Luke 4:14-21
[Epiphany 3—CWS C]
Pastor Ron Koehler
Grace—Benson/Vail, AZ
January 27, 2019
14 Jesus
returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit, and news about him spread through all the surrounding area. 15 He was teaching in their synagogues and being honored by everyone. 16 He went to Nazareth, where he had been brought up. As was his custom, he went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day and stood up to read. 17 The scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him. He unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written: 18 The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to set free those who are oppressed, 19 and to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor. 20 He rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant, and sat down. The eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fastened on him. 21 He began to tell them, “Today, this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.”
In the name of Jesus Christ, the Lord’s Anointed, dear friends, There are certain moments recorded in Scripture when people must have been stunned by Jesus appearing to them. Think of the shepherds who heard the angels’ proclamation and who first laid eyes on the world’s Savior as he lay in a crude manger. Or Simeon and Anna who saw the baby Jesus as he was presented at the temple. And probably my favorite—the Samaritan woman at the well who was sure that once the Messiah appeared, he would clear up the religious confusion going on. Jesus looked at her and said, “I who speak to you am he (John 4:26).” That was one of those goose bump moments where Jesus clearly revealed himself as the Lord’s anointed Savior. Epiphany is this season of the Church Year when we celebrate Jesus’ “appearing” as the world’s Savior and we hear accounts of him showing himself to be the promised Savior. Today we have another of those instances and it is, I think, another “stunner.” Luke tells us of an event that took place early in Jesus’ ministry where he makes a bold, stunning declaration that he is the Savior, the Lord’s Anointed. I imagine what it must have been like to be in that moment, to hear Jesus teach, to see the reaction of those around him. It’s too bad all we can do is imagine, isn’t it? It’s kind of sad that we need to wait until we die to have Jesus appear to us, isn’t it? Although we tend to think like that, that’s actually not true. The words of God in Luke’s gospel today answer our question: DOES JESUS APPEAR AS THE LORD’S ANOINTED TODAY? 1. YES, THROUGH HIS WORD! (14-19, 21) 2. YES, TO YOUR HEART! (15, 20, 21) Sometimes we want Jesus to just show up, don’t we? We want him to appear physically and do some amazing thing which no one could doubt and which would prove that he is the Anointed Savior of all people. Then we—or others—could not possibly deny who he is. People would have to believe. I have to tell you though, that’s wrong thinking. That’s our sinful nature saying that God’s working through his Word in our hearts isn’t enough, or doesn’t quite cut it, or could be improved upon. If only God would follow our idea, it would be better. That’s really what we’re implying. This account of weekend worship with Jesus reminds us that still today he appears as the Lord’s Anointed Savior. He does it through his Word and in our hearts—just as he did then.
The Word of God was of highest importance for God’s people. That’s evident in this account, isn’t it? We hear that Jesus had begun his earthly ministry and part of his time was spent teaching in the synagogues. The power of the Holy Spirit was upon him as he travelled and taught the people. On this particular worship day, Jesus was in his hometown of Nazareth. He went to the synagogue as was his habit. Jesus stood up at a certain part of the worship service, indicating that he wanted to read the next lesson and then teach. The scroll of Isaiah, containing the same words of Isaiah that you have in your Bible, was handed over to him so that he could read the lesson and then speak about the verses. It was out of respect for God’s Word that a teacher would stand as he read the Scriptures. After the reading, he would take a seat on a small platform and teach the people while sitting down. These are the words of Isaiah that Jesus stood up to read: The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to set free those who are oppressed, and to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor. Those words of God were a prophecy looking forward in time and speaking about the Messiah, the “Anointed One.” The Lord’s Anointed One would bring freedom to those who were prisoners to sin. He would open eyes to see both physically and spiritually. And he would pronounce the love of God for all people. He, in fact, would be the embodiment of that love as he came to bring salvation. This was truly good news! And what does Jesus say about this Word of God, this prophecy? He says “Today, this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.” You realize what that meant, don’t you? Jesus read that prophecy about the Lord’s Anointed and then as the people’s eyes were glued to him and their ears were anxiously waiting for him to speak, he said—in effect—“Isaiah was talking about me. I am the Lord’s Anointed.” Can you imagine?! Jesus’ words were stunning; they were shocking! The long-awaited Messiah was sitting right in front of them?! Could it be that the Lord’s Anointed had just revealed himself to them? That Sabbath day in Nazareth the Lord’s Anointed did appear before the people so that they could recognize him as the Messiah. He appeared as the fulfillment of that Word of God. Today Jesus appears through his Word. He appears in the Scriptures which foretold his coming to be the Savior. He appears in the Scriptures—like the gospel of Luke, for instance—which tell us how Jesus came and why he is the Savior. So, while you don’t actually see him physically, you do “see” him by faith.
By faith you “see” that Jesus is the Lord’s Anointed—he is the Savior from sin. You “see” through the gospels that Jesus came and fulfilled, not just these words before us, but all that the prophets foretold. You “see” his perfect keeping of God’s law. You “see” him handed over to death and nailed to the cross. You “see” his vacant grave and you “see” the risen Savior. And you see his very words in the Bible: “Your sins are forgiven… you will be with me in heaven.” Jesus appears as the Lord’s Anointed through his Word as it is read and when it is used in Baptism and in the Words of Institution at the Lord’s Supper. We should never doubt that Jesus does appear today. He does so every day through his Word. Without question, Jesus appears through his Word. He’s there for all to see. How thankful and how blessed we are to have Jesus appear as the Lord’s Anointed to our hearts as well. Already at the beginning of his ministry, Jesus had appeared as the Lord’s Anointed and the hearts of many people turned to him. You can tell that from the way Luke wrote. He said that news about Jesus was spreading everywhere. As the people listened to him in the synagogues, they praised him. The power of the Holy Spirit was upon him and working through his teaching and preaching to turn people’s hearts to trust in him as the Lord’s Anointed. How could that not happen?! We know God’s desire is that every person come to trust in him and we know that the Holy Spirit turns sinful hearts and minds around, brings them to repent of their sins, and leads them to trust in Jesus. This most certainly happened as Jesus proclaimed the good news of salvation through faith in him. On this particular day in the Nazareth synagogue, the Lord’s Anointed spoke to the hearts of the people who had assembled there. You get the feeling from this gospel that the people sensed something big. As Jesus sits down to speak about Isaiah’s prophecy, all eyes are on him and every ear is eagerly bending toward him. And he gives them the “stunner”: “Today, this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.” This is a gospel proclamation! The Savior has come and he’s sitting in front of them! He will bring freedom from sins and the favor of God. This good news of salvation through the Lord’s Anointed had the power to invigorate the hearts of the people. But the truth of the message could also offend hardened hearts who reject the gospel of salvation in Jesus.
What happened that day? Well at first the people were amazed at his teaching, but the more he told them, the worse it got. Those assembled there at the synagogue actually took Jesus to the edge of town, to the brink of a cliff, so that they could throw him over and kill him! How’s that for rejection of his message?! The Savior had obviously not completed his work of redemption and he would not die in that way. It would be the cross and it would be later. No one would take his life; he would lay it down. So Jesus miraculously walked right through the crowd and on to the next city. You know, the same thing happens still today. Jesus still speaks to people’s hearts and still gets the same results. There are those today who reject his appearing through the Word. They don’t want to hear Jesus speak. They would throw him down a cliff at the edge of town if they could—just like the people of Nazareth tried to do. Sinful people by nature have that attitude toward the Lord’s Anointed. We are sinful people, so we too would join the angry, rebellious crowd which is offended to hear that we are not good enough for the holy God on our own and that salvation only comes through the Jesus, the Father’s anointed Savior. But Jesus has appeared to your heart and to mine as the Lord’s Anointed and the Holy Spirit has given you a priceless gift—the gift of faith in the forgiveness found in Jesus. Though you didn’t deserve it, you received this gift of trusting in Jesus as the Lord’s Anointed, the One who saves people from their sins and gives them eternal life. Do you see Jesus physically? No, but by faith you do “see” him to be the Christ and you love him because he is your Savior. You love Jesus for his work of salvation. You love him for rescuing you from sin and eternal death. You love him for preparing a place for you in heaven. You love him for ruling over your life each and every day. You and I believe that Jesus does appear in amazing ways today—ways just as powerful as if he physically stood among us and spoke. We have forgiveness for the times when we’ve thought that Jesus speaking to people’s hearts through his Word was not enough. We take comfort in the reminder today that Jesus DOES appear as the Lord’s Anointed and that as he does, he leads people to saving faith and eternal life. We’re grateful that he has appeared to us and we pray that he will continue to appear to many others—even through our own witnessing to them—so that we may one day stand before the Lord’s Anointed in heaven with them for all eternity. May God grant it. Amen. Now the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.