In today’s passage, Jesus is going to read from the Old Testament, then apply it in such a way that his hometown tries to kill him. To better understand what’s happening, we need to know the passages to which he was referring. (And like Jesus does in His reading, I am going to excerpt the parts that make my point J)

Isaiah 42
“Here is my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen one in whom I delight; I will put my Spirit on him, and he will bring justice to the nations. In faithfulness he will bring forth justice; 4 he will not falter or be discouraged till he establishes justice on earth. In his teaching the islands will put their hope. 6 “I, the Lord, have called you in righteousness; I will take hold of your hand. I will keep you and will make you to be a covenant for the people and a light for the Gentiles, 7 to open eyes that are blind, to free captives from prison and to release from the dungeon those who sit in darkness.
ISAIAH 58
“Declare to my people their rebellion and to the descendants of Jacob their sins.2 For day after day they seek me out; they seem eager to know my ways, as if they were a nation that does what is right and has not forsaken the commands of its God. They ask me for just decisions and seem eager for God to come near them.3 ‘Why have we fasted,’ they say,‘ and you have not seen it? Why have we humbled ourselves, and you have not noticed?’“ Yet on the day of your fasting, you do as you please and exploit all your workers. 4 Your fasting ends in quarreling and strife, and in striking each other with wicked fists. You cannot fast as you do today and expect your voice to be heard on high. 5 Is this the kind of fast I have chosen, only a day for people to humble themselves? Is it only for bowing one’s head like a reed and for lying in sackcloth and ashes?

Is that what you call a fast, a day acceptable to the Lord? 6 “Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen: to loose the chains of injustice and untie the cords of the yoke, to set the oppressed free and break every yoke? 7 Is it not to share your food with the hungry and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter— when you see the naked, to clothe them, and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood? 8 Then your light will break forth like the dawn, and your healing will quickly appear; then your righteousness will go before you, and the glory of the Lord will be your rear guard. 9 Then you will call, and the Lord will answer; you will cry for help, and he will say: Here am I. If you do away with the yoke of oppression, with the pointing finger and malicious talk, 10 and if you spend yourselves in behalf of the hungry and satisfy the needs of the oppressed, then your light will rise in the darkness, and your night will become like the noonday.
Isaiah 61
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, 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…6 And you will be called priests of the Lord, you will be named ministers of our God…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.”

The Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary has a nice summary of the ‘acceptable year of the Lord’ or ‘the year of the Lord’s favor’:

“An allusion to the jubilee year (Leviticus 25:10), a year of universal release for person and property. As the maladies under which humanity groans are here set forth under the names of poverty, broken-heartedness, bondage, blindness, bruisedness… so, as the glorious Healer of all these maladies, Christ announces Himself in the act of reading it.”

Jesus’ audience understood the implication for them if the year of the Lord’s favor had arrived. Not only would all the wrongs they had experienced as a people be made right, but their personal lives would be characterized by blessing.

Also, it clear that when God’s people were characterized by justice and righteousness during this time of favor, God planned to use them mightily. It wasn’t just the individuals helped; it was the witness to the goodness of the God whose people were doing this work. But…. when they didn’t do this – when they failed to honor God’s priorities even while being really pleased with themselves – well, God was going to get His people’s attention.

* * * * *

Welcomed in Galilee (Jn 4:43-45; Lk 4:14-15; Mk 1:14b)
After the two days Jesus, in the power of the Spirit, departed from there to Galilee and proclaimed the gospel of God. So when he came to Galilee, the Galileans welcomed him because they had seen all the things he had done in Jerusalem at the Passover Festival (for they themselves had gone to the feast). News about Jesus spread throughout the surrounding countryside, and he began to teach in their synagogues and was praised by all.
Rejected in Nazareth (Lk 4:16-30; Mt 13:53-58; Mk 6:1-6)
Now Jesus, with his disciples following him, came to Nazareth, his hometown where he had been brought up. He went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day,[1] as was his custom, and began to teach the people. He stood up to read, and the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to him. He unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written,
“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release (redemption) to the captives and the regaining of sight to the blind,[2] to set free those who are oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”[3]
Then he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant, and sat down. The eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fixed on him. Then Jesus began to tell them, “Today this scripture has been fulfilled[4] even as you heard it being read.”[5]

Time out. These passages, in their fullness, are hopeful passages to Jesus’ audience. Remember all the blessings, the ways God planned to use his just and righteous people? Fantastic! The audience must be psyched that Jesus applied this passage to them. Perhaps that’s way…

All were speaking well of him, and were amazed at the gracious words coming out of his mouth. They said, “Where did he get all these ideas? And what is this wisdom that has been given to him? What are these miracles that are done through his hands? Isn’t this the carpenter, the son of Mary and Joseph, and brother of James, Joses (Joseph), Judas, and Simon? And aren’t his sisters here with us? Where did he get all this?”
Jesus said to them, “No doubt you will quote to me the proverb, ‘Physician, heal yourself!’ and say, ‘What we have heard that you did in Capernaum, do here in your hometown too.’ “(“Prove it!”) And he added, “I tell you the truth, a prophet is accepted with honor except in his hometown, and among his relatives, and in his own house.”[6]

Okay, something happened between them speaking well of him and being amazed at his gracious words, because Jesus response to their questions reveals they he (as we will see at the end of this story) is amazed at their unbelief. If I could add a soundtrack to their paragraph of question, it would from something happy to something really brooding. There’s a seemingly ugly shift in the undertone. “You’re that amazing, huh? From your family? Prove it to our faces, here. Do some cool miracles for us like you did in Jerusalem.” And here is where Jesus, who had just returned from the Samaritans, really makes them angry.

“In truth I tell you, there were many widows in Israel in Elijah’s days, when the sky was shut up three and a half years, and there was a great famine over all the land. Yet Elijah was sent to none of them, but only to a [Gentile] woman who was a widow at Zarephath in Sidon. And there were many lepers in Israel in the time of the prophet Elisha, yet none of them was cleansed except the [Gentile], Naaman the Syrian[7]”[8] When they heard this, all the people in the synagogue were filled with rage[9] and took offense at him.[10]

Translation: The Nazarites are the ones in Isaiah 58 who are the rebels, living ‘as if they were a nation that does what is right and has not forsaken the commands of its God.’ They were the ones who, on the day of fasting, did as they pleased and exploited all your workers. Their fasts ended in quarreling and fighting with wicked fists. And, as Isaiah had said, “You cannot fast as you do today and expect your voice to be heard on high.”

They got up, forced him out of the town, and brought him to the brow of the hill on which their town was built, so that they could throw him down the cliff.[11] But he passed through the crowd and went on his way. Jesus did/could not do many miracles there because of their unbelief[12]— except to lay his hands on a few sick people and heal them. And he was amazed because of their unbelief[13]. Then he went around the villages and taught.

(a) First observation: it is possible that really godly people are right in front of us and we don’t see it.

We dishonor others and rob ourselves of the input of the godly around us if we don’t see those whom God has placed ‘in our own country.’ They might even be in our own family, our own circle of friends, our own church. I wonder if there is a human tendency to think of the impressive, exotic and exciting things happening far away from us, when the reality is that God is at work in our midst. “Surely, God was in this place and I did not know it,” said Jacob. In the kingdom of God, the extraordinary is often hidden in the ordinary.

I have been amazed over the years at the wealth of human resources in Northern Michigan. Famous, brilliant people live right here. Because I coach, I am aware of area athletes from small schools who go on to play professional sports. It’s no different in the local church. Godly, righteous people are seated in this room. We just have to get to know each other.

(b) Second observation: The response of wonder at Jesus’ teachings and works was coupled with persistent unbelief and rejection.

Wonder is not the same as worship. There was no real appreciation of His true identity or worth; all that mattered was how impressive he could be.[14] When Jesus only matters because he entertains us or makes our lives easy, we aren’t following Jesus the crucified Savior. We are following Jesus the court jester. I’m thinking of the movie Gladiator: “Are you not entertained!!” By the way, as far as we know, Jesus never returned to Nazareth.[15]

Jesus didn’t come to entertain us; he came to redeem us. If our love of Jesus hinges on how happy we feel or cool He looks or what kind of bells and whistles get added to our lives, we have badly missed the point. “My grace is sufficient.”[16] That alone should evoke awe, and wonder, and trust, and allegiance.

I have said this before: I think the physical realities in the Old Testament point toward spiritual realities in the New Testament. The poor, the enslaved, the blind, the thirsty, the hungry, the naked – God’s people were called to care about their situation physically in the Old Covenant.

The New Covenant does not change that, but I think now the focus is on the spiritual application. Think of it as another example of, ‘You have heard it said, but I say unto you…’ Jesus didn’t do away with what they had heard; he added another layer to it that usually had to do with the heart and soul.

Jesus did not come to destroy the Law but to fulfill it, so we get to care about people in both ways. Isaiah talked about the Year of the Lord’s favor over and over as involving justice. Justice is a big deal to God. It will characterize the presence of His favor.

I hate that in our current cultural climate, the world “justice” has been redefined or hijacked in such a way that followers of Jesus have started to argue against its importance. We don’t need to run from it; we need to reclaim it. It’s a crucial part of ‘the acceptable year of the Lord.’ We can be for setting captives free physically and spiritually, for feeding the hungry physically and spiritually, for ending oppression physically and spiritually, for bringing sight to the blind physically and spiritually. In the Kingdom of God, this is both/and, not either/or.

(d) Fourth observation: Without the freedom Jesus brings, freedoms turn into either indulgence or oppression.

Christ is the only Liberator whose liberation lasts forever.[18] This is why a focus on physical freedom is doomed without the foundation of spiritual freedom, which not only frees us from something, but to something. Social justice movements, as well intended as they may be, will always distort into some type of injustice without the guidance of knowing what true freedom is,and what true freedom is for.

“You were called to freedom. Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another.” (Galatians 5:13)

Far too often in history, the oppressed have either arisen only to replicate the oppression,[19] or they have exploited that freedom until their indulgence destroyed them. Unguided or unfocused freedom almost always devolves into the improper use of either power or pleasure, both of which can be terribly destructive.

We see this in the Nazarites. Here is a people violently oppressed by Rome and sneered at by other Jewish communities because of their origins (“Can anything good come from Nazareth, in Galilee of the Gentiles?”) You would think they would be conscious about a) not using violence to acuse others, and b) not holding someone’s origins against them. But in a venue where they have the freedom to choose how to treat someone, they choose to replicate both those things.

Lives freed from the bondage of people need to be guided by hearts freed from the power of sin. The Gospel freedom that Jesus brings to hearts, souls and minds is crucial if we are going to exercise the power of earthly freedoms.

When Jesus talks about freedom, He’s pointing toward not just what he frees us from, but what he frees us to. This vision is found throughout the Bible, but honestly, just looking at what Jesus and Isaiah say paints a great foundational image of what it looks like to live in freedom in the favor of God.

A world in which the poor have their needs met is good; a world in which the poor in spirit get their needs met also is even better. God’s people get the privilege of being involved in both.
A world in which physically oppressed captives are freed is good; a world in which the spiritually chained captives are freed from sin and spiritual oppression also is even better. God’s people get the privilege of being involved in both.
A world in which the physically blind and lame regain sight and mobility is good; a world in which the spiritually blind and lame regain their sight and learn to walk in the Kingdom is even better. God’s people get the privilege of being involved in both.

I have a final point next week. Meanwhile, let’s simmer on how Jesus declared himself.

“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release (redemption) to the captives and the regaining of sight to the blind,[20] to set free those who are oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”[21]

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[1] “That this is the last time in the Gospel where Jesus is associated with a synagogue suggests this rejection marks a significant break in his relationship with the institution and the Judaism it represents.” (NIV Biblical Theology Study Bible)

[2] “For judgment I came into this world, so that (Same purpose as here in Lk 4:18) those who do not see may see (Good News), and that those who see may become blind.” (Bad News) Those of the Pharisees who were with Him heard these things and said to Him, “We are not blind too, are we?” Jesus said to them, “If you were blind (I.e., if they recognized their state of spiritual blindness, humbled themselves, and cried out to God to "heal" them) you would have no sin; but since you say, ‘We see,’ (I.e., In a state of total self-deception and steadfast rejection of the "sight giving Gospel") your sin remains. (John 9:39-41) (commentary quoted in Precept Austin)

[3] The year of the Lord’s favor (Grk “the acceptable year of the Lord”) is a description of the Year of Jubilee (Lev 25:10). The year of the total forgiveness of debt is now turned into a metaphor for salvation. (NET Bible Commentary) Jesus reads Isa 61:1 – 2, with an added line from Isa 58:6 (tradition suggests that synagogue readers were allowed to “skip” material when reading the Prophets). Isa 61:1 – 2 probably evokes the Year of Jubilee (Lev 25), in which all slaves were to be released. Although Jesus’ reading ends with salvation, his audience would know that the passage goes on to announce also judgment. (NIV Cultural Backgrounds Study Bible)

[4] “This geographic area may have been sensitive about premature kingdom claims; Nazareth was just four miles (six kilometers) from the major Galilean city of Sepphoris, which had been destroyed after a revolt against Rome about two decades earlier (AD 6).” (NIV Cultural Backgrounds Study Bible)

[5] Regaining of sight may well mean more than simply miraculously restoring physical sight, which itself pictures a deeper reality (Luke 1:77-79; 18:35-43). Oppressed may well mean more than simply political or economic oppression, but a deeper reality of oppression by sin (Luke 1:77-79; 18:35-43). The essence of Jesus’ messianic work is expressed in the phrase to set free. This line from Isa 58 says that Jesus will do what the nation had failed to do. It makes the proclamation messianic, not merely prophetic, because Jesus doesn’t just proclaim the message—he brings the deliverance. “ (NET Bible Commentary)

[6] There is a wordplay here on the word acceptable (δεκτός, dektos), which also occurs in v. 19: Jesus has declared the “acceptable” year of the Lord (here translated year of the Lord’s favor), but he is not “accepted” by the people of his own hometown. (NET Bible Commentary)

[7] “Jesus here highlights their ministry to foreigners (and by implication the resistance of their own people as in v. 24).” (NIV Cultural Backgrounds Study Bible)

[8] Imagine the impact of Jesus’ words on Jewish minds. They placed women, Gentiles, and lepers at the bottom of the social scale. But here the Lord pointedly placed all three above unbelieving Jews! What He was saying was that OT history was about to repeat itself. In spite of His miracles, He would be rejected not only by the city of Nazareth but by the nation of Israel. He would then turn to the Gentiles, just as Elijah and Elisha had done. (Believer’s Bible Commentary)

[9] It is worth noting that it was not Jesus' claim that He was the Messiah that made them angry, but it was His suggestion that their reaction made to His claim made them like one of the worst periods of Israel's history along with the implication that Gentiles might be more helped by God than the nation would be. This is the only place in Luke's Gospel where he uses this term for anger. (Precept Austin)

[10] “They were offended not only that he compared them to the faithless Jews of Elijah and Elisha’s time but also that he suggested that Gentiles could enjoy the blessings of God missed by the Jews—an unthinkable violation of their cultural bias.” (NIV Quest Study Bible Notes)

[11] “Jewish custom suggested hurling a person from a cliff before stoning him, but it forbade execution without trial and would also forbid it on the Sabbath. Roman law forbade executions without the governor’s permission; this group functions like a lynch mob.” (NIV Cultural Backgrounds Study Bible)

[12] “And he could there do no mighty work,.... Or miracle; not that Christ had no power in himself to work miracles, though their unbelief and contempt of him were very great; but it was not fit and proper that he should do any there, since such were their prejudices against him: it is an usual way of speaking with the Hebrews, when either it is not "fit" and proper that a thing should be done, or they "will" not do it, to say it cannot be done; see Genesis 19:22; and even it is said of God himself, "So that the Lord could no longer bear, because of your evil doings", Jeremiah 44:22. Not but that he could if he would, but he would not; nor was it fit and proper that he should; the same is the sense here: besides, in Matthew 13:58 it is said, "he did not many mighty works there"; and so the Arabic version here, "and he did not many mighty works there"; he did not think it proper to do any of any great consequence, nor did he.” (Gill’s Exposition Of The Entire Bible)

[13] Not “weakness of faith,” but “withholding belief in the power and promises of God.” (Thayer’s Greek Lexicon)

[14] Believer’s Bible Commentary

[15] He once told his disciples. “If any household or town refuses to welcome you or listen to your message, shake its dust from your feet as you leave.” (Matthew 10:14) He seems to have modeled that for them. It wasn’t as if those in Nazareth had no hope. We know the at least some of Jesus’ siblings eventually recognized him as the Messiah. Jesus’ time on earth was limited, and he intended to go where the soil of people’s hearts was ready for the seed of the gospel.

[16] 2 Corinthians 12:9

[17] “He does not come into our lives to fix what is already right; rather, He heals us from our brokenness and forgives our sin. ‘It is not those who are healthy who need a physician, but those who are sick; I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners.’” (Mark 2:17) (NASB Charles Stanley Life Principles Study Bible)

[18] HT to Malcolm Muggeridge, as cited at Precept Austin

[19] It’s how The Hunger Games ended. So much hope that revolution would bring about a just new world…and it just replicated the previous government.

[20] “For judgment I came into this world, so that (Same purpose as here in Lk 4:18) those who do not see may see (Good News), and that those who see may become blind.” (Bad News) Those of the Pharisees who were with Him heard these things and said to Him, “We are not blind too, are we?” Jesus said to them, “If you were blind (I.e., if they recognized their state of spiritual blindness, humbled themselves, and cried out to God to "heal" them) you would have no sin; but since you say, ‘We see,’ (I.e., In a state of total self-deception and steadfast rejection of the "sight giving Gospel") your sin remains. (John 9:39-41) (commentary quoted in Precept Austin)

[21] The year of the Lord’s favor (Grk “the acceptable year of the Lord”) is a description of the Year of Jubilee (Lev 25:10). The year of the total forgiveness of debt is now turned into a metaphor for salvation. (NET Bible Commentary) Jesus reads Isa 61:1 – 2, with an added line from Isa 58:6 (tradition suggests that synagogue readers were allowed to “skip” material when reading the Prophets). Isa 61:1 – 2 probably evokes the Year of Jubilee (Lev 25), in which all slaves were to be released. Although Jesus’ reading ends with salvation, his audience would know that the passage goes on to announce also judgment. (NIV Cultural Backgrounds Study Bible)