1 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 brokenhearted,
to proclaim freedom for the captives
and release from darkness for the prisoners,
2 to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor
and the day of vengeance of our God,
to comfort all who mourn,
3 and provide for those who grieve in Zion—
to bestow on them a crown of beauty
instead of ashes,
the oil of joy
instead of mourning,
and a garment of praise
instead of a spirit of despair.
They will be called oaks of righteousness,
a planting of the Lord
for the display of his splendor.
4 They will rebuild the ancient ruins
and restore the places long devastated;
they will renew the ruined cities
that have been devastated for generations.
5 Strangers will shepherd your flocks;
foreigners will work your fields and vineyards.
6 And you will be called priests of the Lord,
you will be named ministers of our God.
You will feed on the wealth of nations,
and in their riches you will boast.
7 Instead of your shame
you will receive a double portion,
and instead of disgrace
you will rejoice in your inheritance.
And so you will inherit a double portion in your land,
and everlasting joy will be yours.
8 “For I, the Lord, love justice;
I hate robbery and wrongdoing.
In my faithfulness I will reward my people
and make an everlasting covenant with them.
9 Their descendants will be known among the nations
and their offspring among the peoples.
All who see them will acknowledge
that they are a people the Lord has blessed.”
10 I delight greatly in the Lord;
my soul rejoices in my God.
For he has clothed me with garments of salvation
and arrayed me in a robe of his righteousness,
as a bridegroom adorns his head like a priest,
and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.
11 For as the soil makes the sprout come up
and a garden causes seeds to grow,
so the Sovereign Lord will make righteousness
and praise spring up before all nations.
Luke 4:14-30
Jesus' First Sermon
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.”
Matthew 11:2-6
Jesus Preaches to the Poor and the Needy
2 When John, who was in prison, heard about the deeds of the Messiah, he sent his disciples 3 to ask him, “Are you the one who is to come, or should we expect someone else?”
4 Jesus replied, “Go back and report to John what you hear and see: 5 The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is proclaimed to the poor.6 Blessed is anyone who does not stumble on account of me.”
Luke 6:17-26
Jesus' Sermon on the Plain
17 He went down with them and stood on a level place. A large crowd of his disciples was there and a great number of people from all over Judea, from Jerusalem, and from the coastal region around Tyre and Sidon, 18 who had come to hear him and to be healed of their diseases. Those troubled by impure spirits were cured, 19 and the people all tried to touch him, because power was coming from him and healing them all.
20 Looking at his disciples, he said:
“Blessed are you who are poor,
for yours is the kingdom of God.
21 Blessed are you who hunger now,
for you will be satisfied.
Blessed are you who weep now,
for you will laugh.
22 Blessed are you when people hate you,
when they exclude you and insult you
and reject your name as evil,
because of the Son of Man.
23 “Rejoice in that day and leap for joy, because great is your reward in heaven. For that is how their ancestors treated the prophets.
24 “But woe to you who are rich,
for you have already received your comfort.
25 Woe to you who are well fed now,
for you will go hungry.
Woe to you who laugh now,
for you will mourn and weep.
26 Woe to you when everyone speaks well of you,
for that is how their ancestors treated the false prophets.
Matthew 9:9-13
Jesus Came for Sinners
9 As Jesus went on from there, he saw a man named Matthew sitting at the tax collector's booth. "Follow me," he told him, and Matthew got up and followed him.
10 While Jesus was having dinner at Matthew's house, many tax collectors and "sinners" came and ate with him and his disciples. 11 When the Pharisees saw this, they asked his disciples, "Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and 'sinners'?"
12 On hearing this, Jesus said, "It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. 13 But go and learn what this means: 'I desire mercy, not sacrifice.' For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners."
Mark 10:18
Jesus Teaches Us that No One is Good, but God Alone
18 "Why do you call me good?" Jesus answered. "No one is good--except God alone."
When Isaiah talked about One who would come to bring the good news to the poor, to bind up the broken hearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives, and to release the darkness from the prisoners, he is writing about Jesus...When Jesus give His first sermon He reads from a scroll of Isaiah...Jesus says in His first great sermon, “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.”...Then Jesus rolled the scroll back up, gave it back to the attendant and sat down...The eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fastened on him...He began by saying to them, “Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.”...
When we read the words of Isaiah, and then listen to Jesus repeat His words, and then study His Sermon on the Plain, we see that Jesus came for the desperate and the deprived...When we read what He tells John the Baptist's Disciples -that they are to go tell John, “Go back and report to John what you hear and see: The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is proclaimed to the poor...Blessed is anyone who does not stumble on account of Me.”...We see that God has this great LOVE for the poor, for the outcast, and for the desperate...Jesus makes it clear that He did not come to earth to call or seek out the righteous...He came to seek out and call on sinners...Jesus seeks the LOVE and mercy of others, not the sacrifice of grain and animals...He wants us to learn and study this phrase, that He desires mercy from all of us toward others, not the sacrifice of Moses Law as a way to look at sin...He wants us to be merciful and forgiving of others...He tells us to go and learn what this means...
The desperate and the deprived need Jesus...Those who think they are righteous do not need Him...At least that is what He tells us...I actually believe when Jesus gave His first sermon on earth, He would have been low key, low voiced, and would have humbly gave that sermon in the synagogue in Nazareth...And I feel His preaching would have been powerful and totally riveting...But after listening to Him, how would have I reacted?...After all the people of Nazareth knew Him personally...The people of Nazareth originally seem to react positive to Him...All spoke well of Him...But then He adds, “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.’”...“Truly I tell you,” He continued, “no Prophet is accepted in His hometown...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...Yet Elijah was not sent to any of them, but to a widow in Zarephath in the region of Sidon... 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.”...All the people in the synagogue were furious when they heard this...They got up, drove him out of the town, and took him to the brow of the hill on which the town was built, in order to throw Him off the cliff...But He walked right through the crowd and went on His way...The very people who knew Him the best ran the "Hope of God's Promises" out of town...
Jesus is our Messiah...We have this great choice to believe Him or not to believe...Only God is good, and if one believe that, then there are no righteous men...And Jesus says that He did not come for the righteous...So if you believe that there are no righteous or good men, then Jesus came for every man, woman, and child...But if you or one believes that they are righteous, He tells us then that He did not come for you...One has to believe that we are broken with sin, for Him to save us...Maybe one has to believe that they are desperate and deprived to want to follow Him...Much of what He says reflects this...
After His first great sermon, He is ran out of town...We are given a choice of how we believe and how we receive Jesus...I am sure a few of the people of Nazareth listening and watching Him and looking at His eyes would have believed Him....But the majority people of His hometown, after thinking about His sermon, could not believe that the Son of Joseph could be the One who was to fulfill the Old Testament Scriptures...How could He be the Messiah, He is just a poor carpenter?...How could the Man that we know who lived among us for years be the One who would come and fulfill God's Eternal Plan?...
Jesus says He comes for sinners, and not the righteous...His teachings are much about helping others and forgiving others...To need help from anything, something has to be broke (to need the help)...When we follow Jesus, we see very much how He does comes for sinners, and wants to fix and help us from sin, and to save us...And He does this out of LOVE...He died for the desperate, the deprived, and the outcasts on the cross...Many of those who want to believe in Him are desperate, deprived, and are outcasts...They are sinners...And with those who believe we are desperate, understand that this is almost self-fulfilling...That Jesus wants to help and forgive and have mercy on those very ones who want and need help...One has to know they need help, before they can get help...
We are to make a choice...And there are only two choices...We believe in and have faith in Him, or we do not have faith in Him...Indifference is not the same as faith...