I had arrived only a couple weeks before in the Czech Republic and was living with a retired Czech couple in a small village. Being the only American in the area I was somewhat a celebrity. One day a couple elders from a local church visited me to ask if I would preach in their church later that summer. I agreed. And so the Sunday morning finally came and I met early with my translator to go over what I would say. When the time came I got up, preached and made sure I stayed within the 20 minutes they had given me. After I sat down there was a great stir and the pastor looked very flustered. I didn’t know what was going on but he got up and began talking for another 20 minutes. We closed with a hymn. The leaders were visibly disappointed in me and I didn’t know what I did or what I said. Finally, I found out that I was supposed to preach 20 minutes which didn’t count the translation – in other words a 40 minute sermon. No, they didn’t try to throw me off a cliff like they did with Jesus in Nazareth but in some ways it reminds me of that story. What happens when expectations are not reality?
In Nazareth expectations were high. People from Nazareth had heard about a man from their town who had been doing some amazing things in the country. Not long ago he had attended a wedding in Cana, only seven miles away and had turned water into wine. Then only recently he had returned to Cana, met a nobleman and had healed his son who was lying sick by the seaside of Capernaum. They were amazing miracles.
And he had been traveling from village to village attending and teaching in the Synagogue services and being “glorified by all” according to Luke. People are even talking about him being the Messiah. Their own who has become famous is coming home at long last to worship in the Synagogue of Nazareth. People were excited!
The Synagogue was like a local congregation where believers worshiped. Normally they met twice during the week for worship and then on the Sabbath for a special service. On that day the Chief Ruler of the synagogue would ask a leader or a special guest to lead the service. He would be the one to not only lead the service but also to be responsible for one of the important Scripture readings: the reading of the prophets. Since Jesus was the honored guest this Sabbath, he was asked to be the leader according to custom.
A traditional synagogue service from that time had two parts. The first half was liturgical. It was filled with many prayers that were read and occasionally a free prayer. The people had their own “creed” which was called “The Great Shema” (Deut. 6…The Lord our God, the Lord is One…).
The second half of the service was not so different from the second half of our service. The main focus was on the Scriptures. Whereas we have two or sometimes three readings, they would have seven. First a priest, then a Levite, and finally five ordinary laymen would read.
The last reading would be from the prophets and as I mentioned before would be led by the service leader – in this case it was read by Jesus.
After the last reading there would usually be a sermon which could be preached by any Israelite who was capable and didn’t require ordination. (They believed in “lay-preachers.”) And finally at the end would be a brief prayer and the service would be over.
So now we can enter into the situation of our text this morning. Jesus has just led the liturgical part of the service and then six men have come in front of the congregation to read their apportioned Scripture. Now Jesus stands up and the scroll of the prophet Isaiah is handed to him. He opens up the scroll to Isaiah 61. Now remember – there was no chapter or verse. Scripture WAS divided but not numbered. He reads from what we know as verse 1 and begins reading verse 2 and then stops and sits down. People are shocked! Why?
Jesus is filled with the Spirit of God. He is anointed and the Spirit leads Jesus to do something that is completely contrary to what is to be done. He doesn’t even read 2 verses. The rule was that each Scripture reader was to read 21 verses or else read several verses and then continue with a devotion or sermon. But Jesus stops short, rolls up the scroll and sits down. No wonder everyone was staring at him. Why did he do that?
Jesus knew their hearts – he knew what they wanted to hear and he knew what they wanted to see. These are people who had heard about his miracles and about his fame. They wanted him to do a healing for them – make a show! Do something to show his power!
Instead Jesus reads this Scripture about the poor, about the captives, about the blind, and the oppressed. It’s beautiful and Jesus’ brief sermon follows: “Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.” That’s it??? That’s the message??? That’s all there is???
Friends, do you see what Jesus was doing? The congregation wanted signs, miracles, power! And Jesus gives them healing and poverty solutions. It would be like coming before you and saying that my message this morning is for the sick, the poor, those in jail, the blind, the hurting. It’s certainly nice to hear but it doesn’t apply to any of us, does it? No one is living on the streets, no one is behind bars, no one here is blind or diseased. We’re well and healthy and want something more!
But in addition to that – they expected Jesus, if he was Messiah to finish the passage he began to read. The rest of it goes like this: Isaiah 61:2 “to proclaim the year of the LORD's favor, and the day of vengeance of our God.” They all knew that the Messiah’s mission according to Isaiah was to bring blessing and also judgment – especially on the enemies of the Jews. Not many sitting in that synagogue were poor, blind, and naked. But they were all under the rule of the Romans. They were anxious for their enemies to fall and be judged. They wanted vengeance! They wanted the lighting to strike those enemies and destroy them. And Jesus simply didn’t give them what they wanted. Judgment will come – but not then.
But there are two points to this message of Jesus which apply both to them and to us.
1. Go and do likewise – we are called to follow Jesus and minister to those
who are blind, sick, oppressed, and poor.
We all know that Jesus healed the lame and made the blind see. He visited the outcasts and the poor and blessed them. And he taught his disciples to do the same. And so he confronts us in the same way – we are all little Christ’s called to do just as he did!
Isaiah 58:6-7 “"Is not this the fast that I choose: to loose the bonds of wickedness, to undo the straps of the yoke, to let the oppressed go free, and to break every yoke? 7 Is it not to share your bread with the hungry and bring the homeless poor into your house; when you see the naked, to cover him, and not to hide yourself from your own flesh?”
Pray that God would show you how you can help the blind, sick, oppressed and poor during this Advent season. Maybe he would have you invite someone to your home. Make a meal for someone needy. Maybe he would have you share your clothes. Maybe he would have you share your time in visiting the lonely. (come on Tuesday to get started …)
2. We are all blind, sick, oppressed, and poor from bondage to sin.
Until we realize this, we will be living in a dream world that is far from reality.
Only Jesus can free us from our blindness. We are totally blind to the sins that we are in bondage to. If we weren’t, we would be confessing them and finding freedom. Sin has a way of blinding us to reality in a way that we just don’t see the truth staring us in the face.
Only God’s Word with the Holy Spirit can open those blind eyes. Remember Saul on the road to Damascus? He was the most zealous of all the Jewish leaders in trying to follow God’s will. He was willing to do anything and therefore he defending his faith with all his strength. And yet he was totally blind to reality which was just the opposite. He was a persecutor of the Lord and not a defender. Sin blinds us to the reality.
But we can be true believers and still be blind to certain sins – that we have excused or don’t recognize as sin. We live with them and accept them and therefore we don’t grow. They cause us to stumble.
Those folks in Nazareth had Jesus identified – Son of Joseph, the carpenter. They saw him grow up before their eyes. How could HE be the Messiah? How could he say these things to us and lecture us? They had Jesus figured out – at least they thought they did. They were blinded by their own assumptions about God and the Messiah and about reality. And Jesus was revealing that through his word that he read before them and their reaction to it. He was rejected by his own!
Pray that your eyes would be opened to reality – but when God opens your eyes it will be a shocker – it will be a heart-breaker because you will see the grief you have done to your Lord. You may see the grief you have done to your sister or brother in the Lord. “Lord, open our eyes that we may see the truth!” Saul when he saw what he was really doing was devastated! He was in shock for several days. And it took a long time for his restoration but Ananias was sent to restore him to the Lord and then Saul began testifying for JESUS. He was transformed and revived.
Only Jesus can free us from the spiritual poverty we find ourselves in. Our hearts are naturally empty – a vacuum only filled with ourselves. ME ME ME and we long for some meaning in our lives. Our heart is like a black hole always wanting more and never satisfied. But the one thing that can and will fill our empty heart is the Holy Spirit.
Only Jesus can heal us from the sin sickness that oppresses us. Now, I’m not necessarily talking about Salvation. We trust in Jesus to save us from our sins for eternal life. But just covering up the past sin is only half of our problem – what about the continual hunger and desire for evil. To bite back. To get revenge. To talk behind someone’s back. To think evil of someone. To lust. To lie. To cheat. To hide. To not help someone in need. That’s sickness! It’s the disease of sin. Jesus isn’t just there to forgive you for sin but to help you overcome it when it rears its ugly head.
I remember one of the stories from the Chronicles of Narnia from the book “The Last Battle.” It was the story of a number of dwarfs who just didn’t believe in Aslan (who represented Jesus Christ in all the books). They were blind to reality refusing to be “taken in” by those believers. Aslan observes all this: “Aslan raised his head and shook his mane. Instantly a glorious feast appeared on the Dwarfs’ knees: pies and tongues and pigeons and trifles and ices, and each Dwarf had a goblet of good wine in his right hand. But it wasn’t much use. They began eating and drinking greadily enough, but it was clear that they couldn’t taste it properly. They thought they were eating and drinking only the sort of things you might find in a stable. One said he was trying to eat hay and anther said he had got a bit of an old turnip and a third said he’d found a raw cabbage leaf. And they raised golden goblets to their lips and said ‘Ugh! Fancy drinking dirty water out of a trough that a donkey’s been at!’”
So we return to Jesus. Picture him standing up in his home congregation in Nazareth. They are disappointed. He didn’t give them what they wanted. All this talk about helping the poor and needy. Where is the good stuff? Where is the power and majesty? Do you see what he did? He gave them a feast of his Word and they considered it ordinary stable food. He wanted to bless them and open their eyes but they closed them and cast him out of their presence.
Let us also picture him here at our congregation. He preaches the exact same message to us this morning. Will we receive it? Will we say – give us something different!? Will we see that he is coming to bring healing and renewal? Let us embrace the Lord and the healing that he brings. It’s exactly what we need! Open our eyes Lord, we want to see Jesus….
