In last Sunday’s Gospel reading we heard Jesus quote a verse from Isaiah, and then begin His teaching on that verse by saying, “Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.”
In today’s Gospel reading we heard Jesus finish His sermon, and we see how the people reacted to, and the consequences of, His message that He is the fulfillment of God’s promise, and that He is God’s salvation to the world.
I have always been a big fan of baseball, football, and basketball. As a young man I played them all fairly well and I still watch games whenever I am able. In every sport, there are competing teams or individuals, but there is also a third party involved called “referees,” or “umpires,” or “officials.” These groups of people or individuals can often influence the outcome of a game by their calls, or for that matter, their “no-calls.” (If you don’t believe that, just ask Ravens Coach Brian Billick.)
There is story about three football referees being asked about their philosophy regarding their jobs.
Well, the men in that synagogue, where Jesus had been reading, also waited with high expectations. They had sensed an “air of authority” from this man who read and preached like no other man had ever done in that synagogue before. He had grabbed their full attention with His first sentence and all eyes and ears were on Him as they waited for Jesus to deliver His teaching about the passages He had just read to them.
At first, the people were amazed at the power and authority of Jesus’ words. They hung on every word He was saying. But, when He began to preach about things they didn’t like; when the truth began to sink into the hearts of that Jewish congregation; when they began to understand that Jesus was proclaiming Himself to be the Messiah that Israel had been waiting for; at that moment, they began to wonder about His authority. They began to question His credentials.
Their response reminds us about the words that Luke used at the end of Jesus’ temptation a year earlier. Luke said, “And when Satan had finished every temptation, he departed from Him until an opportune time.” (Luke 4:13)
We know that Satan likes to use a direct frontal attack when he can (such as the temptation in the wilderness). And Satan uses indirect attacks through self-righteous people like the Pharisees. But in this case, Satan mounts an indirect attack by using his spiritually blind captives to question and reject the Son of God, the King of Israel.
Jesus had started off being popular with those in the synagogue. He had picked passages that the people were familiar with, and which reminded them that they were indeed God’s chosen people. But then Jesus went on. He went on to tell them that God was continuing His plan of salvation through Him.
That was a risky and unpopular thing to say. The people were looking for a Warrior-King type of Messiah who would drive the Romans out of their land. They wanted a king, along the lines of David, to bring victory, wealth and prosperity to their nation. So, when Jesus said that He was the Messiah, this man who had no army, no wealth, no military might, only 12 common men as His followers, went around begging for food, and taught things that only seemed to stir people up, they began to question who He was. They wondered how God was going to bring salvation through a wandering preacher and His small group of fishermen and tax collectors.
The more the people heard and thought about what Jesus said, the more they felt the slow burn of pride, envy and jealousy. “How can this be?” they wondered. They said, “Is this not Joseph’s son?”
They initially loved this message about the Messianic Age. It would be a time when Israel would once again be ruled by one from the House of David. They believed that all the nations of the world, including Rome, would be subjugated to Israel, the people of Jehovah.
But now they are hearing Jesus, one of their own hometown boys, applying this message to Himself. How could Jesus be saying that He is the Messiah, when they all knew that He was the son of Joseph and Mary? Why, they all knew His brothers, James, Joses, Jude and Simon, and they knew His sisters as well. They were all still living in Nazareth. How could this carpenter’s son, He Himself a former carpenter turned preacher, say that He is the Messiah? Resentment grew in their hearts, which eventually grew into full-blown hatred. After all, the Messiah would perform signs and miracles and none of those had happened in Nazareth. Oh, the people there had heard rumors of such things elsewhere, but had seen none of it right there in Jesus’ hometown.
The Jews were saying, “If you are the Messiah, perform some miracles like you did in Judea, Galilee and Capernaum.” But Jesus responds to their unbelief by saying, “no prophet is welcome in His hometown.” Mark tells us in his Gospel, “And He could do no miracles there except that He laid His hands upon a few sick people and healed them. And He wondered at their unbelief.”
All the while, Satan was lurking in the background, fanning the flames of hatred, and inserting thoughts of murder. “All the synagogue was filled with rage as they heard these things”, and they sought to throw Jesus off a cliff to kill Him. But Jesus slips right through the crowd and He goes on to preach and heal for another two years.
Jesus was in Nazareth offering eternal life to all and He was saddened that they would not accept it. What was it that was keeping those people, and still keeps people today, from accepting His gift of the fullness of eternal life? It was, and it is, pride. It is pride that says, “I don’t need no savior. I can do it by myself. I can control my own destiny.”
The same age-old philosophies that deceived people in the past still deceive people today and, we are told, unfortunately will continue to deceive some people until the end of the age.
The people there looked at Jesus, a common carpenter’s son who had grown up in their own town, saw His small band of followers who were also common folk, and just could not believe that He was who He said He was.
In these days, far too often, we also forget that God can, and God does, work through ordinary, everyday, common people, and common things of life. God can, and occasionally still does, work through the spectacular. But God doesn’t need to put on a great show. God doesn’t need great wealth. God doesn’t need a great army (just ask Gideon). God doesn’t need any of us, because God is almighty. He can do whatever He wants to do by just speaking His word.
Yet, isn’t it wonderful that God chooses to perform His great works, to bring His awesome and powerful message to all the earth, by using common things like bread, water, wine and through common people like you and me?
The words we speak here in Salem UMC about God, the Scriptures that were read here this morning, even this sermon, were and are being brought to you by ordinary people. Understand that it is not the words in and of themselves, nor the people reading or saying them, that gives those words authority. It is God, Himself. I am only a delivery boy, a tool of God. He has chosen me, for reasons that only He knows, to be a vehicle, a vessel, to speak the words that He gives me. But make no mistake about it, it is God, and only God, who brings the truth of those words into your heart.
Through the Holy Spirit, God brings His authority to the words in order that they might change the peoples’ lives by assuring them of His grace. God promises us that He is with us right here, right now, as we proclaim His Word, through the reading of Scripture, through the liturgy and the hymns we sing, and also through the sermon. God uses those tools to bring His power and authority to our service this morning and every time we meet together to worship Him.
Any pastor, any church leader worth his salt, knows that he or she is only a tool in the hands of God. Pastors are not any different than any of you. Pastors feel the whole spectrum of emotions just like anyone else. We laugh, we cry, we hurt, we rejoice, we feel joy, we feel sorrow, we grieve, we make mistakes, and we learn. But we also know, or should know, that God has somehow called us to use our words and our lives as a delivery system for His awesome Message of Salvation to people.
But here is what more Christians need to know and understand: God does not just call clergy to be His delivery system. You are called also! In our baptism, we are all called to be His children and to be His tools on earth! You are called to bring God’s message of salvation through Jesus Christ to everyone you meet. Each of us has our own unique talents and gifts, and God will use every one of us to spread His message of salvation throughout our community, throughout our nation, and throughout the world.
Which brings us to the second part of Jesus’ sermon that day that did not set very well with the Jews present in that synagogue, and served to make Jesus suddenly very unpopular with them. Jesus told them that God’s salvation was open to all people, not just the Jews! He reminded them of two Old Testament stories where Elijah and Elisha brought food and healing into the lives of a widow and a leper who were Gentiles, not Jews. Jesus reminded those in the synagogue that even though there were many people throughout Israel suffering from hunger, leprosy and other sickness at the time of Elijah and Elisha, God had chosen to ignore them and instead sent the food and healing to the Gentiles.
Well, as you can imagine, the Jews didn’t like to be reminded of that. They felt that they were God’s chosen people and thus they were the only ones who should have a special place in God’s plans. But again, we Christians too are sometimes guilty of that type of “stinkin’ thinkin’”. We too sometimes need to be reminded that God’s plan of salvation is for all people who will accept His Son, Jesus Christ, as their personal Savior and Lord.
We sometimes seem to wall ourselves in with those that are just like us. The result is that the rest of society sees us as a closed, exclusive group, only interested in others who are just like us. We need to reach out to each other. We must reach out to each other. White Christians, Black Christians, Hispanic Christians, Asian Christians, Native American Christians, all Christians, are commanded to reach out to those who are unchurched, regardless of their race or nationality, with the message that there is nothing exclusive about the Gospel of Jesus Christ! Jesus says that God’s Plan of Salvation is to include everyone who is crying out to hear the Good News. All those who need the assurance that they are not walking the path of life alone, are to be told that God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are present and waiting to help all who will come to Him.
As I said, all of us, pastors and laypeople alike, have a calling from God to be His tools, and His delivery system. We are called through our baptism. We are encouraged by His words that we receive through teachings, preaching, and meditation on the Scriptures. We have just taken Holy Communion, and through that sacrament we receive strength and boldness to be His voice on earth.
The task is set before us. The call has been made. All that remains is for us to act, to be committed to our calling as God’s delivery system for the people of earth. However, for too long now, we have neglected this task. We have ignored and neglected our call. And far too often, we Christians have hoarded God’s Plan of Salvation for ourselves. We have become much like the Jews of Jesus’ time, in thinking that God’s message is only for us and not for people who are different, people who are not like what we think they should be like.
Salvation and eternal life is what is, or should be, the major issue in our lives. Men, women, and children of all races and nationalities are being held captive and blind by the Evil One. Those people need to hear the Good News, that Jesus Christ is not only the Savior the world in general, not only the Lord of Lords and King of Kings, but also that Jesus is ready to be their very own personal Savior and Lord. Jesus wants each of us who know Him as Savior and Lord to be the deliverers of that message. We need to begin with our own families. Then tell our friends. And finally, we must get out and spread the Good News to everyone we come into contact with.
Let’s ask God, through His Holy Spirit, to give us the right words at the right times. Then, let’s each make a commitment to take advantage of the opportunities that He will provide for us, to deliver His message to those who need to hear it. Let’s be faithful in doing that; let’s take a risk and preach the Truth, and watch what God will do among us. Amen.