LOC 030 The First Rejection

LOC 030: Life of Christ: 

The First Rejection

Three messages ago we were in John 4 where we looked at Jesus’ use of a proverb to make a statement about himself. We read:

John 4:44 For Jesus Himself testified that a prophet has no honor in his own country.

 I said:

Why would Jesus go to a place that gave no honor to its prophets, if indeed his was a prophetic ministry?  This question has perplexed many commentators throughout the years. Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea.  So there ought not be a question as to whether this is his “COUNTRY” or not. It certainly is.  It is his by birthplace and ancestry--being a descendant of David, the King.  What does this mean?

Jesus is quoting a proverb, a common saying packed with meaning.  What this proverb means is this: people do not naturally take as special those who are common to them. It is difficult to teach or to shepherd those who have known you best. 

Proverbs like these are generalizations that are true most of the time. In this case, the ordinary expectation of a Rabbi from Galilee upon returning to Galilee is that he would not be considered as an important rabbi, but as a common acquaintance.  A prophet would not receive honor in or among his own country.  But, if we read onto verse 45, we see that what was to be expected naturally, was not necessarily true supernaturally.  At least at the outset of Jesus’ ministry in Nazareth of Galilee He is accepted with great prestige and glory.  A supernatural work in and of itself.  He receives some honor above expectation in his own birthplace among his own people.  It reads....

45 So when He came to Galilee, the Galileans received Him, having seen all the things He did in Jerusalem at the feast; for they also had gone to the feast.

Because Jesus quoted the proverb, we need not believe he intended it to be found true in this particular instance.  We find it was anything but true at the start.  He was received or taken in by those of his homeland.  Jesus was an exception to the rule--the pithy sayings of men, their carnal outlooks, were not enough to explain the character, ministry, grace and power of the Lord Jesus Christ.  He was so different than any other. 

We went to look at some other events in Jesus’ ministry most noticeably the healing of the nobleman’s son.  Now we come back to a more realistic scene.  Remember the context of Luke 4: 16 and following.  It comes on the heals of this great acceptance:

We read: Luke 4:14-15 Then Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit to Galilee, and news of Him went out through all the surrounding region. 15 And He taught in their synagogues, being glorified by all.

It was also noted that Jesus also spoke this parable about a prophet being without honor in his own country in a prophetic or future sense because he would be rejected by many of those who once hailed him and gloried in his presence.  Here we find that first rejection in his Galilean ministry after some unidentified amount of time. Time enough for Luke to record that He taught in their synagogues.  We do not know how many congregation there may have been. The plural denotes at least two, perhaps more.  So it could have been a matter of weeks of months that Jesus taught in Nazareth before the scene that follows unfolds.  They are close in sequence in the Biblical narratives of Luke, however, there must have been some lapse of time for Jesus to have been gloried over by those in Nazareth--those who knew his parents and of the mighty works he had done in Jerusalem.  Do you get the background to the story? 

This is a foreshadowing of a common theme throughout his ministry.  Jesus accepted, then rejected. People like Jesus for the external things about him and his ministry rather than for the inner realities of justification and sanctification.  Once they understand his true message and ministry, people don’t want the whole package.  They take what they want and try to leave the rest behind.  People did it then; many do it now.  People want the perceived benefits without following Christ in the way he wants to be followed or without believing the truth about his person or his work.  Men do not submit to Christ as Lord, they submit him to their own minds--making themselves of more importance than Christ.  They may never admit that, but that is what they do. 

The same thing can happen to those who preach Jesus today.  Some people want someone to come and just preach the Bible.  When their false understanding of the Scriptures gets exposed, they start to reject the messenger rather than accept the message and conform their thinking to God’s revelation.  That is not to say preachers are on the same par with the Lord Jesus Christ; it is to say that mankind is still the same.  There are people who are no longer here at Heritage because they were offended at the biblical expectations we as a church have of each other. Natural men want the benefits without the commitment to Christ and his people.

The narrative we are going to look at today shows the true concerns of Jesus to have been offensive simply because he spoke the truth of God and dared to apply it.  And we will see when he applied it, the people who heard it did not like it because it was not what they believed.  Rather than conforming their views to those of the Son of God, they in fact rejected him.

How do you hear the Word of God?  Do you listen to learn and conform your thoughts and life to what God has said? Or, are you like those who rejected him--always twisting what has been said to fit your own perspectives, while dismissing what doesn’t fit your own understanding.  Hear the Word of God and cry out to God for mercy to embrace it, even if it is uncomfortable for you and even if it doesn’t fit into your own understanding of things.  Conform your mind to God’s expressed will for your thoughts.  Let your mind be renewed by thinking God’s thoughts after him, his thoughts plainly laid out before us in his Word.  Especially, as his concerns are mirrored in the life and thoughts of the Lord Jesus Christ. 

Luke 4:16-31

Let’s read verses 14 & 15 once again for context.  Luke sets up the first rejection of Jesus in Galilee by telling his readers of his complete acceptance.  Interesting, isn’t it.  Luke sets up tension in the story to show the folly of men and the glory of Christ.

    Luke 4:14 Then Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit to Galilee, and news of Him went out through all the surrounding region. 15 And He taught in their synagogues, being glorified by all.

From the general statement of the honor Christ’s own people gave to him at the start of his ministry in his homeland, we move to a particular instance in the Life of the Lord Jesus Christ.

1. To Nazareth and the Synagogue

    LUK 4:16 So He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up. And as His custom was, He went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and stood up to read.

2. What Jesus Read

    LUK 4:17 And He was handed the book of the prophet Isaiah. And when He had opened the book, He found the place where it was written:

        18 "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; 19 To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD."

3.  A Tense Moment

    LUK 4:20 Then He closed the book, and gave it back to the attendant and sat down. And the eyes of all who were in the synagogue were fixed on Him.

4. A Profound Pronouncement

    LUK 4:21 And He began to say to them, "Today this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing."

5. The Initial Reaction

    LUK 4:22 So all bore witness to Him, and marveled at the gracious words which proceeded out of His mouth. And they said, "Is this not Joseph's son?"

6. Two Proverbs

   A.   LUK 4:23 He said to them, "You will surely say this proverb to Me, 'Physician, heal yourself! Whatever we have heard done in Capernaum, do also here in Your country.'"

    B.  24 Then He said, "Assuredly, I say to you, no prophet is accepted in his own country.

7. The Offensive Explanation

    LUK 4:25 "But I tell you truly, many widows were in Israel in the days of Elijah, when the heaven was shut up three years and six months, and there was a great famine throughout all the land; 26 "but to none of them was Elijah sent except to Zarephath, in the region of Sidon, to a woman who was a widow.

        27 "And many lepers were in Israel in the time of Elisha the prophet, and none of them was cleansed except Naaman the Syrian."

8.  The Final Reaction

    LUK 4:28 So all those in the synagogue, when they heard these things, were filled with wrath, 29 and rose up and thrust Him out of the city; and they led Him to the brow of the hill on which their city was built, that they might throw Him down over the cliff.

9.  Back to work Undeterred in Another Place

    LUK 4:30 Then passing through the midst of them, He went His way.

   LUK 4:31 Then He went down to Capernaum, a city of Galilee, and was teaching them on the Sabbaths.

Let’s look a little closer at the text to understand what went wrong, or from Christ’s perspective, what went right.

Remember, from his arrival in Galilee, Jesus ministry can be summarized in these words from Matthew: Matthew 4:17 From that time Jesus began to preach and to say, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand."  And, as we read in this passage that is fulfilled in their hearing, Jesus is preaching the GOSPEL to them.      LUK 4:18 "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;

If Jesus was not preaching the Gospel, then this scripture was not fulfilled in their hearing.  Again, the Gospel is good news in and of itself.  The goodness of it has nothing to do with its reception, it has everything to do with its content.  Jesus calls what stirs up wrath in these people in the congregation, the gospel.

1. To Nazareth and the Synagogue

    Luke 4:16 So He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up. And as His custom was, He went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and stood up to read.

Jesus had been doing this for some time.  His teaching ministry was known to the people.  This is one particular time when he taught in one of their synagogues.  Perhaps it was their main gathering point.  The text says this was his custom.  He had become accustomed to teaching to the Jews in this manner.  He went at the appropriate time, he was accepted as a rabbi or teacher of the Law.  At the time for the reading and the teaching, he stood up to read.

2. What Jesus Read

    Luke 4:17 And He was handed the book of the prophet Isaiah. And when He had opened the book, He found the place where it was written:

        18 "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; 19 To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD."

He was given the scroll of the Prophet Isaiah, found the section that we call chapter 61:1-2, and read the Word of God to them.  Back in the first century they did not have chapter divisions as we do.  The text would have all flowed together.  Someone would have to be familiar with that particular scroll and that particular book in order to find his place.

When the Word of God was read, the reader always stood in respect.  The word read was viewed as God speaking in their midst.  They still stand for Scripture Reading in the Churches in Scotland for the same reason.  Jesus read a slightly different version of .... Keep these words in mind...

Isaiah 61:1-2

    Isaiah 61:1 "The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon Me, Because the LORD has anointed Me To preach good tidings to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, To proclaim liberty to the captives, And the opening of the prison to those who are bound;

   61:2 To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD,

There was nothing particularly interesting about the reading other than it was God’s Word for the Jews present that day.  What brought about the excitement was What Jesus said in his teaching.  With the reading fresh in their minds.

3.  A Tense Moment

    Luke 4:20 Then He closed the book, and gave it back to the attendant and sat down. And the eyes of all who were in the synagogue were fixed on Him.

He gave the writings back to the one who would have attended to the scrolls.  He sat down to teach--as was their custom.  And he had everyone’s attention.  They were all eager to hear what he had to say about this prophetic portion of Scripture.  It was one of those pregnant pauses of anticipation.  Jesus was not manipulating the situation, it occurred naturally, as he had had the respect of all in Nazareth.

4. A Profound Pronouncement

Jesus’s first words were short, sweet and to the point.....

   Luke 4:21 And He began to say to them, "Today this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing."

So far so good... He is still in their good graces.  But did they understand what he meant.  Jesus was telling them this passage was n longer future, but fulfilled right before them.

A. He was the one upon whom the Spirit of the Lord was upon.

B. He has been anointed to preach the Gospel to the Poor.

C. He is the one who is to heal those who are truly brokenhearted.

D. He is the one who has come to proclaim liberty to the captives.

E. He has come to give recovery of sight to the blind,

F. He is to set at liberty those who are oppressed;

G He is to proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD."

All things having to do with the purpose of his ministry of preaching and teaching the Gospel.

5. The Initial Reaction

 Their response remained consistent...   Luke 4:22 So all bore witness to Him, and marveled at the gracious words which proceeded out of His mouth. And they said, "Is this not Joseph's son?"

The question in their minds was implicitly, “How could Joseph’s Son fulfill this Scripture.”  They saw these as words of grace that he spoke.  Jesus goes on to answer their question by using two proverbs and two illustrations.

6. Two Proverbs

   A.   Luke 4:23 He said to them, "You will surely say this proverb to Me, 'Physician, heal yourself! Whatever we have heard done in Capernaum, do also here in Your country.'"

    B.  24 Then He said, "Assuredly, I say to you, no prophet is accepted in his own country.

The people viewed Jesus as a mere man, in need of all Isaiah 61:1-2 represented.  Jesus knew their hearts.  The people had heard about the miracle in Capernaum with the healing of the nobleman’s daughter. Perhaps they wanted more than Jesus’ teaching ministry, we read in previous weeks of Jesus’ rebuke of the Nazarenes for seeking signs and wonders.  They wanted miracles in their midst.  They were not content with the life-changing message of Jesus. They did not really believe who he was--even though had just told them rather plainly as he applied Isa 61 to himself.

He adds, the second proverb that was going to now be true.  A shift was about to occur in the way Jesus would be treated among his own people.  He says again, the proverb, no prophet is accepted in his own country.  Then, he goes further to apply the scripture, his work and the situation by way of two illustrations. He said....

7. The Offensive Explanation

    LUK 4:25 "But I tell you truly, many widows were in Israel in the days of Elijah, when the heaven was shut up three years and six months, and there was a great famine throughout all the land; 26 "but to none of them was Elijah sent except to Zarephath, in the region of Sidon, to a woman who was a widow.

When all were suffering in the famine God sent the prophet to bring relief to only one woman.  The gospel as preached and practiced in the ministry of Elijah during the great famine was directed to one widow.  His ministry was not to deliver all, but one. Two miracles by Elijah for one woman alone during the great famine. Read I Kings 17:9-24

    1 Kings 17:9-24 "Arise, go to Zarephath, which belongs to Sidon, and dwell there. See, I have commanded a widow there to provide for you."

        0 So he arose and went to Zarephath. And when he came to the gate of the city, indeed a widow was there gathering sticks. And he called to her and said, "Please bring me a little water in a cup, that I may drink."

        11 And as she was going to get it, he called to her and said, "Please bring me a morsel of bread in your hand."

        12 So she said, "As the LORD your God lives, I do not have bread, only a handful of flour in a bin, and a little oil in a jar; and see, I am gathering a couple of sticks that I may go in and prepare it for myself and my son, that we may eat it, and die."

        13 And Elijah said to her, "Do not fear; go and do as you have said, but make me a small cake from it first, and bring it to me; and afterward make some for yourself and your son.

        14 "For thus says the LORD God of Israel: 'The bin of flour shall not be used up, nor shall the jar of oil run dry, until the day the LORD sends rain on the earth.'"

        15 So she went away and did according to the word of Elijah; and she and he and her household ate for many days.

        16 The bin of flour was not used up, nor did the jar of oil run dry, according to the word of the LORD which He spoke by Elijah.

        17 Now it happened after these things that the son of the woman who owned the house became sick. And his sickness was so serious that there was no breath left in him.

        18 So she said to Elijah, "What have I to do with you, O man of God? Have you come to me to bring my sin to remembrance, and to kill my son?"

        19 And he said to her, "Give me your son." So he took him out of her arms and carried him to the upper room where he was staying, and laid him on his own bed.

        20 Then he cried out to the LORD and said, "O LORD my God, have You also brought tragedy on the widow with whom I lodge, by killing her son?"

        21 And he stretched himself out on the child three times, and cried out to the LORD and said, "O LORD my God, I pray, let this child's soul come back to him."

        22 Then the LORD heard the voice of Elijah; and the soul of the child came back to him, and he revived.

        23 And Elijah took the child and brought him down from the upper room into the house, and gave him to his mother. And Elijah said, "See, your son lives!"

        24 Then the woman said to Elijah, "Now by this I know that you are a man of God, and that the word of the LORD in your mouth is the truth."

The second illustration about the exclusive nature of the work of God is

        27 "And many lepers were in Israel in the time of Elisha the prophet, and none of them was cleansed except Naaman the Syrian."

In the time of Elisha there were many Israeli lepers who were never healed.  God’s work of healing was for a non-Jew, Gentile Dog, a Syrian named Naaman. 

Miracles of all sorts are not for all people.  God knows in whom these things will be accompanied with faith.  To those Elijah, Elisha and by implication, Jesus is sent.  The gospel and its fruits are not intended to be for all.  There is no other way to harmonize the concerns of Isa 61:1-2 as applied to Jesus:

They were:

A. He was the one upon whom the Spirit of the Lord was upon.

B. He has been anointed to preach the Gospel to the Poor.

C. He is the one who is to heal those who are truly brokenhearted.

D. He is the one who has come to proclaim liberty to the captives.

E. He has come to give recovery of sight to the blind,

F. He is to set at liberty those who are oppressed;

G He is to proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD."

The two proverbs:

Their perception of Jesus needing to heal himself as a son of a man named Joseph rather than the Son of Man, the Messiah.

And the two illustrations of the particular work of God in the midst of need.

We may argue with the conclusion and not like what Jesus clearly meant, and we may struggle to find another way to explain the parts while doing violence to the whole context, but the Jews who were in the synagogue understood exactly what Jesus point was all about.  Look at....

8.  The Final Reaction

    Luke 4:28 So all those in the synagogue, when they heard these things, were filled with wrath, 29 and rose up and thrust Him out of the city; and they led Him to the brow of the hill on which their city was built, that they might throw Him down over the cliff.

Why would they be filled with wrath?  The benefits and blessings were not for them, but for others as was the case in the ministry of Elijah and Elisha.  Their honor and acceptance and glory in their native son, turned into violent rage and a  mob mentality.  They wanted to throw him off of the mountain.  A better translation of the original is found in the Old KJV: it reads:    

Luke 4:29 And rose up, and thrust him out of the city, and led him unto the brow of the hill whereon their city was built, that they might cast him down headlong.

There is an interesting connection that has to be made at this point.  If we were dealing with Luke’s Gospel alone it would have been more apparent.  There is another time in this chapter when someone wanted Jesus to be cast down off of a high place.  Do you remember?

    Luke 4:9 Then he brought Him to Jerusalem, set Him on the pinnacle of the temple, and said to Him, "If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down from here. 10 "For it is written: 'He shall give His angels charge over you, To keep you,' 11 "and, 'In their hands they shall bear you up, Lest you dash your foot against a stone.'"

        12 And Jesus answered and said to him, "It has been said, 'You shall not tempt the LORD your God.'"

What is the implication?  Who is found to be doing the work of the devil? The people of the synagogue in Nazareth. Those who once highly esteemed Jesus want to cast him down. The devil had wanted to cast him down that the Son of man would not be highly esteemed. 

Nazareth was blessed to have the Messiah among them.  When he did not conform to their expectations they sought to kill the messenger.  Again, we are reminded to accept the Word of God as it comes to us.  Don't twist it for your own purposes. Submit to it. It is the standard to which we will be held accountable.

After these things, Jesus worked the supernatural among them.  What they sought was Jesus’s own means of deliverance that he might continue to do the work set before him by his Father.

9.  Back to work Undeterred in Another Place

    Luke 4:30 Then passing through the midst of them, He went His way.

        31 Then He went down to Capernaum, a city of Galilee, and was teaching them on the Sabbaths.

Jesus went over to the place where he healed the Nobleman’s son.  Another city in Galilee to continue doing good and preaching the gospel.  There he would continue to do these things in line with the prophecy he read concerning himself.  What a wonderful Lord.

We should be gladdened to know that of all the people on the earth, Jesus came to us to seek us out and to save us from our sin.  We are the widows and lepers he came to save.  Why has he showered his love upon us? Other than it pleased him to do so, we may never know.  Why would he bring you hear this morning to hear of the Lord Jesus?  That you might be confronted with his claims and who he is.  He is the savior of all who call unto him by faith.  Will you call to him, will you follow in his ways by his grace?