Prayer for All Members Based on Matt Henslee’s Message, February 12, 2023 Luke 4:16-30
A Rejected Sermon

Introduction: The greatest Preacher who ever lived received such a harsh response that His hearers wanted to throw Him off the cliff. But no matter what the people’s response, Jesus would tell the truth.

1. Jesus’ Sermon (16-21)

   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. And the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to him. He unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written,

   “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me
   to proclaim good news to the poor...”

   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. And he began to say to them, “Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing...”

   Jesus reads an Isaiah passage that foretells the gospel. The passage is about Jesus Himself and He tells the people that it is being fulfilled before their eyes. The main point is that He is the Messiah.

   Father, thank You for sending Your Messiah! Please help us always to recognize Him as revealed in Your Word and respond with awe and joy.

2. The People’s Response (22-30)

   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?” 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.’” And he said, “Truly, I say to you, no prophet is acceptable in his hometown. 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, and Elijah was sent to none of them but only to Zarephath, in the land of Sidon, to a woman who was a widow. 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.” When they heard these things, all in the synagogue were filled with wrath. 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. But passing through their midst, he went away.

   The people were listening, and at first they were speaking well of Him and marveling at His gracious words. Then their attitude shifts to bewilderment, asking “Isn’t this Joseph’s son?” Jesus gives them illustrations to expose their deep-seated unbelief, so their response turns to fury. No matter the evidence, people don’t believe if they don’t want to believe.

Conclusion: As believers we should always respond to the preaching of God’s Word with humble, faithful acceptance, gratitude, and the decision to live out His Word. For those who have not yet trusted in Jesus, this text revealed Jesus to His hometown, but reveals Him also to you. The perfect, sinless Savior went to the cross for you, and three days later rose again. We are all sinners who fall short of the glory of God, and we have earned everlasting death; but God loves us so much that He sent His Son to pay for our sin. He says if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.

Father, please help us always to respond to the truth of Your gracious Word with humble, grateful obedience. Please help those who have not yet trusted in Jesus to believe in Him and receive eternal life.