 Looking at Luke chapter 4 verses 14 through 30. So let's begin reading together here in Luke chapter 4 at verse 14 I'll read verses 14 and 15 and give you an introduction a Little bit of a background and then we'll move right on into verse 16 Because what you see in these two passages verses 14 and 15 and then verses 16 to 30 is acceptance and Rejection you're going to see both of those in the same study today We'll begin with acceptance chapter 4 verse 14 verses 14 and 15 Luke writes Jesus returned in the power of the spirit to Galilee and News of him went out through all the surrounding region and he taught in their synagogues being glorified by all So it's interesting how that we have four gospels Because the gospels actually will supplement for us They will give to us insights that perhaps we wouldn't have gotten if you had a single gospel Matthew Mark and Luke are called the synoptic gospels They contain very much the same story and same incidents in the life of Jesus Selectively but are very similar the gospel of John is a gospel that is not part of that Synoptic trio and so John's gospel will include things in the ministry of Jesus That you don't find in Matthew Mark or Luke and so when you look at Luke as well as Mark and Matthew as it relates to the temptation of Jesus Christ You could be reading in Luke chapter 4 and as we did last time Concluded verse 13 and then move into verse 14 And you could assume that the events that are taking place in verse 14 Take place immediately after the event found in verses 1 through 13 and in that assumption we'd be wrong When we look at the gospel of John We actually see that the events that are are recorded in verse 14 following here in Luke chapter 4 actually transpire about a year later and So John's gospel if you were to look at it I'm not asking you to do it right now, but if you were to look at John's gospel in chapter 1 and Began to work yourself through the gospel from chapter 1 verse 19 you would go all the way up to chapter 4 verse 42 and Those are the events that are actually taking place over the course of a year that are omitted for us in the gospel of Luke And so when you look at John You'll see that he records a variety of things like like the first miracle that Jesus performs at a wedding feast there in Cana of Galilee You'll see him when he goes into the temple for the first time He actually cleanses the temple twice and it's recorded in the first time in John chapter 2 when Jesus enters into the The temple and cleans it out and then it's it occurs the second time at the conclusion of his ministry But John records the first cleansing of the temple You see Jesus speaking to a man in John chapter 3 by the name of Nicodemus That's an event that takes place in between these events here And you also see John the Baptist as he gives his final testimony concerning Jesus Christ You see Jesus ministering to a woman at the well in Samaria So a variety of things are taking place that are not are not recorded in Luke's gospel Mark's gospel or Matthew's gospel That actually occurred in the gospel of John and so when we pick up here in verse 14 You have to give yourself about a year of ministry that isn't being recorded for us in this gospel And so what Luke writes in verse 14 is that Jesus returned in the power of the spirit to Galilee now According to Matthew's gospel chapter 4 verse 12 Matthew said when Jesus heard that John had been put in prison he departed for Galilee So we know that John his cousin had been imprisoned for confronting Herod we've already looked at that together, but Herod the tetrarch one of the political leaders had married illegally married his brother Philip's wife and and John had been speaking concerning that and ultimately Because he confronted him concerning his unlawful marriage. He was imprisoned and we know that in the life of John the Baptist his imprisonment Ultimated in his his death his martyrdom. He was beheaded for for preaching And so it's during this time that Jesus returns to northern Israel to continue his ministry You see Jesus was down in the south at this time when Jesus was baptized and ministering and being tempted He was in southern Israel just outside of Jerusalem But now he's going back up north. He's going into what is called the Galilee and as he's going up into that region Jesus is ministering if you take notes Mark tells us in chapter 1 verses 14 and 15 After John was put in prison Jesus came to Galilee preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God and Saying the time is fulfilled and the kingdom of God is at hand repent and believe in the gospel So when Jesus Christ was going up into that region He began to preach a message that was similar at least at the beginning as that of his cousin John's He began to preach to the people that they are to repent and believe Now when you read in the Bible that speaks concerning repentance repentance is more than reformation Sometimes we speak concerning the reformation. The person is reformed. He's a reformed alcoholic. He's a reformed drug addict Or whatever he's reformed from Repentance and reformation are not the same thing Reformation very often is simply a personal attempt to make yourself better repentance is a change of mind When somebody has a biblical repentance They actually change the way they look at sin and they they also change the way that they look at righteousness You stop looking at sin in the way that you used to some people think that sin is just a mistake It's an error. It's a it's a it's a mental In calculation I did something wrong, you know mentally, but it's not necessarily simple because When I do something wrong, it doesn't necessarily in my mind equate with sinning against God or people So when I repent, I'm actually changing my mind concerning sin I'm changing my mind concerning what sin is and how it affects my life and how it affects other people and I Actually define sin for what it is. It's an affront to God. It's missing the mark It's a it's a lacking of perfection. It's it's a realization that that I need help And so it's it when I repent I change the way that I look at sin And I also change the way that I look at what it means to be righteous Because righteousness is really something that speaks of being right or having a right standing And so repentance actually causes me to accept the truth of the gospel And so when I repent and believe I'm actually receiving on God's terms his message and It's not the same as reformation and it's not the same as regretting Sometimes people will regret they did something wrong. They they swore at their child or they run kind to their parents or Mean to a girlfriend or they did something bad to a to a buddy or whatever and they regret it They feel terrible about it Repentance isn't regretting Because you can regret doing something and do it again later on there were times that I did things that I regretted But most of the time I regretted getting caught it wasn't so much that I regretted what I did I regretted that somebody found me out and I felt bad about that and my conscience was bothered over it You know, but it wasn't enough to make me change There's an interesting scripture found in in 2nd Corinthians in chapter 7 if you take notes It's found in 2nd Corinthians chapter 7 verse 10 and There the Apostle Paul says godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret But worldly sorrow brings death When you look in the Bible you have two individuals that both betrayed Christ You have a man by the name of Judas that we all know We also know of a man by the name of the Apostle Peter both of them basically Denied knowing Jesus Christ both of them did Peter on three occasions said I don't know the man Judas sold Jesus out What's interesting about the two is? Judas went out and hanged himself as a result of that whereas Peter Repented got right with the Lord and became a mighty messenger of the things of God Regret and repentance are two different concepts. You can regret doing something you feel bad about it But the sorrow of the world leads to death you die in that Situation because you can be depressed you can be upset about it and sometimes it even leads to a suicide like Judas is whereas Repentance is a change of mind and and that's what Jesus was preaching here Jesus was speaking out and saying it's time to repent and believe God the kingdom of God is at hand He said repent and believe in the message of the gospel So it's time for God to act in his work of redemption the king has come It's time for people to receive him and so according to verse 14 here in Luke chapter 4 Jesus returned in the power of the spirit to Galilee and news of him went out through all the surrounding region That's because Jesus is going forth through that region preaching his message. It says in verse 15 He taught in their synagogues being glorified by all and so he's going through the synagogues there and he's teaching now a Synagogue, you know, we are aware of synagogues because we have some in our area here And there are synagogues throughout the world But you might be interested in knowing a little bit about what a synagogue is a synagogue actually began or came into existence about 600 years before Christ Before then they didn't need to have these houses or places where they would go and read the word in half fellowship because The Jew would go to the temple but with the exile of the Jews to Babylon came the The origination of synagogue worship because they were they were miles away from Jerusalem and therefore could not go to the Temple and so they began to have services in in a place that eventually was called a synagogue or a gathering place or a Congregation a place of congregation so the temple had become the center of Jewish life But the fact is many Jews lived hundreds even thousands of miles away from Jerusalem So the synagogue was a place of worship and study of community fellowship And it could be even used as a legal court and synagogues became very important Worship was held every Sabbath sections of the law and prophets were read various prayers songs and responses would occur Sometimes a visiting rabbi or passing dignitary would expound scripture the synagogue served as a public school for boys where they studied the oral tradition of the law as well as Writing and reading and arithmetic and for men it was a center of advanced theological training The synagogue was a place of of gathering together there for a community of the Jewish people in order to learn things about the Lord But Matthew tells us concerning what was taking place because in chapter 4 verse 23 He said that Jesus went about all Galilee teaching in the synagogues Preaching the gospel of the kingdom healing all kinds of sickness and all kinds of disease among the people And so that's what's taking place and I want you to see something if you take notes You might want to note this because Matthew 4 23 gives us three aspects of the ministry of Jesus Christ the three things that he was doing Jesus Christ is going about teaching preaching and healing. That's what he was doing. That's why he was glorified by all Now he'd go forth and he would teach When people are teaching the Bible the gift of teaching and is an instruction It's it's a causing or provoking a person to listen in order that they might learn when teaching takes place You are being provoked by the spirit of God to learn what is being said when preaching is taking place It's a call to decision Now you can't teach, you know a believer and you could also preach to a believer But oftentimes the ministry of preaching is to those who have yet to commit themselves to faith in God Because preaching calls for a decision of the will Teaching instruction, but but preaching calls for a decision of the will There's an encouragement for the person who is listening to make a decision concerning what they're hearing And so when the gospel goes forth when Jesus would go forth and say repent the kingdom of God is at hand He was preaching he was calling people to make a decision as to whether or not they would change their way of life The way they looked at sin the way they looked at God and whether they would embrace his message And so as he went forth preaching these people were committing themselves to him when he was teaching He was instructing them concerning the ways of God from the word of God And not only was he teaching and preaching he also went forth healing and he healed all manner of sickness And so as he was performing these miracles it would reveal that he was no ordinary man It would also demonstrate that God was compassionate He was also establishing his credentials and he was demonstrating that the kingdom of God was near And so as he went forth doing these things people began to listen to what he was saying and initially they welcomed him They accepted him. He was glorified by all is what verse 15 says And so Jesus in the beginning of his ministry there that we see in chapter 4 is actually being accepted by people But now you get the rejection notice verse 16. So I 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 to read and He was handed the book of the prophet Isaiah And when he had opened the book he found the place where it was written The spirit of the Lord is upon me because he has anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor He has sent me to heal the brokenhearted to preach deliverance to the captives and Recovery of sight to the blind to set at liberty those who are oppressed to preach the acceptable year of the Lord Then he closed the book and gave it to the attendant and sat down and the eyes of all who were in the synagogue were fixed on him And he began to say to them today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing so all bore witness to him and marveled at the gracious words which proceeded out of his mouth and they said is this a Joseph's son and He said to them you will surely say this proverb to me physician heal yourself Whatever we have heard done in Capernaum do also here in your country Then he said assuredly I say to you no prophet is accepted in his own country But I tell you truly many widows were in Israel in the days of Elijah when the heaven was shut up three years in six months And there was a great famine throughout all the land But to none of them was Elijah sent except as Arafat in the region of Sidon to a woman who was a widow and Many lepers were in Israel in the time of Elisha the prophet and none of them was cleansed except name in the Syrian Then all those in the synagogue when they heard these things were filled with wrath and rose up and thrust him out of the city And they led him to the brow of the hill in which their city was built that they might throw him down over the cliff Then passing through the midst of them. He went his way a Moment ago. We saw he was accepted and now we see him being definitely rejected. He came to Nazareth the place that he was brought up So when Jesus was a toddler he was taken to Egypt for a short time You remember that we saw that in Matthew's gospel chapter 2, but upon hearing the death of Herod Joseph had brought Jesus to live in Nazareth and now he has spent many years there. He probably spent a good Well He's 30 years old when his ministry begins. So he probably spent a good 27 years at least in this city Everybody knew him He was a homegrown man from Nazareth They all knew him and so he's now speaking to friends and neighbors and that's what's going to make this interesting as we look At that and so what has happened is he's there in the city that he grew up in Nazareth as it says in verse 16 now notice He says here and as his custom was he went into the synagogue on the samt day and stood up to read as his custom was In other words from his youth up He had had the custom of going to the synagogue He had congregated there and had been there as a member of that synagogue probably for most of his young life from the time He was at least 12 years old until he was at least 27 or older 30 years old so he's been there and he's been raised there and he's in that synagogue. That's his regular habit Now during the service someone would read from a prescribed portion of the law of Moses the first five books of the Bible And so they would more than likely be reading Hebrew and they had an attendant there That's what you're seeing here when it speaks about the attendant They had an attendant there a person who would would take that That Hebrew that was being trans and would translate it to Aramaic, which was the common language at that time in Israel And so an official translator would repeat the words in Aramaic And so as this is taking place and he stands up to read verse 17 says he was handed the book of the prophet Isaiah now When you go into a synagogue to this day, they have readings They have their daily kinds of readings and all if you were raised in the Catholic church Then you remember that you had a Catholic missile and there would be prayers and there would be Readings from the gospel because daily you would have church services and all if you wanted to go to mass on a daily basis You could and so you had your daily readings, and that's what's taking place here So the Jews have daily readings that just so happens in the timing of the Lord that Jesus Christ goes and he's handed The book a scroll actually when it says he's handed the book of the prophet It's really a scroll and he opens up the scroll No, it says he opened up the book and he found the place where it was written more than likely That was the passage for the day that he was reading and this is what he reads It's found in Isaiah what we call Isaiah 61 1 and 2 The spirit of the Lord is upon me because he's anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor He has sent me to heal the brokenhearted to preach deliverance to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind To set it liberty those who are oppressed and to preach the acceptable year of the Lord now What we've done today is I've gotten up here before you and I've read to you That's similar to what Jesus Christ did, but you're gonna see there's a great difference between what he did and what I'm doing in just a moment and So there he is standing and and in his standing by the way It indicates that he wants to officiate the rest of the service That would include reading the portion of the prophets that day and teaching So as I said a moment ago, Isaiah 61 1 and 2 is the reading of the day and now he reads and as he reads verses 18 and 19 He is actually giving what is called a messianic prophecy Isaiah 61 1 and 2 is speaking concerning the coming Messiah And so as he reads that Isaiah is describing the ministry the ministry of Messiah And so notice what it says it says the spirit of the Lord is upon me When it says that the spirit of the Lord is upon me Jesus is saying that I am anointed Remember with me that Christ Speaks of the Messiah or the Messiah or the anointed one See a long time when I was a young young boy, I thought Jesus was his first name And Christ was his last name That's what I thought and so I thought Christ is no it's his title It's his office rather. He is Messiah the anointed one And so when he's reading out of Isaiah 61 he is first and foremost speaking concerning the Messiah as being anointed He is the one who is anointed. He is the Lord and he is the anointed one Acts 10 38 says God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit in power Went about doing good in healing all who were oppressed by the devil God was with him So one he's speaking concerning Messiah. Who is the anointed one? Now this anointed one has specific ministry and and that is to preach He's to preach good tidings to certain kinds of people notice what he says The spirit of the Lord is upon me. He has anointed me to preach To preach the gospel first to the poor Now that obviously could speak of those who are literally poor To go forth and speak to the disenfranchised Which is what Jesus Christ obviously does and still does through the hands of the church To reach out and administer to the poor But it also would speak concerning the spiritually impoverished Because in Matthew in chapter five when Jesus is given the beatitudes He says blessed is the poor in spirit for theirs is the kingdom of heaven And when Jesus was speaking there concerning the poor he spoke of the poor in spirit Because the only way for me to have the riches of God is to recognize the the spiritual Impoverishment that I experienced because I don't have riches without him And so when Jesus goes forth to speak to those who are poor It isn't just the physical and literal poor, but it's those who recognize their spiritual poverty I can't make it without God I have a need for forgiveness. I have a need for God's love. I have a need for God's mercy I have a need for God. I need to recognize that I'm spiritually bankrupt and without him I won't make it And so he says the spirit of the Lord is upon me He has anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor and second he has sent me to heal the broken hearted A couple of applications one is The remedy to a broken heart is when it is healed by the Lord Jesus Christ Because he can take the broken hearted and he can heal them But it's not just the sad soul that is being spoken of here. It's the person who's broken over their sin It's the person who mourns over their sin And like when you got saved or if you have any kind of testimony that's similar to mine Because when I got saved I was mourning over my sin I was tired of hurting people I was tired of causing my parents pain. I was tired of being the way I was And I was actually in that point where I was saying God help me because I keep hurting those I love the most And I'm tired of being such a disappointment to my dad. I'm tired of being such a Heartbreaker to my mom. I'm tired of being so unkind to my sisters I'm tired of this way of life And so One the Lord Jesus Christ Wants to speak to the spiritually impoverished the people who recognize that they're bankrupt and need him and too He wants to minister to the ones who are broken over their sin You see in Matthew 5 verse 4 Jesus said blessed are those who mourn they shall be comforted And so he came to speak to those he also came to speak to To the captives notice he says to preach deliverance to the captives A captive is an individual who's been taken by an exile by by an enemy and has been placed if you will in in a state of exile And so we can see ourselves as being taken captive by Satan himself In 2nd Timothy chapter 2 verses 24 through 26 Paul said a servant of the Lord must not quarrel but be gentle to all Able to teach Patient in humility correcting those who are in opposition If God perhaps will grant them repentance So that they may know the truth and that they may come to their senses and escape the snare of the devil Having been taken captive by him to do his will Jesus Christ has come to rescue the captives The one who have fallen into the snare of the enemy and have become his slaves He says i've come to bring recovery of sight to the blind I have come to give to you who are spiritually blind the capacity to see Paul said if our gospel is veiled it's veiled to those who are perishing whose minds the god of this age is blinded Who do not believe lest the light of the gospel of the glory of christ is the image of god should shine on them Jesus said i can give you light in your darkness. I can illuminate you who are walking in the dark He says to set at liberty those who are oppressed That speaks of prisoners of any sort Jesus made it very clear in john 834 that whoever commits sin is a slave to it And a lot of people will argue and say i'm not a slave to anything But the fact is jesus made it very clear. No if a man sins he becomes ensnared by it and in bondage to it And i think every honest person in this room, especially who are christians Can say beyond a shadow of a doubt that there came a time in our lives Where we began to cry out to god say and i can't stand this anymore. I am in bondage. I need to be set free lord I can't take this anymore. I have to be set free I can remember as a young man just prior to getting saved that that became a prayer that i prayed more than once Where i was saying to the lord god i am in bondage. I can't take this a lot of people say well They're not in bondage speak to an alcoholic in a sober moment And ask that person Are you in bondage? And in a sober moment they might argue with you a bit but in an honest moment. They'll say to you i am I'm in bondage to this talk to the guy who's always losing his temper And ask him are you in bondage to your temper? And in an honest moment as long as he doesn't get mad and hit you in an honest moment He'll say to you you know what? I am tired of the way that i fly off the handle so easily speak to the person who's Involved in drugs or talk to the person who's going from one relationship to another And you're going to discover that there's a tremendous amount of bondage in a lot of people's lives They are captives they're being held captive and jesus christ said i can set you free I have come that i might give you liberty though you are oppressed and you are in bondage to this I can set you free and then notice verse 19 to preach the acceptable year of the lord When he speaks of preaching the acceptable year of the lord that would come out of leviticus chapter 25 verses 8 through 18 It's the time of jubilee and that is celebrated every 50 years and that's when all debts are forgiven and slaves are set free And what it's a picture of is the messianic age and so what jesus is basically saying is i've come to set you free Like the jubilee except i can set you free completely And so he's reading this notice that and then in verse 20 he closed the book Gave it back to the attendant and sat down now when a rabbi was going to instruct He would sit down which is exactly what jesus is doing so not only did he read the passage But now he is being seated which tells us that he's about to teach that passage and so as he does so Notice in verse 20 all the eyes of all who were in the synagogue were fixed on him So they're watching him very very closely He rolls up the scroll he hands it to the assistant. He seats himself to teach He's not going to give a speech. He is now giving a teaching And so the eyes of all in that synagogue including friends that he had grown up with are fastened on him now think about that for a minute He is going to be sharing in the synagogue where the neighbors and friends that he had grown up with Are going to listen to him speak now think for a moment because jesus is 30 years old His mother mary and his His father not his biological father, but his father joseph Remember their situation and remember that small towns have long memories Jesus's mother mary Had turned up pregnant Prior to her being married to joseph So for 30 years They have held it in the back of their mind That jesus is illegitimate That he was born out of wedlock So jesus is speaking in this fashion To a group of people who undoubtedly are judging him Because he had broken the law They thought of him as one who was a product of those who had broken the law actually not him but his parents And so as he's speaking to these people He's got friends possibly members of of extended family there And their eyes are fastened on him as he's speaking And as he speaks notice it says in verse 21 he began to say to them today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing I'll bore witness to him and marvel at the gracious words which proceeded out of his mouth and he said is this Not joseph's son Listen if I stood up here and I read the spirit of the lord is upon me And then I looked at you and I said This passage is Fulfilled in in me That's what jesus was doing And as they're watching him They're thinking That's a pretty heavy thing to be saying Because he's claiming to be messiah He's not just jesus who grew up in town that everybody knew the sweet little boy He used to hang around with mary and was just a great guy A wonderful carpenter said He's saying something about himself that is a little bit beyond what we can accept See they had heard and you'll see this in a moment They had heard of the works that he had done in other places because his reputation is preceding him He's been doing works and people have been hearing about this rumors and and reports of what jesus christ has been doing Has already come back to the ears of those in nazareth. So they've heard these things So there would be an anticipation when jesus was there in that in that uh synagogue setting there and all There'd be an anticipation. They want to know what he has to say Now he's read out of the daily reading that doesn't that's not too spectacular because that's what was anticipated to be read that day Anyway, but when he says the scriptures fulfilled in your hearing, that's another thing Because he is saying to them literally I am your messiah That's what he's saying to them Now at first They wonder at his amazing eloquence his ability to communicate that. Can you imagine that? To hear the gracious words proceeding out of the mouth of jesus christ Can you imagine the eloquence of jesus as he would speak forth the word of god? See this doesn't give us all that he said it simply says that he spoke to them. They heard him and they marveled at him So as he's sharing with them and giving them nuances of scripture and teaching them Delistening very carefully and at first they're saying Is this isn't this joseph's son? You know, there are many times when they were just absolutely amazed at the way that jesus would speak And so as they listen to him They're becoming amazed It reminds me of matthew 7 28 and 29 where it says the people were astonished at his teaching For he taught them as one having authority and not as describes He taught them as one having authority In ecclesiasties 10 12 it says the words of a wise man's mouth are gracious So jesus is speaking there. He's filled with grace and truth and as he's speaking there the eloquence and how Profound he is is just amazing those who are listening But in the back of their mind they finally say but wait a minute. This is joseph's son. This is just this is somebody we've known all along Listen, we've been hearing stories of the works that you supposedly are performing We've heard of your works And we can believe that perhaps you are doing some fantastic things. Why not? But when you say you're messiah now, that's something a bit different And so jesus anticipating that goes on and says in verse 23 You will surely say this proverb to me physician heal yourself Whatever we have heard done in capernaum do also here in your country But he he says but assuredly I say to you no prophet is accepted in his own country Familiarity often brings contempt Great people are not always recognized by their own family If you were to ask at a certain point in their lives, I'm sure if you were to ask Um, we'll say chuck smith's kids, you know, uh pastor check happens to be somebody that I love very much And so if you're to ask jeff or his son chuck, you know, do you realize that you are Chuck smith's kids They would simply say no, he's just my dad I mean you could see that with franklin graham and his father billy graham Do you realize that you're being raised by billy graham franklin? And franklin would say He's daddy You know, he's I mean you see him as billy graham. I see him as my dad and i'm telling you Greatness very often is not recognized by those who are closest to you There's no doubt about that in john's gospel in john chapter seven It was right around the feasts of the tabernacles And jesus's brothers were speaking to him. It's found in john seven versus three through five and And john says his brother said to him depart from here and go into judia That your disciples also may see the works that you are doing For no one does anything in secret while he himself seeks to be known openly If you do these things show yourself to the world And then john adds for even his brothers did not believe in him think about that for just a moment His brothers who are raised in the same house with him and seen a perfect life Their whole life Not one time not one time could his brothers ever say that they saw him do anything wrong not one time Now my brother if you asked my brother, did you ever see david do something wrong? He'd say how how much time do you have? I can tell you a ton of things, you know from the time It was this to the and he could because he's my brother. He lived in the house with me He saw the way i was talk to my sisters. They can do the same thing They can say are you kidding me? Can you convict me of sin? Absolutely You know court of law i could get you hanged no doubt about it because you are a sinner And see his own brothers so lived in that house think about it Lived in the house with him all of their lives And didn't have a thing that they could ever say that he did wrong. He never lied. He never stole. He never cheated He always obeyed his mom. He he was the perfect child probably drove them crazy Because he was the perfect kid And yet they didn't believe in him They could live with perfection and still reject it So that ought to give some of you some hope when you have friends and family members Who haven't embraced christ even though you've lived a life before them that is obviously blessed Because it takes the holy spirit to convict somebody of sin righteousness and judgment All i can do is live for christ and hope that god uses that in the life of somebody else And so that's what's taking place. They're listening to him They're amazed at his gracious words But immediately they're saying wait a minute. This is joseph's son. Well anticipating that that's why he says You'll surely say this proverb to me physician heal yourself Whatever we heard done in capernaum Do also here in your country assuredly i say to you no prophet is accepted in His own country now i notice the term your country and his own country He now illustrates that in verse 25 i tell you truly Many widows were in israel in the days of elisha When the heaven was shut up three years and six months and there was a great famine throughout all the land but To none of them was elisha sand except isara fat in the in the region of siden which is up in lebanon To a woman who was a widow and many lepers were in israel in the time of elisha the prophet And none of them was cleansed except name in the syrian. So what is he saying is that he's saying this He's saying listen. You may think that you have privileges because i come from this town But i want to remind you of something i want you to remember your old testament I want you to remember in first kings chapter 17 elisha Had been led by the spirit of god to go up into siden up into lebanon And how that he was used up in that area there to minister to a poor widow Who was about to die a starvation. You know the story how that elisha had gone up into the city She saw he saw this woman gathering some sticks And the holy spirit was speaking to him. So he spoke to the woman and he said to her Why don't you go and get me some water and And she comes back with a cup of water and she gives it to the prophet elisha He says would you go and make me a little cake? I'm hungry and she says well, I was about to Make the meal that we have we you know There's been a famine because there's been no rain and and I was about to go and fix our A final meal for my son and for me and And we were going to eat it and that was it. We're going to die And so elijah says to her you won't die Go and make the meal And so she had a little bit of oil and she had a little bit of grain She made the meal for him and god miraculously continues The grain and the oil and she never starves. She always has it replenished And so jesus is speaking concerning that He also speaks concerning a namen who was a syrian another outsider This woman one was this was from up in lebanon the other one is from From siden And I'm sorry syria and it says that this is Namen the syrian you know namen the syrian. He's an interesting person. He's found in in second kings in chapter five namen Was a a general in the army who was a mighty man of valor and very respected and namen had a A little servant who was actually jewish Namen was a Mighty man of valor greatly respected, but the bible says but he was a leper Now he must have been a very kind man because his servant said to him There is a man in israel Who can heal your leprosy? Now you need to understand something Leprosy was was a great plague It was something that that was to be feared and people wanted nothing to do with lepers and in the old testament When it related to the jews leprosy is a type of sin because it separates you a leper is is dulled because It would affect his nerves so that he couldn't feel any longer and that's what sin does And piece by piece who had actually wrought and ultimately died couldn't feel any pain And as a result of that god said that a leper was not to live amongst the people But was to be separated and again sin makes separation between god and man It also separates man from other man and all so it's a great a great emblem of sin in the old testament Well neyman was a syrian So this servant says to him there's a man in israel who can heal you Why don't you go and see and so you know to condense the story he goes and And sends word to elisha that he is there Elisha doesn't even come out to speak to him now This is a great guy who's used to having people kowtow to him But elisha says go tell him and to go into the jordan river and And go into the water seven times and when he comes out the seventh time His skin will be as fresh as a newborn baby is go tell him to do that Oh neyman gets absolutely upset when he says They say well go and take a dip in in the jordan. He says are you kidding me? We've got More beautiful rivers in in syria than this You've got to be kidding climbing that muddy little stream there when I have these magnificent rivers that I You know if I why do I have to come here and do something as stupid as that and he was angry and wanted to leave But the servant said listen if he had told you to do something great, would you not have done it? Why not do the inconsequential the small thing? And see what happens And so there he goes he takes his clothes off he humbles himself He climbs into the jordan and you got a picture this he did seven times He steps in the first time he comes out his skin is still all leprous and Climbs in the second time and climbs in the third time fourth time the fifth time the sixth time And then climbs in the seventh and when he comes out His skin is absolutely perfectly Redone like a newborn babies and jesus is speaking about this and you say listen There were lepers in israel and there were widows in israel So before you start thinking that you have special privileges just because i'm from nazareth I want you to know that god's grace goes beyond the borders of a single town That god is capable of reaching beyond that and and because of that these non- jewish people believed Trusted and were saved Now that got them absolutely upset because the jews didn't believe that that that should be done So notice what happens in verse 28 says all those in the synagogue when they heard these things were filled with wrath and rose up And thrust him out of the city and and they led him to the brow of the hill on which their city was built That they might throw him down the cliff Then passing through the midst of them. He went his way They tried to kill him They wanted to to kill him. They were so angry We're not worse than lepers and were more worthy than than widows How dare you speak to us like that? Now Do you remember in verse 13 of the same chapter? Do you remember how it said When the devil had ended every temptation he departed from him until an opportune time This was another opportune time He wanted to get jesus killed That's what he wanted to do And so he wanted them to cast jesus down from the brow of this hill in order that he might die So he found another moment to try and and do something but again he failed The lord jesus had a perfect time that would be Eventually found and that would be on the cross But the fact is as you're seeing here a rejection of messiah They didn't want to receive jesus as he is They didn't like the idea that jesus was different than what they had thought They most certainly didn't want to accept the fact that he was their messiah Because they couldn't get past the fact that he was the person that had grown up in the same town with them And again when god does a work in your life It may take a while for people to begin to realize that the work that has been done really is from the lord And your mom and your dad They may be the kind of people who just well, they just know you I remember what my brother frank when I got saved And uh and started sharing with my family my brother frank he said He said david he says I know you It's just another fad It's going to be something that you are part of for a while and then it fades away. I know And so he watched me my brother watched me He watched me for about three years To see if I would go back to the world to go back to the way that I used to be He watched me closely because family does that But the fact is I never went back And as a result of that my brother Got saved Because he watched he saw he knew And then he saw the transformation And so it's true your family sometimes at first May not respect you like jesus said No prophet is accepted in his own country They might see you and they might say no, no, this is just a phase. This is something you're going through But it's one of those things that after time that may take years or some After some time they'll see you know what you really were changed And all over all of that time you have had the opportunity to sow seeds into their life And then who knows perhaps one day they might get saved That's why we see that happen like on esters and christmas When you invite your friends and family to church And they finally say i'll go with you and see what's going on over there And they come and they listen and they walk away and they say well it wasn't as scary as I thought You know that cult's not as scary as I thought it would be You know it it's actually okay. I can see why you believe the way that you do And sometimes I've seen it so many times sometimes they'll hear the message and they'll say so this is the explanation for the change in your behavior It's all about god. It's all about jesus isn't it and you say absolutely It's all about him Some people accept him and others reject him I just want to be that one who accepts him But those are your two options acceptance or rejection