before you read today's passage in Luke 4, ask God to open your heart and mind to the truth of the Gospel, so that you may truly grasp who this Jesus is. . .

Scripture Reading: Luke 4.14-30 Today's Inspiration: He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty. . . Luke 4.18

Good Morning.

I am so excited to be launching into the three+ years of Jesus' ministry--to listen to His words, watch what He does. and see how He loves. . . Come with me, now, as Dr. Luke takes us back to Jesus' hometown--but first, be aware that, before this time in Nazareth, the gospel of John records some of the early miracles of Jesus, (like the Lord's first miracle when He turned the water into wine at a wedding), whereas Luke decides on the local angle first.

When my oldest boy, Matt, was eight years old, he played on his first little league baseball team. There was a boy on this team who showed talent beyond that of the rest of the little boys; he went on to just be 'from' our small town--he became a Major League sensation at age 20--Dontrelle Willis. None of us who had seen his talent over the years were surprised. Baseball statistics, like striking guys out, and pulling down a high batting average, are quantifiable. Now, had this same boy, started preaching and claiming authority from God, the locals would have raised an eyebrow, to say the least--'come on, kid, I wiped your snotty nose growin' up, I knew your brother, and ran into your mom at the market--now you're making all these wild claims--' It was not surprising then that Jesus met with the same sort of push back from His fellow Nazarenes.

Today, we find Jesus, teaching in the synagogue. (Luke 4.16) Why a synagogue and not a temple? Synagogues were gathering places for Jewish worship which came to be during the exile when the Jews no longer had their Temple. Synagogues were established for places of worship on the Sabbath and as schools for young boys during the week. After the Temple was rebuilt, synagogues were still used, and any town with at least 10 Jewish families could have a synagogue. Often the leader of the synagogue would invite a visiting rabbi to read the Scriptures and teach. That was the case this day; Jesus was invited to teach at Nazareth's synagogue.

As Jesus moves to the front, He is handed the scroll, and begins to read from the writing of the prophet Isaiah--picture it with me, made of parchment, each end rolled around a stick, He would have to carefully unroll it to read the powerful words--Isaiah's poetic description--"The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because He has anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor. . . heal the brokenhearted. . . 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." Then, He sits down. Interesting, because usually the people would be sitting at the rabbi's feet, but Jesus chose to sit down with them. Then He shocks them with, "Today, this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing." No one says anything, though they are amazed at His words--until one turns to the other and says, 'hey, isn't this Joseph's son?' Jesus doesn't let them digest His announcement, but proceeds to tell them that He knows they will not accept Him because "a prophet is not accepted in His own country", and then goes on to compare Himself with Elijah and Elisha, and the period of famine that had come on Israel because of the people's unfaithfulness to God. Clearly, Jesus is announcing that He is God's Messenger to them, and the Gentiles, (and they did not like that! remember, the Jews were waiting for the Messiah to come and rescue them, His chosen people, and establish a kingdom on earth), and His words are strong. The listeners go from being 'amazed at His words' and speaking well of Him, to filled with fury because Jesus was comparing them to the wicked at the time of Elijah.

You could feel the tension grow as Jesus has been talking, and when He finishes, they get up and grab Him, to throw him down the over a cliff. Doesn't happen.

Jesus, the Good Shepherd, does not come in like a lamb. In this one Old Testament statement, Jesus summarizes the purpose for which He came to us. He was the fulfillment of Isaiah's prophecy then--and He still is now. With compassionate grace, Jesus offers healing, liberty, and freedom. Let's accept them, and freely offer those to others as well.

So that you may know,

Christine