I’m Home                                                  Luke 4:14-30

In Luke’s Gospel when Jesus is ready to start his ministry he first seeks out John the Baptist; he is baptized and then tested by Satan in the wilderness for forty days. It is after this ordeal that he then returns to his home town where we see him teaching in the synagogue in front of his family and friends.

I love taking scripture apart, and as I was working on this scripture I found several layers and lessons for us; but I’m limiting myself to four.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  Jesus reads from the Book of Isaiah; Isaiah 61, “The Spirit of the sovereign Lord is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me to proclaim the good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the broken hearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness the prisoners.”

The Bible is called God’s Living Word; it’s not a book of dusty and dead stories. The first point today is this, when we read the scriptures we should open our minds and hearts to God within them. Those people in the synagogue that day knew this passage referred to the Messiah, but they had an image of the Messiah being something bigger and grander than just a man. I think they forgot what was written in Isaiah 53:2, “He grew up before them like a tender shoot and like a root out of dry ground. He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him, nothing in his appearance that we should desire him.”

They didn’t want someone they knew, someone whose family they knew. They wanted a greater than life hero to release them from Rome. They were looking for a Messiah that would free them from earthly oppression forgetting they needed a Messiah to release them from the oppression of their sin.

They read the scriptures but over time I think the ancients lost the spirit of what was written; they expected God to release them from their human conditions but that is not what God had in mind. It’s not that God doesn’t care about the circumstances of your life, the struggles and discomforts. Of course he does and he tells us to pray to him when we suffer, pray to him to ease our pain and disease. But God also cares about your eternal condition and because he cares so much he sent the Messiah to release us from the bonds of sin

This is what Jesus is trying to explain. This is why Jesus read this passage, “He has sent me to bind up the broken hearted…” God is with us no matter what we go through, the pain of loss, loneliness, illness; God is there loving us.

“…to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness the prisoners.” The ancients saw this as God releasing them from Rome’s oppression, but it’s meant to show God’s plan to release us from the captivity of sin, God breaking sin’s chains that hold us, releasing us from darkness and bringing us into the light and presence of himself.

In the Old Testament God tells Moses to remove his sandals before he can approach. In the New Testament the father tells his servants to place sandals on the prodigal son’s feet. We as believers don’t need to hide from God we can approach him with confidence; the confidence of righteousness through Christ.

Scripture shows us Jesus is rejected by his home town, and this brings us to the second point. As we walk with Christ, as we become closer to God, as our lives come more in line with God’s way there will always be those who don’t understand. I’ve had friends say to me “Let’s go to a bar tonight and get drunk.” When I said I couldn’t they said, “What’s the matter with you, oh yeah, it’s that God thing you talk about.” I’ve been told I’m acting “holier than thou”, that I should get off “my high horse.”

It can be hard when people think this way about you. It can be even harder if it’s family or close friends. I try to understand why they think like they do. Like those in the synagogue who remembered Jesus when he was a boy in their town, those friends I’ve lost remember me before Jesus became the center of my life. When they ask me why I changed it can be hard to explain sometimes. The only explanation I have is, God changed me. I believe one day twelve years ago God said, Jim, enough is enough and he placed the Holy Spirit and a desire to know him deep in my heart.

Many in the world say they are Christian because they grew up in a Christian home; they were baptized as a child. And I’m not saying what is or is not in their hearts toward God But when you are a believing and practicing Christian you are dedicated to God. Some things in your life become less important while other things suddenly mean a lot to you. You’ll find you seek God out in a dusty manger, or a homeless shelter or a refugee camp. You will find you freely give your time and recourses to others simply because it is the right thing to do.

And to those who think I am trying to be better than them, I say no, I’m trying to be better than myself. I’m trying to live a life that gives praise and honor not to myself but to God.

In our reading Jesus gives us two accounts from Elijah. Verses 25-27, “…there were many widows in Israel…yet Elijah…was sent to a widow in Zaraphath…” and, “…there were many people with leprosy…yet none of them were cleansed…only Naaman the Syrian.”

Jesus gives these examples because what was happening then was the same as what was happening in Elijah’s time. In these examples Jesus is saying the nation of Israel rejected God and his word and when the prophet Elijah was sent, Israel rejected him too just as Israel will reject Jesus. And since Israel’s heart was hardened against God he sent his messenger to those whose hearts were open.

By going to the widow God shows us that no matter how hard our circumstances if we have faith he will not abandon us.

In his second example we have a leper. A leper would be disfigured by his disease. God’s messenger heals him and his disfigurement is removed. We are disfigured by sin and our disfigurement is removed by God’s grace through Jesus.

It is also important to note that both Naaman and the widow are not from Israel and yet God sent his messenger to them.

Jesus is using these examples to show the people that they are not seeking the living God in the scriptures, that they have turned their backs on God and that God will send his message and messenger to those who are open to his word; God will reach out to the nations of the world.

Verse 28, “All the people in the synagogue were furious when they heard this.” Those people became angry because they knew Jesus was talking about them, about how they turned from God’s word and toward the legalities of a system to exact control.

It’s unfortunate that today there are many churches that do the same. Churches and ministers focus on their way and therefore miss God in the scriptures. They concentrate on their ideas and try to force others to conform to their way instead of them conforming to God’s way. As a church and fellowship this is something we need to be on guard against.

As I said I concentrated on four major points in today’s reading. Someday we’ll look at other lessons from these verses.

Our first point is; we must open ourselves to the scriptures, open ourselves to God’s word. We must seek God in the dark and dusty places, he’s there. Yes God is here with us in our sanctuary, he is with us in our daily lives; but we should never forget he is in the prisons, in the refugee camps, in the shelters and the orphanages. Like in the manger, God is in every dark, dusty and cold place that someone needs him.

Our second point is; as sinners we are like the leper. We are diseased and disfigured by sin. But the good news of the Gospel is that by our belief and trust in Jesus as our savior we are healed, we are seen as perfect in the eyes of God.

Our third point is; like Elijah went to the widow and Naaman, Jesus is the savior of all mankind not just a select few. 1 Timothy 2:2-3, “God our savior who wants all people to be saved and come to a knowledge of the truth.” Rich or poor, born into a Christian family or not, whether we live in house in Saugerties or a dirt floor shack in Ecuador; if we open our hearts to the truth, if we seek out God, he will send his son to us. We may lose friends as align our lives with Christ, but don’t let it sway you from your faith.

And our last point; it’s all about God. All our praise, honor and glory are his. It is our great privilege to be loved by and cared for by him. and if you’re ever told you are doing “church” wrong, the first thing to do is to make sure faith and trust in Jesus is at the center of your life and if you find it is not pray for it to be so. If it is, then walk away from those that place rules and requirements above the love, trust and faith in our savior and Lord, Christ Jesus.                       

 Amen.