Have faith in His Word (Luke 4b)

Have Faith in His Word

Luke 4:14-30
Key verse 4:26-27

Today I came here with a high expectation because TL will serve us with a special lunch after this worship service. When I was visiting Korea a while ago, I ate with some friends there a similar food TL will prepare today, which is called “Sabu Sabu.” I love it. By the way, I enjoyed eating with my old friends and Bible students in Korea.  Some of them still work in UBF and some others in other ministries. It was a pleasure to see them in God. But when I remembered someone who was not there, I felt sorry. He enthusiastically served God and then lost his faith years later because he could not marry a girl in the church he liked. He was a promising man but lost Jesus because of his own desire. (God may have mercy on him and restore his faith.)

In today’s passage, Jesus visited his hometown to bless them. They initially welcomed him but did not accept him in the end. So, Jesus was rejected and had to leave there, doing nothing for them. Why did they reject Jesus? Why did they miss such a good opportunity and privilege to know him and receive God’s blessing. Like the people in Jesus hometown and the person I mentioned just before, many people today welcome Jesus initially and then reject Jesus. Sadly, they fail to not only have faith in Jesus but also to receive God’s blessing and salvation given through Jesus. How can we receive salvation and stay blessed in Jesus? What is the faith that God wants us to have? I pray that after this message all of us here may know and have the faith God is pleased with.

14 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.

After being tempted by the devil, Jesus victoriously returned to Galilee. He was full of the power of the Holy Spirit. He began his public ministry in Galilee, particularly centered on Capernaum. He was teaching in their synagogues. What was their response? They praised him and news about him spread from mouth to mouth through the whole countryside. Why was it so sensational? It was because his teaching was equipped with the Spirit (4:32) so that it had authority and was so powerful. It differed from the teachings of the teachers of the law (Matt 7:28-29), which was based on human traditions and knowledge and so lacked power.

In the course of his successful ministry in Galilee, Jesus visited his hometown Nazareth, which was also in Galilee. Nazareth was a very small, insignificant town where Jesus had been brought up. Probably, the people of Nazareth heard about news of Jesus. It must have been their honor and pride that such a famous teacher came from their own town. Jesus wanted to bless his hometown people.

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,

It was the Sabbath day. As was his custom, Jesus went into the synagogue and stood up to read. Sabbath services at a synagogue involved singing, prayer, Scripture reading, sermon, and blessing. The concluding portion of the Sabbath service would be a reading by one man from one of the prophetic books of the Bible, which was followed by a final benediction and exchange of Sabbath good wishes. Jesus was likely appointed to lead this last portion. The scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him. What passage did he find?

18 “The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free, 19 to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”

This passage was Isaiah 61:1-2. It was about the ministry of the Messiah. Basically, this prophecy says,

·         The Messiah would be with the Holy Spirit.

·         He would preach good news to the poor, saving people from their afflictions and sins and proclaiming God’s favor.

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.”

It was the custom of the synagogue to stand while reading and to sit while teaching. Jesus sat down to expound the passage. See how attentive the people were to Jesus. They heard news about Jesus – what he did in Galilee and people’s praise for him. And now the man read the passage, a very famous passage about the Messiah. They must have been very curious and even excited about what Jesus would say about the passage. They might have thought that the passage had to do with Jesus. They fixed their eyes on him, trying not to miss any word from his mouth. They waited silently for Jesus to speak. There should have been high expectations among them. And finally Jesus opened his mouth and said, “Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.” Then he began to teach about the passage, probably in connection with what he did in Capernaum and what they heard about him. His teaching was clear and powerful. We know that as Isaiah prophesized Jesus was born of the Holy Spirit and baptized by the Holy Spirit. With the Holy Spirit he also overcame the devil’s temptation and began his public ministry. In the next passage, we will see that Jesus set people free from devils and sickness and preached good news of the kingdom of God. It was very convincing that he was the Messiah Israel had longed for. It was shocking and exciting that finally the prophecy of the Messiah was fulfilled in their hearing.  What was their response?

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.

Jesus continued to teach about the passage. They all were amazed by Jesus’ words. They had never heard such powerful and gracious words. Now they wondered who he was and how he was related to the passage.  Some whispered, “He might be the Messiah.” Then others asked, “Isn’t this Joseph’s son?” Their wonder turned into confusion and then doubt. “We know he was Joseph’s son. He was a carpenter after his father and did not receive any rabbinic training. How come he has such knowledge of Scripture? We can’t trust what he said. He can’t be the Messiah!” Then, Jesus knew their thinking. What was their problem? Jesus quoted two proverbs familiar to them.

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.

First, “Physician, heal yourself.” Suppose that a man should attempt to heal another when he was himself ill. It would be natural to ask him first to cure himself and thus to make it sure that he was worthy of confidence. (What if you go to see a doctor and he is coughing continually in your face? What if you see your surgeon’s hands shaking?) This was what they were thinking. "Hey Jesus, here you profess to be able to deliver us from our sins and afflictions. Your teaching is awesome. But we have known you from your childhood. You are a son of carpenter. So, it is hard for us to trust what you said. Here is a deal. You performed miracles in Capernaum. Do here in your hometown what you did there so that we can believe your words." They demanded that Jesus show the proper evidence by miracles or something spectacular so that they could believe in him. To his dismay, Jesus’ hometown people would not accept him unless he showed miracles. What was Jesus’ answer?

 24 “Truly I tell you,” he continued, “no prophet is accepted in his hometown.

Jesus quoted another proverb: “No prophet is accepted in his hometown.” Hometown people readily failed to accept prophets who came from their hometown because of their human thinking and preconceived ideas. Jesus’ hometown people were not an exception. They asked, “Isn’t this Joseph’s son?” They judged Jesus based on his human background. But it was not the real reason he was not accepted by them. Here Jesus presented two examples showing their real problem.

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.”

Both Elijah and Elisha were the most powerful prophets in their history. They performed many miracles but they often performed miracles for gentiles and not for their people Israel. Why? Here are two examples.

One time there was a severe famine of three and a half years in Israel during the time of King Ahab. King of Ahab killed many of God’s prophets and tried to kill Elijah as well. Elijah fled and became a refuge. No one would or could provide him with food. And so God sent him to a widow in the region of Sidon. Elijah asked her to give him some food. But the widow had only a handful of flour in a jar and a little olive oil in a jug, which was barely enough for a single meal. Actually, she was about to eat the last meal with her son and die. But Elijah said to her, “Don’t be afraid…first make a small loaf of bread for me from what you have and bring it to me, and then make something for yourself and your son. 14 For this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘The jar of flour will not be used up and the jug of oil will not run dry until the day the Lord sends rain on the land.’” It sounds crazy, doesn’t it? Are you going to give your last food to a stranger when you and your child are dying? But amazingly the widow did as Elijah told her. What happened then? As Elijah said, the jar of flour was not used up and the jug of oil did not run dry. So Elijah could stay at her house. Later he even brought the widow’s son back to life when he died. The widow confessed, “Now I know that you are a man of God and that the word of the Lord from your mouth is the truth.”

Another example was Elisha. One day Naaman the commander of the army of the king of Aram came to Elisha because he heard about his power and believed him to heal his leprosy. So, Naaman expected Elisha to come out and call on the name of God and wave his hand over the spot and cure him of his leprosy. But Elisha did not even see him. Instead, he sent a messenger and said to Naaman, “Go, wash yourself seven times in the Jordan, and your flesh will be restored and you will be cleansed.” Naaman was so angry about Elisha who treated him that way. But later he humbled himself and obeyed as Elisha said. Amazingly his leprosy was healed. He said, “Now I know that there is no God in all the world except in Israel.”  

What are the common things in these two? Both the widow in Sidon and Naaman the Syrian were Gentiles. There were many more hungry people in Israel. There were many lepers in Israel. But God sent his prophets to these Gentiles. Why?

Before these gentiles saw miracles, they were asked to believe and obey the word of the prophets. Elijah said to the widows that she should give her last food to him first and then food would be provided for her. Elisha commanded Naaman to wash his body seven times in the Jordan. Though it was hard to believe, they obeyed. How? They showed their respect and faith in the word of God’s servants and then experienced the power of God. However, the Israel people those days did not see or experience such miracles because they did not have such faith in the word of God.

Through these examples, Jesus was saying that his hometown people had no faith in his words. They heard Jesus’ word and enjoyed it and praised Jesus. However, they did not accept his words. Instead they depreciated his words and asked something else for them to believe him. They thought Jesus’ words were not sufficient for them to accept him so they demanded more evidences like miracles. Their fundamental problem was not that Jesus was a son of carpenter or that Jesus did not provide proper evidences. It was their lack of faith in his word. They enjoyed Jesus’ word but did not believe it. Jesus would not show miracles for them to believe him because such faith is not true faith and does not last long.

John 2:23-24 “23 Now while he was in Jerusalem at the Passover Festival, many people saw the signs he was performing and believed in his name. 24 But Jesus would not entrust himself to them, for he knew all people.”

The reason Jesus performed miracles was to help people’s faith in him and so in his word. God puts everything about his salvation upon his word. He puts his knowledge, his promises, his power, and his characters on his word. We know him through his word. We can experience his power through his word. We can have relationship with him through his word. Nevertheless, mankind did not believe him. So his word came to us in flesh and he is Jesus Christ. So, in that sense believing God is trusting his word and thus believing in Jesus. When we say we trust in God, respect him, fear him, and honor him, it means that we believe and respect his word as God himself. (God = His word) Think about how God made a relationship with Abraham. By his word! By having him obey his word and thus having him fear him and honor him. So, our salvation begins with the word of God.

Romans 10:17 “Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word about Christ.”

Our faith also grows with the word of God. Our relationship with God grows through faith in the word of God. However, I do not mean we don’t need some spiritual experiences. But the problem is that many people seek those things first and even put them over the word of God as if his word were insufficient. It is like asking God to show how much he has in his bank account for us or what perks he can provide for us, as evidence for us to believe him. Such faith is shallow and even dangerous. True faith comes when we believe the word of God alone.

I do not think that TL and BY saw some miracles and then came to believe. No, they first accepted the word of God as truth and then came to receive Jesus’ salvation. I myself did not see any miracles or something like that when I became a Christian. I simply believed God’s word that if I confessed my sins I would be saved by Jesus. Since then, I have grown more in God’s grace and blessing. By the way, God has already showed the greatest miracle to all; that is, Jesus’ death and resurrection.

As we can see so far, we will never know Jesus unless we believe his word. We can’t see God and experience his power and receive his blessing unless we have faith in his word. You may have knowledge of the word and love of the word. That is great. But Jesus wants you to believe his word. Then, you will experience the true power of God.

However, Satan continually hinders us from believing the word of God through our human ideas, our sinful desire, and our greed and pride. Remember how Jesus overcame the devil’s temptation. He said, “It is written…” He deeply trusted in God and thus in his word. Do you believe God? Then, believe his word and make commitment to it. 

Are you in trouble? Have no peace in your heart? Do you need a job? Do you feel dull? You don’t know what to do? Are you not sure of God or your salvation? God sure will help you. But he first wants us to put our trust in his word, which is written in the Bible. Remember your key verse. Hold to what he says to us through daily bread and weekly Bible study. I pray that we all can believe the word of God absolutely and fully, not conditionally or partially. Then we will see the power of God.

Jesus told this truth in hope that his hometown people would believe him based on his word and then see the power of God. How did they respond?

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.

All the people in the synagogue were furious when they heard this. They got angry at Jesus’ refusal of their demand and his comparing them with gentiles. The Sabbath service was supposed to be finished with blessing and good wishes, not with this kind of offense. They got up in anger, drove him out of the town, and tried to push him down the cliff. But Jesus walked right through the crowd and went on his way. It was not the time yet for him to die. Sadly, however, he had to leave his hometown without doing anything for them because of their unbelief. As a result, they missed the opportunity to know Jesus as the Messiah and receive God’s blessing.

This sad story was not only about the people in Nazareth but also about many of modern people. Many people still come to church, but fail to know Jesus as their savior. They say they would believe if their problems are solved, if their desire was satisfied, if they see miracles or receive blessing. Some churches try to satisfy their desire and needs, providing fellowship, modern style praise worship, rock band, baby care for parents, etc. Such things should not be ignored. However, unless they eventually accept the word of God and make a commitment to it, they will leave church without salvation. Our desire for something else other than the word of God leads us to unbelief and failure. We should have faith in his word first, not in something else. Do not let Jesus slip away from you because of your unbelief. God wants us to believe his word first and then we will see him and his power.

As such, faith is not a feeling. Faith is not knowledge. Faith is trust in God and thus in his word. Faith is choosing to take God at his word. If we do not believe his word, we are actually dishonoring him, displeasing him, rejecting him, and thus losing all kinds of his blessing, most of all his salvation through his son Jesus Christ. Thankfully, we are privileged to study the Bible in a good environment. Do not take this for granted. Take his word sincerely and seriously. I can say this: “No faith in His Word no blessings.”

This year we are praying that we can live as God’s children. We have received salvation through the word of God. Likewise, we can live as God’s children and grow continually by faith in His Word. That is the reason we emphasize the word of God a lot in our ministry. I pray that we may please and honor God by believing his word, holding on to it, not just knowing it, so that we all can see the power of God among us.

by David Yun