THE TIME IS NOW-- Luke 4:14-21
Proposition: “Jesus shares in His first Inaugural Address that now is the point in history for Jesus’ ministry of redemption to begin and do God’s will.
Objective: My purpose is to challenge people to realize that the time is now to trust Christ as Savior and to live for Him.
INTRODUCTION:
You may have heard the story of the man who purchased a horse that formerly belonged to a preacher. In order to make the horse go, the command, “Praise the Lord,” had to be given. To stop the horse, “Hallelujah!” was the instruction. The purchaser did all right in getting the horse started. “Praise the Lord!” he shouted. The horse took off at a full gallop and headed for a cliff. “Whoa!” the man shouted, but to no avail. Suddenly he realized he had forgotten the command to stop the horse. Just in the nick of time he remembered. “Hallelujah!” The horse came to a stop at the very edge of the cliff, so that its new owner could look into the chasm below. The man with great excitement and relief shouted, “Praise the Lord!” Remember that saying the wrong thing can get a person into a lot of trouble.
MacDonald writes: “Between verses 13 and 14 there is a gap of about one year. During this time the Lord ministered in Judea. The only record of this ministry is in John 2-5 (miracle at Cana, 2 days in Capernaum, cleansing the Temple in Jerusalem, talks with Nicodemus by night, meeting of the woman at the well in Samaria, healing of nobleman’s son, etc.). When Jesus returned in the power of the Holy Spirit in Galilee to begin the second year of public ministry, His fame spread through the entire surrounding region. As He taught in the Jewish synagogues, He was widely acclaimed.” Verses 14 and 15 summarize the ministry of our Lord in Galilee, which serves as a backdrop to His appearance at Nazareth. In verses 16-21 Luke has recorded the appearance of our Lord at the synagogue, His reading of a portion from the prophecy of Isaiah on “Divine Deliverance,” and His astounding claim that this prophecy has been fulfilled in the hearing of His audience. Jesus was saying, “What I’ve read to you is happening—right here, right now!” He is saying, “This is God’s time, right here, right now! The time is now!” This is one of the earliest records of what took place in a Jewish synagogue service.
Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, in the south of Palestine. He grew up in a very ordinary town, named Nazareth, located in Galilee which was in the north of Palestine. According to Josephus, Nazareth was a city of almost 20,000. It had all the rough and tough character of a military town due to its placement at the cross-roads of an important highway that was used by the Roman army. Jesus was a carpenter, but at the age of 30, He became a religious teacher, moving from town to town. He was asked to speak at the synagogue in Nazareth.
These are among the most important verses in the Gospel. Only Luke records this summary of Jesus’ understanding of His mission and ministry. Jesus claims this as a present reality. “The time is now!” “Today” is the first word other than the reading. Jesus is the ultimate Servant (Isaiah 61:1-2, 58:6)
I. The Mystery of His Mission: DIVINE ANNOINTMENT AS CHRIST THE EVANGELIST (v. 18) “To preach the Gospel to the poor”—Poverty—Jesus saw Himself as coming with good news for the world’s troubled people. “Jesus’ mission for us, as His privileged people, is to proclaim the gospel everywhere we can, anytime we can, because the stakes are very, very high.” Scott Wenig
1. The assignment “To preach the Gospel”—This is the Good News that the kingdom of God has come. The word “Gospel” is a word for Good News. The Messiah will be empowered by the Holy Spirit to preach the Good News to the poor. The Good News is not that poor people are going to get rich, the Good News is not economic prosperity, nor material enhancement. The Good News is to people who are spiritually impoverished, spiritually poor, but that you can be released from your poverty.
2. The appointment “to the poor”— In the Bible, this word “poor” refers to both those in material and spiritual poverty. This comes from a verb which means “to shrink back” or “to cower” and was used of someone in total destitution who put one hand out and with the other covered his face to hide the shame. To those who are spiritually bankrupt, Jesus brings Good News. Matthew 5:3: “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” Jesus speaks to those conscious of their moral and spiritual poverty. They often recognize their desperate spiritual condition. Jesus is the Bearer of the Good News intended for the dispossessed, the afflicted and oppressed.
Illus: "Do you know what the problem with the American Church is?" a Nigerian said to his friend, "The church has let the culture tell them what is right instead of the Bible telling the culture -- and the church -- what is right."
II. The Majesty of His Mission: DIVINE ANOINTMENT AS CHRIST THE CONSOLER (v. 18) “He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted”—Sorrow—He consoles us when needed.
1. The charge “He has sent Me to heal ”—He was on a mission for God. He healed the sick, raised the dead, etc. His ministry was to console those who are deeply afflicted, or whose hearts are “broken” by external calamities or by a sense of their sinfulness.
2. The compassion “the brokenhearted”—This refers to those who were discouraged because of their plight in life. It means to break in pieces broken in heart and often in body as well. One loves to think that Jesus felt it to be His mission to mend broken hearts like pieces of broken earthenware, real rescue-mission work. Jesus mends them and sets them free from their limitations.
Illus: Abraham Lincoln’s 2nd Inaugural Address: “With malice toward none, with charity for all, with firmness in the right as God gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish the work we are in, to bind up the nation’s wounds, to care for him who shall have borne the battle & for his widow & his orphan, to do all which may achieve & cherish a just & lasting peace among ourselves & with all nations.”
III. The Marvel of His Mission: DIVINE ANOINTMENT AS CHRIST THE REDEEMER (v. 18) “to proclaim liberty to the captives”—Bondage--Israel knew what it was like to be in captivity. God says that everyone is spiritually enslaved to sin. In John 8:34, Jesus said: “I tell you the truth, everyone who sins is a slave to sin.” Charles Wesley captures this in his hymn, “He breaks the power of canceled sin; He sets the prisoner free.” Luke: “For the Son of Man came to seek and save the lost.” (19:10)
1. Release “proclaim liberty”—Even though this may include healings & exorcism, “freedom” always refers to the forgiveness of sins in Luke & Acts. He was a herald like Noah (2 Pet. 2:5). To announce release from this, full & free, with all the peace & joy & eternal hope, Christ came. He’s talking to people who are spiritual prisoners, people who are in spiritual bondage. And spiritual bondage is to guilt & to the penalty of that...to sin, to guilt, to the debt of that guilt which is the penalty. These are captives, it literally means prisoners. It can mean prisoners of war, those who have been taken captive by some powerful source, brought into prison for crimes that are deemed that they have committed & are waiting their own execution. That’s how He sees the sinner. The sinner is a prisoner.
Illus: Lady Liberty says it well on her base, “Give me your tired, your poor, Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, The wretched refuse of your teeming shore; Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed, to me: I lift my lamp beside the golden door.”
2. Redemption “liberty to the captives”—Captive means “one taken by a spear”--In the OT captivity refers to Israel’s exile (1:69-74); here captivity refers to sins. He’s talking to people who are spiritual prisoners, people who are in spiritual bondage. And spiritual bondage is to guilt and to the penalty of that...to sin, to guilt, to the debt of that guilt which is the penalty. These are captives, it literally means prisoners. It can mean prisoners of war, those who have been taken captive by some powerful source, brought into prison for crimes that are deemed that they have committed and are waiting their own execution. That’s how He sees the sinner. The sinner is a prisoner. This bondage was under sin and Satan. Many are in bondage to money, Satan, guilt, sensuality & hatred. A prisoner is someone whose freedom is restricted, who is restrained by something and/or someone. Jesus was talking about the way that sin keeps human beings prisoners, e.g., prisoners to sinning, to our past, to our circumstances, to guilt, separation from God and the fear of death. Jesus is the key to escaping from the prison of sin. We sing, “He breaks the power of cancelled sin, He sets the prisoner free; His blood can make the foulest clean; His blood availed for me.”
Illus: In Man’s Search for Meaning, Victor Frankl described the horrors of captivity in two Nazi concentration camps during WWII. The prisoners were waiting for release. Existence was filled with cold, fear, starvation, pain, lice, vermin, dehumanization, exhaustion, and terror. Frankl wrote that he was able to survive because he never lost hope. Those prisoners who lost faith in the future were doomed. They would die from the inside out. Frankl said that this usually happened quite suddenly. One morning a prisoner would just refuse to get up. He wouldn’t get dressed or wash or go outside to the parade grounds. No amount of pleading by fellow prisoners would help. No threatening by the captors would have any effect. Losing all hope, he lay there in his own excrement until he died.
IV. The Miracle of His Mission: DIVINE ANOINTMENT AS CHRIST THE GREAT PHYSICIAN (v. 18) “And recovery of sight to the blind”—Suffering—Jesus said, “I am the Light of the world.”
1. Spiritual improvement “Recovery of sight”—This is a reference to His miraculous works. John 9, Acts 26:18 Unbelievers say, “I believe it when I see it.” Believers say, “I’ll see it when I believe it.” While Jesus healed those who were physically blind, our spiritual blindness keeps us from the light of the Lord.
2. Spiritual insight “to the blind”—The spiritually blind art those who realize their ignorance of the most important truths and are ready to welcome the truth may see. Helen Keller was blind from infancy, but her words and actions demonstrated a clear spiritual sight..."Once I knew only darkness and stillness...my life was without past or future...but a little word from the fingers of another fell into my hand that clutched at emptiness, and my heart leaped to the rapture of living. Faith is the strength by which a shattered world shall emerge into the light." (Helen Keller) In Acts 26:18, Paul quotes the mission he was given by the Messiah: “… to open their eyes and turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God…” He came not only by the word of His Gospel to bring light to them that sat in the dark, but by the power of His grace to give sight to them that were blind; not only the Gentile world, but every unregenerate soul, that is not only in bondage, but in blindness, like Samson and Zedekiah. Christ came to tell us that He has eye-salve for us, which we may have for the asking; that, if our prayer be, Lord, that our eyes may be opened, His answer shall be, Receive your sight.
Illus: Some time ago, a young woman wrote a tender love letter to her boyfriend whom she had left for another. "Dearest Jimmy, No words could ever express the great unhappiness I’ve felt since breaking our engagement. Please say you’ll take me back. No one could ever take your place in my heart, so please forgive me. I love you, I love you, I love you! Yours forever, Marie. P.S., And congratulations on winning the five million dollars in the state lottery!"
V. The Mandate of His Mission: DIVINE ANOINTMENT AS CHRIST THE LIBERATOR (v. 18) “to set at liberty those who are oppressed”--Oppression
1. The downtrodden “those who are oppressed”-- This is another beautiful figure for the relief from the wounds and bruises caused by sin. The root idea is “broken in pieces” or “shattered” or “crushed.” This word means to be “broken in pieces” or “shattered” or “crushed” and is actually a quote from Isaiah 58:6. When Jesus looks at us He sees us for how we really are. This is captured by Matthew 9:36: “When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.”
Illus: D.L Moody used to describe a little boy from Chicago who attended S.S. in a particular church. When his parents moved to another part of the city the little fellow still attended the same Sunday School, although it meant a long, tiresome walk each way. A friend asked him why he went so far, and told him that there were plenty of others just as good nearer his home. "They may be as good for others, but not for me," was his reply. "Why not?" she asked. "Because they love a fellow over there," he replied.
2. The deliverance “to set at liberty”—Jesus comes to those squashed by life’s circumstances, who can see no way out, who find living itself an oppression--and He gives them freedom.
Illus: A little boy asked his father to explain love. The father pointed to the boy’s dog that was often neglected and abused. He said, "Love is wagging your tail even when you are mistreated."
VI. The Manifestation of His Mission: DIVINE ANOINTMENT AS CHRIST THE REVEALER (v. 19) ”to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord”—This is a way of referring to the era of salvation. Jesus does not only proclaim the Good News. He is the Good News that John proclaims, “Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.” 1. Announcement “to proclaim”—to cry out-- In short, He came to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord—the dawning of a new era for this world’s sighing, sobbing multitudes. He presented Himself as the answer to all the ills that torment us. And it is true, whether you think of these ills in a physical sense or in a spiritual sense. Christ is the answer.
2. Accomplishment “the acceptable year of the Lord”— Jesus sat down, thus taking the posture for teaching. This phrase was understood to refer to the year of Jubilee, which happened every 50 years. Leviticus 25 says that slaves were to be freed, land returned, and debts cancelled. Isn’t it cool that Jesus is the Lord’s Jubilee? Good news is preached to the poor, spiritual prisoners are set free, the blind are given sight and the broken are put back together. This is the age of salvation. (Share vvs. 20-21).
CONCLUSION:
1. Jesus had prepared His whole life for this moment. Today this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing, the implication was clear. Jesus was claiming to be the Messiah who could bring the kingdom of God which had been promised for so long. The crowd was fascinated at His teaching.
2. Now God wants to work on you. Not tomorrow, not next year and not in the past; the time is now. Today is important.
3. God’s timing was right on, especially when He comes to redemption. Notice that once again, Jesus says: "TODAY." The word “today” points to the urgency of the Good News. Today is not yesterday & today is not 2,000 years later. Today is NOW. NOW the Scripture is fulfilled! Jesus is the One who fulfills the Scripture!
4. The time is now and God wants you to trust Him as your Savior. Could this be “God’s time, right here, right now?” The good news is that the life God offers us in Jesus Christ is here and now and calls for a response. You can’t wait until you’re more ready. The past is over and our memory of it is selective and untrustworthy. All of our past and all of our future is now. Now is all we have.
Illus: Recently Charles Stoddard spoke these words that he heard from a family of five living in a squalid shack in Asia, “We’ve been waiting 30 years for you to come.” The family hadn’t eaten in three days, but food wasn’t the reason the family invited the Southern Baptist missionary to their home—they wanted to know about Jesus. Stoddard and his wife, Nicole* — who completed a three-year term overseas earlier this month — were among 21 missionaries re-appointed by IMB (International Mission Board) July 12 at Urbancrest Baptist Church in Lebanon, Ohio. Speaking to a crowd of more than 800, Stoddard explained that many years ago, the Asian family’s grandfather had come to believe in the existence of “one true God.” Shortly before he was martyred for his faith, the grandfather told his family to wait for the day someone would come to tell them more about this God. Three decades would pass before one of the family’s sons happened to overhear Stoddard talking about Christ in a public park and recognized he was the one they’d been waiting for. “I suddenly realized that this family, who had never met another Christian, who didn’t even know that a Bible existed — God had been preparing their hearts for 30 years to hear the Gospel of Jesus Christ,” Stoddard said. “That family accepted Christ that day, was baptized, and today a church meets in their home.” What’s more, at least 40 others have come to faith in Jesus as a direct result of the family’s conversion and passion for sharing the hope they waited so many years to receive. “Billions are still waiting to hear,” Stoddard said, which is why he and his wife are returning to Asia with their three children to continue spreading the Gospel.
Prepared by: Gerald Steffy,6206 N. Hamilton Road
Peoria, IL 61614 E-mail: grsteffy@yahoo.com
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