*30/12/2020*
MID-WEEK *HOLY COMMUNION* SERVICE
TOPIC: *A PROPHET WITHOUT HONOUR PART THREE*
Text:
Matthew 13:53-58
Mark 6:1-6
Luke 4:16-30
Topic verse:
*But Jesus said to them, "A prophet is not without honour except in his own country, among his own relatives, and in his own house"*
Mark 6:4
Jesus announces the five purposes for which God has sent him: to preach good news to the poor... to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favour (Luke 4:18-19)
This announcement takes place during Jesus' visit to the synagogue of Nazareth where he publicly presents himself to the nation as God's Messiah. Invited by the leader of the synagogue to read from the Scriptures, Jesus stands, is handed a scroll that he unrolls to the intended passage, reads the passage, rolls the scroll up again, hands it back to the attendant, and sits down to speak while all eyes remain fixed on him (Luke 4:16-20). The interest of those present is intense, and Luke prolongs the silence surrounding the reading to make it clear that the eyes of all in the synagogue are fixed on Jesus' every move.
Jesus' exposition of the text is profound in its brevity: And he began by saying to them, 'Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing' (Luke 4:21). Perhaps, this is the shortest and the best sermon ever preached because all spoke well of him and were amazed at the gracious words that came from his mouth (Luke 4:22). It is clear that from the beginning to the end Jesus was oriented to the needs of the poor, both those who were poor within themselves and those who were poor in social, economic and political contexts. His parents were not wealthy (Luke 2:24) and lived in a despised village (John 1:46). In his public ministry he lived poorly, mixed with the ordinary folk who were the poor, the 'prisoner', the 'blind' and the 'oppressed' (Luke 4:18). Furthermore, he shocked the elite by eating with social outcasts (Luke 5:30; 19:7). He acted and spoke in a manner that caused him to be seen as a serious threat by the various establishment groups in his country and by the Roman empire. Eventually, the religious establishment and the Roman colonial power murdered Jesus.
If someone has a message from God to give, the natural place to deliver that message is the place where people come together to worship or hear the word of God. That is precisely what Jesus did when he began his campaign in a synagogue. He has described the nature of his ministry, saying that its content is preaching 'good news to the poor' and setting at liberty those that are oppressed (Luke 4:18-19). Its basis is the anointing of Jesus with the Holy Spirit (Luke 4:18). He will be rejected by his own people and he hints that there will be a wider mission to all kinds of people (Luke 4:23-27). The portrait of Jesus in this is of someone who is empowered by the Holy Spirit. *This empowering divides those Jesus meets into two groups: those who recognize God in Jesus' words and the works and those who do not* (Luke 4:28-30).
N.B.
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