Naaman the Syrian.” 28 When they heard these things, all in the synagogue were filled with wrath. 29 And they rose up and drove him out of the town and brought him to the brow of the hill on which their town was built, so that they could throw him down the cliff. 30 But passing through their midst, he went away. Luke 4: 16-30 ESV

Luke 4: 16-30

As was His custom - Jesus kept the Sabbath, had been keeping it, and was handed the scroll of Isaiah to read as is the practice of the daily reading. His life is one not only of a carpenter, but also a student of Scripture, who spends much time in prayer, and also makes a point of repeating what He has learned as a teacher. 

Pulpit Commentary - "This had been for years his practice in the little synagogue of the village where was his carpenter's shop. Children at the age of five years were admitted into the synagogue, and at thirteen attendance there was part of the legal life of the Jew. These synagogues were the regular places for religious gatherings every sabbath day, and also usually on Mondays and Tuesdays, besides on other special occasions. We hear of them after the return from the Captivity, and probably they existed long before. Some think that in Psalm 74:8 there is a reference to them."

It is interesting that Luke's description is the earliest Biblical description of a synagogue service. Nehemiah mentions the standing position three times

Now on the twenty-fourth day of this month the sons of Israel assembled with fasting, in sackcloth, and with dirt upon them. 2 And the descendants of Israel separated themselves from all foreigners, and stood and confessed their sins and the iniquities of their fathers. 3 While they stood in their place, they read from the book of the law of the LORD their God for a fourth of the day; and for another fourth they confessed and worshiped the LORD their God. 4 Now on the Levites' platform stood Jeshua, Bani, Kadmiel, Shebaniah, Bunni, Sherebiah, Bani, and Chenani, and they cried with a loud voice to the LORD their God. (Neh 9:1-4) - Precept Austin

2 The Spirit of the Lord will rest on Him,

The spirit of wisdom and understanding,

The spirit of counsel and cstrength,

The spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord.

3 And He will delight in the fear of the Lord,

And He will not judge by what His eyes asee,

Nor make a decision by what His ears hear;

4 But with arighteousness He will judge the bpoor,

And decide with fairness for the cafflicted of the earth;

And He will strike the earth with the drod of His mouth,

And with the ebreath of His lips He will slay the wicked.

5 Also arighteousness will be the belt about His loins,

And bfaithfulness the belt about His waist. Isaiah 11: 2-5

Preach the gospel to the poor - In Matthew 5 we read about those who are blessed because they are poor in spirit. We also learn that Jesus did not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance, and so those of us who realize we are spiritually bankrupt, poor in spirit, can have hope in Him.

…17The righteous cry out, and the LORD hears; He delivers them from all their troubles. 18The LORD is near to the brokenhearted; He saves the contrite in spirit. 19Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the LORD delivers him from them all.… Psalm 34: 17-19

Liberty to the captives - He came to set the captives free. Have you realized yet that you are a slave to sin, that you were born dead in your trespasses and sins?

…19For He looked down from the heights of His sanctuary; the LORD gazed out from heaven to earth 20to hear a prisoner’s groaning, to release those condemned to death, 21that they may proclaim the name of the LORD in Zion and praise Him in Jerusalem,… Psalm 102: 19-21

…16Do you not know that when you offer yourselves as obedient slaves, you are slaves to the one you obey, whether you are slaves to sin leading to death, or to obedience leading to righteousness? 17But thanks be to God that, though you once were slaves to sin, you wholeheartedly obeyed the form of teaching to which you were committed. 18You have been set free from sin and have become slaves to righteousness.… Romans 6: 16-18

And recovery of sight to the blind - Without the knowledge of the true God we walk in darkness, and in Israel there were of the religious those who pretended at holding a lamp, yet they were stumbling in the dark, the blind leading the blind.

…12For whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted. 13 Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You shut the kingdom of heaven in men’s faces. You yourselves do not enter, nor will you let in those who wish to enter. … Matthew 23: 12-13

…14Disregard them! They are blind guides. If a blind man leads a blind man, both will fall into a pit.” 15 Peter said to Him, “Explain this parable to us.” 16“Do you still not understand?” Jesus asked.… Matthew 15: 14-16

…4Jesus replied, “Go back and report to John what you hear and see: 5The blind receive sight, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is preached to the poor. 6Blessed is the one who does not fall away on account of Me.”… Matthew 11: 4-6

Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing - They have long waited for the Messiah, the successor to David's throne, but many will not recognize Him, and many will not be prepared when He comes as the final Judge of all the earth. This is a bold statement, and there is much stir about Him because of His miracles.

29 “Brethren, I may confidently say to you regarding the patriarch David that he both died and was buried, and his tomb is with us to this day.

30 “And so, because he was aa prophet and knew that God had sworn to him with an oath to seat one of his descendants on his throne,

31 he looked ahead and spoke of the resurrection of the Christ, that He was neither abandoned to Hades, nor did His flesh suffer decay.

32 “This Jesus God raised up again, to which we are all witnesses.

33 “Therefore having been exalted to the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, He has poured forth this which you both see and hear. Acts 2: 29-33

And all spoke well of Him and marveled - With their prosperity in mind He was a King, a welcome soul, but without the fish and the bread many will turn away. He is about to destroy the hype and buzz in the next few verses.

Do here in your hometown as well - Word of mouth had reached them about Jesus turning water into wine and healing the sick. Why don't you put up a tent here, put up a revival sign and start doing tricks for us. They wanted signs and wonders, but they had the testimony of His life, that He had walked in favor with God and man up to this day, that He was Godly and in a way like no one else they ever knew. Feed us, entertain us, make us wealthy, and kill our enemies, that is all they want. The self righteous would never ask for a Savior from sin, only it's inconveniences.

…3When the wine ran out, Jesus’ mother said to Him, “They have no more wine.” 4“Woman, why does this concern us? ” Jesus replied. “My hour has not yet come.” 5His mother said to the servants, “Do whatever He tells you.”… John 2: 3-5

In the days of Elijah - Elijah was one of their favorite prophets, but he was sent to stay with and help a widow who was a gentile, in the land of Sidon. The Jews looked down on the gentiles, but God is clearly showing that He is no respecter of persons, and no one owns Jesus because He is from their same town. 

Spurgeon - This was as much as to say, “It is not because I lived here that I shall work miracles in this place. There were many widows round about Elijah, but he was not sent to one of them, he was sent to a widow in Sarepta, a city of Sidon, a heathen woman in another country.” Mark the sovereignty of God; he bestows his mercy where he wills, according to his declaration to Moses, “I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will show mercy on whom I will show mercy.” We dare not ask God why he does this, “for he giveth not account of any of his matters.” He acts wisely; but he acts according to the good pleasure of his own will. - Precept Austin

In the time of the prophet Elisha - Elisha was the student apprentice to Elijah, and the one who received Elijah's ministry when he was taken up. Naaman the Syrian, sounds like a guy from Syria to us, and that is the plain and simple, but he was actually a hated enemy of Israel. He was a leper who was unclean, a heathen, and a cruel military man of great might. When he rode into Israel to see the prophet even Israel's king was terrified. Naaman was healed and forever changed, realizing that there was only one true God.

14 Then went he down, and dipped himself seven times in Jordan, according to the saying of the man of God: and his flesh came again like unto the flesh of a little child, and he was clean.

15 And he returned to the man of God, he and all his company, and came, and stood before him: and he said, Behold, now I know that there is no God in all the earth, but in Israel: now therefore, I pray thee, take a blessing of thy servant.

16 But he said, As the Lord liveth, before whom I stand, I will receive none. And he urged him to take it; but he refused. 2 Kings 5: 14-16

More on Naaman

So that they could throw Him down the cliff - A drastic change in the mood there, and yet Jesus walks away unscathed. No one can take you before God's time for you.