Bible Passage: Luke 4:16-30
Pastor: Joel Jenswold
Sermon Date: January 23, 2022

Bulletin January 23, 2022

In the name of, and to the eternal glory of, Jesus,

It was “shabbat”…sabbath day…in Nazareth in Galilee.  Saturday for you and me.  In the afternoon, all the men who were ceremonially clean began to make their way to synagogue, being careful, of course, not to walk too many steps.  That would be considered “work” on the sabbath.

As we watch this weekly migration to synagogue, we can’t help but notice one who also makes his way to synagogue this day.  The people of Nazareth would have known him as Yeshua ben Yoseph.  “Jesus, son of Joseph.”  It would not have been unusual to see Joseph’s son going to synagogue on the Sabbath.  It was his custom (v. 16).  For the people of Nazareth, to see Jesus going to synagogue might have gotten this response, “What’s the big deal?  It’s only Jesus.”

Service at the synagogue began like normal.  The great “shema” was spoken.  Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. (Deuteronomy 6:4)  There were prayers.  There were readings from the Old Testament scrolls.   It came time for the reading from the “Prophets.”  Jesus stands up to read.  He asks for, and is given the scroll of the book of Isaiah.  There is a “pregnant pause” as Jesus carefully rolls the scroll until he finds the text he wants to preach on.  There it is:  Isaiah 61:1-2:

ר֛וּחַ אֲדֹנָ֥י יְהוִ֖ה עָלָ֑י יַ֡עַן מָשַׁח֩ יְהוָ֨ה אֹתִ֜י לְבַשֵּׂ֣ר עֲנָוִ֗ים שְׁלָחַ֙נִי֙

לַחֲבֹ֣שׁ לְנִשְׁבְּרֵי־לֵ֔ב לִקְרֹ֤א לִשְׁבוּיִם֙ דְּר֔וֹר וְלַאֲסוּרִ֖ים פְּקַח־קֽוֹחַ׃

When he is done reading, he rolls the holy parchment up again; he handles it very carefully, it is the Word of God.  While this is happening, one wonders if his hearers are beginning to anticipate where the sermon today will go.  You know how sometimes you hear the text and begin to think about how the preacher might handle the text?  Perhaps they thought, “Ah, he has chosen a text that points us to Meshiach (the Messiah)!  He is going to talk to us about the Coming One, blessed be his name!”  Every eye is on Jesus as he hands the scroll back to the attendant and takes his seat.  The sermon begins:  Today, this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing. (v. 21)

The reaction of the people is somewhat underwhelming.  Luke tells us:  They all spoke well of him and were impressed by the words of grace that came from his mouth.  And they kept saying, “Isn’t this Joseph’s son?” (v. 22)  It sounds nice enough, but it is clear it comes up short of faith in Jesus as the Savior.  It’s polite.  It’s complementary.  “Nice talk today.  Real nice.  Good speaker, Joseph’s boy!”  But in the end it seems they were really saying, “It’s only Jesus!”

This becomes clear in what Jesus says next.  Jesus predicts some want to say, “Hey, do some of those things we heard you were doing over in Capernaum!”  But Jesus didn’t do “miracles-on-demand.”  To those who came to him and had faith that he could and would help them, Jesus did what they trusted he would do.  But there wasn’t this kind of faith in his hometown.  Matthew tells us that on one trip to his hometown, [Jesus]  did not do any miracles there because of their unbelief. (Matthew 13:58)  Jesus drives the point home with his examples from the ministries of Elijah and Elisha.  There were lots of widows in Israel at the time of Elijah, but one outside Israel was miraculously fed.  There were lots of lepers in Israel at the time of Elisha, but only one outside Israel was healed.  The point:  there aren’t going to be any miracles here!

Now the people are mad!  “This is only Jesus!  How dare he talk to us like that!”  They crowd and push until they have trapped Jesus on the edge of the cliff on which Nazareth was built.  It would be quick work now to give him a little shove – even plausible deniability if the Romans should ask questions.  “He slipped.  Horrible accident. Tragic, really.”  But the prophet had said long before he was pierced for our transgressions (Isaiah 53), not “he was dashed to pieces from a high fall.”  And Jesus would fulfill all prophecy.  He walks through the crowd and leaves Nazareth.

Friends, at first it might be easy for us to hold the people of Nazareth in contempt for their shabby treatment of Jesus.   But this “only Jesus” attitude can afflict us all.  It can happen to us all that we get to a point that we are “underwhelmed” by Jesus.  Like those citizens of Nazareth who saw Jesus every day as he grew up, as he worked with Joseph in the shop, as he went to synagogue sabbath after sabbath.  When you see Jesus every day, it’s easy to say, “It’s only Jesus.”  We see Jesus every day in the Word and in the Sacraments.  And over time, if we’re not careful, we can start to be underwhelmed by the holy things of God.  We begin to say things like, “It’s only the Bible.  It’s only church.  It’s only Communion.  It’s only baptism.”  And because these are all about Jesus, it’s really saying, “It’s only Jesus.”

So how do we fight against a complacency, an unhealthy familiarity with Jesus that causes us to say, “It’s only Jesus.”  We go again to synagogue in Nazareth on a Sabbath.  We fix our eyes on the one who unrolls the scroll.  We reflect deeply, personally on what he says.  “Who can give me some good news to cheer my poor soul?  Who can set me free from the captivity of my guilt and shame?  Who can open my eyes so that I can see the way and the truth and the life?  Who can release me from the oppression of my own accusing conscience?  Who will proclaim to me a welcoming God who opens his arms for a sinner like me?”  The answer to our question is right before our eyes.  Who can do all this?  Jesus!  Only Jesus!  Only Jesus came to do all that!  Only Jesus came to give all that!  Only Jesus died and rose to win all that!  As the hymn writer said so well:  “Only Jesus can impart, comfort to a wounded heart.” (CW 385:3)  Or another:  “Jesus, Jesus, only Jesus, can my heartfelt longing still.” (CW 348:1)

So there is one more thing for us to ask this morning.  Who deserves your endless adoratiion?  Who is worthy of having every moment of every one of your days consecrated and dedicated to him?  Whose love – as another hymn writer has penned – “demands my soul, life, my all”? (CW 125) I pray the answer comes quickly, and easily, to your lips…only Jesus!

Amen.

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