Freedom for the prisoners

Luke 4:14-30

Key Verse 4:18-19

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.”

Good morning, it is already September and a new semester started. Today’s title is ‘Freedom for the prisoners’. The key verses are a little bit long, but can we read it together? “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, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.” Let’s pray. 

I really wanted to say “I am not the power point guys” and do not want to use it, but I ended up using it anyhow. (Terry said “Amen”) Terry wanted to monopolize the statement. In today’s passage we see a very dramatic change of people toward Jesus. Have you ever experienced somebody’s reaction to you is dramatically changed? He is gentle and kind and hospital to you and then becomes very rude and hostile. Have you experienced it? In today’s passage Jesus’ hometown people were amazed at Jesus’ teaching. But then at the end of the passage they were so furious. They wanted to throw him off the cliff. So today we want to know what made them such a change. Once they were so hospitable toward Jesus and then they were so mad. So we want to know what made them changed so much.  

Today’s passage starts with “Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit.” So Jesus was anointed by the Holy Spirit when he was baptized. And Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert to be tempted by the devil. Then he fasted 40 days and he won a great victory over the temptation of the devil. Then he came back to Galilee, obviously filled with the power of the Spirit. So whatever he did he did by the power of the Spirit and the news about him spread through the whole countryside. And he was teaching in their synagogues and everyone praised him. At the beginning of Jesus’ ministry Jesus used synagogue as his main place of ministry, and he was teaching and healing and everyone praised him. Then sometime later, maybe a year later, he went to Nazareth where he had been brought up. Nazareth was his hometown. And on the Sabbath day he went into the synagogue as his custom. Synagogue probably started at the time of Babylonian captivity. At that time they were slaves to the Babylonian Empire. They couldn’t have a temple. So they probably started to have synagogue system. Maybe 10 Jews gathered together and educate themselves in the synagogues. 

Jesus stood up to read. Obviously Jesus was invited to read by the leader of the synagogue because he became a very famous man. And the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him. Unrolling it he found the place where it is written: and then the rest is these key verses. 

“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.”

Then he rolled up the scroll and gave it back to the attendant and sat down. Usually they were supposed to read the Scriptures in standing, but they explained in a sitting position. So the eyes of everyone on the synagogue were fastened on him. They wanted to hear what he wanted to say. He started to say, “today this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.” This is the starting statement. He began by saying to them, “Today this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.” All spoke well of him and were amazed at the gracious words that came from his lips. What kind of gracious words that came from his lips? We don’t know. We just know the first statement. “Today this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.” So I am trying to guess what kind of gracious words that came from Jesus’ lips.

Probably Jesus could say, ““The Spirit of the Lord is on me”. So I am the anointed One.” “Messiah” or “Christ” is anointed one. So Jesus is the anointed prophet, anointed king, and anointed priest. And God anointed him to proclaim good news to the poor. “Good news” may refer to the news about the kingdom of God. In the Lord’s prayer as we sing, ‘Your kingdom come on earth as it is in heaven.” This is the good news, and this good news is proclaimed to the poor. What does it mean by ‘the poor’? They could be financially poor or spiritually poor. Obviously ‘the poor’ refer to those who are willing to receive the good news whether they are financially rich or poor. And then Jesus said, “God sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners.” “The prisoners” means “ physical prisoners” and “spiritual prisoners”. This prophecy of Isaiah was given before they became prisoners of Babylonia Empire. So Isaiah could proclaim they could be released and they could enjoy freedom from their prisoners. So ‘prisoners’ mean ‘physical prisoners’ and ‘spiritual prisoners. Now “the recovery of sight for the blind.” – physical blind men and spiritual blind men. And Jesus came to open the eyes of both. “To set the oppressed free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.” 

“The year of the Lord’s favor” refers to “Jubilee”. Every 50^th year, all the Israel people who are slaves were supposed to be set free. All of their debt were supposed to be cancelled and all of their property were supposed to return to their original owners. Figuratively speaking it is like “All of our debts are canceled. Your school loan, debt, is gone. Your credit card debt gone. Your home mortgage debt gone. What else do we have? Credit card, school loan, mortgage, (someone in the audience said, ‘car payment’) car payment (laughter) cancelled completely, free of charge. So you are completely and financially free and have no obligation at all. And also you are free from your school and you are free from your work. You are free. You don’t need to go to school and you don’t need to go to your jobs. And also you are financially equal, having the same job and same pay. So this is the day of ‘recovery’ and this is the day of great joy, and this is the day of establishing complete justice. Every 50^th year they can start with their beginning condition. Indeed it would be the year of the great joy. Whenever I read about the year of the Lord’s favor, “Jubilee”, I feel like ‘this is the shadow of the kingdom of God.’ And Jesus came to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor. “What Jesus said” is something like that. So people were all amazed at the gracious words that came from Jesus’ lips. And “All” spoke well of him. If you look at the last part of today’s passage, “All” the people in the synagogue were furious. “All” spoke well of him, and “All” (the people in the synagogue) wanted to throw Jesus off the cliff. Both are ‘all’. 

Now when all spoke well of him and were amazed at the gracious words that came from his lips they asked, “Isn’t this Joseph’s son?” What does it mean by “Isn’t this Joseph’s son?” What does it mean? It means “We cannot accept you as the promised Messiah.” There in their town were also Jesus’ brothers and sisters and mother and father (if he was alive). They all knew them. Then suddenly Jesus came back probably after one year said, “I am the promised Messiah. Today this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing. I am the Messiah.” Then they had a second thought. “Isn’t this Joseph’s son? How could he claim that he is the promised Messiah?”

And then Jesus was trying to help them because Jesus wanted to bless them. He wanted to help his hometown people to enjoy the year of the Lord’s favor, freedom from prisoners, and recovery of the sight for the blind and hear the good news. So he said to them, “Surely you will quote this proverb to me: ‘Physician, heal yourself!’ What does it mean by ‘Physical heal yourself!” Let’s say here is a physician. And we say, “We don’t believe you are a physician. But if you heal yourself right before our eyes we will believe you are a physician. So prove yourself.” And you will tell me, ‘Do here in your hometown what we have heard that you did in Capernaum.’” ‘What Jesus did in Capernaum” refers to probably miraculous power, many miracles Jesus did in Capernaum. But what did Jesus? Let’s verses 25-27 responsively. 

I will go first. 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.”

 

Jesus said, ‘no prophet is accepted in his hometown.’ Why ‘no prophet is accepted in his hometown’? Prophet has two aspects. One is human side and another is spiritual side. “Spiritual side” means ‘prophet is used by God and God uses prophet and delivers his message.’ The human side of prophet is exactly like all of us. Human side, all of weaknesses. Jesus also has both sides. Jesus has the side of the Son of God, but he also has the side of son of man. All the prophets or prophetesses have ‘spiritual sides’ which can be used by God and ‘human sides’ which can be shared by all common people. A lot of weaknesses and lot of flaws. So Jesus said, ‘no prophet is accepted in his hometown or even home country.’ The hometown people of prophets or prophetesses are so familiar with them that they cannot accept them as prophets or prophetesses. And therefore they fail to receive blessing through them.

When prophet Jeremiah preached at the time of national crisis people did not like it. He was not accepted as prophet in his own country. The message of Jeremiah was ‘surrender to the Babylonians’. People couldn’t accept him as a prophet. They were basically saying, “You are discouraging our soldiers who are trying hard to defend our country. You are national traitor”. But the truth is he was delivering God’s message. And he was not popular at all. He was persecuted, and he was not accepted as a prophet in his own country. Later people realized his message was the message of God. They should have surrendered to the Babylonians and it would have been best for them. But they didn’t do that. So they paid heavy penalties.

“No prophet is accepted in his hometown.” Are there prophets and prophetesses in our own days? Are there prophets or prophetesses in our own congregation? There is no prophet or prophetess delivering the word of God saying, “This is what the Lord says” these days because the Bible already revealed all the will of God. But there are people who have the spirit of prophet or prophetess. Personally in my own opinion there is one in our congregation who has a spirit of prophet or prophetess. Guess who? Look around. (laughter). Personally I believe so. “Can anyone try who I think as a prophet or prophetess?” Try it!

(Someone in the audience says ‘Maria’) Maria Kwon? I hope so, but she is not. (laughter). Try it. I may even buy a dinner for you. Someone said something. (in the audience) “Missionary Monica”. Who said that? Oh, missionary Suzanna Choi (said)  Missionary Monica. Right. I agree so. Why do I say ‘missionary Monica has a spirit of prophetess’? Can anyone know it? Why do I say ‘she has a spirit of prophetess’? (Somebody in the audience said) “Nobody likes what she says”. (Busting of laughter). What an answer! (laughter) Nobody wants to hear what she says. Partly true! Then ‘why does nobody want to hear what she says’? (Someone in the audience says) ‘She tells the truth.’ (laughter) Right! She tells the truth. So if you want to hear the truth go to her. (laughter). In the old testament time if you want to go and hear what a prophet or prophetess say they say you have to bring offerings, one shekel of silver, or something like that. So when you want to go to her, invite her to a lunch or dinner as your offering and ask her to tell you the word of truth. If you have a spiritual problem and you don’t know what is your spiritual problem and if you don’t know how to overcome it go to her. No problem. But if you are not willing to listen to her she may not say. Sometimes she tells spiritual truth anyhow. I really respect her. I really personally believe she has a spirit of prophetess. No problem guys.

Is she popular? Both. She is popular to a person like me and she is not to some other. So ‘no prophet is accepted in his hometown.’ And Jesus showed two examples to show the truth ‘no prophet is accepted in his hometown or home country.’ They are the widow in Zarephath and Naaman. “I assure you that there were many widows in Israel in Elijah’s time.” There were many widows in the time of prophet Elijah when the sky was shut for three and a half years and there was a severe famine throughout the land. It means there is no one exception from the suffering of famine. “Throughout the land.” But when God wanted to send prophet Elijah to one widow God was not able to find anyone in Israel but only a widow in Zarephath in the region of Sidon. Jesus’ emphasis is ‘the city of Zarephath is, the name of Zarephath is, in the region of Sidon. What does it mean by ‘in the region of Sidon’? Do you know what it means? It is the Gentile area, the place unbelievers lived, the people whom the Jewish people regard almost like dogs. And God sent prophet Elijah to a widow in Zarephath in the region of Sidon instead of all and many widows in Israel. 

I will just read what is written about the widow from 1 Kings 17:7-16.

⁷ Some time later the brook dried up because there had been no rain in the land. ⁸ Then the word of the LORD came to him: ⁹ “Go at once to Zarephath in the region of Sidon and stay there. I have directed a widow there to supply you with food.” ¹⁰ So he went to Zarephath. When he came to the town gate, a widow was there gathering sticks. He called to her and asked, “Would you bring me a little water in a jar so I may have a drink?” ¹¹ As she was going to get it, he called, “And bring me, please, a piece of bread.”

¹² “As surely as the LORD your God lives,” she replied, “I don’t have any bread—only a handful of flour in a jar and a little olive oil in a jug. I am gathering a few sticks to take home and make a meal for myself and my son, that we may eat it—and die.”

¹³ Elijah said to her, “Don’t be afraid. Go home and do as you have said. But 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.’”

¹⁵ She went away and did as Elijah had told her. So there was food every day for Elijah and for the woman and her family. ¹⁶ For the jar of flour was not used up and the jug of oil did not run dry, in keeping with the word of the LORD spoken by Elijah.”

 

Why did God sent Elijah to the widow in Zarephath in the region of Sidon instead of a widow in the land of Israel? Why did he do that? Why? Why didn’t he send him to a widow in Israel but to the widow in the Gentile area? Why? (Somone said in the audience ‘she is the one who will listen’). Missionary Julie says ‘she is the one who will listen.’ She is the one who will believe and obey when the word of God is proclaimed to her through the prophet Elijah. There were many widows in Israel. Jesus said, “I assure you that there were many widows in Elijah’s time.” But Elijah was not sent to any of them but to a widow in Zarephath in the region of Sidon because all the widows in Israel in the time of Elijah would not believe. They would not believe the word of God proclaimed to them through the prophet Elijah. That’s why Elijah was sent to the widow in Zarephath. 

“Naaman”. Jesus said, “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.”

“Only Naamn the Syrian.” Naaman the Syrian was in Gentile area. Not only he was in Gentile area but also he was in the enemy’s land. Naaman was commander-in-chief of the army of Israel’s enemy. “Only Naaman the Syrian” was cleansed although there were many lepers in the time of prophet Elisha. Why was only Naaman Syrian cured? Why was only Naaman Syrian cleansed? Because only Naaman the Syrian believed and obeyed the word spoken to him by prophet Elisha. 

So I will just read 2 Kings 5:9-19a by myself. “⁹ So Naaman went with his horses and chariots and stopped at the door of Elisha’s house. ¹⁰ Elisha sent a messenger to say to him, “Go, wash yourself seven times in the Jordan, and your flesh will be restored and you will be cleansed.”

¹¹ But Naaman went away angry and said, “I thought that he would surely come out to me and stand and call on the name of the LORD his God, wave his hand over the spot and cure me of my leprosy.¹² Are not Abana and Pharpar, the rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel? Couldn’t I wash in them and be cleansed?” So he turned and went off in a rage.

¹³ Naaman’s servants went to him and said, “My father, if the prophet had told you to do some great thing, would you not have done it? How much more, then, when he tells you, ‘Wash and be cleansed’!” ¹⁴ So he went down and dipped himself in the Jordan seven times, as the man of God had told him, and his flesh was restored and became clean like that of a young boy.

¹⁵ Then Naaman and all his attendants went back to the man of God. He stood before him and said, “Now I know that there is no God in all the world except in Israel. So please accept a gift from your servant.”

¹⁶ The prophet answered, “As surely as the LORD lives, whom I serve, I will not accept a thing.” And even though Naaman urged him, he refused.

¹⁷ “If you will not,” said Naaman, “please let me, your servant, be given as much earth as a pair of mules can carry, for your servant will never again make burnt offerings and sacrifices to any other god but the LORD. ¹⁸ But may the LORD forgive your servant for this one thing: When my master enters the temple of Rimmon to bow down and he is leaning on my arm and I have to bow there also—when I bow down in the temple of Rimmon, may the LORD forgive your servant for this.”

¹⁹ “Go in peace,” Elisha said.”

It is very moving story. The widow in Zarephath and the general Naaman the Syrian are two of the humble, two of the poor. Naaman was rich, of course, financially and the widow was very poor. But they are two poor who were qualified to hear the good news because they were humble enough to believe the message given to them through prophet Elijah and Elisha. 

So what Jesus was saying to his townspeople is this: “You do not believe me because you pay attention to my human side. And you are missing blessings. Repent and believe like the widow and General Naaman so that you can enjoy all the blessings. You can hear good news. You can enjoy recovery of your sight. You can enjoy freedom from prisoners and you can enjoy the year of the Lord’s favor.” That’s what Jesus was saying to them. Jesus loved his hometown people. So he was telling the truth. Jesus was more than a prophet. Missionary Monica has a spirit of prophetess. So it is better to listen to her in fear and trembling heart when she speaks. How did Jesus’ hometown people respond? Did they respond with fear and trembling heart saying, “You are right. We need to repent! And we will sit down in ashes?” No.

Look at verse 28. They were furious. “All” in the synagogue were furious. 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. Wow! They were so furious. But he walked right through the crowd and went on his way.

Physically they were free men. The people of Jesus’ hometown were physically free. But they were not free men. They were so unbelieving. Why couldn’t they believe Jesus? Why couldn’t they repent their unbelief and believe in Jesus? Why couldn’t they do so? Why? Can anyone try to answer? Why couldn’t they repent of their unbelief and believe in Jesus? Why do you think so? Can anyone try? Yes, “Sarah (Larsen)”. (She said) “pride”. Pride. Yes, I agree with you. They couldn’t overcome their pride. They were saying (to Jesus) “I saw you how you grew. And I cannot believe you.” It is like Johnny Park comes back to us after a year and say something and we cannot believe. Sorry Johnny, but it is ‘pride’. “Pride”. They were physically free men but they were prisoners of their pride. 

The prisoners of pride was also revealed in John 8:31-36. Let’s read these verses responsively. I will go first. ^“31 To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. ³² Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” ³³ They answered him, “We are Abraham’s descendants and have never been slaves of anyone. How can you say that we shall be set free?” ⁴ Jesus replied, “Very truly I tell you, everyone who sins is a slave to sin. ³⁵ Now a slave has no permanent place in the family, but a son belongs to it forever. ³⁶ So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.”  

How can they say “we have never been slaves of anyone when they had been slaves for 400 years in Egypt and at that very time they were colony of Roman Empire. How could they say, “We have never been slaves of anyone. How can you say ‘we shall be set free?” Are you crazy?” They were prisoners of their pride. So they couldn’t repent of their unbelief of Jesus. They couldn’t overcome their pride. In order to repent their unbelief first, they have to acknowledge that they were unbelieving. But because of their pride they could not acknowledge that they were unbelieving. 

Usually they say that it takes 7 or 8 years in order for a mentally ill person to accept that he is ill. It is because of one’s pride.

I was sick this week from Tuesday to Friday. I thought I was physically sick. I was sweating although I was in a normal temperature. I had a pain in my stomach. I had a diarrhea, and I had a muscle pain. I went to the Spa and sweat a lot on Tuesday thinking I would be okay. But on Wednesday it was the same. I was not healed at all. So through all these things I realized that my physical sickness in my body is not physical one alone. It has a spiritual one also. What God revealed to me was this. Because of my pride I was not able to accept that I was not believing in Jesus, and I was a slave of my sinful desire as the result of my unbelief. When towns people says ‘Isn’t this Joseph’s son?” (They even didn’t say “Isn’t he” but “Isn’t this”) I felt like I was saying “Isn’t this Jesus” whom I studied throughout my life time? How can I accept that I don’t believe him. So because of my pride I could not accept my unbelieving. I could not accept I became a slave of my sinful desires. It is hard for me to accept it. But later God helped me to realize what God really wants from me. What God has been seeking from me is not something outside of me but myself; my heart, especially my freedom. 

Let’s read Galatians 5:13 together. “You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh; rather, serve one another humbly in love.”

The freedom, to use my freedom not to indulge in my sinful desires but to serve  one another humbly in love was what Jesus was looking from me. That revelation came on Saturday morning and that’s why I was restored. 

We hear the good news. Jesus came and proclaim freedom for the prisoners. He set us free from our sinful desires and all other junk desires. And he gave us freedom, and it is a great blessing and a good news. But if I do not use my freedom properly I will become slave. I will become slave again and become even physically sick and financially go bankrupt. 

Let’s read John 16:8-9 together. Let’s go. “⁸ When he comes, he will prove the world to be in the wrong about sin and righteousness and judgment: ⁹ about sin, because people do not believe in me”

“He” refers to the “Holy Spirit”, and “me” refers to “Jesus”. Unbelieving is the greatest sin. All of sins spring from it. If you do not believe in Jesus it means you believe something else. It means you believe your sinful desires. It means you believe something else other than Jesus again again and again after hearing all the wonderful proclamation of Jesus – freedom from prisoners, recovery of sight for the blind, and every blessings we enjoy. Then you can become slaves again. 

So we need to repent our pride in order to restore our faith in Jesus. We need to do so in order to enjoy all these blessings Jesus brought for us. 

One word: He has sent me to proclaim freedom from prisoners. 

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.

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Have you experienced that someone’s attitude toward you changed dramatically? I mean from great favor to cold blooded disapproval? When it happens you will wonder what made it happen and what is the cause of it. Today we see dramatic change of Jesus’ hometown people toward Jesus. When Jesus delivered the message they were amazed at the gracious words that came from his lips. But then later they became so furious against Jesus that they wanted to throw him off the cliff. What made them change so much? This is the topic we want to think about it.

Part I. Today this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing. (v.14-22a)

In this part we see the powerful work of Jesus through the power of the Spirit. After he overcame Satan’s temptation he returned to Galilee by the power of the Spirit. 

And news about him spread through the whole countryside. He was teaching in their synagogues and everyone praised him. Jesus’ main ministry was teaching the word of God although he healed people too. He used their synagogues as his teaching place.

Then Jesus went to Naraeth where he has been brought up. Why do you think he went there? Well it is natural to visit one’s home time once in a while. In addition I believe Jesus went there to bless them. Jesus loved his hometown people. So he wanted to share God’s blessings with them. 

Then on the Sabbath day he went to the synagogue as his custom. He stood up to read. Obviously he was asked to read probably because he became a famous man. And the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him. Unrolling it he found the place where it is written. Can we read verses 18-19 together? 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.”

Then he rolled up the scroll and gave it back to the attendant and sat down. The eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fastened on him. He began by saying to them, “Today this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing”. All spoke well of him and was amazed at the gracious words that came from his mouth. So he must have explained the meaning of the verses.

The quotation of the words of Isaiah is something that the promised Messiah would do. And the message was delivered by the power of the Spirit. So they all spoke well of him and they were all amazed at the gracious words that came from his lips.

“The Spirit of the Lord is on me because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor.” What is the good news? Good news is about the kingdom of God coming. We hear so many bad news but the good news is that the kingdom of God is coming and eventually God’s kingdom will be on earth. Final victory of God is the good news.

In addition, all of the prophecies that comes after is also good news. Freedom for the prisoners, recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor. These are all contents of the good news. We all know what God promised as the good news is more than physical. If it is interpreted only physically it is limited too much. If all prisoners and criminals were all released from prisons it would be directly against God’s justice. So we know God’s prophecy is more than physical. In fact, to stay in prison does not make men real prisoners but what is in one’s mind makes man a prisoner. 

There is one famous woman during the time of Japanese occupation of Korea during the world war II. She was a devout Christian. She was arrested because she went to Japanese congress and distributed papers, “Unless Japan repent she will be destroyed by fire from heaven.” She was imprisoned. One day one high official from Japan visited her prison. After looking at the prisoners especially her he said to himself, “These days we are at war. So even people in the street are not happy. But how come a woman in the prison is so peaceful and happy.” He muttered to himself because he could not understand it. Indeed the devoted woman was at peace with God and she had a great peace in her heart. Funny story is ‘whenever American bombers bombed the area all the prison warden gathered in front of her prison because they thought she would be protected. Eventually she was released just one day before the day of her execution because Korea was liberated at that day. The Japanese judge who took care of her case became a genuine Christian. 

Surely real prisoners are prisoners in mind and heart and soul rather than physical prisoner. While Apostle Paul was a prisoner he wrote his letter to his people saying “rejoice. Rejoice in the Lord. I say it again. Rejoice. Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near.”

“To proclaim good news to the poor.” We know what is good news. But why to the poor? We know also the poor does not necessarily means financially poor alone. It means poor people in spirit too. So ‘the poor’ probably refers to humble people regardless of the amount of one’s financial resources. Why is the good news proclaimed to the poor? Of course the good news is also proclaimed to the rich, proud people but they will not accept it. They are rich in their hearts. They are proud. So they do not need God and they do not need the good news they think. So even though they hear it they cannot understand or retain it as great treasure from God. 

Jesus said, “He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners.” Another prisoner is people who think they are right for sure. One day I surely believed I was right and missionary Isaac Kim was wrong. So my relationship with him was sour and I was groaning in my heart, and I did not know what was wrong. Since I was so sure that I was right I judged him in my heart. Then one day God helped me this way. I have one old brother and he did a very shameful thing to my parents. Somehow he misunderstood my parents and basically asked them to leave his house where my parents stayed about half a year. That would have been okay if it was that alone. Then since he misunderstood my parents he threw all of toys my parents bought for his son and daughter to my parents’ new apartment. Basically he cut his relationship with my parents which was, as I see, completely wrong. He was completely wrong but he thought he was completely right. 

When I saw what he did, God spoke to me, “You see if one is completely right and if he is convinced he is right he is at best okay because he is right and he is convinced that he is right. But if one is not right and he is convinced he is right there is no way for him to get out of his darkness.” Then it dawned on me, “what if I am wrong?” As soon as I began to think about the possibility that I could be wrong, the light has dawned in my spirit and I could see the picture clearly. I was wrong and msn Isaac was right. I could not see it because I was so convinced that I was right. I was blind and I was a prisoner of my own conviction.

My brother was also a prisoner of his own thought that he was completely right. But the matter of the truth is he was the prisoner of his own thought. 

Once the Jewish religious leaders were prisoner of their own righteousness due to their pride. Jesus said to the Jews who had believed him, “If you hold to my teaching you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth and the truth will set you free.” Then they asked, “We are Abraham’s descendants and we have never been slaves of anyone. How can you say that we shall be set free?” Jesus replied “Very truly I tell you, everyone who sins is a slave to sin.” (John 8:31-34)

Truly we can be prisoners of our own thoughts especially when we think we are right. We could be right. But if we judge others believing that we are right we should remember the word of God in Romans 2:1 “You, therefore, have no excuse, you who pass judgment on someone else, for at whatever point you judge another, you are condemning yourself, because you who pass judgment do the same thing.” This is the word of God. What I mean its truth will not be revealed unless you accept it as the word of God and believe it. The verse reveals the reason why people who judge others are not happy. They are not happy because they are condemned. Who condemned them? They themselves. How can a person be happy when he is under condemnation? He may not know he is condemning himself when he judges others. But the word of God reveals it. 

Jesus came to proclaim the recovery of sight for the blind. The blind also refer to more than physical blindness. As we all know the hymn writer Fanny Crosby began to give thanks to God when God opened her spiritual eyes although she was physically blind. 

Many of our problem comes from poor spiritual sight. Jesus said, “The eye is the lamp of the body. If the eye is dark the whole body will be full of darkness.” When our spiritual eyes are dark we will be in complete darkness. 

Jesus also said “to set the oppressed. Once Jesus healed a woman bent over 18 years. She was oppressed for the last 18 years and Jesus straightened her up.

Finally Jesus said he came to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor. “The year of the Lord’s favor” refers to the year of Jubilee. Jewish calendar is composed of 7 days as one week. Every 7 years, there is the Sabbath year. Every 7 of 7 years becomes 49 years and the 50^th year becomes the year of Jubilee.

It comes every 50^th year. When the year of Jubilee comes, all slaves become free. All debts are cancelled. All the properties are returned to the original owners. It was commanded by God, but we are not so sure whether it was actually practiced or not. But Jesus was saying he came to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor. He came to fulfill the Jubilee, freeing all salves, cancelling all debts, restoring all properties. Everyone can start anew.

In our terms, all of our debts will be cancelled, all of us will be completely free from our work, and all of us can have the same house to live. The year of Jubilee is the year of restoration.

I believe the year of the Lord’s favor reveals our life in the kingdom of God.

So Jesus’ hometown people were so amazed at the gracious words that came from Jesus’ lips. 

Part II. Isn’t this Joseph’s son? (v.22b-30)

But then the next verse immediately says, “Isn’t this Joseph’s son?” Jesus’ message was delivered by the power of the Spirit. Jesus is the Promised Messiah and he proclaimed the very words which will be fulfilled through him. Indeed he said to them, “Today this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.” And they were all amazed. But they asked, “Isn’t this Joseph’s son?” What does it mean by “Isn’t this Joseph’s son?” It means they had a second thought after being amazed. Then they realized that Jesus did not have anything special when he grew up in Nazareth. He was just a son of Joseph, growing together with other kids. When they thought about it they could not accept that Jesus is the Messiah who could say, “Today this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.”

They must have felt that they were stupid when they all spoke well of him and were amazed at his gracious words. They thought, “How can a carpenter become the Messiah next day?” When they did not pay attention to what God speaks through Jesus but think about only human side of Jesus they began to doubt. Every men of God have both human side and spiritual side. God use them although they are not perfect. If we focus on their human weakness we may fail to see how God uses them. If we fail to notice how God uses them then we miss to hear God’s message or blessings through them. 

Then Jesus challenged them to open their spiritual eyes. 

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

Jesus understood what was happening. He was rejected because he was a prophet because no prophet is accepted in his hometown. Human knowledge about prophets deceive the people prophets’ hometown.

Here, “do in your hometown what we have heard that you did in Capernaum” probably refers to miracles. They demanded Jesus to perform miracles so that they could see and believe. They did not believe the words of Jesus but they wanted to see visible miracle. 

So why did Jesus said, “No prophet is accepted in his hometown?” Why? It is because people cannot have faith in the prophet in his hometown. Why? It is because they are so familiar of the prophet’s personal lives and facts of his life and his weaknesses and his mistakes and shortcomings. People cannot believe he is a prophet when they remember all of facts. So all of facts of life of a prophet take away men’s faith and they could not receive blessings from the prophet. Jesus loved his town’s people and he went there to bless them but he could not do so. 

Then in verses 25-27, Jesus explained what is their problem through 2 examples.

 
“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.”

Do you know the story of the widow in Zarephath? Elijah’s demand to the woman was harsh. She was preparing her last meal and die. And Elijah asked her to give him first. What a cruel request? But he did. And she honored him by believing the God of Elijah. She had faith in God. And according to the word of God given to her, the jag of her oil did not run day and the flour did not run away. What an amazing story of the woman. Out of many widows at that time only she was blessed by God. Why? Because of her faith.

During the time of famine among all widows at that time only she could enjoy God’s provision. Why? It is because she believed the God of the prophet Elijah. Jesus’ point is she had faith in God although she lived in the region of Sidon which is Gentile area. Despite she was a Gentile woman she had faith in God. So despite of many widows God sent Elijah to the widow in Zarephath. And indeed she had a faith and she was blessed because she could overcome such a famine together with the prophet Elijah. 

The story of Naman the Syrian is the same. He demonstrated his humble faith and he was healed and he was a Syrian, a gentle man. 

Why do all the other lepers could not be cleansed? Because they did not have faith in God. 

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.

Why do all the towns people of Jesus’ hometown got so mad and they are suddenly changed from his lovely home town people to a murderous people who try to throw Jesus off the cliff? It is because they did not believe in Jesus. Why couldn’t they believe Jesus? It is because of their pride. Because of their pride they could not accept that Jesus is the promised Messiah.

Do you have anyone around you who suddenly changed their attitude toward you? Are you the one who suddenly become a murderous enemy toward someone with whom you have such a good relationship? Then think about what made them or you to do so?

Through the passage, one word came to my mind, “Isn’t this Joseph’s son?” To me, it is ‘Isn’t this Jesus whom I know so well?” Because of my pride I could not accept that I am a slave of my lustful desire and I am a man of no faith in Jesus. It is hard to accept these two facts since I am the pastor of our church and I have been missionaries many years and so forth and etc. But the truth is the same. The reason Jesus’ towns’ people could not repent and learn faith in Jesus and receive freedom and salvation is because they could not overcome their pride. After hearing Jesus’ message about the widow in Zarephath and Naman they could have repented their lack of faith in Jesus. But because of their pride they did not. Instead of repenting they tried to get rid of Jesus who exposed their pride. They were slave of their pride.

“Freedom from prisoners”. I have thought that directorship is my Isaac. To be very frank with you, I have been praying about next director after me already for about 2.5 years. Then the Lord gave me one word  “On the Mountain of the Lord it will be provided.” I thought my directorship is my Isaac and if I offer it next director will be provided or shown. But I could not see and God did not reveal the person no matter how much I have prayed hard. Although I have prayed At least once a day and sometimes several times a day still God does not show the person to me. Then this week, to be exact yesterday’s morning God revealed to me that the directorship is not my Isaac but my freedom. My freedom was what God has been seeking from him. He does not want anything from me except my freedom – to use my freedom not to indulge into my sinful desires but to love and serve others. That is what he has been seeking from me. So it is no wonder that I could not receive God’s answer for my next director. 

Why am I not free? It is because I do not have faith in Jesus. Jesus said, “If the Son set you free you are free indeed.” But you have to believe in Jesus. So slavery and no faith is like the two sides of the same coin.  So my repentant topic is to repent of my unbelief in Jesus based on my pride. 

One word: freedom for the prisoners

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