Luke 4:14-30
Jesus' Sermon in the Synagogue
14 Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit, and news about him spread through the whole countryside. 15 He was teaching in their synagogues, and everyone praised him.
16 He went to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, and on the Sabbath day he went into the synagogue, as was his custom. He stood up to read, 17 and the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him. Unrolling it, he found the place where it is written:
18 “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 favor.”
20 Then he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant and sat down. The eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fastened on him. 21 He began by saying to them, “Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.”
22 All spoke well of him and were amazed at the gracious words that came from his lips. “Isn’t this Joseph’s son?” they asked.
23 Jesus said to them, “Surely you will quote this proverb to me: ‘Physician, heal yourself!’ And you will tell me, ‘Do here in your hometown what we have heard that you did in Capernaum.’”
24 “Truly I tell you,” he continued, “no prophet is accepted in his hometown. 25 I assure you that there were many widows in Israel in Elijah’s time, when the sky was shut for three and a half years and there was a severe famine throughout the land. 26 Yet Elijah was not sent to any of them, but to a widow in Zarephath in the region of Sidon. 27 And there were many in Israel with leprosy in the time of Elisha the prophet, yet not one of them was cleansed—only Naaman the Syrian.”
When Jesus began His ministry, He went to His local synagogue in His hometown of Galilee...Being Jesus, and being in His own hometown helps us assume that He knew most of the people in His own synagogue...Jesus came to tell the Good News to the poor...
Jesus gets up in the local synagogue and quotes scripture from the Prophet Isaiah...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, to proclaim the year of the LORD’s favor...
So in Jesus' preaching in the synagogue that day addresses His local friends and acquaintances, He tells them that God has sent Him to preach the gospel to the poor...God has sent Him to proclaim freedom for prisoners...God has proclaimed Him to recover the sight to the blind...God has proclaimed Him to to set the oppressed free...And God has proclaimed this to be the year of the LORD's favor...
As we read this we hear that Jesus has expanded beyond His local synagogue and friends and family...Jesus goes beyond just telling the gospel to His friends and family...He has stepped outside the proverbial box...The good news He preaches is not just for the rich, the healthy, and those living in comfort...Jesus is beginning His ministry with a focus...The good news is for everyone outside those who only know Him...And as His ministry unfolds He will especially be focused on the poor, the prisoners, the blind and unhealthy, and the oppressed...And we see throughout Jesus' teachings and the gospels that love for the less fortunate and oppressed is a beautiful thing..