"The Church – The Body Of Jesus On Earth”...... "The Mission Statement Of Jesus”

In Jesus Holy Name January 23, 2022

Luke 4:18-19 Epiphany IV

“The Church – The Body of Jesus on Earth”

“The Mission Statement of Jesus”

Over the weekend at our church campout the topic came up regarding high school and college reunions. The very first thing that happens when you arrive at the reunion is that you usually receive a badge with your high school photograph. These reunions usually happen at the 10th year, the 25th year and the 50th year marks. There was a lot of joking about whether we would still recognize people 25 or 50 years later from their H.S. photo.

For most, hair will have disappeared or turned to silver. The athletic baseball player will have put on a few pounds. The Homecoming Queen and King may cause some to wonder why they voted for them. They aren’t so likeable now.

It's hard to get past the mental image we have of some people, isn't it?

That was certainly the situation Jesus encountered when He returned to Nazareth. This was the homecoming of a "local boy who had made good." Stories had slowly filtered their way back to the small village of Nazareth. For example, they may have heard how Jesus had turned water into wine; or how he had done miraculous signs in Jerusalem; and healed a nobleman's son.

Those are the kinds of accomplishments which should have had the town roll out the red carpet. The school band should be leading a parade down main street, the sirens of the fire trucks blowing , and the bells pealing a warm welcome. The return of Jesus should have been celebrated with the mayor making a speech and handing over to Jesus a gold-painted key to the city. On the main road, the city planners should have been busy putting up signs saying, "Nazareth. Come See Jesus' Boyhood Home." (story from sermon by Rev. Ken Klaas January 2007)

None of those things happened. The Gospel of Luke tells us that shortly after His temptation in the wilderness, Jesus returned to “Galilee” in the power of the Holy Spirit. He taught in their synagogues, and everyone praised Him, until He returned to His home town of Nazareth. In His home town synagogue He spells out for them and us His mission statement by using words from the prophet Isaiah.

The words of Isaiah became His mission statement. In short, He would preach good news to the poor, proclaim freedom for the prisoners, (gripped by the fear of death) (Hebrews 2:14) give sight to the blind, release the oppressed (from their illness) and proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”

Luke recorded that the people were impressed. They were impressed by what Jesus said; they were impressed by the way He said it. They were so impressed that they found themselves asking each other, "Isn't this Joseph the carpenter's son?" Some of them apparently had a hard time thinking of Jesus as anyone other than the boy who had grown up in the carpenter's home, the kid from down the street who played in front of their house.

I’m sure there were some who thought to themselves, "we weren't all that impressed with Him before.” As Mary's oldest son, Jesus should have become the family breadwinner when Joseph passed out of the picture. He didn't do that. No, He just up and left town. He left here as a solitary carpenter's apprentice and He comes back with a whole bunch of disciples calling Him Rabbi. Now He thinks He is somebody special. Their present memories could only see Jesus the way he was years before. They no longer recognized Jesus for who He was.

I’m sure some said: “He sounds good and all; but I'd like to see Him do some of the things here that He's done elsewhere. After all, I think He kind of owes us some miracles. We're the ones who gave Him His start. Let Jesus do some healings here.”

Others probably said: “Healing miracles here will put Nazareth on the map. We can build hotels and restaurants to take care of the patients, shops for them to visit while they're waiting for their appointment. The sky's the limit." …….Now I don't know that they thought all or any of those things. I do know they expected Jesus to do some miracles in His hometown.

He did not. He told them that God’s plan was for Him to travel with His message of healing, the promise of God’s forgiveness, through out the land. Yes, His miracles were signs of God’s authority but not for their entertainment. His old friends, His old neighbors and playmates became so angry, so infuriated that He wasn't grateful and wasn't going to perform for them, they tried to shove Him off a cliff. What happened that day in Nazareth tells us that it is pretty hard for people to see Jesus for who He really is.