Luke 4:14-30
Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit, and news about Him spread through the whole countryside.15 He was teaching in their synagogues, and everyone praised Him.
16 He went to Nazareth, where He had been brought up, and on the Sabbath day He went into the synagogue, as was His custom. He stood up to read,17 and the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to Him. Unrolling it, He found the place where it is written:
18 “The Spirit of the Lord is on me,because He has anointed meto proclaim good news to the poor.He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisonersand recovery of sight for the blind,to set the oppressed free,19 to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favour.”
20 Then 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 by saying to them, “Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.”
22 All spoke well of Him and were amazed at the gracious words that came from His lips. “Isn’t this Joseph’s son?” they asked.
23 Jesus said to them, “Surely you will quote this proverb to me: ‘Physician, heal yourself!’ And you will tell me, ‘Do here in your hometown what we have heard that you did in Capernaum.’”
24 “Truly I tell you,” He continued, “no prophet is accepted in his hometown.25 I assure you that there were many widows in Israel in Elijah’s time, when the sky was shut for three and a half years and there was a severe famine throughout the land.26 Yet Elijah was not sent to any of them, but to a widow in Zarephath in the region of Sidon.27 And there were many in Israel with leprosy in the time of Elisha the prophet, yet not one of them was cleansed—only Naaman the Syrian.”
28 All the people in the synagogue were furious when they heard this.29 They got up, drove Him out of the town, and took Him to the brow of the hill on which the town was built, in order to throw Him off the cliff.30 But He walked right through the crowd and went on His way.
Luke 4:14-30 STRIVING FOR UNDERSTANDING
Springford Baptist Church: January 22, 2023.
A man was who was learning English, wrote a note to his hostess to thank her for her hospitality, but instead he wrote, “Thank you for your hostility.”
Misunderstandings occur frequently for a variety of reasons…
Sometimes someone has heard what we said incorrectly. Sometimes someone has thought we meant something very different than what we did mean by what we said.
And let’s not forget that this goes both ways.
We have not just been misunderstood ourselves. We have misunderstood someone else. We may have heard something that wasn’t accurate and felt irritation and anger toward someone else. We may have misinterpreted what someone meant to express and that damages a relationship.
The fact that we too have at times misunderstood someone else needs to be remembered when we feel misunderstood.
We have all had experiences of misunderstanding or being misunderstood.
Understanding takes concerted effort.
It can be both hurtful and frustrating when we lean on our own understanding.
When something we have said or done has been misunderstood and people have accused us of something we never intended, it affects us deeply.
Often our reaction is to want to defend ourselves, to “set the record straight.”
Jesus knew what it was to be misunderstood.
And here we see that he was misunderstood in his own hometown.
If there was anyone we would expect to understand us, it would be those closest to us, those we grew up with.
Yet, because of the fact that these people of Nazareth were convinced that Jesus was Joseph’s Son, they could not and would not accept Him for Who He really is-God’s Son.
When Jesus had finished reading the Scripture from Isaiah that prophesies the coming of the Messiah, the Promised One, He sat down and “the eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fastened on Him” (vs. 20)
What was He going to say?
“Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.” (vs.21)
That certainly wasn’t what the people expected!
Yes, they knew that He had been performing miracles and healings, but they still refused to accept that He could be the Messiah.
Now here’s the thing about being misunderstood:
When people misunderstand us, there is often a strong resistance and refusal on their part to consider anything different.
If we can explain ourselves and then feel that the misunderstanding has been resolved, that is one thing.
But if we attempt to sort things out unsuccessfully- what then?
How do we deal with all the emotions of being misunderstood?
How could trusting Jesus make a difference here?
Well, I can say from personal experience, that I find it a real consolation to know that even if others do not understand me, Jesus does!
Still, we are affected by being misunderstood.
It can be as if we are carrying around a heavy load that we would like to set down, but can’t.
Did you notice that one of the things said about the Messiah in the prophecy Jesus read from Isaiah, is that the Spirit of the Lord is on Him and He has been sent, “to proclaim freedom for the prisoners.” (vs. 18)
What misunderstanding is holding you captive this morning?
How can we be set free from that imprisonment?
When Jesus proclaims us free, then we are free!
We can trust Him for this.
We can trust Jesus that we do not have to remain held by the constraints of misunderstanding. Jesus can help us as we are “STRIVING FOR UNDERSTANDING.”
The people of Nazareth were so angry with Jesus and so frustrated by Him that they drove Him out of town and took Him up on the brow of a hill intending to throw Him over the cliff.
They would have grabbed Him and tried to hold Him, hold Him prisoner, captive to their intentions, but did you also notice what Jesus did in these circumstances?
He released Himself from their accusations and misunderstanding of Him and “walked right through the crowd and went on His way”. (vs. 30)
When we are trusting Jesus, we can release ourselves from the misunderstandings that might hold us captive and go on our way.
We cannot expect to do this by ourselves, but when we are trusting Jesus it is possible to be set free from misunderstanding!
And this takes us to the Lord’s prayer; “Forgive us our trespasses (sins) as we forgive those who trespass (sin) against us.” (Luke 11:4)
It is trusting Jesus for the gift of forgiveness, whatever the cause for the misunderstanding that will ultimately set us free.
Jesus has come to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and my prayer this morning is that each of us will be set free from the effects of misunderstanding as we trust Jesus!