Luke 4:20

Luke 4:20

In speaking of the occasion near the beginning of the public work of Jesus when He went to Nazareth and spoke in the synagogue, the Bible says in Luke 4:20-22, "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. And he began to say unto them, This day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears. 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?"

In reading from Isaiah 61:1-2 and then saying, "This day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears," in effect Jesus was declaring Himself to be the Messiah, the Anointed One, who had been prophesied to come and preach the good news. At this time Jesus was about thirty years old. For most of His life up to this point Jesus had lived in the little town of Nazareth with Mary and Joseph the carpenter. No doubt Jesus also worked as a carpenter. Because Nazareth was such a small town and because Mary and Joseph and Jesus lived there for so many years, the other residents of Nazareth must have known all three of them very well. They knew Jesus. They saw Him daily in the carpenter shop.

But here when he spoke in the synagogue, they were amazed at the words that He said. The implication is that Jesus did not speak such things in the years when he worked as a carpenter. The people did not really know who He was. Perhaps He worked quietly and faithfully as a carpenter, and so the people only knew Him as a carpenter. Jesus did the will of God just as much when He was a quiet and faithful carpenter, as when He stood and pronounced the truth from God. Everything is timing. There is a right time for everything. If you want to do the will of God, then you must be sensitive to the timing of things. There is a time to work in a profession in this world, and there is a time to do something else. Jesus worked as a carpenter for many years before He became a preacher. There is a practical lesson there also. I am not so sure that someone would make a good preacher who starts at age 16 and never does anything else in their life but preach the gospel. Jesus did not do it that way. There are important practical lessons to learn from life by going to an occupation each day and thereby facing life’s responsibilities that everyone else faces daily. How you preach to people who must do it every day of their lives when you have never done it?

Jesus continued to speak to the people in the synagogue and the Bible says in Luke 4:23-24, "And he said unto them, You will surely say unto me this proverb, Physician, heal thyself: whatsoever we have heard done in Capernaum, do also here in your country. And he said, Verily I say unto you, No prophet is accepted in his own country." The people in the city of Nazareth made several mistakes. One of their mistakes is revealed by Jesus pointing out that they would say to Him, "Physician, heal thyself." Jesus came offering them spiritual healing, just as He offers it to all. But if you have spiritual problems, in order to be healed from them, you must first recognize that you have problems. In order to come to possess riches of the spirit, you must first admit your poverty of spirit without Him. But instead of recognizing their spiritual needs, the people of Nazareth said to Jesus, "Physician, heal thyself."

Another mistake made by the people of Nazareth was their inability to recognize who Jesus was. That’s why Jesus said to them that they were like many people of whom it could be said, "No prophet is accepted in his own country." People who do not have spiritual sensitivity will make poor evaluations of others. People who they should disregard, they hold in high esteem. On the other hand, people whom they should greatly respect, they disrespect. A good example of this is many of the people in the Hollywood industry. Instead of being respected and honored, many people in that industry should be dishonored and held in low esteem no matter how attractive is their outward appearance nor how fat is their pocket book. Some of the poor people of the world who are disregarded by man just might be highly regarded by God. Don’t make the mistake that the people in Nazareth made by dishonoring someone whom God may highly honor. "Some have entertained angels unawares." If only they knew. In First Peter 2:4 Jesus is called "a living stone, disallowed indeed of men, but chosen of God, and precious."

Jesus continued speaking to the people of Nazareth and the Bible says in Luke 4:25-30, "But I tell you of a truth, many widows were in Israel in the days of Elijah, when the heaven was shut up three years and six months, when great famine was throughout all the land; But unto none of them was Elijah sent, save unto Sarepta, a city of Sidon, unto a woman that was a widow. And many lepers were in Israel in the time of Elisha the prophet; and none of them was cleansed, saving Naaman the Syrian. And all they in the synagogue, when they heard these things, were filled with wrath, 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. But he passing through the midst of them went his way."

Jesus went right to the heart of the matter. These Jewish people in the town of Nazareth were full of the wrong kind of pride concerning their religious and national heritage. Jesus was a Jew, but it did not bother Him that the Bible points out that during the time of Elijah and Elisha, that instead of performing miracles for Jewish people, God reached and touched a man in Syria and a woman in Lebanon. God loves all the people of the world and it has always been the plan of God that His message and His truth would be offered to everyone equally. The Jewish people were always called of God to help spread the truth. God’s truth is inclusive: it’s offered to all equally. God said to Abraham, "In thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed."

God set the Jewish people apart so that they would be good witnesses for Him and instruments for Him: but not so that they would be considered more important or more valuable to God than any other people. It should not be surprising that God visited a widow woman from Lebanon instead of a Jewish widow, and it should not be surprising that God visited a leper from Syria instead of a Jewish leper in Israel. Of course, anytime someone thinks that one group or nationality of people is better than another, you will have prejudice and all of the excesses that go along with such prejudice. In the teachings of Jesus you will see a great emphasis on equality: equality in every sense of the word.

But the Jews in Nazareth were prejudiced, and they were determined to hold on tightly to their traditions of vain pride and racial stereotypes. Jesus was a challenge to their fears and traditions, so the people of Nazareth reacted the way that many prejudiced people do. They resorted to violence because of the fear of a new idea or a better idea that threatened the barriers they had built up. But it was not the time for Jesus to die. He would eventually be killed because of the fears that the Jewish leaders had of Him, but this incident in Luke Chapter 4 shows that no one will die until their time comes. God gives life, and He takes it. Until He decides, you will live on earth for the purpose of finding and doing His will. "It’s appointed unto men once to die." Until that time comes, no one will harm you. You will pass through the midst of those who hate you just like Jesus did.

The Bible says in Luke 4:31-32 speaking of Jesus after He left Nazareth, "And came down to Capernaum, a city of Galilee, and taught them on the Sabbath days. And they were astonished at His doctrine: for His word was with power." The people of Nazareth would not receive the message of Jesus. They did not have ears to hear. They did not have hearts that were open. Maybe someday they would, but they did not at that time. What did Jesus do? He went somewhere else and preached the gospel. Don’t waste your time on those who are not ready and willing to hear. Find those who are.

When Jesus went to Capernaum, He did the same thing that He did when He went to Nazareth. He taught. He taught the Word of God. In both cities we are told that He went into the synagogue. When Jesus went into the synagogue, we are not told that He went there to worship or to sing songs or even to pray. We are told that He went there to teach. "How shall they believe except they hear, and how shall they hear without a preacher?" Even though the people in Nazareth did not ultimately receive His message, they did have the same initial reaction as those in Capernaum. Remember when Jesus spoke in the synagogue in Nazareth, it says in Luke 4:22, "And all bear him witness, and wondered at the gracious words that proceeded out of his mouth." The people in Capernaum were equally amazed at the things that Jesus had to say. Luke 4:32 says of them, "And they were astonished at His doctrine, for His word was with power." The secret to power in preaching is the Word. Some people seem to have not learned that lesson or forgotten it. It’s the Word of God, stupid. People do not want or need to hear what you have to say: they need the Word of God. Jesus told Peter, "If you love me, feed my sheep." Feed them the Word of God.

If you say what is true for the sake of saying what is true, then there will be power behind your words. Some people say what appears to be true, but for an ulterior purpose such as being critical or pursuing a selfish interest. But if you have the right motives, and if you have the spirit of God and wisdom, there will be great power in the telling of the truth. "A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in vessels of silver." Who can stand against the truth? Darkness and evil certainly cannot stand against truth. There is a constant contest in the world between truth and deception. Mark this down: truth is stronger than a lie, and in the end the truth will always win. The greatest power of all in the use of true words was in the words of Jesus because He had the Spirit without measure and because no one spoke as this man. Most of the miracles that Jesus did were with the use of words. He spoke, and then it happened.

An evidence in the power of His words can be found in Luke 4:33-36 that says, "And in the synagogue there was a man, which had a spirit of an unclean devil, and cried out with a loud voice, 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. 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. And they were all amazed and spake among themselves, saying, What a word is this! For with authority and power he commands the unclean spirits, and they come out."

There are several things that we can notice about this encounter between Jesus and the man who had a devil within him. The first thing to take note of is the fact that the man had a devil within him. One of the great dynamics of life on this earth is an explanation for the cause of human behavior. Why do people do what they do? There are many explanations and many reasons for why people do what they do, and one explanation for extreme and aberrant behavior is the fact that there are demons who enter into some people and affect their behavior. This man had a demon within him, and he cried out with a loud voice.

In this world there is a conflict between good and evil. Evil cannot stand to be in the presence of good. If the evil people of the world do not like to be in your company, then that’s very good evidence that you are doing something right. The Spirit of God and of Christ dwells with you. The man who was filled with a demon said, "What have we to do with thee, thou Jesus of Nazareth?"

The Spirit of evil was afraid of the Spirit of God and of Christ. He showed his fear by saying to Jesus, "Did you come to destroy us?" The devil believes but trembles. If God be for us, who can be against us? If you know Jesus as Savior and if you are walking in fellowship with Him, then the demons of the earth will fear the Christ who is within you. The words of truth that you utter will be more powerful than the evil deeds that they will attempt to do.

Jesus spoke to the man and the devil came out of him. This is symbolic of salvation. Not everyone has a devil within them, but everyone is blinded and enslaved in some way by the devil until they have a personal contact with Christ when they hear and receive the gospel of Christ for the first time. There are many benefits to being born-again and being saved by Jesus, not the least of which is to have the forgiveness of sins and an ultimate home in heaven. Notice also that after Jesus commanded the demon to come out of the man, the Bible says in Luke 4:35 that the demon "hurt him not." Christ can undo the effects of a life of sin. He can take away the pain and the suffering that might be left over from the years when you did not have the protection of the indwelling Christ and when you were easy prey to the evil of the world. Jesus came into the world to save and to heal and to make of no effect the work of the evil one. Through Christ you can have a new start. You can become a new person without the consequences of the evil ones who wanted to destroy you. Come to Christ and find the salvation and the protection that you need in a world where evil can sometimes dwell. Christ has the power over evil, and the demons fear Him because it’s the same today as it was 2,000 years ago and as it is recorded for us in Luke 4:36, "With authority and power He commands the unclean spirits, and they come out."

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