SERMON OUTLINE 010--21 JAN 2007
FOB Paliwoda
21JAN07
Scripture
Luke 4:14-30
Timeline
3:21-22 John baptizes Jesus
3:23-38 Genealogy through Joseph
4:1-13 Temptation in the wilderness
4:14-15 Jesus returns to Galilee
4:16-30 Jesus returns to Nazareth, is rejected
4:31-37 Jesus goes to Galilee, begins ministry
I. Introduction
A. Luke was written by a Gentile for a Gentile audience.
B. Remember, there was a great deal of persecution of the early Christians by some Jews.
II. Exposition
A. verses 14-15
1. Galilee was known to both the Jews and the Gentiles. It was generally understood that the Gentiles lived on the Eastern shore while the Jews in the West. Additionally, there was a great deal of syncretic beliefs, the combining of religions. They were viewed by other Jews as almost non-observant Jews.
His ministry bore fruit. Many glorified Him. So Jesus was building a reputation as a successful preacher.
B. verse 16
1. Nazareth was a hill town approximately 20 miles from Capernaum in Galilee. It was Jesus’ hometown.
2. “as was His custom” tells us that Jesus was a faithful churchgoer. He was basically attending His family church.
3. “He stood up to read,” It was a regular custom to have a visiting rabbi read and interpret from the Scriptures. The people must have been very proud knowing that one of their own had taken up the cloth. They must have felt very good about themselves.
C. verses 17-19
1. When we hear “opened the book” we need to mentally replace it with unrolling the scroll. Jesus sat behind the pulpit in his hometown church and began to read from Isaiah.
2. Some call Isaiah the fifth Gospel. Christ quotes from this prophet more than any other book in the Old Testament save the Psalms.
3. Isaiah 60 and 61 are Messianic in origin. They proclaim the coming of the Jubilee for the Lord’s people. But they also mention light coming to the Gentiles.
D. verses 20-22
1. The people were amazed and impressed by Jesus, they were proud of who He was and where He came from.
2. “Is this not Joseph’s son?” tells us that Christ learned His faith from Joseph.
3. I would have liked to have met Joseph.
E. verse 23
1. Jesus knows what the people are thinking. They are expecting a miracle from Him. They are expecting Him to do in Nazareth what He did in Capernaum.
2. Jesus was already responding to the silent criticisms he knew were in their hearts. He could not be a real prophet because He preached to the gentiles.
F. verses 4-27
1. After a pregnant pause He predicts their dissatisfaction with His upcoming message.
2. Jesus knows that His message is not going to go over well.
3. He uses two examples to show how God comes for the Gentiles and sometimes prefers to work for them.
G. verses 28-30
1. The people were enraged. Not only did He not do any miracles amongst them, He had the gall to tell them why. They were not deserving of such miracles.
2. The people were so upset that a riot ensued. They were so angry that they forgot to murder Him.
III. Conclusion
A. The Pharisees were not bad people. They were the people that Jesus, John the Baptist, and Paul the Apostle came from. They started off with the right motives but became twisted in the execution of their plan.
B. Why was Jesus frustrated with the people of Nazareth? We might be inclined to think that it was because the people doubted Him, but I would like to posit this possibility. He was frustrated because they were so focused on the practice of their religion; they were so focused on maintaining purity in the midst of this foreign occupation, that they forgot to care for the people around them.
C. They were so busy observing the Law that they forgot to live it.
D. There can sometimes be a bunker mentality amongst Christians today. We must wall ourselves off from the world to maintain our purity.
E. Have we become too familiar with the Gospel, with our own image of Christ?
F. “The problem with Jesus is not between the new and the old, between the known and the unknown, but between the people of God and their own memory. Between the known and the known.” –William Willemon
G. Sometimes we need to see the Church, see ourselves through the perspective of an outsider. When we do this, we can begin to see where we are falling short in our witness. Illustration: we can only see America when we are separated from it. We begin to value our families once we are away.
H. Have we as a Church forgotten about the people around us? Have been become so focused on our personal relationship with Christ that we have forgotten who is in need?
I. Is this story believable? Would anyone’s words finally cause a riot? Illustration: the balcony at St. Mary’s Presbyterian Church in St. Mary’s Georgia.
The Year of Jubilee is here. Have we been living for ourselves or for Christ? If it is for Christ, then we should be living to love and serve others.
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