Don’t Miss The Train in Nazareth

The wedding at Cana was over.  Since Mary and Joseph had set up their home in Nazareth, it isn’t hard for me to imagine many from this town would have been invited to the wedding, tasted Jesus’ miracle and now had returned home.  It isn’t hard for me to imagine the buzz around town about Jesus!  And now Jesus was returning to his hometown.  How about Jesus’ own family?  I wonder if Joseph was still alive at this point, or was he buried outside the city?  Jesus was coming to Nazareth and you certainly wouldn’t want to miss what Jesus was bringing to you.  Jesus was bringing the salvation of the world into town with his power and with his compassion.  Jesus also brings this same salvation to you and to me.  And we certainly

Don’t Want To Miss The Train in Nazareth

See Jesus’ Power

Jesus was already gaining some fame around this area because of his preaching and his miracles.  Luke writes, “¹⁶ He went to Nazareth, where he had been brought up. As was his custom, he went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day and stood up to read.”  Who was in that synagogue?  Can’t you see Mary, along with James and Jude—Jesus’ physical brothers sitting there?  Who would you be sitting next to?  I know you think it would probably be Mary, but I’m thinking that you would be sitting next to Jesus’ brothers!  Why?  Well, at this time the Bible says that they didn’t believe in Jesus.  They had a hard time believing in Jesus because they knew Jesus personally, watched him grow up, and struggled that Jesus was being called the promised Messiah. It was grinding on their ears to hear Jesus talk about the coming of the Kingdom of God!  It was hard for them to listen to Jesus, their brother, talk about sin and grace. Rejection of Jesus is not the exception, but the rule!  “¹⁷ The scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him. He unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written:  “¹⁸ The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to set free those who are oppressed, ¹⁹ and to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.” This portion from Isaiah 61 speaks about the suffering servant. This was God’s servant to the people of Israel!  The people in that synagogue knew these words from Isaiah and they knew about the wonders Jesus had already performed.  They were eager to hear and see what Jesus would do next, but they were dangerously close to missing the train!

For if the people were only looking for a Savior of their liking, who turned water into delicious wine, who performed powerful miracles to help them, then they would find themselves domesticating Jesus—you know, shaping Jesus into the Savior they wanted him to be.  This is happening to so many Christians today.  They are trying to shape Jesus into the Savior they want him to be….deliverer of health issues, financial difficulties, personal relationships and tempted to control Jesus to do the miracles we want him to perform.  I know, none of us would have rejected Jesus as the promised Messiah, but how about the rest of God’s Word?  Aren’t you tempted to think, “I love Jesus, but I don’t like what God’s Word says about church fellowship, or the role of men and women, or faithfulness in marriage.  However, the Word of God Jesus read takes us beyond the earthly sense and shows us the spiritual state of those in Nazareth and us as well.  You are “poor” because of your sin and nothing of value for God to restore you to him.  Your best efforts are by nature stained with sin and filthy to God.  You are a prisoner who is held captive to sinful habits, prisoner of guilt and a depraved mind.  You are blind to your sin, stumbling along under oppression, beaten down by anger, bruised and bleeding in our hearts and minds.  We need Jesus to set us free, to be our Savior, but all too often we don’t want him to be, because it is natural to reject him.

Jesus stood in the that synagogue and shared the answer to these needs. There is good news!  There are great riches for the poor, freedom for the prisoners, sight for the blind.  The oppressed are unburdened. The answer is found in Jesus’ proclamation, “Today, this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.”  This was the gospel power of Jesus at work.  It was the train of God’s salvation running through the synagogue in Nazareth, and so many Missed the Train! They heard the words and they saw Jesus standing there, “²² They all spoke well of him and were impressed by the words of grace that came from his mouth. And they kept saying, “Isn’t this Joseph’s son?” And their shortfall was starting to crack.  They liked Jesus.  They were impressed with what all he could do.  AND kept saying, “Isn’t this Joseph’s son?”  For years I always thought they said this because they knew Jesus growing up in Nazareth, but what about this?  If Joseph had already died and was buried outside the city, couldn’t they be saying, “Why didn’t this miracle producing Jesus help his dad? His grave is right over there!”  And they began to doubt Jesus’ power and were missing the train. They could see Jesus’ power, but it was power they wanted Jesus to use according to their direction.  However, Jesus would use his power in connection with his compassion.

See Jesus’ Compassion

But, Jesus isn’t going to give up.  He pushes back at their thoughts not with his power, but with his love and compassion. “²³ He told them, “Certainly you will quote this proverb to me, ‘Physician, heal yourself!’ Do here in your hometown everything we heard you did in Capernaum.” ²⁴ And he said, “Amen I tell you: No prophet is accepted in his hometown.” Jesus knew their thoughts and called them out in order for them to see their great need of honesty and self-examination.  Jesus was claiming to be the Messiah and they thought the best way for Jesus to do that would be to perform some of the miracles like he had done in Capernaum. But, their trouble was deeper than this.  They would not regard Jesus as the prophet and would not believe in him because they were too familiar with him.  They were missing the train, but Jesus wasn’t going to give up.

“²⁵ But truly I tell you: There were many widows in Israel in the days of Elijah, when the sky was shut for three years and six months, while a great famine came over all the land. ²⁶ Elijah was not sent to any of them, but to a widow of Zarephath, in Sidon. ²⁷ And there were many lepers in Israel in the time of Elisha the prophet, yet not one of them was healed except Naaman the Syrian.”  These words of Jesus landed into their hearts.  During the Old Testament times of Elijah the people of Israel rejected the Lord, and the Lord took his gospel to the heathen Gentiles.  The application was readily understood—if the Nazarites continue in their rejection of Jesus, others would be the recipients of his saving work.  The salvation he was proclaiming to them would be lost, and the Train would Leave Nazareth only to find others who would gladly believe in him.

There is great irony in this portion of God’s Word.  The people of Nazareth were looking for a sign and Jesus gave one to them. “²⁸ All those who were in the synagogue were filled with rage when they heard these things. ²⁹ They got up and drove him out of the town. They led him to the brow of the hill on which their town was built, in order to throw him off the cliff. ³⁰ But he passed through the middle of them and went on his way.”  This was pure gospel!  The sign was clear.  Jesus had all power to keep them from throwing himself over the cliff, and his compassion for them was evident in that nothing would stop Jesus from proceeding to the goal of his mission—namely the salvation of all people at the cross.

 There was Jesus at his hometown.  It was time to go and listen to Jesus.  And when you come to church what are you expecting?  Did you come to church for lollipops?  No, come to church and be ready for what happens here.  You don’t want to miss the train!  It could be compared to going to see your doctor.  You go to see him to find out what’s wrong and to get a cure from him.  So, we come into God’s house and expect God to show us what is wrong and get a cure from him.  Dear Friends, Jesus’ cure is this: “Today, this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.” When Jesus says we are spiritually sick, we need to know that.  And when he says he is the cure for us, we need to hear that as well.  But, then what are you going to do with it?  When the people of Nazareth heard and saw Jesus they got angry.  But, I wonder if it is more dangerous for us?  The opposite of loving Jesus is not hating Jesus, but is being indifferent.  How many times have you heard a sermon and it doesn’t go with you past the exit of church?  Yes, we need to heed the warning from this account in Nazareth that rejection is not the exception, but the rule.  When Jesus speaks his law our hearts are going to get offended, and they should.  God’s law plows through our hearts in order to prepare us for the gospel.  Even the rejection of Jesus by his hometown people, perhaps even his own brothers, did not stop him from his burning compassion for you.  Jesus pushes on through the crowds who wanted to kill him, and uses his power to ultimately go to the cross for you and for me.  When you hear this, what is your heart doing?  Leaping for joy?  Or indifferent?

Jesus clearly declared that the Kingdom of God is here! “Today, this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.”  Yes, Jesus ushered in the Kingdom of God using his miraculous power to perform miracles.  But, God’s kingdom isn’t primarily a kingdom of power, but of his grace and compassion.  When people hear Jesus, it is natural for them to reject Jesus, but it makes no sense.  Jesus spent his whole life helping people, performing miracles, and proclaiming the Kingdom of God—the Good News that he is the Savior. The Train is Leaving Nazareth—Don’t Miss it! Don’t miss out on his eternal kingdom.  Jesus, the Lord’s Anointed One is here!  See his power!  See his compassion.  Get on the Train and See your Savior!  Believe in him.  Love him.  Serve him!  Amen.