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HOME TOWN REJECTION Luke 4:16-30 Every Sunday morning before the worship service begins at Christ Our Rock Bible Church, our pastor will hand someone in the congregation a little piece of paper with a Scripture reference written on it. Then, just before the sermon is preached, that person will be called upon to stand and read that Scripture from his or her Bible. Similarly, in this story, Jesus went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day and stood up to read. He was handed the book of the prophet Isaiah, opened the book, found the place, read the words, closed the book, gave it back to the attendant, and sat down. The gracious words that He read that day were these: “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 proclaim liberty to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed; to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord.” After He spoke these words, everyone watched Him intently, and stretched to see Him. What would He do now? Would those words that He just read drop to the ground or would they be alive in Him, to the Glory of God? He responded by first saying, “Today this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.” In other words, “I am receiving these words, and living my life unto God, before you, in the power of the Holy Spirit. In so doing, I become an invitation from God, extended to you.” He points out that most will not receive this invitation because faith can look foolish. He referred to the Old Testament readings where only two among all the people would make room for the Spirit of God to do that miracle work of faith in their hearts: The widow from Zarephath (read 1 Kings 17:9-24) and Naaman the leper from Syria (read 2 Kings 5:3-15). Both would let God have the authority in their lives, even when it didn’t make sense in their human understandings. After giving these two examples, anger at Jesus broke out in the synagogue. Why? What was the problem? He simply read God’s Word, believed God’s Word, and lived God’s Word before them, in the power of the Holy Spirit. This hometown congregation, full of His family and friends, were all rejecting Him and the Spirit of God that was in Him. They wanted Him dead, along with His message of faith. And yet, Jesus walked right through their midst, onward to the cross of Calvary, where He would give His life for our sin of “no faith.” Today, His arms are outstretched to you. Are you poor in faith? Are you brokenhearted at how far away you have strayed from faith in God? Are you tired of being held captive in your sin and stubbornness? Do you want to see by the light of His Truth? Do you want to be free from the oppression of doubts and unbelief? Come by faith! It is the acceptable year of the Lord! O Come All Ye Faithful, Joyful and Triumphant! ~ Ruth Ann Ward
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