Who Do You Think You Are? Luke 4:14-30

We’ve all heard the stories of the small town boy who grew up in obscurity, with no notoriety or advantages, and made something magnificent out of his life. A couple of weeks ago I listened to an interview with Jensen Huang, the CEO of Nvidia. Jensen is hugely successful today, but he had a tough start in life. Born in Taiwan, the family moved to Thailand when Jensen was five years old. The war in Vietnam was inching closer and closer to the Thai border so Jensen’s father saved up the money and sent Jensen and his brother to the United States to live with an uncle. The uncle sent the two young boys to a boarding school, the Oneida Baptist Institute in rural Kentucky, when Jensen was just 9 years old. It was actually a reform school for troubled boys and Jensen’s roommate was a 17 year old illiterate tough guy who Jensen said was covered in tattoos and scars from knife fights. 

When Jensen first arrived at the school everyone picked on him. He was the youngest kid in the school, he was small for his age, and he didn’t speak English very well. At first Jensen was scared to death of his roommate, but then they struck a deal. Jensen, when he found out his roommate couldn’t read, said, “I’ll teach you to read if you teach me how to bench press.” It worked out well for both boys. 

At Oneida every student had a job and Jensen’s job was cleaning the toilets. Jensen spent two years at Oneida before his parents saved enough money to move to the United States. Jensen said, “Those two years of cleaning toilets taught me that no job is beneath me.”   

In 2019, Jensen and his wife Lori went back to Oneida Baptist Institute, the place where Jensen had learned some of life’s greatest lessons when he was a student back in the 70s. Jensen was 56 years old at the time and the CEO of Nvidia, one of the most successful companies in the world. He and Lori donated $2 million dollars to build a new girl’s dormitory at the school. No Oneida alumni had ever been so celebrated! 

Not all small town boys who grow up and gain great notoriety are celebrated as hometown heroes. In our Scripture for this morning we’ll read about how a hometown hero was run out of town. Turn with me to Luke 4:14-30 and let’s read together. 

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. 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, 17 and the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him. Unrolling it, he found the place where it is written: 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." 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." 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. 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.'" 24 "Truly I tell you," he continued, "no prophet is accepted in his hometown. 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." 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. (Luke 4:14-30 NIV)

Before we get into our Scripture for this morning, it is important to be reminded that Luke did his homework in investigating every detail about Jesus’ life that he could uncover from the interviews he did with eyewitnesses to Jesus’ life and ministry. Let’s go back to the opening verses of Luke’s Gospel where he told his friend Theophilus,

3 With this in mind, since I myself have carefully investigated everything from the beginning, I too decided to write an orderly account for you, most excellent Theophilus, 4 so that you may know the certainty of the things you have been taught. (Luke 1:3-4 NIV)

All of these things which we have studied so far have been written so that not only Theophilus, but each of us, “may know the certainty of the things we have been taught.” I can’t stress strongly enough how important this is for you and me today as we live in a society which is constantly questioning the validity and reliability of God’s Word, constantly questioning the historicity and claims of Jesus, and therefore seeking to undermine the most important truths of God which have been given to you and me. 

Almost seventy-five years ago the great Scottish Bible teacher James S. Stewart was speaking to the faculty and students at Yale Divinity School about the urgent need for preachers to teach God’s Word unashamedly. He said,

Surely in this immensely critical hour, when the soul is destined to meet, amid the crash of old beliefs, the ruthless challenge and the assault of doubt and disillusionment; when history itself is being revised and no one can forecast the shape of things to come–the church needs men, men who knowing the world around them, and knowing the Christ above them, and within them, will set the trumpet of the gospel to their lips and proclaim it boldly, imaginatively, winsomely, and beseechingly. (James S. Stewart).

If the need was great in Pastor Stewart’s day, I would say it is even greater today. In a world full of competing ideologies and philosophies which can be molded and shaped to fit every person’s desire, our souls are yearning, they are crying out for  something more–not another ideology or philosophy, but truth, the truth of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. 

In our Scripture for this morning we find Jesus returning to Galilee “in the power of the Spirit, and news about him spread throughout the whole countryside.” Luke’s chronology in chapters 3-4 tell us that the Holy Spirit descended upon Jesus when He was baptized by John the Baptist in Luke 3 and then Jesus was led by the Holy Spirit into the wilderness where He fasted for 40 days and nights and the devil tempted Jesus on three occasions in the opening verses of Luke 4. Then, in verse 14, we are told Jesus returned to Galilee “in the power of the Spirit.” 

When you read the other Gospels you will find that Luke skipped some of Jesus’ story which took place between verses 13 and 14. He doesn’t tell us about the miracle of changing the water into wine at the wedding at Cana. He doesn’t tell us about Jesus’ visit to Capernaum, sharing the gospel with Nicodemus, or meeting the woman at the well. John tells us about these events and more, but Luke takes us directly to the synagogue in Jesus’ hometown of Nazareth…and for good reason. Luke wants us to know beyond any shadow of doubt, from the beginning of Jesus’ ministry, why He had come and what He would accomplish. 

Jesus grew up in Nazareth. All of the people in the tiny town of Nazareth knew Him. He was a fine boy. He had excelled in Bet Sefer, the Torah learning school all of the boys and girls attended, which was located at the synagogue. Jesus grew up and left town, was baptized by John the Baptist, and began to make an impact in the surrounding area of Judea and Samaria. News spread like wildfire. There were articles written in The Jerusalem Post, The Galilee Gazette, and The Cana Tribune about this amazing young man, barely in His thirties, that everyone was talking about. Then He returned to Galilee, to His hometown of Nazareth, and He was welcomed with open arms. 

The Sabbath day was approaching and the ruler of the synagogue in Nazareth had heard that Jesus was in town. He asked Him if He would read during the Sabbath service? Luke tells us, in verse 16, that Jesus entered the synagogue “as was his custom.” He didn’t just attend Sabbath services now and then, it was his custom to be found in the Lord’s House on the day of worship. 

We can know from the Mishna, a collection of Jewish oral traditions, what the service would have looked like in Jesus’ day. The service would have opened with singing from the book of Psalms. The members of the synagogue would have all then quoted the Shema, which they quoted day and night whether they were at the synagogue or not. The Shema is taken from Deuteronomy 6:4 and it goes like this: “Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one.” “Shema Yisrael, Adonai Eloheinu, Adonai Echad” (שְׁמַע יִשְׂרָאֵל יְהוָה אֱלֹהֵינוּ יְהוָה אֶחָד). There were Scripture readings from the Torah, the Five Books of Moses, as well as the Prophets. It was at this point that the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to Jesus. 

16 …He stood up to read, 17 and the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him. Unrolling it, he found the place where it is written: 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." (Luke 4:16-17 NIV)

Jesus chose the Scripture from Isaiah that He would read that day and it was a combination of Isaiah 61:1-2 and Isaiah 58:6. After Jesus finished reading, we read,

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. (Luke 4:20 NIV)

The Greek word, translated “fastened,” is “ἀτενίζω” (atenizō). It is the same word a teacher might use if she were trying to get her student’s attention, but Jesus didn’t have to say a word–all eyes were on Him. There was a pregnant pause, the room stood still, they waited and watched, and then He said, “Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.” 

Luke tells us, “Everyone in the room spoke well of Him and were amazed at the gracious words that came from His lips.” The people at the synagogue in Nazareth that day were as overwhelmed by Jesus’ teaching as the people who heard the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 7. Take a look at Matthew 7:28-29 and I’ll show you what I mean. 

28 When Jesus had finished saying these things, the crowds were amazed at his teaching, 29 because he taught as one who had authority, and not as their teachers of the law. (Matthew 7:28-29 NIV)

In Nazareth, after Jesus spoke, things changed in an instant. What was a great homecoming for Jesus and the people turned tragic. How did things change so quickly? Well, there’s no doubt some were upset that Jesus left out part of what Isaiah wrote in verses 1-2. Jesus stopped reading when He came to the phrase, “...and the day of the vengeance of our God.” The Jewish people in Jesus’ day believed that when Messiah came He would take out God’s vengeance on all of their enemies, on the Gentiles, but Jesus left that part out. How dare He! Then someone spoke up, “Isn’t that Joseph’s boy?” “We know you son! You are no better than we are. Who do you think you are?”

It wasn’t so much who Jesus was as what He said that was the bigger issue to those who listened in that day at the synagogue in Nazareth. John MacArthur writes,

But most of all, the people resented Jesus’ assertion that salvation is available only to those who acknowledge themselves to be the poor, prisoners, blind, and oppressed. They were not about to accept such labels, since they viewed themselves as righteous. After all, they kept the law (at least outwardly); they honored the Sabbath, paid their tithes, observed the ceremonies, and performed the rituals. …Rather than acknowledge their spiritual poverty, sinful bondage, blindness, oppression, and need of a Savior, they questioned whether Jesus was really the Messiah. How could He be if He could not even distinguish the righteous from the wicked? (John F. MacArthur Jr., Luke 1–5, MacArthur New Testament Commentary (Chicago: Moody Publishers, 2009, 274.)

When Jesus quoted from Isaiah and claimed He was the One who had been anointed by the Spirit of YHWH to proclaim good news to the poor, to proclaim freedom for the prisoners, to proclaim the recovery of sight to the blind, and proclaim freedom to those who are oppressed–He had something much greater in mind than material poverty, literal incarceration, physical blindness, and societal oppression. He was not singling out a subset of humanity, but He came to proclaim good news to all people–Jew and Gentile alike! 

We know that Jesus wasn’t just speaking about those who live in financial poverty because a little later in our story He used two illustrations: One, a woman, a poor Gentile widow from Zarephath and a Gentile man named Naaman who was wealthy and the commander of the Syrian army, the hated Syrian army. Both received grace from God, not because of their financial status, but because they recognized their spiritual poverty. 

If my math is right, Jesus healed at least eight people from physical blindness. He healed two blind men near Jericho in Matthew 20, another at Bethsaida in Mark 8, a man born blind in John 9, as well as others. Sources say there are about 43-49 million people in the world today who lack physical sight, but there are over 8 billion who are totally spiritually blind. In John 8, Jesus spoke to the people.

12 When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life." (John 8:12 NIV)

In Matthew’s Gospel, Jesus was speaking to His disciples about the Pharisees, the most respected and religious people of the city, when He said,

14 "Let them alone; they are blind guides of the blind. And if a blind man guides a blind man, both will fall into a pit." (Matthew 15:14 NAS)

You can have 20/20 vision and be as blind as a bat concerning the things of God. You will never discover God’s purpose for your life by reason or intelligence–you will only discover God’s purpose and plan for your life by having your eyes opened by Jesus, the One who is the Light of the world.

Jesus also said He came to “proclaim freedom for the prisoners and …to set the oppressed free.” Do you know that while Jesus was alive it is estimated that 10-20% of the population of the Roman Empire were slaves, some 5-10 million people. We don’t find that Jesus set any of those slaves free from their human masters, but He most definitely broke the spiritual chains of sin which at one time held every person who trusted in Him regardless of their status in society. 

The same is true today. Because slavery has been banished in the United States we rarely give it a thought any longer even though there are more slaves in the world today than there were in Jesus’ day. The truth of the matter is that there are far more slaves who are free from human masters than there are those who live in physical slavery. Philip Ryken writes,

The gospel of Jesus is for us in our bondage. We are held captive by all kinds of evil passions, foolish pleasures, sinful lusts, and selfish ambitions. What sins are keeping us captive? What guilt is enslaving our souls? Jesus came to set us free. By his death on the cross, our sins are totally and completely forgiven; by his resurrection, we have power in the Spirit to resist temptation and lead a holy life. In our struggle with sin, we are called to believe in the good news of Jesus Christ. (Ryken, Philip. Luke: Volume 1. pgs. 174-175)

The response of the people in Nazareth reminds me of the people of Laodicea–they had misjudged their condition. Truth be told, Laodicea was much more like Oklahoma City than Nazareth. Laodicea was located in the Lycus River Valley in modern day Turkey. It was a hub of banking, law, and was a center of textile production and trade since it was located along the east-west and north-south trade routes of the Roman Empire. The city was prosperous and yet when Jesus sent a letter to the church in Revelation 3, He wrote,

17 You say, ‘I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.’ But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked. 18 I counsel you to buy from me gold refined in the fire, so you can become rich; and white clothes to wear, so you can cover your shameful nakedness; and salve to put on your eyes, so you can see. (Revelation 3:17–18 NIV)

Did you notice that Jesus didn’t condemn the people of Laodicea, but instead, after correctly diagnosing them, He invited them to come to Him so that they might acquire that which is truly valuable. They, like the people of Nazareth, and like many in our own city misjudged their condition. Do you know what I mean? You can have deep, deep pockets, a name that everyone respects and admires, and think you have the world by the tail, but Jesus says you are “pitiful, poor, blind, and naked” if you do not know Him as your Lord and Master. At the same time, you can be destitute when it comes to finances, have troubles on top of troubles with no relief in sight, and yet if you know Jesus as your Lord and Master you are rich beyond description and can experience peace because He has promised to never leave you or forsake you in your troubles. He is with you!

This is why it is so important that this church proclaim the good news of Jesus, the One who is the Savior of all of those who will trust in Him, each and every day. I’ve learned that many preachers have taken this story and interpreted it to mean that we, the followers of Jesus, are supposed to alleviate poverty, restore sight to the blind, free the captives, and relieve the oppressive situations of those who are weighed down and broken. I have seen how churches who have made these efforts their first order of business and not the overflow of the proclamation of the Gospel have become so busy doing the Lord’s work that they abandoned proclaiming the Good News of salvation for sinners who are separated from God through a relationship with Jesus. 

I would venture to say that Britton Christian Church is as involved in ministry to those Jesus called “the least of these” as any church in our city, but our ministries to those who are broken, lost, lonely, and hurting flows from the proclamation of the Gospel of Jesus Christ and not as a replacement of that message. When a person, regardless of their status in society, comes to know Jesus, really know Jesus, their life will be transformed in every way imaginable. I have witnessed this countless times in the 35 years I have been here at Britton Christian Church. Jesus, through the Holy Spirit, enables us to see differently, to think differently, and to live differently than we were living when we were in control of our lives.

The problem for many of us here this morning is that our well-being, our prosperity, blinds us to our need for Jesus. We have a roof over our head, clothes on our back, and food on our table so we come to the conclusion that we don’t need a thing. So, when someone like me opens the Bible and says, “You are a sinner, a hopeless sinner who is in desperate need of Jesus and His reconciling, forgiving, power,” we think that’s a message for someone else. Let me close by illustrating what I’m talking about. 

There was a large prestigious church which had started three mission churches in rough parts of the city. Once a year, on the first Sunday of each new year, the churches would all come together for worship. On one of those Sundays people were invited to come forward for prayer. The pastor noticed that one of the men who came forward was a judge on the Supreme Court of England. Next to him was another man who had been sent to prison for being a thief, he was sent to prison by the very judge who was now praying next to him. 

After the service, the judge was walking out with the pastor and he said, “Did you notice who was kneeling beside me this morning?” The two walked together when the judge said, “What a miracle of grace!” The pastor said, “What a miracle of grace indeed!” The judge said, “What do you think I mean?” The pastor said, “Well, you’re talking about the thief aren’t you?” The judge said, “No, I wasn’t thinking about him. I was thinking about myself.” The pastor said, “You were thinking of yourself? I don’t understand.” The judge said, “It’s not surprising that the thief received God’s grace when he left jail. He had nothing but a history of crime behind him, and when he understood Jesus could be his Savior, he knew there was salvation and hope for him. And he knew how much he needed that help. But look at me–I was taught from earliest infancy to live as a gentleman, that my word was to be my bond, that I was to say my prayers, go to church, take Communion and so on. I went through Oxford, obtained my degree, was called to the bar, and eventually became a judge. I was sure I was all I needed to be, though in fact I too was a sinner. Pastor, it was God’s grace that drew me. It was God’s grace that opened my heart to receive Christ. I’m the greatest miracle?” He’s not wrong. 

I want to plead with you this very morning to allow the Lord to show you your desperate need and His willingness to pour out His grace upon you this very morning. He will open your eyes, set you free, and lead you throughout this life if you will only surrender to Him. Won’t you do that this morning?

Mike Hays

Britton Christian Church

January 4, 2026