We Have the Example of Christ
Luke 4:18 - 37
18The 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.22
And all bare him witness, and wondered at the gracious words which proceeded out of his mouth. And they said, Is not this Joseph’s son?23
And he said unto them, Ye will surely say unto me this proverb, Physician, heal thyself: whatsoever we have heard done in Capernaum, do also here in thy country.24
And he said, Verily I say unto you, No prophet is accepted in his own country.25
But I tell you of a truth, many widows were in Israel in the days of Elias, when the heaven was shut up three years and six months, when great famine was throughout all the land;26
But unto none of them was Elias sent, save unto Sarepta, a city of Sidon, unto a woman that was a widow.27
And many lepers were in Israel in the time of Eliseus the prophet; and none of them was cleansed, saving Naaman the Syrian.28
And all they in the synagogue, when they heard these things, were filled with wrath,29
And rose up, and thrust him out of the city, and led him unto the brow of the hill whereon their city was built, that they might cast him down headlong.30
But he passing through the midst of them went his way,31
And came down to Capernaum, a city of Galilee, and taught them on the sabbath days.32
And they were astonished at his doctrine: for his word was with power.33
And in the synagogue there was a man, which had a spirit of an unclean devil, and cried out with a loud voice,34
Saying, Let us alone; what have we to do with thee, thou Jesus of Nazareth? art thou come to destroy us? I know thee who thou art; the Holy One of God.35
And Jesus rebuked him, saying, Hold thy peace, and come out of him. And when the devil had thrown him in the midst, he came out of him, and hurt him not.36
And they were all amazed, and spake among themselves, saying, What a word is this! for with authority and power he commandeth the unclean spirits, and they come out.37
And the fame of him went out into every place of the country round about.
When we look into this scripture we find Christ reading from Isaiah 61:1 and 2.
Isaiah’s words pictured the deliverance of Israel from exile in Babylon as a Year of Jubilee when all debts were to be canceled, all slaves freed, and all property returned to original owners.
Isn't that a remarkable picture of what God can and will do for our lives.
However, the release from Babylonian exile had not brought the fulfillment that the people had expected; they were still a conquered and oppressed people. We know that Isaiah was prophesying a future messianic age, a time when one would come in the Spirit of the Lord. That was of course Jesus. This passage offered great expectations to an oppressed people. For us it confirms a great Savior and leader in our lives.
Is anyone here a student of history? Does anyone like to know you have been apart of something special. We all have experienced some of this… the assassination of JFK, the Berlin Wall, or closer to home, the birth of your children, their first step, word, or "A," hit, basket or home run. Maybe we get to witness something more lastging, like their accepting Christ or witnessing Him or proclaiming His Word in their lives.
How lucky we might think they were to have witnessed history in the making. Yet we as students of history have all that we can see and they saw, with the ability to avoid the same mistakes they made. Is your attitude like theirs, or do you look on Christ with favor? Are you making the right choices or following the mistakes of others?
First let us see what we learn from His Word…
It takes God's Spirit to serve well - 18a
18
The Spirit of the Lord is upon me…God knows our frame with or without Him - 18b
…because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor;
God can use us to make a difference - 18c
…he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted
God's message shall come through us and our actions - 18d
…to preach deliverance to the captives
We should echo God's healing - 18e
…and recovering of sight to the blind
His freedom can change us all - 18f
…to set at liberty them that are bruised
Today is the day for us to sere Him well - 19
19
To preach the acceptable year of the Lord.We have Him for an example - 21
21
And he began to say unto them, This day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears.Others have us for an example - 22
22
And all bare him witness, and wondered at the gracious words which proceeded out of his mouth.Three things we need to do with the ideas taught in t his reading
We need to…
Submit and trust in the Lord in all of our ways
Serve and commit to make a difference in others' lives
Share and proclaim the Lord knowing He will bless
(not so He will bless, knowing He will bless)
Gary Marcum - New Beginnings Church - 102206am