The Heart of the Gospel
July 1, 2023
Luke 4:14-30 | Isaiah 61:1-4
This really could be considered it. Jesus’ short time as an adult in his hometown of Nazareth. We’re not really sure how long it’s been since his departure from Nazareth, but apparently some time has passed. Maybe he’s not different per-say, but something has changed - perhaps the mantle he is carrying.
Or the message. It’s the message. It’s the gospel itself, the heart of it.
Jesus’ first publicly recorded teaching came in his home synagogue. This is the experience of many preachers. But this was no test run. This was it - the fullness of the gospel Jesus came to preach, teach, and live. Take note of it. Memorize it, even.
I wonder if Mary was there. She likely was. We’ve already noted her strong influence in Luke’s gospel, so it’s not hard to imagine she was there in her own hometown, her own synagogue. And so she could report this to Luke.
Jesus delivered a strong message. And the Nazarenes didn’t like it in the end, to the point that they were willing to kill their own. Such a quick turnabout.
But it wasn’t time yet. Jesus made sure of it.
But note the message at the heart of the gospel. Don’t miss it.
Luke 4:14-30
Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit to Galilee, and news about him spread throughout the whole countryside. He taught in their synagogues and was praised by everyone.
Jesus went to Nazareth, where he had been raised. On the Sabbath he went to the synagogue as he normally did and stood up to read. The synagogue assistant gave him the scroll from the prophet Isaiah. He unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written:
The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,
because the Lord has anointed me.
He has sent me to preach good news to the poor,
to proclaim release to the prisoners
and recovery of sight to the blind,
to liberate the oppressed,
and to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.
He rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the synagogue assistant, and sat down. Every eye in the synagogue was fixed on him. He began to explain to them, “Today, this scripture has been fulfilled just as you heard it.”
Everyone was raving about Jesus, so impressed were they by the gracious words flowing from his lips. They said, “This is Joseph’s son, isn’t it?”
Then Jesus said to them, “Undoubtedly, you will quote this saying to me: ‘Doctor, heal yourself. Do here in your hometown what we’ve heard you did in Capernaum.’” He said, “I assure you that no prophet is welcome in the prophet’s hometown. And I can assure you that there were many widows in Israel during Elijah’s time, when it didn’t rain for three and a half years and there was a great food shortage in the land. Yet Elijah was sent to none of them but only to a widow in the city of Zarephath in the region of Sidon. There were also many persons with skin diseases in Israel during the time of the prophet Elisha, but none of them were cleansed. Instead, Naaman the Syrian was cleansed.”
When they heard this, everyone in the synagogue was filled with anger. They rose up and ran him out of town. They led him to the crest of the hill on which their town had been built so that they could throw him off the cliff. But he passed through the crowd and went on his way.
Isaiah 61:1-4
The Lord God’s spirit is upon me,
because the Lord has anointed me.
He has sent me
to bring good news to the poor,
to bind up the brokenhearted,
to proclaim release for captives,
and liberation for prisoners,
to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor
and a day of vindication for our God,
to comfort all who mourn,
to provide for Zion’s mourners,
to give them a crown in place of ashes,
oil of joy in place of mourning,
a mantle of praise in place of discouragement.
They will be called Oaks of Righteousness,
planted by the Lord to glorify himself.
They will rebuild the ancient ruins;
they will restore formerly deserted places;
they will renew ruined cities,
places deserted in generations past.
Prayer
God,
We get it confused often, don’t we? The gospel. The gospel and your action within it. It’s almost like we trust ourselves more than we trust you to get it done. So we make laws of righteousness that in the end result in people being bound more than freed.
So help us, God. Restore in us the liberation of Christ. Move us with and in a Christ who brings good news, release from imprisonment, recovery to the infirmed, liberation for the oppressed, and freedom for the indebted.
So help us, God.
By your spirit & in Christ,
Amen.