The Only Time Some People Love Truth Series

AMAZED: Nazareth was initially impressed with Jesus’ words.

- Luke 4:22.

- Review the message in vv. 18-19.

- There is a mix in their reaction.

- On the one hand, they are impressed.

- On the other hand, they wonder how such words could come from Joseph’s son. After all, Jesus had been among them for 30 years.

- This is a side note and one where I freely admit that I don’t have the answers, but this fact about Jesus’ life is perplexing and amazing to me.

- You would expect that Jesus had always been considered extraordinary. We see hints in that direction in the birth narratives: the unusual signs, the dramatic escape to Egypt. Then the Temple incident at age 12. It’s therefore surprising that Jesus settled into a quiet life of carpentry in Nazareth. Why? Why wait until He was 30? Why stay so in the background? How did He not strike people as different?

- I don’t know but He did.

NOW PROVEI IT: They wanted physical signs to back up the eloquent words.

- Luke 4:23.

- Luke’s gospel doesn’t include details of the things Jesus had done in Capernaum, but Matthew and Mark do. There were miracles and powerful signs of God’s power.

- They liked the words they heard but they wanted more. They wanted to see the powerful works.

- Of course, though, they wanted it for the wrong reasons. Their initial response in v. 22 leads us to believe their attitude was more “C’mon, prove it!” rather than “We are eager to believe and follow You!”

- Jesus was consistently reluctant to do miracles just for show. He knew that rarely created belief in those who were skeptical.

TWO THINGS ABOUT THE KINGDOM OF JESUS:

1. It included outsiders.

- Luke 4:24-27.

- The two stories mentioned both involved non-Jewish people.

2. It required humbling.

- Luke 4:24-27.

- The two stories both involve humility. The first choosing a lowly widow. The second an important person who had to humble himself.

MOB MENTALITY: A truth that challenged instead of comforted wasn’t welcome.

- Luke 4:28-29.

- Given what we just unpacked about the Old Testament truth that Jesus shared, it’s not completely surprising that He got a negative response. It is a little surprising that the response is so hot.

- Obviously this got to them at a level that it just doesn’t speak to us.

- Of course, though, in our age of social media, it’s not too difficult for us to imagine people losing their minds like this.

- The bigger point here is that they were not interested in truth that challenged.

- I think it’s probably important that the issue in play was the Messiah. This was not a secondary issue. The Jews felt oppressed and were not interested in hearing about the needs of the Gentile peoples or even any expressed concern for them at all.

- What is our attitude toward truth that challenges?

- Are we thankful for it because it means that God is still working on us?

- Or are we resentful of it because it pushes us out of our comfort zone?

“ON HIS WAY”: Ironically, a miracle did happen.

- Luke 4:30.

- We aren’t told exactly how Jesus was able to walk through this angry crowd. Was it more ordinary, like He pulled a hood over His head, got “lost” in the confusion, and simply walked back in the other direction as the crowd walked on thinking they still had Him? Was it more pronounced, like He stopped them pushing Him forward, looked them in the eye, then walked in the other direction with each of them, like with the woman caught in adultery, convicted of their actions and drawing back? Were angels involved in restraining the crowd? We just don’t know.

- The bottom line for our purposes here, though, is that a miracle of deliverance did happen. Jesus was delivered from the hands of the angry mob, almost certainly involving some miraculous intervention of some kind.

- It’s ironic that the crowd wanted a miracle to shore up their belief and instead they get a miracle because of their unbelief.

- It’s a stark reminder to us that God is working in the world – it might be in our favor or against us, but He is working.

- Conclusion:

- Looking back over the passage as a whole.

- Discuss the danger of only wanting truth that comforts.