I don’t know if they do it any more, but it used to be in rich, respectable Southern Society, when a young lady reached a certain age, her family held a “Coming out Party” in her honor. There would usually be a large gathering of social equals, celebrating with music, dancing and refreshments. At the appropriate moment, the young debutante was formally introduced, coming down the grand stairway in her spectacular, flowing gown. I am misusing the phrase somewhat, but I’d like you to consider Christ Jesus’ “Coming out Party.” This is important to us because of the way in which it was done and what was said as an introduction. The Son of God came into this world for the purpose of blessing you.
As you know, Mary and Joseph were Nazarenes, but Jesus was born in Bethlehem, fulfilling important prophecy. Eventually, the little family returned to Galilee and Nazareth, and it was there that Jesus grew up. In Nazareth He learned to read and write, and He learned the skills of Joseph’s local carpentry shop. The childhood of Jesus was well-known in Nazareth, and He was probably considered to be precocious. However, it is hard to say whether or not Jesus was actually liked by the people of His village. I wouldn’t be surprised to learn some day that His holy meekness irritated His ungodly neighbors. Later Jesus said, “A prophet is not without honour, save in his own country, and in his own house.” And “think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword.”
At God’s appointed hour, the Lord Jesus made His way down to Bethabara to be baptized by John the Baptist. As He came up out of the water, the Father declared, “This is my beloved son in whom I am well pleased.” And later, John told his followers, “Behold the Lamb of God which taketh away the sin of the world.” From there Jesus was led of the Spirit into the wilderness to do battle with Satan, winning a decisive victory over the Devil’s temptations. That brings us to our scripture in 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. And he taught in their synagogues, being glorified of all.”
The word “fame” simply means “a report” – it was a generic word. What sort of report, or fame, did Jesus begin to have in Galilee after His return from Judah? It probably had two sides, depending on the perspective of the Galileans involved. Jesus came preaching the same message as John – “REPENT for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand.” And just as it was with His cousin, there were mixed reactions. Most people don’t appreciate being told that their personal righteous is sinful in the sight of God. But the fact is, YOUR righteousnesses are as filthy rags before God – Isaiah 64:6. But the people upon whom the Holy Spirit was working, accepted and properly responded to what Jesus and John were preaching. But there was something else in Jesus’ fame, which was very different from the Baptist – miracles. Christ, because of His deity, was able to break the natural laws of the universe. He was able to instantly heal the sick and lame. And He changed ordinary things into extraordinary things – like water into wine. Very quickly word began to spread throughout Galilee that Jesus of Nazareth was special.
Also, as His custom was on the Sabbath, Jesus went into the synagogue of whatever community He was in. As His fame grew, He was invited to read the scriptures. And in several places, as we read in our text, “He taught in their synagogues, being glorified of all.”
It was after his preliminary Galilean ministry that Jesus finally returned to His childhood home – Nazareth. There, once again, He went into the very familiar synagogue. And every eye was on Him, because His fame preceded Him. Because of the custom of the Jews, it is not likely that Jesus had ever read the scriptures there before. He was not a rabbi or of the tribe of Levi. It wasn’t uncommon for average Israelites to read, but before now, He had not been of a legal age. Mary and Jesus’ family had probably recently celebrated Jesus’ thirtieth birthday in some fashion. As the synagogue service started He rose to His feet, indicating His willingness to read the scriptures. Perhaps because of His growing fame, the ruler of the synagogue brought to him a scroll of the scriptures. He unrolled it to a particular spot in the Book of Isaiah and began to read, then scrolling down to another place, He added a few more of Isaiah’s words. Then He sat down, indicating in some way that He’d like to explain the meaning of what was just read. 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?”
Almost as important as the details of Jesus’ message that day, was the general theme. We’ll get to the details in a moment. They make up the outline of my message. But thing which first slapped those Jews in the face was Jesus’ reading of Isaiah concluding with: “This day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears.” No local Levite, priest, or rabbi had ever made a more audacious or auspicious statement. Jesus boldly, but with appropriate meekness, was declaring that He was Israel’s promised MESSIAH. And later in this chapter we read: “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…”
All of this is historically accurate and important, but I don’t want you to think of it as history only. And don’t think that it is so buried in history that it has nothing to do with you. What the Lord Jesus read and said about Isaiah 61 and 42 most certainly does apply to you and me. This morning I’d like to try to compare Isaiah to Luke 4, applying what the Lord said that day to people here in the 21st Century.
First, Jesus prefaced his declaration by saying, “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me.”
Isaiah said more specifically, “The Spirit of the LORD GOD is upon me” – the Spirit of Jehovah God. One of these days, I am going to bring a lesson or two on the Trinity, but this is not the day. At this point let me just say that Jesus Christ is God – He always has been and always will be. But when the Second Person of the Godhead took up the form of a human being, becoming incarnate, some of the dynamics within the Trinity changed.
Christ did not cease to be divine, and He didn’t lose any of the attributes or prerogatives of His deity when He took upon Himself human flesh. But He did completely put Himself into the hands of the Father and the Holy Spirit. Everything Jesus did, He did in complete agreement and union with the Father and the Spirit. Every Bible lesson and every miracle were executed in the power of Holy Spirit. At His baptism, the heavens were opened and the Spirit of God descended like a dove, resting on Him. He was anointed and ordained by the Spirit to carry out the eternal decrees of the Triune God.
Specifically, Christ was anointed to PREACH the GOSPEL to the POOR.
In Isaiah’s words, Christ said, “Jehovah hath anointed me to preach good tidings to the meek.” As you probably know “gospel” in the New Testament literally means, “the good news” or “good tidings.” In Jesus’ words He came to preach the gospel to the “poor,” but in Isaiah’s words it was to “the meek.”
The other day, I read the testimony of a man who described his climb out of poverty. He began by saying that his family started out “po.” They were so “po” they couldn’t afford the last two letters of the word “poor.” I mention that to point out that there is “poor” and then there are other kinds of “poor.”
Did Jesus ever preach the gospel to the rich and infamous? I believe that He did. Never, on those occasions when there were a hundred people listening to Him, did He send the disciples through the crowd telling the wealthy that His message wasn’t for them. We are specifically told about several sinfully wealthy people who were reached by His gospel message. Zacchaeus and Matthew were wealthy sinful people, whom Christ touched, redeemed and converted. And most likely people like the local Centurians from Rome had a few shekels stowed away as well.
Jesus’ use of the word “poor” isn’t speaking about the state of people’s bank accounts – but about their hearts. As Isaiah said, “The Lord hath anointed me to preach good tidings to the MEEK.” There is no other place where the gospel will be heard and received than in the humble and submissive heart. The righteousness of Christ and the self-righteousness of the proud soul are mutually exclusive. There is a sense in which the Gospel of Christ is not for you if you are too rich and full of yourself. It is only for the poor and spiritually empty.
A moment ago, I contrasted “meekness” with “pride,” but Psalm 147:6 points to a different contrast – “The LORD lifteth up the MEEK; he casteth the WICKED to the ground.” The good news of the sacrifice of Christ for sin, will never be heard by humanity in general – because of sin and the effects of the curse of sin. It has effect only among those who are humble and meek in God’s sight – to those who know they are sinners. Until you see yourself as empty of anything pleasing to God, you will never be blessed by the gospel.
Jesus also told the Nazarenes that He was sent to HEAL the BROKENHEARTED.
As Isaiah put it, Christ was “sent to bind up the broken-hearted.” But just as it is with poverty, there a different kinds of brokenheartedness. Sadly in a great many churches, those differences are all dropped into a religious blender and after a few minutes of tenderizing, a few drops of Christ are added in an effort to heal every kind of brokenness. But Jesus is not talking about the pain your girl friend caused, when she dumped you. And this has nothing to do with the grief that filled your heart when your mother – or your dog – died.
For a year now, I have been collecting and reading the testimonies of different Christians. They have come from a multitude of cultures and eras; there have been men and woman. Some have been more emotional than others. But behind them all they have had several similarities – including brokenness. Some fought the testimony of the Holy Spirit against them, inducing the Lord to slowly chip away at the granite rock of their hearts. Others were confronted with the scriptures, exposing their sins in such a dramatic way that they were instantly crushed. But every one of them, who were saved from their sin, were all broken by the Lord in some fashion.
Christ, the Son of God came into this world to save sinners like us, from the wrath of Almighty justice. But as both Isaiah and Jesus remind us, until you are broken, Christ will never heal you.
The Lord also said, “I have been sent me to PREACH DELIVERANCE to the CAPTIVES.”
Isaiah expressed it as – “to proclaim liberty to the captives.” Let’s say that through some youthful foolishness in your past you have been sentenced to 20 years in jail. You are now 4 years into a 20 year sentence, filled with remorse, regret and a new respect for right and wrong. And you hear two announcements: the person you love more than anything in the world is dying, and the outgoing governor of your state is coming to your home town willing to pardon 5 prisoners. Oh, how you long to see your loved one, but there is no way to see her before she’s gone. And as for the governor, he is standing on the courthouse steps while you are confined to your cell. You pray for a chance to plead your case before the man who has power to release you. Oh, how you would love to hear the words “pardoned” or “delivered,” or “set free?” But is the reporter with a microphone in his hand as excited, or interested, in the governor’s words as you? Christ came to your city for the purpose of “proclaiming liberty” to people just like you.
Christ came into the world to “set at liberty them that are bruised” – Luke 4:18. That’s confusing language: what is the relationship between being bruised and being set free? Perhaps Matthew sheds light on the idea as he editorializes about same Isaiah scripture Jesus was using. Matthew 12:14 – “Then the Pharisees went out, and held a council against (Jesus), how they might destroy him. But when Jesus knew it, he withdrew himself from thence: and great multitudes followed him, and he healed them all; And charged them that they should not make him known: That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Esaias the prophet, saying, Behold my servant, whom I have chosen; my beloved, in whom my soul is well pleased: I will put my spirit upon him, and he shall shew judgment to the Gentiles. He shall not strive, nor cry; neither shall any man hear his voice in the streets. A bruised reed shall he not break, and smoking flax shall he not quench, till he send forth judgment unto victory. And in his name shall the Gentiles trust.”
Doesn’t this imply that Christ’s initial ministry was not about making bruises and pains more intense? It is not my purpose, and it wasn’t Jesus’ goal during His ministry, to unnecessarily make you miserable. As a sinner, you should see that you already are miserable. And, if in the process of pointing out the obvious, you should see your poverty and spiritual enslavement, then you should feel that the pain in that bruised soul of yours can actually become a blessing. As Jesus said in Mark 2:17 – “They that are whole have no need of the physician, but they that are sick: I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.” Matthew tells us that judgment is coming and guaranteed, but that judgment can be turned into victory if – “in his name shall the Gentiles (or anyone else) trust.”
What I am trying to say this morning is that Christ has a ministry toward only certain people in our society. Until you see yourself as a captive – a slave to sin – you have no claim upon the Saviour. It doesn’t matter how society might describe your crime… Today’s society might say that anything short of terrorism is acceptable. Today’s society may not condemn anything except trying to live a moral life… Or you could be in prison as a murderer, a car thief, an embezzler, or a rapist… Christ Jesus came into the world to proclaim liberty to those who know they are captives and sinners. Christ’s ministry and salvation are given only to the spiritually poor, the spiritually broken and bankrupt. Christ came to deliver captives, not those who erroneously think of themselves as free.
Christ came into this world for the purpose of “RECOVERING SIGHT to the BLIND.”
Isaiah 42:7 tells us that the Lord became incarnate “to open the blind eyes, to bring out the prisoners from the prison, and them that sit in darkness out of the prison house.” Brother Fulton shared an interesting fact with us a couple months ago. He said that of all the people whom God used to work miracles – Elijah, Elisha, Paul and others – we have no record of the blind receiving sight. The few sightless people who were healed all received that blessing only directly through Christ Jesus. It appears that this was a miracle which God withheld for His own personal use. It was a miracle which identified the Messiah, because it was prophesied of Him by Isaiah.
Without taking away the physical nature of those healings – the two blind men in Matthew 9; the blind man at Bethsaida, the one man in Matthew 12 and famous Bartimaeus… Without making their visual recoveries seem unimportant, once again, what Jesus was saying in Luke 4 had a more significant spiritual meaning. In Matthew 13 Jesus said, “this people’s heart is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes they have closed; let at any time they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and should understand with their heart…” And He said to Nicodemus, “Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” Admittedly that “sight” has more than one meaning, but the general truth is – “ye must be born again.” “There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God.” There are none who seek God and there are none who will see God accidentally or out of curiosity. But if those who are blind will recognize that their vision of God is distorted, and they cry out like those two blind men – “Thou Son of David, have mercy on us…” Then and only then will they recover sight to their souls.
Finally, Jesus said that purpose of His coming was to PREACH the ACCEPTABLE YEAR of the Lord.
Isaiah fills out the thought by saying, “to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord, and the day of vengeance of our God…” I believe that Isaiah was referring to two things; one is described as a “year,” and other as a “day.” But I think that both of those are to be applied both universally and spiritually.
Most scholars tell us that the “acceptable year of the Lord,” refers to the Old Testament “Year of Jubilee.” You can read Leviticus 25 later, but in that lengthy chapter we are taught about the Jubilee. In summary, every 50th year in Israel’s history several society-shattering things were supposed to take place. First, no grain field or fruit crop was to be harvested. Israel was to trust the Lord for their provisions for an entire year. And then, whatever real estate had been sold was to be returned to the family to which it was first given by the Lord. While personal property is something we see in the Bible, it was all to be held in trust for the Lord. Furthermore, if anyone had become a servant or slave to another Israelite because of debt, he was to be given his liberty and the debt was to be considered paid. I am not sure that Israel ever really obeyed this command of God about the Jubilee. But through Christ Jesus, the principles of that most acceptable year will be applied. We can summarize those principles with the word “liberty.”
BUT – even though Jesus didn’t mention it, there was another aspect to Isaiah’s prophecy: “the day of vengeance of our God…” Here is the concluding point of today’s message: As Jesus spoke to His neighbors there in Nazareth, He offered the utmost blessings of divine grace – liberty, salvation from sin, sight in the midst of spiritual blindness, comfort and healing. Those blessings are not confined to the Jews of the 1st century; they are offered to you as well. As the hymn tells us, “If YOU from sin are longing to be free, look to the Lamb of God.” Don’t you long to be free from the enslavement to that wretched sin which is tearing your world apart? Don’t you wish to see the smiling face and the giving hand of God in your life? Then why don’t you respond to the Son of God who came into this world with a pardon in His hand? How can you wait, when you don’t have the guarantee of a single moment beyond this morning? “How shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation; which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed unto us by them that heard him?” – Hebrews 2:3.
What makes this so very, very important is that there is coming a day when the vengeance of the offended and neglected God will be poured out on the world and on the unbeliever personally. Isaiah prophesied that Christ would come “to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord, and the DAY of the VENGEANCE of our God…” And the prophet John, also looking into the future, said, “And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them. And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works. And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works.” The Lord came to deliver sinners from this death and judgment. Won’t you listen to Him? Won’t you respond to His gracious invitation? Don’t join those neighbors from Nazareth in trying to execute the Saviour once again.
I plead with you to humble yourself before Christ, put your faith in Him to deliver you from sin. “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved.” I know that for a fact, because I have experienced it. I was that blind man, that slave to sin, that captive. And today you may be that person. Won’t you turn to the Saviour this morning?