This day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears.
18 The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath
anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the
brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight
to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, 19 To preach the
acceptable year of the Lord. 20 And he closed the
book, and he gave it again to the minister, and sat down. And the eyes of all
them that were in the synagogue were fastened on him. 21 And he began to say unto them, This day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears.
(Luke 4:18-21)
28 And all they in
the synagogue, when they heard these things, were filled with wrath,
29 And rose up, and thrust him out of the city, and led him unto the brow
of the hill whereon their city was built, that they might cast him down
headlong. 30 But he passing through the midst of them went his way, (Luke 4:28-30)
These words of Jesus struck like a bolt of lightning into the souls of the
religious establishment of the day much in the same way that it offends the
large institutional churches of our own day. Jesus was revealing Himself as the
Messiah which would place all religious leaders at His footstool. This, these
greedy and power-hungry, ten-horned saints could not bear. (Excuse the frank
speech, but it is the most charitable term I can lay hold on to describe the
depth of their abject hypocrisy.) They had enjoyed free rein in setting the
standards and making the rules for worship until this very moment. They were,
too, well aware of the prophecies of the coming Messiah. Now that the moment
had arrived, they were bitter and filled with rage at the thought that He would
come on their watch. These had less rage for the openly ungodly Romans who
occupied the land than for this One who came preaching the Gospel to the poor,
the broken-hearted, and those who were in bondage to sin.
The lection from which our Lord read was the very one appointed to be read that
day in the synagogue. It was far more than coincidence that this day’s text
happened to be the very one that so clearly prophesied of the Coming of the
Lord. “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,
because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me
to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and
recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised,
To preach the acceptable year of the Lord.”
Every soul that is separated from God is in bondage of the will to sin. No lost
sinner has a free will, for he is in bondage to perform those deeds his father,
the devil, directs. Only in Christ can we enjoy a will that is free for our
wills are surrendered to that of God. His will becomes our will, and the things
we now desire are those which He desires. These were words of immeasurable
grace spoken by our Lord. The Love of God, thus spoken, should find a
sympathetic echo in the hearts of His people, but these rulers were fountains
of hate and wrath.
“And he closed the book, and he gave it again to the minister, and sat
down. And the eyes of all them that were in the synagogue were fastened on him.”
It seems mysterious to me that the “eyes of all… …. were fastened on”
Christ following that reading. The power of God’s Word must have penetrated the
dark hearts to recognize some awful (to them) truth. It was the response of the
Lord to this reading that set aflame the raging hearts of those who sought to
deny the presence of the Messiah: “This day
is this scripture fulfilled in your ears.” Amazing how
‘hearing’ is so powerful when it is the Word of God that is being heard. “So
then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.” (Romans
10:17) But what was the effect of hearing this Gospel on the Jewish leaders? “But
to Israel he saith, All day long I have stretched forth my hands unto a
disobedient and gainsaying people.” (Romans 10:21) These were
privileged to first have the truth revealed, but the least accepting of it. “And all they in the synagogue, when they heard
these things, were filled with wrath, And rose up, and thrust him out of
the city, and led him unto the brow of the hill whereon their city was built,
that they might cast him down headlong.”
What a great tragedy to have the Messiah revealed to us, reject Him, and then
find that He is forever hidden from our view! They would have stoned the Lord
of Glory, but He became hidden from their view. Our Lord is a gentleman and
will not abide where He is not welcome. Homes that do not welcome the Lord will
do without Him. So will nations that reject Him – for He will not remain in the
midst of a rebellious and evil generation. “But he passing through the midst of them went his way.” “His way” diverged from the way
of these sinful rulers in Jewry. He miraculously vanished from their view. They
were left behind as the Lord went on His Way – the ONLY Way – the
Way, the Truth, and the Life! “For my thoughts are not
your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD.” (Isaiah
55:8) These wicked men of the synagogue were left standing alone in the place
of stoning, and Christ went His Way. They remain there today in the place of
death.
