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This universe
is broken. It is a mess! Because of the rebellion
of Adam and Eve against God, and because of the
fall of man, powerful, malignant, destructive,
evil and deadly forces shattered the universe
and were released against man. The world and humanity
was cursed. We became subject to death. We became
slaves of sin. We were sold into the satanic slave
market of sin and death. The whole world of human
beings now lies under the power of the evil god
of this world. We are headed to death, not life;
the first death - physical death, followed by
the even worse Second Death - eternal death in
Hell, Gehenna, the Lake of Fire.
Mankind
has been devastated by these forces. Our connection
to our wonderful Creator, our souls, our spirits,
our minds, our emotions, our bodies, our will,
our sexuality, our relationships with one another,
our relationship with the Earth and its creatures
and our environment, have all been severely damaged.
But,
there is hope! All the damage done by sin and
death, all the mighty power of Satan and the fallen
angels, can be overcome! But, we can’t overcome
the damage, destruction and devastation on our
own. Our ablest politicians can’t do it. Our best
economists can’t do it. Our most capable educators
and psychologists can’t do it. Our smartest scientists
won’t be able to do what is needed. Our greatest
entrepreneurs, even using the most efficient use
of capital, won’t be able to do it.
We need
something bigger, something greater, something
more powerful. We need better help, more profound
and deeper healing. We need help from outside.
We need help from God! And, that help has already
come! That Help has come to us in the form of
a Person - Yeshua, the Jewish Messiah. The Savior
has come! He has arrived bringing lost and dying
mankind the help that we so desperately need!
And, that is what Luke is trying to tell us.
Luke
began his book by telling us that the way of the
King of Israel had been prepared by a special
prophet and forerunner - John the Immerser. The
God-Man Himself had been prepared. He had been
brought up in a godly, Jewish, Torah-centered
home. At age 30 He had been immersed. He had been
anointed by the Spirit. He had been affirmed by
God. He had been tested in the Judean wilderness
by the most powerful source of evil in the universe,
and succeeded where all others had failed.
We are
in deep darkness. A very deep thick darkness covers
the peoples of the world. We are very confused,
full of chaos and death. Isaiah told us that a
great light would rise and shine first in Galilee.
Yeshua is the Light and He first started shining
among the Jewish people in the northern part of
Israel. Now Yeshua returned north to the Galilee
in the power of the Spirit, close to God, close
to the Spirit of God, and full of divine power.
The power
of the Spirit in Yeshua was seen by the way God
used Him to teach the Word of God and by the miracles
God used Him to accomplish. He began teaching
in the synagogues of northern Israel, and everyone
who heard Him teach was very impressed with the
wisdom of the young carpenter of Nazareth, who
was not trained by the great rabbis in Jerusalem.
The power of the Spirit was also seen by the way
God used Him to heal people of various physical
illnesses, and to heal people by removing demons
from them.
This
powerful teaching ministry and supernatural healing
ministry made a tremendous impact on the towns
and cities of northern Israel, especially since
there had not been a great miracle-working prophet
among the Jewish people in hundreds of years.
Now, here was one, doing great things that helped
us and healed and; here was one who was teaching
us a clear pure word from God.
Luke
gives us an example of His powerful teaching.
It took in the synagogue in Nazareth, where Yeshua
had been brought up. Now, we might think that
in His home town, Yeshua would do the greatest
miracles there, the greatest miracles there, and
give the most profound teaching there; and be
praised and loved the most there, from those who
were closest to Him and knew Him best. But, that
did not happen.
And
as was His custom, Yeshua entered the synagogue
on the Sabbath, and stood up to read. And the
book of the prophet Isaiah was handed to Him
(not Second Isaiah, or Third, Forth or Fifth Isaiah,
but simply the unified book of the one Isaiah).
And He opened the book and found the place
where it was written: The Spirit of
the Lord is upon Me, because He anointed (from
mashach - messiahed) Me to preach the good news
to the poor. He has sent Me to proclaim release
to the captives, and recovery of sight to the
blind, to set free those who are oppressed, to
proclaim the favorable year of the Lord. That
is from Isaiah 61:1-2. And He closed the book,
gave it back to the attendant and sat down; and
the eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on
Him. And He began to say to them, “Today this
Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.”
In other
words, Yeshua said: This part of the divinely
inspired Holy Scriptures, which Isaiah wrote 700
years ago, which predicted the coming of the Anointed
One, the Messiah, the very special human being
who would have the Spirit of God on Him in a very
special way; the Messiah, empowered by the Spirit
of the Lord who was on Him, would bring a message
of hope and good news to afflicted humanity -
especially the poor of poor, afflicted humanity;
the Messiah, empowered by the Spirit of God, would
begin to reverse the curse, and begin to heal
damaged human being, who are captive to the dominion
of darkness and the overmastering forces of sin
and death; the Messiah, empowered by the Spirit
of God, would begin the spiritual and physical
healing of humanity. Now is that very special,
long awaited time that Isaiah told us about! And,
I am that very special man, anointed and empowered
by the Spirit of God. I am the Messiah!
Wow!
That is powerful! That is bold! Amazingly simple,
yet so profound! The long awaited Messiah, the
ultimate Prophet, Priest and King was finally
here among us! The answer to our greatest problems,
the Redeemer, the Savior, the Healer of Body and
Soul, was here! Everyone, the whole world, especially
the Chosen People, should deliriously welcome
the King!
I am
not sure that everyone in the synagogue understood
what Yeshua was saying. But still, it was obvious
that what Yeshua said was profound. Luke gives
us the initial response of the people at the synagogue
of Nazareth to this powerful teaching. The people
were impressed. They were impressed by the things
He said; they were impressed by the reports they
had heard about miracles that had heard that He
had done in other places. But their initial positive
impression was followed by unbelief and rejection.
They
were saying, “Is this not Joseph's son?”
In other words: “We know Yeshua and His father
the carpenter; He is from here. He was not trained
to be a rabbi. So, anything Yeshua says and does
can’t be that important”. Their familiarity bred
contempt, and Yeshua knew it.
How very
sad that He came to His own, but His own did not
receive Him. Those who were closest to Him, who
should have loved Him the best and accepted Him
the most, rejected Him. This tragic rejection
of Yeshua by the majority of the people of Nazareth
will foreshadow a greater rejection - the rejection
of the majority of the nation of Israel, and tragic
rejection of the Son of God that has resulted
in such devastating consequences for so many centuries
for the Jewish people.
Yeshua
understood that the people in the synagogue had
rejected Him. But, instead of trying to make nice,
and maintain a relationship with them that was
based on Yeshua-Rejection, which is so utterly
destructive to human life, Messiah tried to bring
into focus their rejection, and to show them how
serious their rejection of Him was, and to overcome
their rejection. And so, still in the synagogue,
He responded as follows:
And
He said to them, "No doubt you will quote
this proverb to Me, 'Physician, heal yourself!
Whatever we heard was done at Capernaum, do here
in your hometown as well.'" And He said,
"Truly I say to you, no prophet is welcome
in his hometown. Familiarity often breeds
contempt, and in this case, because of their unbelief
and rejection, Yeshua couldn’t and wouldn’t do
many miracles in His hometown of Nazareth.
Yeshua
continued teaching them their that their rejection
of Him, which limited His desire and ability to
do miracles in Nazareth, was a very serious and
damaging thing, and was similar to the rejections
of some of our great prophets by the majority
of Israel at other times, which therefore limited
their ministry among the Jewish people:
But
I say to you in truth, there were many widows
in Israel in the days of Elijah, when the sky
was shut up for three years and six months, when
a great famine came over all the land; and yet
Elijah was sent to none of them, but only to Zarephath,
in the land of Sidon, to a woman who was a widow.
And there were many lepers in Israel in the time
of Elisha the prophet; and none of them was cleansed,
but only Naaman the Syrian." Yeshua
was like Elijah and Elisha, and the majority of
the people of Nazareth were like the apostate
Jewish people of the northern Kingdom of Israel
during the time of those great prophets!
And
all the people in the synagogue were filled with
rage as they heard these things; and they got
up and drove Him out of the city, and led Him
to the brow of the hill on which their city had
been built, in order to throw Him down the cliff.
Their spiritual darkness, and their lack
of confidence in Yeshua, and their unbelief, and
their rejection of Him, accompanied by this clear,
stinging rebuke, resulted in a murderous rage.
If left to themselves, they would have put to
death the greatest of the prophets, and the Messiah,
and the Savior of the World, and the Son of God!
But,
it was not Yeshua’s time to die, and God protected
Him. But passing through their midst, He went
His way.
And
He came down to Capernaum, a city of Galilee,
and He was teaching them on the Sabbath; and they
were amazed at His teaching, for His message was
with authority.
And,
here is an example of the authority that accompanied
His wise teaching: In the synagogue there was
a man possessed by the spirit of an unclean demon,
and he cried out with a loud voice, "Let
us alone! What business do we have with each other,
Yeshua of Nazareth? Have You come to destroy us?
I know who You are - the Holy One of God!"
Demons
are real. They are pure evil. They surround humanity.
They to a large degree, control humanity; and
under the right circumstances, they can possess
and control individual human beings. This was
one of those human beings. And, when a demon possesses
and controls a human being, it is very difficult
for other human beings to free that demon-possessed
human from the unclean spirit’s control.
But Yeshua
could! Easily. With power. With authority! Yeshua
rebuked him, saying, "Be quiet and come out
of him!" And when the demon had thrown him
down in the midst of the people, he came out of
him without doing him any harm.
And,
what Yeshua was able to do with this one demon-possessed
individual, one day He will do on are larger scale
for all humanity. He will crush the head of the
serpent, freeing humanity from the dominion of
darkness!
The people
in the synagogue of Capernaum understood that
something very special, something very unusual,
something very powerful, something very good,
was happening with Yeshua. Good things can happen
when you are at a good synagogue, so come regularly
to Shema!
And
amazement came upon them all, and they began talking
with one another saying, "What is this message?
For with authority and power He commands the unclean
spirits and they come out." And the report
about Him was spreading into every locality in
the surrounding district.
And,
this was not an isolated incidence. Yeshua didn’t
help and heal and remove demons from just one
or two people in Capernaum, but many! He didn’t
heal just strangers, but friends and relatives
of His closest friends and followers.
Then
He got up and left the synagogue, and entered
Simon's home. Now Simon's mother-in-law was suffering
from a high fever, and they asked Him to help
her. And standing over her, He rebuked the fever,
and it left her; and she immediately got up and
waited on them. While the sun was setting,
all those who had any who were sick with various
diseases brought them to Him; and laying His hands
on each one of them, He was healing them. Demons
also were coming out of many, shouting, "You
are the Son of God!" But rebuking them, He
would not allow them to speak, because they knew
Him to be the Messiah.
The mighty
heralding angel Gabriel declared that Yeshua is
the Son of the Most High, and the Messiah. He
is the unique God-Man.
Zachariah
the priest, the father of John the Baptist, proclaimed
that the King Messiah was about to bring salvation
and redemption - and Yeshua is that Messiah.
The angel
sent to the shepherds told them that Yeshua is
the Lord Messiah, and the Savior of Israel.
Old Shimon
made a blessing, and stated that Yeshua is the
Lord’s Anointed Ruler, a light of revelation to
the Gentiles, and the glory of Israel.
Yeshua
told his parents, even from an early age, that
God was His Father, and that He was the unique
Son of God.
At Yeshua’s
baptism, God the Father declared with a voice
from Heaven that Yeshua was His beloved Son, with
whom He was pleased.
The Holy
Spirit of God voiced His approval of Yeshua when
He descended and remained on Him.
These
declarations of truth about Yeshua were true and
were welcome, because they came from good sources.
The declarations
of truth from the demons, that Yeshua is the Son
of God, and the Messiah, were true but unwelcome
and were silenced by Yeshua, because they came
from an evil, demonic source. That is a warning
that we are not to have contact with, or listen
to that which has it source in pure evil.
Yeshua
was welcome and popular and loved in Capernaum.
He could have stayed there, and enjoyed an easy
life among them. But, He didn’t, because He had
a greater mission. His popularity in one city
and His comfort did not motivate Him. His great
mission did.
When
day came, Yeshua left and went to a secluded place;
and the crowds were searching for Him, and came
to Him and tried to keep Him from going away from
them. But He said to them, "I must preach
the kingdom of God to the other cities also, for
I was sent for this purpose." So He kept
on preaching in the synagogues of Judea.
Here,
in the beginning of His ministry in the Galilee,
Yeshua gave the Jewish people, and humanity, a
taste of what He will do.
He healed
many. One day when He returns, He will heal all!
He cast
out quite a few demons. One day when He returns,
He will cast out all!
He taught
some. One day when He returns, He will teach all!
He is
mankind’s true and hope of hope of for complete
healing of body, soul, spirit and mind.
Yeshua
was accepted by some, but rejected by many. The
closer we are to Yeshua, the holier we will become,
and the more different we will be from the world,
and more rejection we will experience. But the
more useful we will become, and the more the Lord
will use us. And, He will protect us until our
time is finished.
Yeshua
was accepted by some, but rejected by the majority,
even by His hometown. The closer we are to Yeshua,
the more rejection we are likely to experience
by those who are closest to us. But, the more
grace we will receive to endure and know that
our present rejection will be worth future reward.
On Shabbat,
Yeshua regularly went to synagogue, as was His
custom. The closer we are to Yeshua, the more
we will understand the importance of gathering
together with God’s people for teaching and prayer
and service, and build this important spiritual
discipline into our lives.
Yeshua
was and is full of the Holy Spirit and power.
Yeshua taught with wisdom and with authority -
and He still does. The closer we are to Yeshua,
the fuller we will be of the Spirit, and the more
power we will have to help people. The greater
ability we will have to understand, apply and
teach the Word of God with wisdom and with authority.
Yeshua
had a great purpose - to transfer humanity, under
the control of the cruel and deadly kingdom of
darkness, to the Kingdom of God - the good and
beneficial rulership and lordship of God. Everything
else was of less importance. The closer we are
to Yeshua, the more sense of this same purpose
we will have. The less important everything else
will become.
It is
so simple! Get closer to Yeshua!!! If you are
having problems doing so, or don’t know how, make
an appointment to meet with me, and I will help
you.
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