Jesus’ First Sermon

Luke 4:16-21

He began teaching in their synagogues.  He had ready-made venues in which to teach.  Every town and village had one.  All it took to have a synagogue was ten Jewish men.  They faced Jerusalem.  So in Galilee they would face south. That is to say when the teacher or the preacher was giving the sermon, he would be facing south.  When people turned to go out the door they would be going south, they would be headed toward Jerusalem. Synagogues that were built to the east of Jerusalem faced west.  Synagogues that were built to the south of Jerusalem faced north because that was where the temple was.  For Jesus, every synagogue He ever preached in faced Calvary, and so He taught in the synagogues.

Two hundred and forty towns and villages in Galilee, and each would have at least one, but larger towns would have multiple, and some say Jerusalem had hundreds.  So there were plenty of places for Him to teach.  His priority was teaching the Word. 

Now if there was not a synagogue, if they didn't have ten men, the Jewish people, typically the women and the few men that were there, would gather by a running stream or they would gather on the seashore on the Sabbath to worship.  That is what you have in Philippi.  Philippi was in Greece, as you know, and when Paul went to Philippi in Acts 16, there was a group of Jewish women meeting by the river and that is an indication that there weren't enough men to build a synagogue.

Look at churches in America.  You go into the average town and there are churches all over.  The smaller the town, the fewer the churches, the larger the city, the more churches, and that's the way synagogues developed.

Jerusalem had always been centered on the Temple.  You need to understand the difference between the Temple and the synagogue.  There were hundreds and hundreds of synagogues, there was only one Temple. There were priests who served in the Temple but there were many more priests who weren't there. 

But in the entire Old Testament you will never find reference to a synagogue.  They were just a place.  There were no sacrifices offered there.  All of that and the feasts and such happened only in Jerusalem.

But what happened in 586 B.C. really shattered the Jewish structure.  When the Babylonians came in in 586 B.C. and demolished Jerusalem and tore the wall down and destroyed the Temple.  The people then who returned after the captivity were in need of some manner, some method of getting together and hearing the law of God taught.

Now the term "synagogue" is from the Greek word sunaggs, which simply means a gathering place.  And that's exactly what they were.  They were not a temple.

Zerubbabel was the guy who led them in the rebuilding of the Temple after they had rebuilt their city and their wall.  But even then the synagogues continued to exist because they served such a wonderful need. 

John 18:20

²⁰ Jesus answered him, I spake openly to the world; I ever taught in the synagogue, and in the temple.

All the Jews still went to the temple for all the great ceremonies and all the great national feasts, as well as attending their local synagogues.  And by the way, history tell us there was even a synagogue on Temple Hill, right on the Temple mount there was a synagogue.  And the ruler of that synagogue was a man named Theodotus, who also was a priest.  So he was both a priest who served in the Temple and the ruler of a synagogue right on the Temple Mount.  So there was no competition. They had differing functions.

The apostles did the same thing Jesus did.  When the apostle Paul went out and launched world ministry, where did he go when he went into a town?  Every time, the synagogue, was the first place he went.  God in wonderful providence gave birth to the synagogues which became the place where the gospel was spread.

In fact, the synagogues actually became the place where the churches were born.  Paul would go into a synagogue, lead some people to Christ, and then out of that synagogue they would establish a church. 

The synagogue had a full week's schedule.  There could be teaching in some synagogues every day.  Often there was an elementary school.  Synagogues also became local courts, led by the elders. 

Now let's say today we were in Nazareth and we were going to go to the synagogue.  What would the order of worship be like?  A synagogue service would begin with singing and generally they would sing psalms.  There was a series of prayers and after the prayers there were “amens” from the people.  Then there were traditional blessings that people would recite.

Then came the main point. All of that was leading up to the Scripture.  Always the Torah was read, the first five books of the Old Testament, Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Deuteronomy and Numbers, the law written by Moses.  Then they would read the prophets, the Haftorah, as it is called.  Then would come the sermon.  And that is when the appointed preacher gave an exposition of Scripture. 

That is a pattern that has been followed by the church, borrowed, if you will, from the synagogues.  And it's an appropriate pattern and a wonderful one.

So here is a perfect location for Jesus to go into teach and that's exactly what He did.  That's why we do what we do.  That's why I do what I do because that's the pattern My Lord established for me.

v. 16        Why is this the launch point for Luke's discussion for the ministry of Jesus?

The answer to that is very simple, because what Jesus said on this occasion identifies Him as Messiah and perfectly defines His ministry. 

It's sad to say this, but this visit to Nazareth actually sets in motion Jesus' death.  It's amazing.  Before this Sabbath day is over, they try to kill Jesus.  They try to throw Him off a cliff.  Let me rewind and set the scene for you.

After nearly a year of ministry in Judea, He comes back to fame.  You can be sure that when He went to the synagogue that day, it was packed.

As was His custom, He entered the synagogue on the Sabbath.  I love that.  Wherever you see Jesus in the gospels, you will find Him on the Sabbath in the synagogue.  When it came to the day of worship, the day which God had prescribed for worship, He was there, always faithful to the synagogue services. 

On this occasion, however, something was different.  Not only was He now famous for His miracles in the southlands, but now, having returned home, for the first time, He stood up in the synagogue to read. 

vv. 17-20         It was the first time, as far as we know, that He taught in a synagogue. The synagogue was His own in Nazareth.  So the book of the prophet Isaiah was handed to Him.  It was a scroll.  Isaiah could be contained on one scroll. We know that because when the Dead Sea Scrolls were found Isaiah was contained on one scroll. 

The place He read is Isaiah 61:1 and 2. When Jesus wanted to identify Himself He read the Old Testament.  Christianity is not a new religion, it is the culmination, the glory of the Old Testament.  The Old Testament speaks of Jesus.  Luke 24:27, Jesus talking to the disciples on the road to Emmaus, it says, "And beginning with Moses and all the prophets He explained to them the things concerning Himself in all the Scriptures."  He was opening the Old Testament and the Old Testament was all about Him.

Now they knew that this reading was messianic.  There are four concise components to Messiah's mission, to bring good news to the poor, to announce release to the captives, to give sight to the blind, and to liberate the oppressed.  You can't have a better summary of the mission of Messiah than that.  The Messiah comes to change those tragic conditions.  This speaks of His saving work.

v. 19        What is the year of the Lord?  It's the year the Messiah arrives. 

Then He rolled it back up and sat down, because being seated was the traditional posture for teaching. 

v. 20        What is He going to say? 

v. 21        Whoa! Nobody ever said that, no preacher had ever said that.  They had always said, "Someday," not "today." Jesus says, "Everything you've been waiting for is here, everything you've been hoping for stands before you.  Today, right here, right now, this scripture has been fulfilled," perfect tense verb indicating an existing state of fulfillment.  The prophecy of God through Isaiah is no more in the future.  It is now.  The Messiah is here.  Salvation has come.  The messianic age has begun.  He was saying, "I am the Messiah."

Now you say, "That's a very short sermon," verse 21.  I don't think it was that short because verse 21 says "And He began to say…" 

They had had a lot of sermons about the Messiah but now they had one from Him.  They had a lot of sermons about the age to come. Now they were in it.  Dramatic.  Before it's over, verse 29, they try to throw Him off a cliff.  Amazing, but we'll have to wait to see that.