Saturday was the men’s breakfast. It was a great breakfast. It was one of the best turn outs yet. There was bacon. It was a great time. I am reminded of another of the men's breakfasts in the downtown here. At one point someone asked me very politely who the woman was who had come to the men’s breakfast. ‘Oh. That in’t a woman’, I said. Our friend was a little embarrassed – there wasn’t really any need to be - but you know what it is like when you think things are one way but they turn out to be another way. Our scripture today is a little bit like that.
Luke 4:14-30: This is really an interesting text. At least for me it is. It is one of those where you have read it maybe less than one million times but you have read it enough that you think you know what it says and then one day you slow down and read what it actually says and are somewhat surprised.
I was looking at this passage in preparation for a sermon a couple of years ago when we just came back from Cuba, which was also around MLK day in the US. It was at that time and in that context that I read the passage Jesus quotes from Isaiah here. We recognize this passage don’t we? Our corps is based on Isaiah 61:4 and Jesus quotes Isaiah 61:1-2 and more; it is a powerful quote. Jesus says,
“The Spirit of the Lord is on me,
because he has anointed me
to proclaim good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners
and recovery of sight for the blind,
to set the oppressed free,
to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favour.”
because he has anointed me
to proclaim good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners
and recovery of sight for the blind,
to set the oppressed free,
to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favour.”
This is exciting stuff and this reminds me of Martin Luther King Jr. in the US; Che, the Argentinean; Fidel Castro from Cuba; and William Booth from our Salvation Army for that matter. I don’t know if you have ever read the writings of any of these revolutionaries; I would probably add voices like those of Leon Trotsky, Nelson Mandela, or Leo Tolstoy to the list. These people - Booth, Castro, MLK jr. – can be absolutely inspiring.[1] Whether you ascribe to liberation theology or not I don’t think you can read the words of any of these people without being impressed upon.
Our Scripture fits right in line with any of the aforementioned, Jesus quotes Isaiah and more in saying:
- Today good news is to be announced to the poor;
- Today he has sent me… to proclaim freedom for the prisoners;
- Today, he has sent me.. to preach recovery of sight to the blind;
- Today, he has sent me… to set the oppressed free;
- TODAY, he has sent me… to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favour. Not tomorrow, not in some far off place, not in some far off time, but
- Today this very scripture has been filled in your presence. Do I hear an ‘amen’?!
As I was preparing for this time today I was going to chat about how this passage is a fulfillment of scripture. The Christ and thus all Christians will proclaim these things alongside those revolutionaries we have mentioned today. I was going to mention how those in the synagogue rejected Jesus because he was taking on the mantel of messiah calling for these revolutionary ideas of justice. I was then going to quote some of the aforementioned and highlight how they and we have received that message - reflecting especially upon how North America has fallen short of MLK’s dream and how we killed him as we killed Christ and others… but then I read the text a little more closely.
These things – proclaiming good news to the poor, freedom to the prisoners, sight for the blind, freedom for the oppressed, the year of the Lord’s favour – this isn’t what got the people in Jesus’ hometown upset at all. They weren’t upset about this or any possible messianic claims imbedded therein. In fact it was quite the opposite. Take a look at our Scripture. Jesus begins his homily on this pericope by saying that today this scripture has been fulfilled, vs. 21, he then presumably elaborates upon that premise and look at how Luke says the people respond.[3] Luke records, vs. 22, “All spoke well of him and were amazed at the gracious words that came from his lips. ‘Isn’t this Joseph’s son?’ they asked.” It says that they are amazed. They are impressed that Joseph’s son, whom they all undoubtedly know personally as this is his home synagogue in his home town, which he has visited and read scripture in many times before; they are impressed that he spoke in such a way.[4] I can imagine from verses 21 and 22 that if this were a contemporary church, people would be shouting ‘amen!’ at full volume as Jesus winds up his message. They are amazed, it says, but then their amazement changes. It doesn’t change because he may have implied that he is the Messiah and it doesn’t change because he claims that the time of scriptural fulfillment is now. The gospel notes that they were quite happy with that:[5] they were quite happy as Jesus proclaimed good news to the poor, freedom to the prisoners, sight for the blind, freedom for the oppressed, the year of the Lord’s favour. What made them mad was Jesus implied very obviously that that favour - and all of the other related blessings included in this salvation - is not for them.[6] Jesus says, vv. 24-28:
“24 “Truly I tell you,” he continued, “no prophet is accepted in his hometown. 25 I assure you that there were many widows in Israel in Elijah’s time, when the sky was shut for three and a half years and there was a severe famine throughout the land. 26 Yet Elijah was not sent to any of them, but to a widow in Zarephath in the region of Sidon. 27 And there were many in Israel with leprosy in the time of Elisha the prophet, yet not one of them was cleansed—only Naaman the Syrian.”
28 All the people in the synagogue were furious when they heard this.”
Can you imagine? A now newly or about to become famous preacher or politician or both, whom you have grown up with (either he or his mom and dad) comes to his and your home community’s church and speaks to us all about these wonderful things that are going to happen. We all say, ‘good job!’ ‘Well done!’ ‘You tell them Jesus!’ ‘Go get ‘em!’ Right? We are proud when people we know from the neighbourhood make good on their life. We are proud of everyone who makes it from our community here. In Saskatchewan where we were recently posted, every small town on the Canadian prairie has these big bill boards on the highway outside their community That read, home of Travis Moen, Zack Smith, Patrick Marleau, or whomever – celebrating and commemorating famous hockey players, football players, politicians or others who have come from the community. It would be the same in Jesus’ home synagogue in Nazareth. ‘That’s Jesus’, they might say, ‘I knew him when he was just a little kid. His dad and I grew up together. He was a good kid. Everything this boy is saying makes sense. He’s one of us. He’s a chip off the old block and more. Jesus is one of us and we are going to take the world by storm.’ And then, right in the middle of our voiced or imagined praise of him, it would be like he says – right when we are all puffed up about how great he is and how proud we are of our neighbourhood – Jesus says… “Oh you thought I was saying all these good things about you…?’ ‘This is not for you – no, no - this good stuff is all for someone else. Not you Nazareth, where I grew up; not for you Israel, where I live; not for you Judah.[7] This good stuff is not for you who are here thinking that you are the only children of God. This good stuff is for someone else and not just for someone else; it is for your enemies: the Sidonites and the Syrians, just like it was in the days of Elisha and Elijah before, and implied always.[8] You thought I was talking about you…no, no, no, this good stuff is for other people and not just other people; it is for other people with whom you to go to war when you get the chance. Jesus says, just like in the OT and as always, it is the Sidionites, the Syrians, and others that will experience this salvation from the Lord that you just ‘amen-ed’; I am not talking about you.” Can you imagine?
You can see why they might get a little upset. It would be like if someone led a pep rally here at the ACC, under all the old banners hung from the rafters, extolling the virtues of the ‘greatest hockey franchise ever’ and as everyone in Toronto here is cheering about how indeed they will win another Stanley Cup and maybe even someday soon –even next season - assuming the speaker is talking about the Leafs and the crowd is all worked up and then he yells out ‘and God bless Canada’s greatest hockey team, the Montreal Canadiens!’ This would be the feelings aroused in our text. And even more, it would be like Jesus was extolling the virtues of the greatest country on earth, working us all up into a frenzy believing he is talking about Canada and then says ‘God bless America’ or ‘God bless Saudi Arabia’… ‘Oh you, thought I was talking about Canada?’
This is what has gotten the people all riled up.[9] They came here wanting words of encouragement and wisdom and Jesus read and spoke about the Scriptures and he gave them some words alright. They thought he was blessing them and he was telling them quite plainly that just like God could have saved Israelites in the times of Elisha and Elijah but he chose rather to save their enemies; so too today. This is why they are upset.
Jesus is – as always - concerned about people on the fringes: the poor, ill, and the marginalized; our enemies, our rivals, and others who are on the outside. Those who think they are healthy do not seek a doctor (Luke 5:31; Matthew 9:12, Mark 2:17). Those who think they are saved are not looking for salvation. Jesus here foretells and more Israel’s rejection of her and our messiah and how regardless of that, Israel’s saviour is going to save her enemies and anybody else.
Now this is offensive but honestly the people hearing this should know this. The Israelites in general should be and the Pharisees in particular would be very familiar with the fact that Israel was not chosen to be saved in place of other people, quite the contrary Israel was chosen to bring salvation to the entire world (John 3:16-17).[10] God says to Abraham, in the Bible, before Israel even exists, that ALL the nations of the earth will be blessed through you (Genesis 12:3). Israel was chosen by God not to be saved from the world but to bring salvation to the world and though they had not been faithful in that task, still God uses the Israelite, Jesus, to save the world even as many in Israel will reject that Salvation and choose to perish outside of the promised kingdom to come. God loves everyone and He wants everyone to be saved and even in this (cf. Galatians 3:28, 1 Corinthians 12:13), as John Wesley says, He has a preferential message for the poor;[11] and we need to bring and be brought that message – our message- of Isaiah 61 to ourselves, our community and to our world today.
Look at our banners around this church today that we have carried with us to the various locations we have worshiped and proclaimed God’s Salvation. We have Matthew Chapter 7. We have Isaiah 61:4. These are promises Jesus offers to our community and these are promises that Jesus offers to our world. Do we believe that? Do we claim that? And do we live that? The truth is that as John 3:16-17 proclaims, Jesus didn’t come into the world to condemn the world but instead he came so that whosoever, anyone and everyone, might be saved. And this is wonderful news: it is not just for the privileged few. It is for all of us and especially those of us when we are in real need. As Jesus says,
- today good news is to be announced to the poor;
- today he has sent me… to proclaim freedom for the prisoners;
- today, he has sent me.. to preach recovery of sight to the blind;
- today, he has sent me… to set the oppressed free;
- today, he has sent me… to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favour.
Today is the day of the Lord’s favour when we can all be rebuilt, restored, and renewed; do we believe that?
-Originally presented to Toronto Corps 614, 31 January 2016-
[1] Cf. Paul John Isaak, 'Luke', Africa Bible Commentary, (Nairobi, Kenya: Word Alive Publishers, 2010), 1239.
[2] Cf. William Hendricksen, Exposition of the Gospel According to Luke (NTC: Baker Academic: Grand Rapids Michigan, 2007), 255, re. 'today'
[3] R. Alan Culpepper, Luke (NIB 8: Nashville, Tenn.: Abingdon, 1995), 105
[4] N.T. Wright, Luke for Everyone (Louisville, Kentucky, USA: WJK, 2004),
[5] Cf. Paul John Isaak, 'Luke', Africa Bible Commentary, (Nairobi, Kenya: Word Alive Publishers, 2010), 1239.
[6] Cf. R. Alan Culpepper, Luke (NIB 8: Nashville, Tenn.: Abingdon, 1995), 108
[7] Cf. Amy-Jill Levine, ‘Luke and the Jewish Religion’ in Interpretation: A Journal of Bible and Theology 2014, Vol. 68 (4) 389-402.
[8] Walter L. Leifeld, The Expositor's Bible Commentary, Pradis CD-ROM:Luke/Exposition of Luke/IV. The Galilean Ministry (4:14-9:50)/A. Initial Phase (4:14-6:16)/1. First approach and rejection at Nazareth (4:14-30), Book Version: 4.0.2
[9] Walter L. Leifeld, The Expositor's Bible Commentary, Pradis CD-ROM:Luke/Exposition of Luke/IV. The Galilean Ministry (4:14-9:50)/A. Initial Phase (4:14-6:16)/1. First approach and rejection at Nazareth (4:14-30), Book Version: 4.0.2
[10] Cf. N.T. Wright, Luke for Everyone (Louisville, Kentucky, USA: WJK, 2004), 48.
[11] Cf. Donald W. Dayton, 'PRESIDENTIAL ADDRESS:THE WESLEYAN OPTION FOR THE POOR' in Wesleyan Theological Journal 26, 1991, 7-22. On-line: http://wesley.nnu.edu/fileadmin/imported_site/wesleyjournal/1991-wtj-26.pdf
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