“The Hometown Hero!”
LESSON AIM: By the end of the lesson, you will;
understand the particlar significance of what Jesus read in the synagogue at
Nazareth; be motivated to explore our spiritual gifts and consider what God may
want us to do with our lives; and create a list of our spiritual gifts with
ways that God can use each of these gifts.
Luke
4:14-21; King James Version (KJV)
14
And Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit into Galilee: and there went out
a fame of him through all the region round about.
15
And he taught in their synagogues, being glorified of all.
16
And 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 for to read.
17
And there was delivered unto him the book of the prophet Esaias. 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 hath anointed me to preach the
gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach
deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at
liberty them that are bruised,
19
To preach the acceptable year of the Lord.
20
And he closed the book, and he gave it again to the minister, and sat down. And
the eyes of all them that were in the synagogue were fastened on him.
21 And he began to
say unto them, This day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears.
What a message! When was the last
time you attended a service where the Word of God was short, sweet, to the
point, and absolutely AMAZING? This is what the congregation experienced when
Jesus spake to them in the synagogue in Nazareth.
Last week, we walked through Jesus
overcoming Satan in the wilderness. He is strengthened and filled with the Holy
Ghost, ready to move towards the next portion of the mission, which His Father,
God, has sent Him to do.
Jesus frequented the synagogue
weekly, as was His custom. He was known as a good teacher, so He was invited to
“preach” there. The people of God had been hearing down through the years that
The Day of Salvation would be at hand, it was coming. So, now, Jesus is here
saying, “the time of fulfillment has come”. Remember, the people have been
waiting on such a promise for two-thousand years…all the way back to Abraham.
As Jesus reads the scrolls, He
creates a sense of “NOW” from what has been written in Isaiah. The people must
have been hanging on His every word. Could this really be the scriptures coming
true for us? Is this really what we’ve been waiting for? Jesus assures them, “The
Lord has put his Spirit in me…”.
Side
Note: Think about a time
when you heard of something and how great and wonderful it would be. (A
milestone in life, a marriage, a graduation, a trip to another country). When
you actually began to be IN the present tense of what you have been awaiting,
how did you feel? How did it compare to all of the time you had to wait for it?
Jesus had a message for the “poor”,
to encourage them and share concern for them. This should not be narrowed to a socioeconomic
status of those who have low income, but rather those who are spiritually
lacking. Jesus came to lift up the bowed down heads. Leader in the synagogue
were stirred by Jesus’ proclamation that He is spreading the good news of the “acceptable
year of the Lord!” This is referenced directly back to the Year of Jubilee.
The Year of Jubilee was a great and
wonderful time for those who owed debt, not so much for the debtors. In holding
true to the Jewish tradition, every 7 years, the people would allow the land to
“rest” and replenish. So, this was done 7 times (49 years) and then, on the 50th
year, all property must be returned to its original owners and debts are
cancelled! (Find more on this law in Leviticus 25:8-55).
If you have a relationship with
Christ, you know that His claim of being able to set prisoners free is true. He
can do this physically, or spiritually. He is more than capable of recovering
sight for the blind in a natural sense, but testify about how He does this
spiritually as well. He saved you didn’t He? What about liberation for the
depressed, distressed, and down-trodden? He’s able!
Side
Note: This set of scriptures
are key tools to witnesses of Christ to win others to Salvation. Most lost
souls fall within one of these major categories, you can let them know that
Jesus is able to “save” them from all of these things! It’s a time of Jubilee
for them, if they will only receive Him.
Jesus is saying, “It’s Jubilee!” The
people were excited and sort of shocked at the same time. They knew Jesus. They
knew he was just Joseph’s son, yet he was right in front of them sharing God’s
promises and giving them new hope. It was a moment of decision. They had to
either dismiss his teachings, or fully trust and believe. Jesus ended it all by
saying, “today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing”. God’s Word is always
final, whether or not we believe it.
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