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“TO PREACH GOOD NEWS TO THE POOR”

Luke 4:16-30



There is a portion of the Gospel reading today that is a little misleading. It has to do with the way in which a part of the original Greek text has been translated into English. This particular translation that we have before us says that, when Jesus had finished reading from the scroll of the prophet Isaiah in the synagogue, all those who were gathered there, “spoke well of him and marveled at the gracious words that were coming from his mouth;” which makes it sound that they were relatively supportive of Jesus. In truth, what the original text actually says was that they began to, “bear witness concerning Him and marveling”—not in an impressed way, but rather in a shocking and confusing way.

It makes a big difference. Far from being cordial and respectful toward Jesus, they rather were outraged by Him; which makes a lot more sense when we hear of the bitter and even murderous reactions which they exhibited toward Jesus at the end of the text.

So, why this intense hatred? What was it about what Jesus said that caused such a violent reaction on their parts?

Well, the answer is two-fold. First, it sprang from Jesus’ statement that the prophecy which He had just read from the book of Isaiah had been fulfilled in their hearing. In essence, Jesus was proclaiming that He Himself was the fulfillment of Isaiah’s words—that He was the long-awaited Messiah.

The implication was hard for the Jews to swallow, especially since they basically had known Jesus all of His life. Nazareth was Jesus’ hometown. Therefore, they did not speak “well” of him, as this version of the Bible says, but rather they bore witness about Him. They testified concerning Him. In other words, they all put in their two cents worth about what they thought of Him and His rather unremarkable family. “Is not this Joseph’s son?” The idea that this local boy, of seemingly humble origins, could be God’s Son was ridiculous, even blasphemous in their eyes. But this was, in fact, the Son of God, and therefore the Lord knew exactly what they were thinking.

So, He said to them, “Doubtless you will quote to me this proverb, ‘Physician, heal yourself.’” It would have been their attitude that Jesus should tend to His own faults before He claimed to be the One sent from God to take care of theirs. “What we have heard you did at Capernaum, do here in your hometown as well.” “Give us some proof that you are who you say you are! We heard the rumors about miracles that you supposedly did in Capernaum—well, do a couple of them here among your own people!”

It was that claim on His part, to be the Messiah, which accounted for the initial part of their hatred. But, then, what followed, only confirmed their malice all the more. For, the Lord continued: “In truth, I tell you, there were many widows in Israel in the days of Elijah, when the heavens were shut up three years and six months, and a great famine came over all the land, and Elijah was sent to none of them but only to Zarephath, in the land of Sidon, to a woman who was a widow. And there were many lepers in Israel in the time of the prophet Elisha, and none of them was cleansed, but only Naaman the Syrian.”

Do you know what was significant about the widow at Zarephath and Naaman the Syrian, for whom God performed miracles through Elijah and Elisha? Naaman and the widow were both Gentiles!

Though Elijah and Elisha initially were sent to bring God’s Word to the people of Israel, the Israelites rejected God’s Word. And, as a sign of judgment against their stubborn unbelief, God sent His prophets to the Gentile people and worked His miracles among them instead.

And, now, the people of Nazareth understood clearly as to what Jesus was implying. He was saying that they were no different than the Jews of the Old Testament. They were hard-hearted. They were now rejecting the greatest of all prophets—the Son of God Himself. And their anger burned so intensely that they actually tried to take Jesus and throw Him off of a cliff to His death.

But the Lord’s time to die had not yet come. Yes, eventually, He would surrender His life over into the hands of evil men, but only in keeping with the will of the heavenly Father—to suffer ultimately at the hands of the heavenly Father for the guilt of our sins. And so, yes, the people of Nazareth got to witness their miracle—but not the kind which they had hoped for—as Jesus walked safely through their midst and out of their murderous grasp.

As we consider the actions of the people of Nazareth, we are presented with the reality that pride will always be the hostile enemy of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. In spite of the fact that this was none other than the Son of God Who had correctly and righteously exposed their thoughts, they would have none of it—instead, they shut their ears to the truth and lashed out in hatred.

And how often haven’t we behaved in a similar manner? Because we are prideful people ourselves, we do not take well to being corrected. Like Jesus said, our tendency is to say, in regard to those who may point out our faults, “Physician, heal yourself.” It is our natural impulse to become offended, to become resentful, and to want to shift the focus onto someone else’s faults rather than to humbly consider our own.

And, as was stated, this pride is the enemy of the Gospel. For, what does Jesus say? “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor.” Jesus isn’t speaking about the financially poor; He’s taking about those who are poor in spirit. He’s talking about those who are poverty-stricken in regard to their own self-worth. The bottom line is that the forgiveness of sins means very little to those who are not willing to admit that they are the chief of sinners. “He has anointed me to proclaim good news.” Once again, literally in the Greek language, it is—“He has anointed me to proclaim the Gospel.”

I want you to think for a moment about those individuals in your life for whom you may feel some resentment, some bitterness. It may actually be a case where that person did do something grievous to offend you; on the other hand, it may simply be a case where that person didn’t really say or do anything wrong—you just chose to take their words or actions in an insulting way. And then, ask yourself, how long will you continue to hold that debt over their heads? Because, as long as we’re on the subject of a literal translation of God’s Word, we need to know that that is what it actually says in the Lord’s Prayer—it’s not, “forgive us our trespasses,” but, “forgive us our debts and we forgive our debtors.”

And realize that as long as you maintain an unyielding grip on that liability that you think is owed to you, that credit that you think you are due, then you will never truly be poor in spirit. In fact, if you dig in your heels, you might just as well be walking Jesus to the edge of the cliff because you are no longer willing to hear the words of the Lord Who tell us to love our enemies and pray for those who mistreat us.

But, for those who are oppressed by their guilt, who have been so blinded and bound by their pride so that they’ve not only made things miserable for themselves but for others around them as well—there truly is good news for you! It is found in the Words of our Savior Jesus, Who invites us to come to receive the forgiveness and strengthening of His body and blood again today, with the assurance, “He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.” The Lord’s favor—literally the Lord’s “grace.”

Come and find comfort in God’s undeserved love for you, by which we are anointed with the Spirit, and whereby we can be instruments of proclaiming the good news to others as well.



Nehemiah 8:1–3, 5–6, 8–10 1All the people gathered as one man into the square before the Water Gate. And they told Ezra the scribe to bring the Book of the Law of Moses that the LORD had commanded Israel. 2So Ezra the priest brought the Law before the assembly, both men and women and all who could understand what they heard, on the first day of the seventh month. 3And he read from it facing the square before the Water Gate from early morning until midday, in the presence of the men and the women and those who could understand. And the ears of all the people were attentive to the Book of the Law. . . . 5And Ezra opened the book in the sight of all the people, for he was above all the people, and as he opened it all the people stood. 6And Ezra blessed the LORD, the great God, and all the people answered, “Amen, Amen,” lifting up their hands. And they bowed their heads and worshiped the LORD with their faces to the ground. . . . 8They read from the book, from the Law of God, clearly, and they gave the sense, so that the people understood the reading. 9And Nehemiah, who was the governor, and Ezra the priest and scribe, and the Levites who taught the people said to all the people, “This day is holy to the LORD your God; do not mourn or weep.” For all the people wept as they heard the words of the Law. 10Then he said to them, “Go your way. Eat the fat and drink sweet wine and send portions to anyone who has nothing ready, for this day is holy to our Lord. And do not be grieved, for the joy of the LORD is your strength.”

1 Corinthians 12:12–31a 12For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ. 13For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—Jews or Greeks, slaves or free—and all were made to drink of one Spirit. 14For the body does not consist of one member but of many. 15If the foot should say, “Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,” that would not make it any less a part of the body. 16And if the ear should say, “Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,” that would not make it any less a part of the body. 17If the whole body were an eye, where would be the sense of hearing? If the whole body were an ear, where would be the sense of smell? 18But as it is, God arranged the members in the body, each one of them, as he chose. 19If all were a single member, where would the body be? 20As it is, there are many parts, yet one body. 21The eye cannot say to the hand, “I have no need of you,” nor again the head to the feet, “I have no need of you.” 22On the contrary, the parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, 23and on those parts of the body that we think less honorable we bestow the greater honor, and our unpresentable parts are treated with greater modesty, 24which our more presentable parts do not require. But God has so composed the body, giving greater honor to the part that lacked it, 25that there may be no division in the body, but that the members may have the same care for one another. 26If one member suffers, all suffer together; if one member is honored, all rejoice together. 27Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it. 28And God has appointed in the church first apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then miracles, then gifts of healing, helping, administrating, and various kinds of tongues. 29Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Do all work miracles? 30Do all possess gifts of healing? Do all speak with tongues? Do all interpret? 31But earnestly desire the higher gifts.

Luke 4:16–30 16[Jesus] came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up. And as was his custom, he went to the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and he stood up to read. 17And the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to him. He unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written, 18“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 liberty to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, 19 to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.” 20And he rolled up the scroll and gave it back to the attendant and sat down. And the eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on him. 21And he began to say to them, “Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.” 22And all spoke well of him and marveled at the gracious words that were coming from his mouth. And they said, “Is not this Joseph’s son?” 23And he said to them, “Doubtless you will quote to me this proverb, ‘Physician, heal yourself.’ What we have heard you did at Capernaum, do here in your hometown as well.” 24And he said, “Truly, I say to you, no prophet is acceptable in his hometown. 25But in truth, I tell you, there were many widows in Israel in the days of Elijah, when the heavens were shut up three years and six months, and a great famine came over all the land, 26and Elijah was sent to none of them but only to Zarephath, in the land of Sidon, to a woman who was a widow. 27And there were many lepers in Israel in the time of the prophet Elisha, and none of them was cleansed, but only Naaman the Syrian.” 28When they heard these things, all in the synagogue were filled with wrath. 29And they rose up and drove 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. 30But passing through their midst, he went away.