The Ministry Begins
Sermon 12 in Series
Luke 4:14-30
[14] And Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit to Galilee, and a report about him went out through all the surrounding country. [15] And he taught in their synagogues, being glorified by all.
[16] And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up. And as was his custom, he went to the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and he stood up to read. [17] And the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to him. He unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written,
[18] “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,
because he has anointed me
to proclaim good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives
and recovering of sight to the blind,
to set at liberty those who are oppressed,
[19] to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”
[20] And he rolled up the scroll and gave it back to the attendant and sat down. And the eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on him. [21] And he began to say to them, “Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.” [22] And all spoke well of him and marveled at the gracious words that were coming from his mouth. And they said, “Is not this Joseph’s son?” [23] And he said to them, “Doubtless you will quote to me this proverb, ‘“Physician, heal yourself.” What we have heard you did at Capernaum, do here in your hometown as well.’” [24] And he said, “Truly, I say to you, no prophet is acceptable in his hometown. [25] But in truth, I tell you, there were many widows in Israel in the days of Elijah, when the heavens were shut up three years and six months, and a great famine came over all the land, [26] and Elijah was sent to none of them but only to Zarephath, in the land of Sidon, to a woman who was a widow. [27] And there were many lepers in Israel in the time of the prophet Elisha, and none of them was cleansed, but only Naaman the Syrian.” [28] When they heard these things, all in the synagogue were filled with wrath. [29] And they rose up and drove him out of the town and brought him to the brow of the hill on which their town was built, so that they could throw him down the cliff. [30] But passing through their midst, he went away.
1. Going back to last week, how does the temptation of Jesus help us tie together justification and sanctification? What does it look like to emphasize one at the expense of the other?
2. How does Luke draw attention to the Holy Spirit and Jesus’ teaching in his introduction to Jesus’ ministry? What are some implications for us?
3. How does Luke describe Jesus’ fame? How does this highlight the glory of Christ?
4. What is Luke’s purpose for including the Nazareth narrative at the beginning of Jesus’ ministry? How does it set the tone for the rest of the Gospel?
5. What did Jesus communicate through his Scripture reading and sermon? What does the Isaiah passage reveal about his work?
6. How did the people of Nazareth respond to Jesus’ message? Why did it start with amazement and end in rage?
7. How does this passage point forward to the cross? How does it warn the reader to respond rightly?
References: Isaiah 61:1-11 (corporate reading); Ephesians 6:10; Luke 1:26-27; 9:51; 1:35; 3:16, 22; 4:1-2; Matthew 9:35; 13:53-58; Mark 6:1-6; Isaiah 58:6; John 4:26; 1 Kings 17; 2 Kings 5:1-14.