Jesus is Liberator of All

A sermon delivered by the Rev. Roger Scott Powers at Light Street Presbyterian Church in Baltimore, on Sunday, January 28, 2007

Luke 4:14-30

In this morning's reading from the gospel of Luke, we find Jesus at the very beginning of his public ministry. He has been baptized and annointed by the Holy Spirit. He has spent forty days and nights fasting in the wilderness -- resisting the temptations of the devil. And now he has begun to go from village to village in Galilee, teaching in the synagogues. Luke tells us that Jesus "was praised by everyone" and word "about him spread through all the surrounding country." Apparently Jesus was making quite a name for himself in the synagogue circuit! Some were even calling him a prophet!

So, when Jesus came to Nazareth, his hometown, his family and friends were understandably thrilled to have him home. He was their pride and joy. This local boy had made it big. He had become a well-known speaker, a popular teacher. Nazareth had raised up a prophet, and now that he was home, they had high expectations of what it would mean for them. As a prophet's hometown, Nazareth could only benefit. With Jesus in their corner, Nazareth would surely receive a special measure of God's blessings.

When Saturday came, the Sabbath day, Jesus went to his home synagogue for worship. He was handed the scroll of the prophet Isaiah, which he unrolled and began reading: "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has annointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor." Then Jesus sat down to begin teaching. (It was the custom those days to teach sitting down.)

This would be Jesus' first sermon in his home synagogue. What would he say? How would he interpret this text from the prophet Isaiah? Luke's account heightens the suspense, noting that "the eyes of all in the synagogue wer fixed on him." They were ready to hear his message. And so Jesus began: "Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing." Jesus' words sent an excited murmur rippling through the congregation. The words of the prophet Isaiah, spoken centuries before, were now fulfilled? This was good news beyond anything they might have hoped for! Heads nodded in agreement. "All spoke well of him and were amazed at the gracious words that came from his mouth." Near the back of the room, people could be heard asking one another, "Isn't that Joseph's son?" And you can bet that Jesus parents, Mary and Joseph, were both there too, sitting side by side, beaming with pride.

Jesus went on to say, "Doubtless you will quote to me this proverb, 'Doctor, cure yourself!' And you will say, 'Do here also in your hometown the things we have heard you did at Capernaum.'" I imagine the congregation continuing to nod with approval: "Yes, Jesus! Yes! We're with you. It's time to take care of your own." Jesus knew that they wanted him not just to teach, but to perform healings and exorcisms as well. "Yes, Jesus! Pour out your Spirit upon us! Heal us! Free us! Liberate us!" They wanted him to take care of them, to channel God's blessing upon them. They were, after all, the people who had helped raise him and the people with whom he had grown up. Wasn't it their due?

But then, Jesus' message too an unexpected and most unwelcome turn. He said, "Truly I tell you, no prophet is accepted in the prophet's hometown." "Huh? Where did that come from? What did he mean by that?" That wasn't at all what they expected to hear from Jesus. He had thrown them a curve ball. "Where was he going with this?"

Jesus reminds them that sometimes the role of a prophet is to announce God's judgment. Take Elijah, for example. When the people of Israel commited idolatry by worshiping Baal, God's judgment brought a three-and-half-year drought and famine upon the land. There were many widows in Israel at the time, but God sent his prophet Elijah to none of them. Instead, Elijah was sent to help a widow outside of Israel in Phoenicia -- a Gentile woman. Similarly, during the time of Elisha, there were many lepers in Israel, but none of them were healed except Naaman the Syrian -- also a Gentile.

Well, this was too much even for Jesus' home synagogue to hear. Jesus' words filled them with rage. They had thought that Jesus was telling them that God's blessings, cited in Isaiah, were going to be poured out upon them -- his townspeople. But now it sounded like Jesus was saying that they would not receive any special benefits at all for having a prophet arise from their midst. Moreover, Jesus seemed to be saying that their status as people of Israel, as God's chosen people, was no guarantee of God's blessing either. And to add insult to injury, Jesus was suggesting that the God of Israel cares for people outside the nation of Israel -- Gentiles of all people! Just who did Jesus think he was, saying such things to them?

They were so angry that they actually drove him out of town, intending to throw him off a cliff! "But he passed through the midst of them and went on his way."

In this brief introduction to Jesus' public ministry, Luke offers us a foreshadowing of what is to come. Jesus' ministry will be empowered by God's Spirit. It will be about liberation -- freeing people from spiritual, physical, social, and economic forms of bondage. It will be good news for the poor, the captives, the blind, the oppressed, the landless and enslaved -- all people marginalized or excluded by the culture. This good news will extend beyond Jesus' hometown and beyond the nation of Israel to include even Gentiles. But Jesus' radically inclusive message of liberation for all will be rejected, and his own people will seek to have him killed.

The people of Jesus' hometown wanted God's promises of deliverance to be just for them. They want to have an exclusive covenantal relationship with God. Failing that, they felt assured that as people of Israel they would receive God's blessings. But Jesus was saying that God's blessings, God's grace, cannot be contained or limited by geographical, historical, ethnic, or religious boundaries.

Too often, people want to put limits on God's grace. Some churches will claim to be the one and only true church and declare that anyone outside their church is beyond God's love and care. Or sometimes you'll hear Christians say that Christianity is the one true religion, and that anyone who is not a Christian is condemned. But it seems to me that we, as God's creatures, are in no position to put limits of any kind on God. God is sovereign. God is our creator and sustainer. God is the source of all that is. Much as we might like to limit or control God, we cannot.

No, through Jesus, God offers liberation that is limitless, liberation that transcends all boundaries, liberation for the whole world. It is God's will that the poor be released from the bondage of poverty. It is God's will that the blind will see and the oppressed will go free. It is God's will that slaves will be given their freedom, that the indebted will have their debts forgiven, and that the landless will have their land returned to them. This is God's will for all people. It doesn't matter what country you are from. It doesn't matter whether you are black or white. It doesn't matter whether you are Jew or Gentile. God wants liberation for you and everyone.

This is supposed to be good news! But the people in Jesus' hometown didn't take it that way. Why? Because they wanted to have a special relationship with God, an exclusive relationship that would benefit them over others. They wanted to have the corner on God's blessings. But God doesn't play favorites. God is for everyone. God's love is radically inclusive. God's liberation is limitless. God's power is pervasive. God's care is boundless. That's why we call God's grace amazing!

Amazing grace, how sweet the sound,
That saved a wretch like me!
I once was lost, but now am found
Was blind, but now I see.

Thanks be to God! Amen!