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Epiphany 3 2025
Immanuel Lutheran Church, Hamilton, Ohio
Pastor Kevin Jud
January 26, 2025
Nehemiah 8:1–3, 5–6, 8–10, 1 Corinthians 12:12–31a, Luke 4:16–30
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Text: pastorjud.org
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itunes: bit.ly/pastorjud
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The most monumental occurrence in all the history of the world is happening, but it is happening so quietly at first and then grows with bursts of excitement followed by long periods of silence. An angel appears to a young woman in Nazareth to let her know that she would be the mother of the Son of God. Joseph is told by an angel in a dream. Unborn John the Baptist and his mother Elizabeth rejoice at Jesus’ presence when Mary comes to visit. It is all very quiet. But then on the night of Jesus’ birth the big event is announced by an angel along with an army of angels to shepherds near Bethlehem. The shepherds spread the Good News. At the Temple, Simeon and Anna recognize the newborn Christ and spread the word. The Magi from the East follow a star to the one born King of the Jews. At twelve years old Jesus is back at the Temple and you wonder if any of the teachers have an inkling that this boy is the Christ. And then 18 years of quiet until Jesus heads down to the Jordan River to be baptized by John. Afterwards… Luke 3:21–22 (ESV) 21 … the heavens were opened, 22 and the Holy Spirit descended on him in bodily form, like a dove; and a voice came from heaven, “You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased.” The witnesses must be astonished and tell everyone what they saw. The people of Capernaum see Jesus drive out demons and perform miracles and the news of Jesus and what He is teaching and doing spreads all around Galilee.
And then Jesus returns to His hometown of Nazareth, a small village 30 miles west of Capernaum. The people of Nazareth have heard about all what their home town boy is doing in Capernaum and the surrounding areas. They have heard of the teachings and the driving out of demons and the healing of the sick and even turning water into wine. They have wondered when will Jesus come home to visit His family so they can see Him face to face and watch Him do some miracles and other amazing things? And now He is here. Jesus is here…in Nazareth…on the Sabbath…at the synagogue. He stands up and slowly walks to the center of the synagogue to read and is handed a scroll from the prophet Isaiah. A murmur is heard from those seated on the three levels of stone benches surrounding the central floor. Jesus sets the scroll on the reading platform and rolls through it until He comes to this passage.
Luke 4:18–19 (ESV) 18 “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, 19 to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”
What does this mean? Why did He read that section? Is that all? Jesus rolls up the scroll and hands it to the attendant and sits down. All eyes are on him. What will He do next? Luke 4:21 (ESV) 21 And he began to say to them, “Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.”
Jesus is saying. Luke 4:18–19 (ESV) 18 “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, 19 to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”
Jesus announces that He is the one Isaiah is talking about. He declares in His hometown synagogue that He is the Holy One of God, the Christ, the Messiah. He has been doing amazing things in Capernaum and the surrounding area. He has been driving out demons and healing the sick and infirm. Crazy things happened when He was baptized in the Jordan. They have heard all that Jesus has done and now they just heard Jesus declare He is the fulfillment of prophecy. This is incredible. This is an historic moment. This is amazing. But hold on. Hang on just one minute here. We know this guy. How is it that this guy is declaring Himself to be the Messiah?
Jesus knows what they want. They do not want to take Jesus’ word that He is the Messiah; they want Him to prove it; to do something miraculous right here. The people of Nazareth have known Jesus His whole life and now He takes a trip down to the Jordan to get baptized and comes back claiming to be the Messiah. Who does this guy think He is? It is said that familiarity breeds contempt. The people of Nazareth think they know everything about Jesus, but they are missing the most important thing. And so, when Jesus declares He is the anointed one, they want Jesus to give them a show.
There is a danger of becoming so familiar with Jesus that you forget the most important thing. Jesus’ name gets used in so many ways. People use it as an expletive to replace foul language. His name is tossed around as if it had no value or power. Politicians and celebrities will invoke Jesus to try to bolster their positions on various political and social issues, but rarely, if ever, do they talk about who Jesus is and what has He come to do. They use Jesus but lose that Jesus sacrificed Himself on the cross to pay for the sins of the world. They use Jesus for their own purposes, but forget that Jesus came to save sinners like themselves. Many people claim to be Christians, followers of Jesus, but live like unbelievers. They view God’s commands as mild suggestions at best. People reduce Jesus and become so familiar with their reduced Jesus that they get confused and forget who Jesus is and what He has done. In our society we have a therapeutic Jesus, a life coach Jesus, a political Jesus, a social justice Jesus and so many others. So many ways that Jesus is reduced to fit people’s desires. The people of Nazareth desire for Jesus to do a show for them to prove what He is saying, but that is not how Jesus operates. They get angry and try to kill Jesus and then they get their miracle as Jesus just walks away.
With Jesus coming in the flesh as a baby in Bethlehem it can be easy to forget that Jesus is Lord. Jesus looks like a regular guy and it can be hard to remember He is God in flesh. He is the savior from sin. You have heard all that Jesus has done. That he died and rose from the dead. You know Jesus is God in flesh, but there is a great temptation to want Jesus to be a manageable Jesus; a Jesus you can control. Not Jesus, Lord of the universe, but my Jesus, my assistant, my helper, who does what I tell Him to do. The temptation is to want a Jesus who is all about helping you to be successful in life; a Jesus who is an accessory rather than Jesus, Lord of your life.
There is a similar danger with the Word of God. When Jesus reads the scroll in the synagogue in Nazareth there is likely one copy of the scriptures in town. Scrolls were hand copied and cost as much as a house. That was the case until Gutenberg invented the movable type printing press around 1454. Even then a Gutenberg Bible cost around three years’ wages so normal folks could never afford it. So, just like the people of Nazareth, until fairly recently with the industrial revolution and lower printing costs, coming to weekly worship to hear the Bible read was your only way to learn the Word of God. The Bible at Church was precious; it was the only one in town.
Over the years printing technology has evolved and now Bibles are printed in abundance. You can purchase on at the dollar store. What used to cost three years wages can now be had for less than 10 minutes wages. You can download a Bible app on your phone for free. Bibles are plentiful. There is such an abundance that you can start to forget how precious the Word of God is. There is a danger that with Holy Scripture being so abundant we take it for granted and forget its value and power. Just like with Jesus. We can start to think we know all about Jesus and forget His power and value. We can forget the reason Jesus came to earth.
At Jesus’ baptism the Holy Spirit descended upon him and the voice of God the Father said, Luke 3:22 (ESV) 22 … “You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased.” The Spirit of the Lord is upon Jesus. He is the anointed one to proclaim good news to the poor. Jesus is the Messiah come to set the people free from bondage to sin, death and the devil. As He travelled, Jesus would often free people in physical bondage to sickness and demon possession. This was amazing and miraculous work by Jesus, but this is not the main reason Jesus came. His physical healings point us to Him freeing all people from the spiritual bondage to sin and death that has bound people since Adam and Eve fell. Through His sacrificial death and His conquering resurrection, Jesus frees the whole creation.
Jesus is God in flesh, God with us who has come to be the sacrifice for the sins of the world. He is the Lord Almighty. He is Prince of Peace. He is the King of Kings. He is Immanuel, God with us. Stay on guard against letting being God with us make him so familiar that you forget He is God with us and reduce Jesus to your helper instead of your savior.
That is what makes weekly worship so powerful. Here you remember what Jesus has done for you. Here, as you gather in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, you remember that you are a child of God adopted in baptism and set apart from the multitude of unbelievers. Gathered together, you hear God’s Word of forgiveness and love. Here you receive the Body and Blood of Jesus for the forgiveness of your sins. Here you remember the power and value of God’s Word, the power and value of His sacraments of Baptism and Holy Communion, and most of all the power and value and Lordship of His Son, your Savior, Jesus of Nazareth. Jesus is Lord and Savior. He is almighty God who has come to save you. Amen.