I have never claimed to have a very good memory – in fact I admit to having just the opposite. When I need to know something about the history of our church I ask one of you. But I do remember some of the details of the first sermon that I preached nearly 50 years ago. I remember that it could be debated whether or not it should be called a “sermon.” It was on a Sunday evening in the spring of 1968 in the First Bible Baptist Church of Fort Collins, Colorado. I don’t remember the scripture that I used, nor to I remember the theme. But I do remember that it was short, and that I had trouble breathing. I remember that when I was finished the pastor kindly asked me what it was that I was trying to say. Or more literally he asked, “Did you really mean to say what I thought you said?” If whether or not I’d be in the ministry today had to be based upon that message, it’s a wonder that I’m not a field biologist working for the U.S. Forest Service at this moment.
Would it surprise you to learn that there are some similarities between the Lord Jesus’ first recorded sermon and mine? Well, there is one similarity anyway. His first was NOT on a Sunday night in a little BAPTIST church. And He wasn’t speaking in English as I was trying to speak. It is highly doubtful that He was the least bit nervous or hyperventilating. And apparently no one was confused about what He was trying to say, even though they didn’t like it. Actually, if Luke’s account records all Jesus said that day then the only similarity between that message and mine, was that they were both relatively short.
Let’s outline the events leading up to that service in Nazareth. There was a strange, radical, fundamental Baptistic preacher, who was calling Israel to repentance. John the Baptist was staying out on the fringes of society, living somewhat like a hermit on the banks of the Jordan River. It wasn’t that he was afraid to preach in Jerusalem, because he wasn’t afraid of anything. He was certainly not afraid to point out the sins of the nation and its leaders. He lived without luxury, even to the point of eating bugs and wearing rugs. And a part of his message was that “Soon … very shortly we will see the Messiah.” Then came Jesus of Nazareth to be immersed by John, which by way, was why he was called “the Baptist.” Jesus’ baptism marked the beginning of His ministry. I don’t think that the pre-teenage Jesus went about preaching sermons, per se. I don’t think that the infant Christ healed the sick or raised the dead. There are wild and ridiculous stories about the power of God being found in the toddler son of Mary and Joseph, but they are pure fiction. We must base our knowledge of Christ and our faith in Christ on the Word of God, not speculation, tradition or superstition. Jesus’ ministry began on the day that He was baptized by John under the authority of Heaven. On that day the Father’s voice was heard from Heaven, and the Holy Spirit descended from Heaven as a dove might flutter down and land on the branch of a tree. Luke 3:21 – “Now when all the people were baptized, it came to pass, That Jesus also being baptized, and praying, the heaven was opened, And the Holy Ghost descended in a bodily shape like a dove upon him, Ad a voice came from heaven, which said, Thou art my beloved Son; in thee I am well pleased.”
Immediately after His baptism, Jesus went into battle with the Satan, as we see in Luke 4:1 and 2. This temptation took place in the wilderness, east and south of the Sea of Galilee or more likely east of the Dead Sea. Luke 4:14 – “And Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit into Galilee: and there went out a fame of him through all the region round about.” After His return to Galilee, the Lord Jesus called His first disciples as described in John 1. Andrew was His initial disciple along with someone who was un-named – probably John. Andrew then told his brother Peter that he had “found the Messiah.” To be more precise, it was the Messiah who had found him, but we will forgive Andrew for the way he spoke, because we often do the same. And then Jesus called Philip, who in turn told Nathaniel. So very quickly, the Lord Jesus had a tiny group of disciples. From there the little entourage attended a marriage ceremony in the Galilean city of Cana. It was at that time the Lord Jesus performed His first recorded miracle. It was probably His first miracle period. Even though He had never worked a miracle before, He did so without the slightest hesitation. He knew who He was, and He had absolute control over His creation. After that marriage came a trip to Jerusalem for His first Passover following His ordination and the cleansing of the Temple. There were other miracles performed in Judea during that time. And it was then that Jesus met with Nicodemus in John 3. After that Jesus “must needs pass through Samaria” on up to Nazareth and towards our scripture.
So this is Christ’s first RECORDED sermon. There may have been others, but we aren’t told about them. This sermon wasn’t the disaster that mine was, but it was a disaster in the minds of His hearers. The Lord Jesus was interrupted at least a couple of times. Then in verse 22 – “And all bare him witness, and wondered at the gracious words which proceeded out of his mouth. And they said, Is not this Joseph’s son?” Verse 28 – “And all they in the synagogue, when they heard these things, were filled with wrath, And rose up, and thrust him out of the city, and led him unto the brow of the hill whereon their city was built, that they might cast him down headlong. But he passing through the midst of them went his way.” Before the Lord could actually conclude His message, the Nazarenes tried to stone Him death. It is this sermon and the text in which I am interested this morning.
But first, what about the SYNAGOGUE SERVICE Jesus was attending?
You might be thinking, how did Jesus end up preaching that day? – He was not a priest. His cousin, John the Baptist, was the son of a priest. But Jesus came from the other side of family, descending more from royalty than the priesthood. In truth, Christ Jesus was both priest and royalty, but His priesthood was special, not Levitical. So why is He being permitted to read the scriptures and to preach? Well, the brief answer is that this was a synagogue service – it did not take place in the Temple.
According to Alfred Edershiem, an acknowledged expert, here was the order of Jewish synagogue service. If it was a morning service then after the initial prayer there was the shema – the reading of the creed. This came from Numbers 15 and Deuteronomy 6. “Now these are the commandments, the statutes, and the judgments, which the LORD your God commanded to teach you, that ye might do them in the land whither ye go to possess it: That thou mightest fear the LORD thy God, to keep all his statutes and his commandments, which I command thee, thou, and thy son, and thy son’s son, all the days of thy life; and that thy days may be prolonged. Hear therefore, O Israel, and observe to do it; that it may be well with thee, and that ye may increase mightily, as the LORD God of thy fathers hath promised thee, in the land that floweth with milk and honey. Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD: And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might.”
Following the shema there were “amens” and affirmations and then more prayers. Then there was a proscribed reading of a small portion of the law. Conveniently the Jews had the law broken down into pieces so that it was read completely every 3 and a half years. Protestantism has always tried to duplicate the Jews, so in the Anglican denomination and others, their worship services are organized and divided much like the Synagogue services. These scripture readings were done by men of the synagogue who had been selected or approved ahead time. Then a section of the prophets was read which was followed by the sermon. That sermon might have been preached by any man in the congregation. The speaker was usually arranged ahead of time, but if an important rabbi unexpectedly arrived, he might have been asked to speak. When the sermon was preached by a layman, it was usually just a collection of quotes from his favorite rabbi or his teacher. This is a particularly important point.
On this Sabbath day Jesus walked in – along with a few of His disciples. This was the local boy, who had been creating some excitement up in Jerusalem. Many of the people of this Nazareth synagogue had been to Jerusalem for the Passover and had seen Jesus up there. He had probably attended THIS synagogue for most of his life, so everyone knew Him.. He was a well-known, somewhat respected, and now, as a layman, He had some notoriety. So He was asked to read from the prophets and to give a few words of exhortation or explanation. But the Lord Jesus made the sermon different from the usual – by speaking with authority. His message wasn’t a bunch of quotes from the writings of others; His words were radically different. He spoke as if He was the author of those scriptures; and He clearly said that they spoke of Him. It would be interesting to find out if Isaiah 61 was the scheduled scripture for that day, or if Christ especially selected it. But I wouldn’t be surprised to find that God had ordained that text for that day from before the beginning of the world. That would certainly catch a few hearts and minds.
Any way, the text was from Isaiah 61:1-2
It is interesting to note that Jesus especially loved to preach from Isaiah and Deuteronomy. And we are not the least bit surprised to find that He knew them very well. Jesus could quote the scriptures, even in the heat of battle with Satan.
Before we read Isaiah once again, keep in mind Jesus’ main theme: “This day is this scripture fulfilled.” But as He read His text, those Nazarenes did not know what He would soon be saying. They were nodding their heads in agreement with the Word of God until the Lord made His application. Isaiah 61 – “The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me; Because the LORD hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; He hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, To proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound; To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD.”
There are two ways to approach this text – secularly or spiritually. A social gospelist might use scriptures like this to wage war on poverty, disease and slavery. And ordinarily, as practitioners of a literal interpretation of the Bible, we would join them. But we also believe that no scripture is of any private interpretation. Every scripture is linked to every other scripture and should be interpreted in that way. So with the authority of Christ Himself, we must look at this scripture far above the earthly level. If the ministry of Christ was primarily one of meeting the social needs, then that should be ours as well. If His ministry was a war on poverty and disease then that would have to be the interpretation of Isaiah 61. But that was not Jesus’ ministry or intention, so that interpretation is therefore incorrect. Everything here in this scripture is to be taken spiritually. And this was in direct contrast to the way the people of Nazareth had heard this scripture before.
First, the Lord said that He was endued with power from on High through the Holy Spirit. No man should minister the Word of the Lord without direction and power from the Holy Spirit. A little-used New Testament word in this regard is “unction.” Even the Son of God needed and possessed this unction, this “charisma” – this anointing. It is not expressed or demonstrated in yelling, gesticulating and Bible thumping. It is experienced in the way the Spirit touches people’s hearts – either in blessing or condemning. The ministry of the Word is not intellectual, physical, psychological or purely emotional. It is spiritual and of the heart. In contrast to the mind – the soul and heart are influenced by spiritual powers – not argumentative and cerebral powers. When Lord Jesus was baptized, the Holy Spirit came upon Him to empower His ministry. And He was filled with the Spirit more than any other man ever has been.
And that ministry meant the GOOD NEWS, the gospel of the Kingdom of God. Stories of U.S. military personnel with sacks of grain to give to decimated civilians may be a bit of good news to hungry Muslims or Africans. And the arrival of a teacher might be a kind of good news to some aborigine. The promise of a medical doctor might lift the emotions of a leper. But those bits of good news are all going to be forgotten on that person’s eventual death. There is no real good news apart from the true gospel, dealing with eternity and forgiveness of sin.
Christ Jesus said that His ministry was to preach the gospel to the POOR. We all know what poverty is, it is the swollen belly of a dying Somali baby or something like that. But you probably didn’t get a chance to notice that Isaiah didn’t say “poor” – he said “meek.” Tying those two together we arrive at Jesus’ definition of “poverty”. Just as it is in His Sermon on the Mount; it is SPIRITUAL poverty – humility before God. Jesus primary intention was not to feed starving bellies, or to encourage egotistical do-gooders, but rather to feed the dying souls of those who knew their spiritual destitution.
And He came to heal the broken-hearted. Does that mean that Christ wanted to raise the spirits of the depressed? I don’t believe for a moment that Christ wants His people to be depressed. But this refers to those who are broken and contrite about their sin, and who ache over their alienation from Jehovah.
Christ’s ministry was to preach deliverance to the jailed and captive. Captivated by what? This is talking about the slaves of sin and Satan. This freedom can only come about by way of redemption and conversion from that sinful condition. Jesus “came not to call the righteous but sinners to repentance.” And to give sight to the SPIRITUALLY BLIND. Satan, “the God of this world hath blinded the minds of them that believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ should shine unto them.”
Christ Jesus was commissioned to preach the acceptable year of the Lord. This is what first got me thinking about this message. I was meditating on the Jewish Year of Jubilee. Then I checked out a couple of things and was given Luke 4 as a reference. Right there in the margin of my Bible at verse 19 it refers to the Year of Jubilee. But I must disagree, the Year of Jubilee is only a type, a picture, of what Jesus describing. What Christ was saying in His sermon is that a renewed period of grace was being given by God. The word “acceptable” is “dektos” in Greek. And we find that word in a superlative form in II Corinthians 6:2. There that word is “eupros-dektos.” “NOW, is the (very) acceptable time, behold now is the day of salvation.” The point is this: your life is even as a “vapour that appeareth for a little time and then vanisheth away.” Your life is as grass and as the flower of grass which buds, blossoms and quickly withers away. Today is the acceptable time; today is the day of salvation because the night is coming.
Ultimately, Christ was saying that He was commissioned by God the Father to save sinful, dying souls. “They that are whole need not a physician but they that are sick.” As sinners, we come into this world sin-sick and Jesus is the only physician that can save us. Consider what the Saviour is saying here. Take note of His purpose. And see your poverty and your spiritual death. I beg of you, this morning, to come to Saviour, who came to heal and to raise the spiritually dead. Don’t be like the ignorant Nazarenes rejecting the Saviour.
I don’t think we can think of Jesus message without pointing out the OMISSION in His sermon.
Isaiah adds that there would be a day of vengeance of our God, after the acceptable year of the Lord. Why didn’t Jesus preach about that on that day in Nazareth? Because it would have been only half true when he said, “This day is this saying fulfilled in your ears.” Sure He could have preached it, and perhaps He intended to before He was cut off. But today is still a day of grace for you and not yet the day of vengeance.
On the other hand – the day of vengeance is coming. And some in this room will feel the brunt of the wrath of Almighty God. It is not because you are more wicked most other people. But you will feel God’s wrath, because you are stubbornly turning your back on Saviour. “The wicked shall be turned into Hell and all nations that forget God” – Psalm 9:17. Preacher, do you mean that God will show vengeance simply because His Creation has forgotten Him? Well, it’s not a SIMPLE forgetting of God. But the simple answer the question is, “Yes.” Your sin will not go unpunished, I guarantee.
God has demonstrated great restraint and abundant love in sending His beloved Son. And so many have spit on His offer of peace. There is no hope for the sinner once he dies in that awful condition. And that was illustrated by Christ’s reception in His home town of Nazareth. But today, NOW is still the accepted time, now is the day of salvation – yours?
Quickly note the reaction of the crowd.
It was not so much as a denial of a coming Messiah or a Saviour. What those people rejected was the thought that their neighbor, Jesus, could be Messiah. They then attempted to stone Him for blasphemy, but they failed. Why did they fail? Because Christ really is the Messiah and the will of God will not be thwarted.
And neither will be His will to punish those who reject Christ. To punish you if die unrepentant and unbelieving.Won’t you come to the Saviour this morning?