Tuesday, January 15, 2019
Luke 4:14-16 Then Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit to Galilee, and news of Him went out through all the surrounding region. And He taught in their synagogues, being glorified by all. So He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up.
PREACHING TODAY . . .
Jesus reputation had preceded Him to His hometown of Nazareth. They had heard about the people who flocked to Him in the nearby villages. They had heard the reports of sick being healed. And some of the guests at that wedding in Cana had talked excitedly of water made wine in an instant.
On the first Sabbath after Jesus returned to Nazareth the village's synagogue was packed -- crowded with men, women, and children sitting cross-legged on the floor. Kinsfolk of Jesus, neighbors, boyhood friends, people who knew Him as He grew up in Nazareth, people who had been His customers in the years He worked as a carpenter. They all waited expectantly until that time in the service when it was customary to have a guest speaker, a visiting Rabbi, read the second Scripture selection and then expound upon it.
So it was that Jesus came forward and the man who kept the scrolls handed Him the roll appointed to be read from at this time on this Sabbath. It was the prophet Isaiah. Jesus unrolled it to the 61st chapter and read:
"The Spirit of the LORD is upon Me, Because He has anointed Me To preach the gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, To proclaim liberty to the captives And recovery of sight to the blind, To set at liberty those who are oppressed; To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD" (Luke 4:18-19).
Then He rolled up the scroll, and gave it back to the attendant and sat down in the chair provided. Every eye in the synagogue was fixed on Jesus. And He said: "Today this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing." This was the opening and theme of Jesus' sermon. This was the message He laid out and expounded from the Scripture text in Isaiah. He told the people plainly, "This Old Testament prophecy is fulfilled today. The Messiah has come and is speaking to you. In His message He offers to you the help promised all sufferers in the words of Isaiah."
Our churches are different from that synagogue in Nazareth in many ways. And yet because Jesus of Nazareth did all that the prophet Isaiah said He would do, whenever the Scriptures are faithfully preached in our churches, Jesus keeps His promise to be there with us (Matthew 18:20) announcing again to our joy and wonder that He is the promised Savior.
