Elmhurst CRC

Sunday's Comin' #282 - Luke 4: 16-21

January 10, 2023 Rebekah Wilson Season 1 Episode 282
Elmhurst CRC
Sunday's Comin' #282 - Luke 4: 16-21
Show Notes Transcript

Rebekah Wilson

Rebekah Wilson 0:07

Welcome to Elmhurst CRC’s daily dose of the Word of God. Today is Tuesday January 10th and this is Rebekah Wilson. I serve on the Alpha Team. To prepare for our Alpha question, “Who is Jesus?”, I’ll be reading Luke 4: 16-21 from the NLT.

Rebekah Wilson 0:26

“When he [Jesus] came to the village of Nazareth, his boyhood home, he went as usual to the synagogue on the Sabbath and stood up to read the Scriptures. The scroll containing the messages of Isaiah the prophet was handed to him, and he unrolled the scroll to the place. Where it says: The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, for he has appointed me to preach Good News to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim that captives will be released, that the blind will see, that the downtrodden will be freed from their oppressors, and that the time of the Lord’s favor has come.” He rolled up the scroll, handed it back to the attendant, and sat down. Everyone in the synagogue stared at him intently. Then he said, “This Scripture has come true today before
your very eyes!”

Rebekah Wilson 1:14

When we hear this passage read, it can appear that the scene was very neutral. Jesus gets up, reads from Isaiah, sits down, and declares that he has fulfilled what was written in the text. But after seeing this scene depicted in the Chosen, and as you read further in Luke, we realize that this passage is anything but neutral. Jesus stood in a Jewish synagogue and proclaimed that he was Messiah, the Savior, Who was going to save the Jewish people from slavery. This was outrageous! This was blasphemy!! The Law of Moses declared that anyone who claimed to be God and was not, was to be killed. Jesus had grown up in this community. They had witnessed him helping Joseph in his trade work. They had celebrated the Jewish festivals with him and now here he stood proclaiming that he was sent by Adonai to save their people?

Rebekah Wilson 2:07

Our society and culture also tends to see Jesus as a neutral figure. ‘Oh Jesus? He was a great person’ ‘Jesus was a nice, moral teacher’ ‘Jesus was a champion for social justice’. But the problem with this thinking is that Jesus is anything but neutral. He claimed to be the Son of God. He said he was the Way, the Truth, and the Life. He taught his followers to take up their cross and follow him. The most important question of all time is Who is Jesus? Because there will be a day when your answer to that question decides your future. The Bible teaches that there will be a day when God will separate the wheat from the chaff, meaning that one day, God will ask every single person who has ever lived “Who is Jesus?” The wheat who declare that Jesus is their Lord and Savior are ushered into eternal life. The chaff who don’t know Jesus will be cast out, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.  This is not a neutral question. But praise be to God for revealing his Son to us and leaving his Word to teach us who Jesus is.

Rebekah Wilson 3:18

Let’s pray. Father God, we praise you for being the King of the Universe. We thank you for sending your Son as our Redeemer and Savior. I confess that I’m afraid of boldly proclaiming that you are Lord for fear of what people will think about me or what they’ll assume about me. Forgive us for all the times when we are distracted by life’s worries and forget Who Jesus is and what he’s done for us. Help us to be ready, to have the words on the tip of our tongues when asked, ‘Who is Jesus’. May we be people who are eager to spread the good news of who Jesus is and the amazing work he’s done on our behalf. Amen.