Luke 4:16-30
"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," Luke 4:28-30. Up to this point in Christ's public ministry a fame had went out about Him. Multitudes sought to see and hear Him teach. They sought to see some miracle done by Christ. Some even wanted to make Him their king on this earth. Then He comes to the place where He grew up, Nazareth. Here in Nazareth He doesn't do anything different than He had been accustomed to doing. So why did they try to kill Jesus? What made them so angry that they would resort to murder a man that they watched grow up? Let us get into these verses and see why.
Last time we ended in verse 18 looking at Christ preaching the gospel to those who are poor. We learned that this is referring to those who are poor in spirit, not money or possessions. No matter what their status was in the community, by God's grace they saw that they were spiritually bankrupt and in need of the Saviour. "Nothing in my hands I bring, simply to the cross I cling," Rock of Ages. The gospel is the good news to those who see themselves as spiritually bankrupt. They have nothing to offer Christ.
In Luke 4:18-19 Christ also says "He hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, To preach the acceptable year of the Lord." Just like with the poor, Christ is speaking about their spiritual state, not their physical state. We know this by looking at the word "heal". Heal in this verse means metaphorically, of moral diseases: to heal or save from the consequences of sin. Christ saves those who are brokenhearted over their sins. Go back and remember when the Lord saved your soul how you were brokenhearted over your sins. You hated your sinfulness, you would find yourself weeping over your sins; at that time you did not need someone beating you up over your sins, you knew you were guilty; no, you needed someone to heal your broken heart. No one on this earth could give you what you desired. No type of works satisfied the brokenness, no going through the traditions of churches satisfied the hurt; no, there was nothing in this world that could give you what you longed for. You could only find forgiveness in Jesus Christ. "Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ," Romans 5:1. "There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit," Romans 8:1. When Christ saves our souls He gives us a new heart. When Christ saves our souls He forgives us of all of our sins. Even the guilt is taken away! How wonderful it is to know that Jesus Christ has saved you and forgiven you! The gospel is the greatest message that has ever been told. How could anyone hate the one proclaiming the gospel?
Christ also preached deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised (verse 18b). Christ was preaching to a people who had been bound by the law, blinded by traditions of men and the power of the devil, and had been broken in pieces by the religious system of their day. When you have lost people in leadership roles in religion, they will bind the people through the law, and traditions of men. They bind the people and never point them to the One who can free them. They use the law as a guilt trip, and a fence to keep people under their control. The law is good and holy as the One who gave it is good and holy, but it was never given to save anyone, nor was it given so a religious person could bind others. "Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith," Galatians 3:24. As people were believing Christ's message, they were set free from the bondage of the religious system of their day (John 8:31-32).
This can be a great struggle in our hearts and minds. When the truth of Scripture that we hear and read begins to contradict what we have aways believed, we have a major struggle in our conscience. Will we believe what the bible says, or will we continue being bound and blinded by traditions of men? Or, will we become angry with the one sharing truth with us? Christ being on earth and preaching the gospel is the acceptable year of the Lord, yet the people in Nazareth did not embrace the truth, nor the One proclaiming truth to them. The "acceptable" year of the Lord is a favourable, gracious time. How gracious is God to the people who are there (John 3:16)? Here is Jesus Christ, what will you do with Him (Luke 4:20-22)?
In Luke 4:23-27 what Jesus Christ said revealed what was really in the hearts of the people there. The people were content with hearing what they have always heard, and doing things like they have always done them, and even though what they were hearing and doing was not sin, the way they were hearing and the way they were obeying was sin (Matthew 15:7-9). They would be quick to say that they were Abraham's seed, implying they had favour with God. In verses 25-27 Christ rehearses in their ears of events in the Old Testament that they would rather not be reminded of. Through Elijah and Elisha, God worked in the lives of others who were not of the nation of Israel. These gentiles listened to and believed by faith what the prophets had said. These Scriptures were Scriptures that the Jews in Nazareth did not like. They did not like these Scriptures because they messed up their man made theology. Are there Scriptures that you do not like for the same reason? "The favours of God, and grace of the Messiah, are dispensed in a sovereign and discriminating way, than which nothing is more offensive to carnal minds." John Gill.
How angry were these Jews? Look at verses 28-30. They were so angry that they didn't take the time for a trial, all they wanted to do was kill the Messiah, whom they viewed as simply Joseph's son. Their hatred for Christ was made manifest when He gave them Scripture. Scripture proclaimed always has an effect (Isaiah 55:10-11). There is no neutral ground. At this time, these Jews were not like those in verse 18. They wanted to take Christ's life, not give theirs to Him. They were not able to kill Christ, though they wanted to. This was not the time for Christ to die, nor was this the way. Christ passed through the midst of them. Many times the Jews wanted to kill Christ, but they couldn't. This further solidifies the biblical fact that Jesus laid down His life, no one took it from Him (John 10).
How do you view Jesus Christ? What will you do with Christ today? Trust Christ alone to save you and forgive you of all your sins. "All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out," John 6:37. Soli Deo Gloria.
