The Good News of Jesus

Jesus sermon at Nazareth

Preacher: Phil Swain Reading: Luke 4:14-30

We continue our journey through the Gospel of Luke, delving into Luke chapter 4. In this reading Jesus returns to his home synagogue at Nazareth to reveal more about who he is and what his mission is. However his words are met with both amazement and anger. What did Jesus say and reveal that caused such a strong reaction and what can we learn about Jesus from this narrative. At the same time, we will also be pondering whether Jesus’ mission statement (as declared in this reading) was just for Jesus or something that we are invited to participate in as well.

Sermon Text

Luke chapter 4. The narrative lectionary has given us two stories side by side of Jesus’ early ministry and teaching. One story in his hometown of Nazareth and one in Capernaum.

I have to say, that when I read through these passages, I had a lot of questions that jumped out at me. (I am someone who likes ask questions of scripture because it is often in the questioning that I learn more about Jesus or about faith or life or God). The questions that I have about this text are:

Jesus went to the synagogues … what is a synagogue and how does it differ from the temple in Jerusalem?
Why did Jesus get so angry when all the people did was ask “Isn’t this Joseph’s son?”
What was Jesus trying to say with the whole “hometown prophet/widow in Zarephath” bit? …and why did this make the people so angry?
And what about the whole throw Jesus off the cliff bit? Or the fact that Jesus walked through the crowd and left? Make it make sense?
And I also questioned whether that there is a connection between the Nazareth story and the Capernaum story? Why has the Narrative lectionary put these two together?

So, as we work through this passage, I will try and answer some of these questions – but I also want us to remember the broad theme that we are working within as we move through Luke and that is the question “Who is Jesus?”

So in our reading today we have moved into Luke chapter 4 … the start of Jesus’ public ministry. After Jesus’ baptism last week, Jesus has a spiritual retreat in the desert where he was tempted by the devil and then returns to Galilee in the power of the Spirit and starts teaching in the synagogues in the different towns.

Ok – question #1 … what is a synagogue and how does it differ from the temple in Jerusalem?

A Synagogue is basically a local Jewish church. There was only one Jewish temple which was in Jerusalem and that is where you needed to go if you were required to do a sacrifice. You don’t do sacrifices at a synagogue.

Synagogues emerged during the period after the first temple was destroyed in 650 BCE as a place in your local town where you could gather and be reminded of the promises of God or hear the written words of the prophets being read out. After the second temple was built – synagogues became a place focused on teaching and communal prayer … a bit like the church of today.

So Jesus was going around the local synagogues teaching … and everyone was amazed and news was spreading through Galilee about this new Rabbi and his teaching. Then Jesus comes back to Nazareth, the town he grew up in, and on the Sabbath went to the local synagogue just like he would have done most of his adult life.

But this time it is different. People had heard the news about the teaching he had been doing in other synagogues, so he was invited to read the scriptures and teach. It is unclear whether he chose the scroll of Isaiah or whether it was the lectionary scroll for that day, but Jesus found the part from what we now call Isaiah 61 and reads those amazing words … The Spirit of the Lord is on me.

Now I love this reading as it basically Jesus’ Vision Sunday talk … a sermon which Jesus outlines what his ministry will be about. And he frames this vision or mission around the text from Isaiah 61. Jesus’ mission is about proclaiming good news to the poor, freedom to the prisoner, recover of sight to the blind, freedom to the oppressed and to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favour.

It is not quite the “I have come to be the atoning sacrifice for the forgiveness of sins so that all people can be reconciled in their relationship with God”. This reading from Luke 4 is very social justice oriented and not dissimilar to Mary’s Magnificat that we look at the other week. It is about God having a bias not for the powerful and wealthy and worldly blessed – but the poor, the marginalised, and the oppressed. Jesus was expressing that he was born not just to die on the cross but to save, to free and to liberate. He has come to bring life!

Jesus reads these words and in possibly his shortest sermon ever simply says, “Today this reading is fulfilled in your hearing” … and sits down.

Another little interesting aside … Jesus doesn’t quote Isaiah 61 correctly. If we put Jesus’ words and Isaiah 61 side by side … what do you notice?

Isaiah 61:1-2	Luke 4:18-19a
The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me, because the Lord has anointed me to proclaim 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 for the prisoners, ²to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favour and the day of vengeance of our God.	“The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free, ¹⁹ to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favour.”

Jesus leaves out the binding up the broken-hearted, adds in the recovery of sight to the blind; added setting the oppressed free (which is a quote from Isaiah 58:6); and stops before the day of vengeance of our God.

Now this has caused a lot of debate with biblical scholars over the years. Did Luke get the quote wrong? (But Luke doesn’t get details wrong). Did Jesus purposely change the quote? And if so, why? This was a well-known passage so the congregation would have picked up that Jesus had changed the words. Maybe, Jesus was doing some biblical shaping to fit what he saw his mission to be – to save, to liberate, to free. Maybe Jesus was trying to emphases that his ministry was much more about proclaiming the year of the Lord’s favour than it was the day of God’s vengeance.

So how did the people respond to this Good News of Jesus? How did his home congregation react? Initially it was a good reaction. “The people were amazed and spoke well of him”.

But then one comment changes everything … “Isn’t that Joseph’s son”? Ok – question #2 – Why does Jesus get angry at this question? While Luke loves detail, he doesn’t quite give us enough here. We are unclear of the context of this question and why it comes across so poorly to Jesus.

Maybe, they are just innocently acknowledging that it is hard to imagine someone who they have known all their lives as being the possible Messiah. But reading between the lines, there does seem to be this perception that they were demanding some proof of his claims before accepting it. Prove that you are a doctor by healing yourself before you offer us medical advice. We are not going to believe a word you say until you do some miracles here like the ones you did in Capernaum. Prove yourself … otherwise you will always be just “Joseph’s son the carpenter” to us.

And this is what Jesus seems to react to. And it is a strong reaction. The story about the widow in Zarephath and Naaman the Syrian was a dig back at the religious leaders and Jewish people who felt that they were always accepted by God because of their race, the Hebrew people were always God chosen people. Jesus was saying that the Messiah was bringing in a new way – a way that brings life and blessing to those who were traditionally excluded and marginalised … and maybe, maybe they had to rethink their deeply held ideologies in order to hear the good news clearly and truly follow him. If they wanted to follow Jesus and see the miracles like in Capernaum then they needed to be like those foreigners – like the widow and Naaman – and trust in the new thing God was doing.

And this is what it seems the people reacted to. And their reaction was also very strong. They were furious with this.

But why? Were they were furious with the disruption to their understanding of power, their understanding of privilege, their understanding of their relationship with God? Maybe. But, were they were so furious that they felt it was best to stop this way of thinking completely by killing Jesus?

Now – I am struggling at this point. It seems a totally over the top reaction. I don’t understand how Jesus’ home church can be that threatened that they think that killing Jesus is the only viable solution. I can’t make this make sense. Likewise, I can’t explain how Jesus (other that his ability to do miracles) can then just walk through a murderous crowd and be on his way. Sorry – can’t explain this.

Especially in the light of the second experience – the narrative of Jesus at the Capernaum synagogue. Here we have almost the same situation. Jesus is teaching in the synagogue and the people being amazed at his teaching. But when they ask the questions, “what does this mean? Even the evil spirit obey him…” Jesus doesn’t get angry but goes on to heal people non-stop until sunset. Why is there such a positive end of this story but not in his hometown of Nazareth?

And what can we make of these two narratives and what can Luke chapter 4 speak to us in our situation here in Australia or here at TUC?

I think that there is something in this passage about the way we – as people of God – respond to where God places God’s focus.

We considered something similar at the end of last year when we pondered the story of Jonah. Jonah was annoyed because God was forgiving and blessing the Ninevites. In Jonah’s understanding – God’s blessing and forgiveness belongs to the people of God … not these unbelievers. If God is going to bless anyone, then God should bless the people of God first – before God worries about others.

Is it not dissimilar to the message that Donald Trump has been pushing on his way to a second term in the White House. We need put Americans first before we help any immigrants.

Was the church at Nazareth, the religious leaders and the people of God, were they getting upset because Jesus should be bringing the Good News to them first – not the poor or blind or the prisoner or the oppressed! They are the chosen people of God. Shouldn’t Jesus be bringing Good News to them first!

It is the universal nature of the Good News of Jesus that is causing disruption. In this mission statement from Luke chapter 4, Jesus goes a step further and say that not only is this Good News for all people … but by challenging oppressive economic and power structures that hurt people, it’s extra good news to the poor, the marginalised and the oppressed.

On the 16^th February we have Vision Sunday 2025 and over the past couple of months Dave Cornford has been helping the ministry team, Church Council and a few other key people to do some reflecting and discernment on where God might be leading us as a church as we move towards 2030. One of the questions that has emerged sort of fits into this reading for today.

In a time when resources are limited … which activities, programs or people do we value when it comes to investment in ministry and mission. When we as a church weigh up the balance of what we invest into … do we put more into the things that are most helpful to those who are connected to TUC (and on the benefits that we want to get) or do we invest more into things that bless those beyond the boundaries of TUC…

– to our local community, to those who do not yet know Jesus, to the poor, the marginalised, the oppressed? Everything is important … but we can’t be a church that argues that we need to look after us first before we think about others.

The other encouragement that I got out of the passages is that asking questions of Jesus or about faith is good. It was not the fact that they asked “isn’t this Joseph’s son” or “what does this mean” that was the problem. As I said at the beginning, it is in the questioning that often Jesus is revealed.

I think the varied response from Jesus to the people in Nazareth and Capernaum was connected with their willingness to step into a new way of thinking and living. The people of Nazareth were hesitant because Jesus was going against some of their deeply held political understandings; because Jesus was pushing against the status quo which was benefiting them … and because of this hesitation, it was harder for the spirit to be at work within their community.

Whereas the people at Capernaum, even though they were asking questions, they were a bit like widow at Zarephath or Naaman … willing to trust in what God was doing, even through it was challenging … and through this trust created an environment for God’s spirit to move.

May we be like the people Capernaum.

May we not hold too tightly onto power or prestige,

Or cling to the things that we think we deserve … but instead…

May we trust in the new things that God is doing.

May we embrace Jesus’ vision of Good News.

May 2025 be a year of God’s favour.

Amen.