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Source: https://www.sermonindex.net/speakers/isaiah-frazier/jesus-rejection-in-nazareth/
For a few more minutes, we're going to read in the Gospel of Luke in chapter four. Gospel of Luke, chapter four, and we'll begin reading at verse 16. Luke chapter four and verse 16. Luke chapter four, verse 16, speaking of the Lord Jesus, when 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 for to read.
And there was delivered unto him the book of the prophet Isaiah, which he had, when he had opened, he found the place, when he had opened the book, he found the place where it is written. 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 preach deliverance to the captives, in recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, to teach the acceptable year of the Lord.
And he closed the book, and he gave it to the minister, and he sat down, and the eyes of all them that were in the synagogue were fastened upon him. And he began to say unto them, this day is the scripture fulfilled in your ears.
And all bear him witness, and wondered at the gracious words which proceeded out of his mouth. And they said, is not this Joseph's son? And he said unto them, you will surely say unto me this proverb, physician, heal thyself.
Whatever or whatsoever we have heard done in Capernaum, do also here in thy country. Do it here in Nazareth. And he said, verily I say unto you, no prophet is accepted in his own country. But I tell you of a truth, many widows were in Israel in the days of Elijah, or Elias, 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 Elias, Elijah sent, save unto Sarepta, a city of Sidon, a Gentile city, unto a woman that was a widow. And many lepers were in Israel in the time of Elias, or Elisha, but Elisha the prophet, and none of them was cleansed, save Naaman the Syrian, another Gentile.
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.
And he passed through the midst of them and went his way. I'm just very recently looking at this and thinking about this very sad portion that we have read from the Word of God. It has to do with the Lord Jesus in his hometown, in the village of Nazareth.
But one of the sad realities is this, is you read in the other Gospels that this village of Nazareth, where the Lord Jesus grew up and was very well known, was not a place where he could do his mighty works.
The Bible tells us that, and it gives us a reason why. It speaks to us of their unbelief, their unbelief or their failure to recognize who he was. You could say because of familiality, because he was Joseph's son, the guy that worked in the shop, that worked with wood, or worked with stones, or built our house, or built our table.
How is it that he claims to be the Messiah, the one that was sent to God, and they fail to recognize him for who he was? And we're going to speak more about that, but very likely the other reason is this, is because they never saw their own need of him.
They never saw their own need as those who needed a Savior, and the forgiveness of their sins. It's a very sad story when it comes to a people that were very privileged. And I would say for the majority of people here, likely you are as well a very privileged people.
Anyone who has the Word of God on their lap or in their home, anyone who might be accustomed to listening to the gospel, is a very privileged person. But just because you know the story of the gospel, really isn't going to do you any good until you discover not only who the Lord Jesus is, but your own need personally, that you need him.
So just as we have here in the village of Nazareth, there were people that could have been blessed, that could have experienced the awesome power of the Son of God working in their midst, but they never recognized him as the Son of God.
You notice it never goes beyond, is not this the carpenter's son? Is not this the son of Joseph? And the sad reality is this, for the nation of Israel, they most certainly were waiting for a Messiah. And what the Lord Jesus reveals to them is this, is that the Messiah had come.
But as I have said, their familiarity with him as the one who worked in their village, this could not be the Messiah who was sent by God. And yet that was what we have read as he is in the synagogue on the Sabbath day, a place where he had often been.
The Bible says it was his turn to read. He stands up to read. The book was delivered to him of the of the prophet Isaiah. And it doesn't tell us whether he searched out the chapter, for us would be chapter 61, or if that is actually just where the reading was.
But he begins to read, and they began to hear about the Messiah that was going to be sent. And this, of course, was the hope of Israel, that the the one like David would come and would free them from the bondage of Rome.
The Lord Jesus reads this, and he tells them, this day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears, that I am the one that God has chosen. I am the one that God has anointed. I am the one that God has sent.
But they couldn't believe it in their own minds, in their hearts, because this is this is the carpenter. How can this be the Messiah? You notice how the Bible speaks, how they they wondered at the gracious words that proceeded out of his mouth, as he could speak of the hope of Israel and the coming of Messiah.
And yet what we have read at the end of this section is this, how not only did they cast him out of the city, but the Bible says they tried to kill him. What was the reason, what was the motive of their rejection?
It's their failure to understand that the Messiah wasn't going to be born in Jerusalem, wasn't going to be born in the palace, but someone was going to come in humility, and someone who was going to come in poverty and be a stranger among his own people.
But likely there's also something else that is in this story. Because what we have read here is this, as the Lord Jesus reads through, what is the hope of Israel? But more than that, because the Lord Jesus said, what what is written is actually being fulfilling your ears today.
But you'll notice the Lord Jesus doesn't come to liberate his people from Rome. What then ultimately was his purpose? Well very simply, I'd like to tell you it was to meet their spiritual need. This is something that they failed to understand, that they had a very real spiritual need before God.
And each and every one of us here, though there might be problems with with health, or problems with family, or maybe there are people that are actually impoverished and go hungry. Friend, that is not the greatest need that you and I have.
We have a spiritual problem that is very real before God. And listen, as the Lord Jesus reads us, it says that he has anointed me, has chosen me to preach the gospel to the poor. But is this just simply those that are physically poor, that have nothing?
Friend, you and I are spiritually poor, just as a nation of Israel. Though they would make great claims to what they were, or what they had, they had absolutely no merits before the God who is holy. And you and I need to come to understand that before God.
Though people would like to boast in their own goodness, and claim the great things that they have done as something of value before God. Friend, let me tell you that you and I have absolutely nothing to offer to God when it comes to our salvation, or earning, or gaining heaven, or gaining favor with God.
We're all beggars. We are all destitute. We have absolutely nothing spiritually. We are just ruined sinners. And this is something that they would not accept, as they would make their boasts in who they were as the children of Abraham.
And the Lord Jesus is going to tell them time and time again, it means nothing. You are poor. You are spiritually poor. The Lord Jesus says this, he has sent me to heal the broken hearted. And likely there were many sorrows and misery in the land of Israel.
But how much sorrow has sin produced in the hearts of humanity? The misery, the squalor that people live in, with all the disappointment, and the depression, and all the difficulties that sin has brought into this world, and many of the results of our own sin, and how people live with hearts that are broken.
The Bible says this, to heal the broken hearted, to preach deliverance to the captive, in all how they long to be free from the bondage of Rome. But friend, there is a bondage that is far greater. It is a bondage of our sin.
John tells us, John chapter 8, the Lord Jesus speaking, he that commits sin only proves that he is a slave of sin. He is bound to serve sin, and sin that brings ruin and misery to the human life. And the Lord Jesus says, there is deliverance to those who are bound, but not to Rome.
Bound in their sin. He goes on to say this, deliverance to the captive, recovery of sight to the blind. And I know that the Lord Jesus gave physical sight to many, but the entire nation was spiritually blind, as proven as for a chapter of failure to recognize him.
The Lord Jesus said, even the most religious of men, they were blind leaders of the blind. And that is a reality for you and I. The God of this world, Satan works to blind the eyes of those that do not believe.
And even though there might be people that are physically blind here this evening, that is not the greatest issue. The greatest issue is being spiritually blind and unable to understand that there's an awful place of condemnation that is directly in your path.
Yet the light of the world comes. The Bible says this, recovery of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, to preach the acceptable year of the Lord, to speak of God's favor. Whereas the text actually goes on to speak of God's judgment against sin.
But the Bible tells us God did not send his son into the world to condemn the world. What then was the purpose of God sending his son was that the world through him might be saved, not from Rome, but from sin in his bondage, sin in his consequence.
You see, the Lord Jesus, as it were, is putting his very finger on the problem. But they didn't want to recognize their own need. You just come over the page of chapter 5 and verse 31 says this, those that are healthy, those that are whole, do not need a physician, but those that are sick.
And what these privileged people in Nazareth failed to understand was how sick with sin they really were. And likely that is a reality for every one of us, even though we are familiar with the message of the gospel.
As Brandon just told us, likely many people here could quote, for all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. Do you know what makes a difference? When a person discovers, I have sinned. I have sinned.
I come so far short of the glory of God that I have offended God. That if God were to give me what I deserve, it would not be his favor. He would not lavish his grace and his love on me, but he would condemn me and justly so.
And yet so many people will not realize, will not recognize that for themselves. As a nation, as the people here in Nazareth, so privileged to have the word of God opened and the Lord Jesus being presented.
And yet the Lord Jesus is going to be rejected. Their failure to see their own need and their failure to understand who he was. The Lord Jesus says this, surely you will say this proverb, physician heal thyself.
Now it isn't so much that he needed to be healed, but it was do the things that you have done in other places right here in Nazareth. Likely they had heard there in Capernaum, just some 40 miles away.
As Matthew tells us, all the sick that came to him were healed. All of them. And yet the gospel of Mark tells us in Nazareth, just a few. Because of their unbelief, do what you are doing in other places.
When there was not a need of him, the Lord Jesus could not work. The Bible tells us since a prophet is not accepted in his own country. And the Lord Jesus goes on to say this, I tell you the truth, that there were many widows in Israel in the days of Elijah.
When the heaven was shut up, three and a half years of famine. Because of the wickedness of the people and the wickedness of the king. And Elijah said it will not rain until the word is given. And there is great hunger.
And you read back there in first Kings how God provides by the ravens. And then God sends him to Sarepta. And there he finds a woman. And he asks of her a drink of water. She gives him water. Then he says, give me something to eat.
And this poor woman says, I don't have a loaf of bread to give you. I only have a handful of grain and a little bit of oil. And I'm collecting a few sticks to make a fire. I'm going to eat with my son our last bite.
And then we're going to die. Starved to death. Do you know what Elijah the prophet says? Elijah says, listen to me, bring me first. As the Lord thy God liveth, she says, I have not a cake but a handful of meal in a barrel.
A little oil in a cruise in a jar. I'm gathering two sticks that I may go in and dress it for me and my son, that we may eat it and die. And Elijah said to her, fear not. Go now and do as thou has said, but make me thereof a little cake first and bring it to me.
And after make for thee and thy son. For thus said the Lord God of Israel, the barrel of meal shall not waste. It will never go empty. Neither shall the cruise of oil fail until the day that the Lord sends rain upon the earth.
So here is a woman that hears. Before you make a meal for yourself and your son, make one for the prophet first. She had a decision to make. Is this a prophet or not? Is the word that he is speaking true or not?
And you know what this woman, very likely a Gentile did. She believed the word of the prophet and she gave him to eat first. And then she made a cake, a loaf of bread for her son. And the Bible says all of that time that there was great famine in the land.
Who was blessed? It was a woman that believed the word of the prophet. And she never went hungry. And what a slap in the face of the people of Nazareth. Here is a woman that wasn't even part of the people of Israel.
But she received the prophet. She believed the word of the prophet and she lived. And that is exactly what the Lord Jesus wanted for his people. That they would spiritually live, but they weren't willing to believe him.
And then there is a time that we have read that there were many lepers in the land of Israel in the time of Elisha. This and his second Kings chapter five. I hope likely most would know this story. It's a very thrilling story.
But again it's interesting because it speaks to us of Naaman the Syrian. Now even this in and of itself is amazing to think about. When Naaman, this great man, as the Bible tells us the general of all the armies of the king of Syria, the man who is so valiant and so victorious and so leprous, there is a little maid that is tending to Naaman's wife who says if Naaman were only to go to Israel there's a prophet in the land.
You know what? That's what Naaman did. Even though it took a long way to get there because he went to the king of Israel first and then he goes to the house of Elisha and Elisha doesn't even come out the door to as it were invoke God or perform some great miracle.
But the prophet simply speaks go to the river Jordan and wash and be clean. The Bible tells us Naaman goes away angry because this great man with great wealth and great power figured he must do some great work or the prophet was going to do some great miracle.
It wasn't until he simply obeyed the word of the prophet that he went and he dunked himself seven times in the river Jordan. The Bible says his flesh was restored like the flesh of a little child. What did Naaman do?
He simply believed the word of the prophet but he had to get rid of all of his own thinking first and really what he had to do was humble himself because he didn't have anything to do with the greatness of Naaman anymore.
It wasn't the greatness of his wealth or the greatness of his valor or his connection with the king. What Naaman had to realize it was the greatness of God that was going to cleanse him and that's what happened.
But here is another testament. It's a it's an awesome testament to this little girl this maiden because the Lord Jesus says that there were many lepers in Israel. Many. But how many lepers do you read of in all the old testament that were ever cleansed of their leprosy?
How many? Even the king of Israel dies a leper. So on the part of this little girl she had great faith but you know what Naaman had to show the same that if this is a word of the prophet then it must be true and he believed it.
And again to the people of Nazareth there was a word that had been spoken a word that was given and what did they do with it? What are you going to do friend with the word of God? What are you going to do with a message of the gospel that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners?
Are you going to say that is good for them or are you going to come to an understanding that I am the one that is guilty? I am the one that deserves the wrath of God. The beginning of this year when we're speaking there in Hampton we're speaking from Romans and the first chapter ends with those words that those that commit these sins deserve to die.
You know what there was a little 10 year old boy Gregory that was sitting in the meeting and he understood for the very first time I deserve to die. I have a problem. In the next morning when he came down he told his parents that he'd been saved during the night because he understood his need.
Not they deserve to die. I deserve to die. The people of Nazareth they failed to see their own sin. They failed to see their own need and right there in front of them was the only man that could meet their need.
Yet the bible says they rejected him. What about you? What are you going to do with this so familiar person? Jesus and the cross and his suffering and death. Does it mean nothing to you? Is he just simply a figure, a picture, somebody in the bible?
Oh friend that you would understand that you need him as your savior before you die. The Lord Jesus is the one that can meet the spiritual need of sinners. Those that are healthy do not need a physician.
Those that fail to see themselves as God sees them. Oh that your blinded eyes be open. Eyes might be open. You might discover that I as a wandering sheep have wandered far away from God and yet the Lord laid on him the iniquity of us all.
He is the one that God sent to suffer, to bear sins in his own body, to set us free from the bondage and slavery of sin, to justify me, to cleanse me from all of my sin. Does it mean anything to you? Does he mean anything to you?