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Pastor Rene's Bible studies
 

Today we'll see Jesus introducing himself to his people for whom He was sent to die to save them from their sins, to reconcile them with God. 
How will they receive their Saviour? 

• From Jesus' introduction, there seem to be 2 different responses from the crowd. 

 
1. A positive response to his promises of blessings. (The message of blessings they were to receive. They gladly received those and were amazed of the way God wanted to bless them.)
2. A negative response to His claims: Rejection. (The schocking Revelation that Himself was to accomplish these promises. They had to accept that revelation that he was the Messiah, the One anointed by God to save them, to heal them, to set them free.) If so, He was to be their God, their Lord, their leader. They would have to submit to him...

The promise of Blessings

14 Then Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit to Galilee,  and news of Him (HIS MESSAGE, HIS WORKS) went out through all the surrounding region.

16 So He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up. And as His custom was, He went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and stood up to read. 17 And He was handed the book of the prophet Isaiah. And when He had opened the book, He found the place where it was written: 

18 "The Spirit of the Lord [is] upon Me, Because He has anointed Me 1) To preach the gospel to [the] poor; 2) He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, 3) To proclaim liberty to [the] captives 4) And recovery of sight to [the] blind, 5) To set at liberty those who are oppressed; 19 6) To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord." 

20 Then He closed the book, and gave [it] back to the attendant and sat down. And the eyes of all who were in the synagogue were fixed on Him. 21 And He began to say to them, "Today this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing." 

The KEY Scripture in Luke is V. 18,19. This scripture sets the tone. Everything else is connected to it. It is a clear declaration of his purpose and his mission. It is important that we understand the implication of these two verses. It will be the standard by which we will measure what ministry is. We will see what ministry is in the life of Jesus, and later in the life of his apostles... 
JESUS IS The One who has overcome satan's temptation  and by that he has proven that the power of the Holy Spirit is truly upon him..  
He was filled with the Spirit, led by the Spirit to be tempted (tested), and he returned in the power of the Spirit with victory, to begin his mission (ministry). He was anointed (empowered, fully equipped with knowledge, wisdom and power) to be the Messiah, the Saviour. 
 

• Jesus made clear the problem of mankind, its source and origin; and he revealed its solution.
• From the beginning of mankind, satan has succeeded to have people bound in sin and slavery. They were held captives under his dominion.
• The captives, the blind and the oppressed... The picture here is taken from the exile: Dragged away from their homeland into a foreign country, where they were emprisoned in dark dungeon, and were oppressed by their conquerors and used as slaves... ( Enslavement to sin and to Satan.)
• When people are set free from dark dungeon, they again see the light of day, their eyes are opened (John 9:39a) "I have come into the world, so that the blind will see"
• Now when Jesus came He proclamed the Good News…The joy of delivrance 

FREEDOM PLUS

Luke 11:21 (NKJV) "When a strong man, fully armed, guards his own palace, his goods are in peace.22 "But when a stronger than he comes upon him and overcomes him, he takes from him all his armor in which he trusted, and divides his spoils.         Jesus conquered the strong man. 
Our enemy is a conquered enemy. In Christ's victory, through faith, we received the fruits of the victory already gained: Jesus' power and authority. 

19 To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord."

• How does the Son of God makes someone free?

John 18:12 (NKJV) Then the detachment [of] [troops] and the captain and the officers of the Jews arrested Jesus and bound Him.  
Isai 53:5 (NKJV) But He [was] wounded for our transgressions,  
[He] [was] bruised for our iniquities;  
The chastisement for our peace [was] upon Him,  
And by His stripes we are healed. 

jesus ministry began with rejection 

22 So all bore witness to Him, and marveled at the gracious words which proceeded out of His mouth. ( 
Luke 4:22 (NIV) 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. )And they said, "Is this not Joseph's son?" 23 He said to them, "You will surely say this proverb to Me, `Physician, heal yourself! Whatever we have heard done in Capernaum, do also here in Your country.' " 24 Then He said, "Assuredly, I say to you, no prophet is accepted in his own country. 

25 "But I tell you truly, many widows were in Israel in the days of Elijah, when the heaven was shut up three years and six months, and there was a great famine throughout all the land; 26 "but to none of them was Elijah sent except to Zarephath, [in] [the] [region] of Sidon, to a woman [who] [was] a widow. 27 "And many lepers were in Israel in the time of Elisha the prophet, and none of them was cleansed except Naaman the Syrian." 

28 So all those in the synagogue, when they heard these things, were filled with wrath, 29 and rose up and thrust Him out of the city; and they led Him to the brow of the hill on which their city was built, that they might throw Him down over the cliff.30 Then passing through the midst of them, He went His way.

Let's visualize the situation:

First, enthousiastic interest and amazement, then rejection.

Jesus knew what his mission was and he knew that their amazement would quickly turn to rejection. That's why he quoted this proverb, "No prophet is accepted in his own country". 
 

• Jesus also knew that this rejection opened the  way of salvation to the pagans. 
• Jesus used the example of 2 well-known prophets in Israel who experienced rejection and they did great miracles similar to those the Lord will perform: They directed their miracles to the poor, the lepers, and performed miracles of mercy. They also worked miracles among pagans nations. 

As with the people of Nazareth, wrath fills the heart of those who rejects grace. At the same time, they will not have any blessing go elsewhere. 

Jesus met rejection from the beginnings...

People wants promises, blessings. We all love to hear about that. But when it comes to the condition to receive these blessings: repentance, faith, submission to God's authority, kingdom in our lives, there is another response in man's heart. Pride, rejection etc... 
"Jesus, you preach well, you're a great teacher... You can be a star. We love to hear good news, but you cannot be our leader." 
• Our salvation is based upon a message od death -- (The cross, repentance... the seed must die in order to bear fruits...carry the cross daily)
• Many people today look for funny preachers, more than for a sound Bible study. They don't realize that  the salvation of their soul depends on the truth.

 
• What about us if we meet any rejection? 
• Will we serve God better if people loves us than if they reject us?

Paul: Gala 1:10 (NIV) Am I now trying to win the approval of men, or of God? Or am I trying to please men? If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a servant of Christ. 
• We are to preach the good news (Salvation in Jesus) forgiveness of sins, a new beginning, eternal life, many blesings, but we are not to forget Jesus' Lordship.
• We will face the same response of our listeners, the same opposition.
• We have to be prepared...

Jesus fufilled what He promised (The third division of this chapter)

31 Then He went down to Capernaum, a city of Galilee, and was teaching them on the Sabbaths. 32 And they were astonished at His teaching, for His word was with authority. 
33 Now in the synagogue there was a man who had a spirit of an unclean demon. And he cried out with a loud voice, 34 saying, "Let [us] alone! What have we to do with You, Jesus of Nazareth? Did You come to destroy us? I know who You are--the Holy One of God!" 35 But Jesus rebuked him, saying, "Be quiet, and come out of him!" And when the demon had thrown him in [their] midst, it came out of him and did not hurt him.  
36 Then they were all amazed and spoke among themselves, saying, "What a word this [is]! For with authority and power He commands the unclean spirits, and they come out."37 And the report about Him went out into every place in the surrounding region. 
 
For Jesus, ministry was to fulfill this prophecy... For you, what is ministry? 
• His teaching had authority (Key word)
• Luke recorded that the one of the first acts the Lord performed to confirm he was the fulfillment of Isaiah's prophecy was to cast out an evil spirit (unclean, impure).
• His works proved both that He had authority over the Kingdom of darkness, and that God cares for people in bondage by sin and the devil.
• The root of the problem is sin. Its source is the kingdom of darkness. Jesus deals with it first.
• Demons influenced people and keep them under the bondage of sin.
• 3 dimensions: Possession (mental oppression or depression, or spiritual control), Sickness (physical), Blinding people's eyes (leading people away from the Gospel of salvation).

We can learn Jesus' four secrets of his authority: 
1. The anointing of the Holy Spirit
2. His holiness
3. His prayer
4. His clear sense of purpose

Jame 2:19 (NIV) You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that--and shudder.

Jesus healer of diseases 

38 Now He arose from the synagogue and entered Simon's house. But Simon's wife's mother was sick with a high fever, and they made request of Him concerning her. 39 So He stood over her and rebuked the fever, and it left her. And immediately she arose and served them.

Christ teaching and miracles worked hand in hand... 
Christ preaching and teaching had a deep effect on the people and Jesus miracles had an impact on the conscience of men. They revealed Jesus as Satan's conqueror and healer of diseases. Where Christ gives a new life, after he healed people, it should be a new life in his service for his glory. To receive a blessing without the revelation of who Jesus is does not lead to service... 

• Many want to be healed but they don't follow him afterward.
• Friday night, we heard the testimony of a brother who prayed for his father to be healed from cancer and it was before he was truly saved. He was 15 years old. God healed his father.

40 When the sun was setting, all those who had any that were sick with various diseases brought them to Him; and He laid His hands on every one of them and healed them. 41 And demons also came out of many, crying out and saying, "You are the Christ, the Son of God!" And He, rebuking [them], did not allow them to speak, for they knew that He was the Christ.

42 Now when it was day, He departed and went into a deserted place. And the crowd sought Him and came to Him, and tried to keep Him from leaving them;43 but He said to them, "I must preach the kingdom of God to the other cities also, because for this purpose I have been sent." 44 And He was preaching in the synagogues of Galilee.

1. To develop an intimate relationship alone with God
2. We need to make time, find our solitary place for our quiet time.

• Help us to focus: refocus on our mission; our purposes, and the will of God.
• Give to our life a deeper meaning
• Help us to reevaluate our priorities, so we will not be led by our flesh, or by the pressure and expectation of the people around us...

Mark 10:45 (NIV) For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many."