[0:00] Good evening. Good evening. Welcome back. Is it good to be back?
[0:16] Yes. Good. Does anyone need a book? Would you like one?
[0:27] Sure. Do you need something to write with? Okay.
[0:46] All right. So yesterday, last week we tried passing the mic around for the scripture readings, and they said it worked very well.
[0:57] The recording was very clear, and so for anybody following the course later, so we're going to continue to do that. And so if you're uncomfortable, then just pass it by.
[1:14] It hasn't bitten anyone yet. Still time. Still time. Yeah. Actually, you might be the first guy.
[1:29] Yeah. So. Okay. Okay. Well, I think this is week four, and we're getting into it. And I just went through the outline, and we are going to have to pick up the pace a bit to get done by the end of April.
[1:49] And yet, I don't want to go through it too fast. And so, there's just so much to cover, right, as we follow this. So we're basically following the life of Christ as he ministered, and looking at kind of an overview of what he was doing and why.
[2:10] And then, of course, what is his message? And so that's, to grasp that God doesn't do anything that's unplanned or what we say, haphazard.
[2:25] It's well thought through. And as I was reflecting on that, you know, as we serve, there too, there needs to be a plan and order to it.
[2:41] And because that's how God works. And so, if it's our plan, it needs to match with God's, of course. And sometimes he changes our plans to match his.
[2:55] But nevertheless, here we are. Let's open in prayer, and we'll dig in again. So, Father, again, we're grateful for safety and travel as we've come together.
[3:08] Thank you for each person, Lord, that's come out. Thank you for, again, being present with us. And thank you for the many blessings as we study your walk here on earth.
[3:21] And, Lord, that we can learn from that. And that you would inspire us, Lord, to follow your footsteps. Again, Lord, we invite you to teach us, to open our hearts to your word.
[3:35] In Jesus' name, amen. Amen. All right. So, last week, we had started looking at section four, on page four of your notes.
[3:50] And we covered the first four. We looked at the first disciples he made. And anybody remember their names? That's pushing it, right?
[4:05] Bartholomew. Bartholomew. What was his other name? Nathaniel. Philip. Philip. Andrew. He's cheating.
[4:16] Andrew. That's fine. That's fine. That's better than being blank. I'm reviewing. You're reviewing, yeah. So, Bartholomew, Philip, and Andrew, and Peter.
[4:35] Those were the first guys. He did his first miracle in Cana. And then he went back to Jerusalem for the feast and cleaned out the temple.
[4:50] And overturned the tables and drove out the animals and so on. And then we looked at his teaching in Judea.
[5:02] And we ended with Nicodemus coming to him by night. And Jesus anticipating what he wanted or what his questions were.
[5:20] And thereby introducing the new birth. And so, clearly what Jesus did there was to state that to enter the kingdom of God, you have to be born again.
[5:42] And why is that necessary? Why is it necessary to be born again? Yeah. Why is that necessary to enter the kingdom of God?
[5:55] You should all be able to answer that. Why is that necessary? Our sin has to be cleansed. From flesh to spirit.
[6:05] They're both right answers. Our righteousness are like filthy rags.
[6:21] And we have to be righteous to get into heaven. And Christ's righteousness applied to us is the only ticket.
[6:33] The only, only way. Next week, next week as we dig into this, we're going to look at the Sermon on the Mount.
[6:44] And we're going to see the whole context of Jesus' teaching through Matthews 5, 6, and 7. Is that to show the Pharisees that their righteousness comes short.
[6:59] They're not going to make it. And it's interesting how he does that in that teaching. So that's Nicodemus learning firsthand that Jesus' teaching, you must be born again.
[7:16] Okay. Then moving on to number 5. And so further from the temple or from Jerusalem, he now goes back to see John the Baptist.
[7:34] And let's turn to John, the Gospel of John, chapter 3. And we're going to read from 22 to 31.
[8:04] John. 22 to 31. So, should we start from the back?
[8:16] We'll start with you. John 3, starting in verse 22.
[8:30] After these things, Jesus and his disciples came into the land of Judea, and there he remained with them and baptized.
[8:40] Now John also was baptizing in Anan near Salem, because there was much water there. And they came and were baptized.
[8:51] For John had not yet been thrown into prison. Then there arose a dispute between some of John's disciples and the Jews about purification. And they came to John and said to him, John, he who was with you beyond the Jordan, to whom you have testified, behold, he is baptizing, and all are coming to him.
[9:14] John answered and said, A man can receive nothing unless it has been given to him from heaven. You yourselves bear me witness that I said, I am not the Christ, but I have been sent before him.
[9:27] He who has the bride is the bridegroom, but the friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears him, rejoices greatly because of the bridegroom's voice. Therefore this joy of mine is fulfilled.
[9:40] He must increase, but I must decrease. He who comes from above is above all, and he who is of the earth is earthly and speaks of the earth. He who comes from heaven is above all.
[9:53] Okay, thank you. So from Jerusalem, we have this account that John was baptizing in Enon near Selim.
[10:10] And so if you look at this map, you guys in the back probably can't see it, but it's the Sea of Galilee in the Jordan, and then this is where John was now baptizing.
[10:21] Now previously he was baptizing by Beth-Abera, which is here. But now he is on the other side of the Jordan, near this place, and it says there's much water there.
[10:36] And so it indicates that he likely wasn't baptizing in the Jordan. But there was much water there to baptize, so likely pools and so on.
[10:49] Different bodies of water. And so they have a dispute.
[11:04] The disciples of John and the Jews. There was a dispute between some of John's disciples and the Jews about purification.
[11:15] And so very likely that John would baptize in a pool of water would be perhaps repulsive to some of the Jews because all of their purification, or a lot of their purification had to do with running water, like the Jordan.
[11:44] Or even in the Old Testament, they often had to pour water. It was considered running water. So it may have been what they were disputing about there. But nonetheless, they're now bringing about the fact that Jesus, He who is with you beyond the Jordan, to whom you have testified, behold, He is baptizing, and all are coming to Him.
[12:15] So there is now seeming a dispute that this Jesus is baptizing, and many people are attracted to Him.
[12:29] John, your crowds are growing less, and Jesus' are growing more. And so John answers that wisely. And he says, A man can receive nothing unless it's been given to him from heaven.
[12:47] And you yourselves bear me witness that I said I am not the Christ, but I've been sent before Him. And so John again verifies that Jesus is the Christ.
[13:04] And further he says, He must increase and I must decrease. He must increase and I must decrease.
[13:18] And that verse needs to hold true with each one of us. As we grow in the Lord, He increases in my life, and my person, myself, decreases.
[13:42] And without that, there cannot be maturity. As we reflect the Lord taking over more and more as we're spirit-led.
[13:55] And so John recognizes that very, very wisely. Okay? And so we're going to leave that passage, but so very clearly after Jerusalem, going back to John, testifying of that.
[14:11] Then we're going to read Matthew 4, verse 12. Okay. We'll do Matthew 4, verse 12.
[14:41] And we'll do the one in Luke as well. Okay. Would you read, Charlie?
[14:56] And when Jesus heard that John had been put in prison, he departed to Galilee. Okay. And then Luke, chapter 3.
[15:08] Okay. And verse 19 and 20 there.
[15:33] Okay. Oops.
[15:43] Chapter 4. Luke 3, 19 and 20. Okay. But Herod the tetriarch, being rebuked by him concerning Herodias, his brother Philip's wife, and for all the evils which Herod had done, also added this above all, that he shut John up in prison.
[16:07] Okay. So just a little bit of information that as Jesus withdraws from Judea and travels back to Galilee, John, we learn that John the Baptist has been put into prison.
[16:23] And Luke just informed us that it was because Herod was feeling convicted because he was living with his brother's wife. And John had brought his attention to that, that it was not lawful, it was wrong.
[16:39] And so because of that, we, in Matthew, we read that he withdrew from there. And we will see that he actually goes through Samaria.
[16:53] But in the previous section with John there, and they were trying to divide almost the Jews coming to John, Jesus is baptizing more than you are.
[17:10] It's like they were trying to get a division going between the two. And maybe that's part of the reason why Jesus decided to withdraw and go back to Galilee to resume his ministry.
[17:24] And then on top of John was put in prison. And it may have been in the interest of Archelaus, the Herod's son who is now ruling, to put Jesus, take him as well.
[17:43] And so Jesus, Jesus, anyway, withdrew. And we will find that he moves back to Galilee. Okay, Luke 4 tells us that he returned to Galilee in the Spirit.
[17:59] So it was also led by God. So now let's turn back to John 4. And that's kind of going to be the main point here as he goes back.
[18:11] Now this is a long story. And we'll start right in verse 1. And how far should we read?
[18:32] Let's read right through 29. So John 4, right from verse 1 through 29. We'll maybe read the rest yet as well, but let's start there.
[18:46] When therefore the Lord knew that the Pharisees had heard that Jesus was making and baptizing more disciples than John, although Jesus himself was not baptizing, but his disciples were, he left Judea and departed again into Galilee.
[19:04] And he had to pass through Samaria. So he came to a city of Samaria called Sychar, near the parcel of ground that Jacob gave to his son Joseph.
[19:15] And Jacob's well was there. Jesus, therefore, being wearied from his journey, was sitting thus by the well. It was about the sixth hour.
[19:25] There came a woman of Samaria to draw water. Jesus said to her, Give me a drink, for his disciples had gone away into the city to buy food.
[19:41] The Samaritan woman, therefore, said to him, How is it that you, being a Jew, ask me for a drink, since I am a Samaritan woman? For Jews have no dealings with Samaritans.
[19:52] Jesus answered and said to her, If you knew the gift of God and who it is who says to you, Give me a drink, you would have asked him, and he would have given you living water.
[20:05] She said to him, Sir, you have nothing to draw with, and the well is deep. Where then do you get that living water? You are not greater than our father Jacob, are you, who gave us the well and drank of it himself and his sons and his cattle?
[20:24] Jesus answered and said to her, Everyone who drinks of this water shall thirst again, but whoever drinks of the water that I give him shall never thirst, but the water that I shall give him shall become to him a well of water springing up to eternal life.
[20:47] The woman said to him, Sir, give me this water that I may not thirst nor come here to draw. Jesus said to her, Go call your husband and come here. The woman answered and said, I have no husband. Jesus said to her, You have well said, I have no husband, for you have had five husbands and the one whom you now have is not your husband, and that you spoke truly.
[21:06] The woman said to him, Sir, I have perceived that you are a prophet. Our fathers worshipped on this mountain and you Jews say that in Jerusalem is the place where one ought to worship. Jesus said to her, Woman, believe me, the hour is coming when you will neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem worship the Father.
[21:23] You worship what you do not know. We know what we worship, for salvation is of the Jews. But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshippers will worship the Father in spirit and in truth, for the Father is seeking such to worship him.
[21:38] God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth. The woman said to him, I know that Messiah is coming, who is called Christ.
[21:55] When he comes, he will tell us all things. Jesus said to her, I who speak to you am he. And at this point, his disciples came, and they marveled that he talked with a woman, yet no one said, What do you seek, or why are you talking with her?
[22:09] The woman then left her water pot, went her way into the city, and said to the men, Come, see a man who told me all things that I ever did. Could this be the Christ? All right.
[22:24] Thank you. So, it begins with Jesus needed to go through Samaria. Now, not sure what is meant by that, because to go back, back from Jerusalem to Nazareth, there was a mountain road, there was a coast road, and there was a river valley road.
[22:53] And yet it says he needed to go through Samaria. Now, there's no explanation given besides that God had planned that Jesus would stop in Samaria and make himself known to the Samaritans as well.
[23:13] So, who are the Samaritans? Half Jews? And the other half? Imports.
[23:27] Imports. When the northern tribes got deported, 722 before Christ, they got carried off into captivity, or destroyed.
[23:47] The kingdom of Syria, they imported, put their own people into this area.
[24:00] Later, after the return, some Jews went back and they intermingled. And they called them half-breeds. The Jews of Judea considered them dogs because of that.
[24:20] They weren't true Jews anymore. and they were very, very much looked down on. In fact, they would not talk to these Samaritans, never mind a woman from Samaria.
[24:36] And so, basically, they're undeserving of the things of God in the Jewish mind. They're not worthy. They're not worthy of it.
[24:50] Okay? When Jesus told the story of the good Samaritan, right? Do we know that story? Where a man gets robbed and a priest comes by and a Levite comes by and they both just walk around and then the Samaritan comes by, right?
[25:08] And now we can understand that story better. To know that this person who is so looked down upon was the one that had mercy, compassion.
[25:22] And so, this is where Jesus decides to stop and he meets this woman and says, give me a drink and right away that woman is kind of baffled.
[25:35] Why do you, a Jew, ask me for a drink? This is very uncultural. It's wrong. And so, she marveled at that and then Jesus says, if you knew the gift of God and who it is who says to you, give me a drink, you would have asked him and he would have given you living water.
[25:58] He's talking about himself and if you knew the gift of God and you would have and who it is who says to you, give me a drink.
[26:10] So, Jesus is identifying himself as the gift of God to her. Now, this woman of Samaria is not spiritual and she says, give me of this drink because that means I will not have to come and draw water anymore.
[26:29] I don't have to make that trip out of the city to the well, to Jacob's well to draw water. That's hard work. And she had she had her mind wrapped about making life easy.
[26:45] And of course, Jesus then corrects her. So, in verses 13-14, Jesus makes it clear, whoever drinks of this water will thirst again, but whoever drinks of the water that I give him will never thirst.
[27:02] For the water that I will give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life. And of course, the woman wants that.
[27:14] And then Jesus says, go call your husband. And this is ouch time. As Jesus, or as she responds, I have no husband.
[27:32] Jesus says, you've answered correctly. You've had, what is it, five? And the one that you're living with isn't your husband. And so what did Jesus just do here?
[27:47] All-knowing, and he came right morally to her heart. And it identified her moral corruption, her unrighteousness.
[28:03] and this woman, that was like a mirror, she saw herself. And this is the work of the Holy Spirit in us today as well.
[28:21] Always reflecting back, revealing our hearts. Jesus. So I think this woman was taken aback when Jesus asked, or said these things of her.
[28:35] And so she perceived you are a prophet. And then the discussion follows that she says, our fathers worship on this mountain.
[28:54] And you Jews say that in Jerusalem is the only place, or is the place we ought to worship. And Jesus then speaks to that as well. So the background is the Samaritans, it's not on this map, is it?
[29:13] No. It's probably on here. it's Mount Gerizim, is where they worshipped, and the Jews worshipped in Jerusalem.
[29:27] And so it was a place of worship. The two kind of had separated back in the Old Testament already. And so the half Jews would no longer go to Jerusalem to worship, they would worship on their mountain.
[29:43] And so there was an argument. So after Solomon, the kingdom divided, and the kings of the north didn't want their people to go to Jerusalem. And so they introduce a new place of worship.
[29:57] And they're still doing that at this time. And so Jesus corrects her, and he says, he says that, woman, believe me, the hour is coming when you will neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem worship the Father, you worship what you do not know, we know what we worship for salvation is of the Jews.
[30:20] But the hour is coming, and now is when true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such to worship him.
[30:33] God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship him in spirit and truth. and as believers, we understand that our physical body is the temple of the Holy Spirit.
[30:51] And so, just a sec, and so in the Old Testament, God would meet them in the Holy of Holies and speak to them in the temple.
[31:04] And here we are the temple and God speaks to us directly now. And so we worship him in truth and in spirit as he exists in us.
[31:17] You had a question? You had a question? Of worshiping God in spirit?
[31:44] Or in the spirit? Okay. She's asking, what does it mean to worship in spirit?
[31:56] Any ideas? Any thoughts? Yeah.
[32:17] Yeah. Right. So, yeah. So the, the, the, in the, in the direct context, it's not, not Mount Gerizim where they, where the, the Samaritans worship or Jerusalem.
[32:37] The time is coming where we worship God in truth. And, and so we worship him with our daily life. And, and we are not to dwell in the temple all our life.
[32:50] We are to go about our work and to worship God every day. Our, our very life is, is a life of worship.
[33:01] So, we don't worship in the physical, but, but God is spirit residing in us and we follow his leading.
[33:12] So we walk in truth, we walk in the light. And so my, my very life displays that. So that would be the context to this anyway.
[33:25] Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. It's, it's mostly the word of God and the spirit of God using the word to speak to us, to reveal truth to us.
[33:44] Yeah. You'll very rarely hear the audible voice of God and, and many people never have and yet they're very godly people walking in the spirit.
[33:57] all right. So that's Jesus introducing eternal life to, to this woman. So, of course she goes back to the city and shares what she has heard and what Jesus has told her.
[34:18] He's told, he's revealed all things about me and then they come out and hear him and then they plead with him to stay a few days and to teach them. And the scripture says Jesus stayed there two days and taught them.
[34:34] The disciples come back, they marvel that he's talking to the Samaritans and so they too are learning a lesson of culture that the gospel knows zero culture barriers.
[34:49] There are no barriers. the culture where the spirit of God does not penetrate right through.
[35:00] And so it's something that we all learn to let go of those boundaries. Now maybe to sum up what Jesus did here in verse 14 he came to give eternal life.
[35:25] In verses 16 through 18 he revealed the spiritual need of this woman. He showed his omnipotence verses 16 to 18.
[35:40] In verse 24 he revealed the nature of the father that he is spirit. And in verse 25 and 26 he clearly revealed himself as the Messiah.
[35:53] I'll just reread those verses. The woman said to him I know that Messiah is coming who is called the Christ. When he comes he will tell us all things.
[36:05] So she's actually kind of debating with Christ here or with this person and then Jesus says I who speak to you am he.
[36:18] Oh she has just met the Savior. And so hence this whole area of Samaria this whole province has the word going forth from their main city.
[36:41] So we have Jesus now for the first time reaching out to whom the Jews would consider unworthy of receiving salvation.
[36:54] So literally they would have saw them as unworthy. Now we know that in history even in the U.S.
[37:06] before the Civil War and the slavery movement there were many owners of slaves that treated their slaves as if they did not have souls.
[37:22] There is no need for you to come to church because you can't be saved. You don't have a soul. You are like an animal. So this has been with mankind for ages.
[37:35] This looking down on aspects of society and that they're unworthy of the things of God. So Jesus broke through that barrier.
[37:54] All right. Let's jump down to verses 43 to 45. verse 43 to 45.
[38:18] Now after the two days he departed from there and went to Galilee. For Jesus himself testified that a prophet has no honor in his own country.
[38:30] So when he came to Galilee the Galileans received him having seen all the things he did in Jerusalem at the feast for they also had gone to the feast.
[38:42] So Jesus came again to Cana of Galilee where he had made the water wine and there was a certain noble man whose son was sick at Capernaum.
[38:55] Okay we're just going to read the 45 there so thank you so Jesus returning to Galilee and it says the Galileans received him and so he spent a few days in Samaria went to Galilee and they received him and having seen all the things that he did in Jerusalem at the feast for they had also gone to the feast and so there Jesus goes back home to his home area Nazareth and they receive him because they too have gone to the feast where he just was so probably within the last month that they were there and they witnessed all the miracles that he did there and the teaching that he did so they received him gladly does not mean that they believe in him but they listened they were willing to listen to him and so back to
[40:06] Galilee we go on his journey so in that verse it says that Jesus for Jesus in 44 for Jesus himself testified that a prophet has no honor in his own country what does that mean prophet has no honor in his own country yeah we knew your father Joseph and Mary and you didn't come from God and so they resent any honor from a local and so usually there's there's rejection that's what he is saying and he's saying this prophetically because that's exactly what happened and we're going to read about that here in a bit okay so by the way in
[41:22] Jerusalem from the leadership Nicodemus didn't reject him but pursued him the Samaritans didn't reject him but they pursued him and now he's come home and they're gladly listening to him but he's prophesying that they will reject him and so as we go forward we're going to see that okay so that was number eight there in your notes and under the title of acceptance of his person as the Messiah we had eight points under that so he established himself now we're going to be the authority of the Messiah through his works and words through his deeds and number one Christ's authority to preach and let's turn to the Matthew 4 17 Matthew 4 17 from that time
[42:37] Jesus began to preach and say repent for the kingdom of heaven is at hand okay where have we heard those words before by John the Baptist he has the same message repent the kingdom of God is at hand and so Jesus has established himself and it has given him the right to preach the authority to preach and so if we go back to Moses and Moses at age 40 had killed an Egyptian and then he escaped for his life and went to Midian and got married and was a sheep farmer when God called him back to lead his people and to stand before Pharaoh what did Moses ask for do you know that story a little bit later yeah what's that a sign he says
[43:53] God if I go stand before Pharaoh why would he listen to me and then God said I will authenticate your message I'm going to give you a sign or signs and the first sign was the rod or the staff and as he lay it down it became a snake and the second sign was testing you guys leprosy put his hand in the bosom and took it out and it was white so that was the second sign and what was the third one he would draw water from the Nile the river and poured on dry land and would turn into blood and and with that Moses they're going to pay attention to you God gave him credibility to speak now if we if we go back to
[44:59] Jesus the last eight points that we just looked at where he traveled basically across Israel in every place doing miracles introducing himself as the potential Messiah he God gave him credibility to now preach everybody had seen him heal and do miracles so now when he preached they listened so that's that's what we see here in as he in verse 17 as he says repent for the kingdom of heaven is at hand okay so Jesus that we read of had no formal schooling he likely had their village grade school I'm not that familiar with that in Galilee there wouldn't have much opportunity whatever the boys had probably till age 12 and but anybody that was a teacher of the law went way beyond and got schooled as a
[46:12] Pharisee and got training from adults and would take them under the wing for years and that gave you the right to preach to teach the Bible the law and here is Jesus no schooling and God authenticated him so they paid attention an unlearned man in their eyes speaking the word of God like no one else so he had the right to preach so we see even there God had a plan as he moved forward all right and so this this whole section has a number of different miracles that Jesus does to to further authenticate to works number two
[47:12] Christ's authority over disease back to John 4 and 46 to 54 John chapter 4 so Jesus came again to Cana of Galilee where he had made the water wine and there was a certain noble man whose son was sick at Capernaum when he heard that Jesus had come out of Judea into Galilee he went to him and implored him to come down and heal his son for he was at the point of death then Jesus said to him unless you people see signs and wonders you will by no means believe the noble man said to him sir come down before my child dies so Jesus said to him go your way your son lives so the man believed in the word that Jesus spoke to him and he went his way and as he was now going down his servants met him and told him saying your son lives then he inquired of him of them the hour when he got better and they said to him yesterday at the seventh hour the fever left him so the father knew that it was at the same hour in which this again is the second sign
[48:40] Jesus did when he had come out of Judea into Galilee okay so we have a another incident or incident occasion for Jesus to show himself in Galilee this time it's in Cana where he turned the water into wine and there he is approached by this noble man and asking him to come and heal his son who is sick it says at the point of death and a noble man was an official a royal official so he was somebody high up and this noble man lived in Capernaum and so just to get that straight so
[49:40] Cana is over here and Capernaum is over there this is where Nathaniel lived according to John 21 and Capernaum is where the noble man lived and very likely this guy wasn't a Jew we're not certain but as a ruler he was very likely a Roman and he he implores Jesus to come and heal and Jesus says unless you people see signs and wonders you will by no means believe and teaching we need to come to faith without always seeing signs and wonders to believe with to believe with our minds our hearts without seeing and which of the apostles had to see to believe after the resurrection Thomas right and Jesus says the same words blessed are those that see or believe without seeing okay and but but the nobleman says sir come before my child dies and
[50:59] Jesus says to him go your way your son lives and the man believed and and he went his way okay what does verse 53 say the last half and he himself believed and his whole household can we come to faith without humbling ourselves there's our answer he humbled himself yeah so Jesus did a long distance miracle he did not follow the nobleman to Capernaum he spoke and 50 40 miles away the child got healed right he did not lay hands on he did not chant anything he says go your son lives and and the man went and as he's going he meets his servants and they say hey he got better what time so and so time yesterday and oh that's the same time
[52:25] Jesus spoke those words yeah not not a coincidence a miracle of God revelation of God okay so we see Jesus doing doing that deliberately from a far off healing this guy's son this nobleman okay is there a struggle today to believe without seeing the signs what does that tell us we're no different our human needs are the same as they were back then we want to see we want to walk by sight not by faith that's that's our flesh right our human nature and so when we walk by sight there's no faith involved because then we want the next miracle and the next one all right number three his rejection in
[53:48] Nazareth Luke chapter four so here we are a prophet has no honor in his own country Luke 4 16 through 30 so he came to Nazareth where he had been brought up and as his custom was he went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day and stood up to read and he was handed the book of the prophet Isaiah and when he had opened the book he found the place where it was written the spirit of the Lord is upon me because he has anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor he has sent me to heal the broken hearted to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind to set at liberty those who are oppressed to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord then he closed the book and gave it back to the attendant and sat down and the eyes of all who were in the synagogue were fixed on him and he began to say to them today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing so all bore witness to him and marveled at the gracious words which proceeded out of his mouth and they said to him is this not
[55:07] Joseph's son he said to them you will surely say this proverb to me physician heal yourself whatever we have heard done do also here in your country then he said now surely I say to you no prophet is accepted in his own country but I tell you truly many widows were in Israel in the days of Elijah when the heaven was shut up three years and six months and there was a great famine throughout all the land but to none of them was Elijah sent except Zarephath and the region of Sidon to a woman who was a widow and many lepers were in Israel in when they heard these things were filled with wrath and rose up and thrust him out of the city and they led him to the brow of the hill on which their city was built that they might throw him down over the cliff then passing through the midst of them he went his way okay so the first direct attempt to kill him and where does it happen right in his hometown yep hasn't done a lot of ministry there and already they're pushing back so at
[56:32] Nazareth of course he's back at Nazareth where he grew up and he goes to the synagogue on the Sabbath like their custom would be and for the men to be there and as he goes there he is given the scriptures the scroll and he's given the privilege of reading the scriptures and it says he was handed the book of the prophet Isaiah now that's so convenient they they had routine readings that they practiced in like an order so here he was given the book of Isaiah whether they had opened it to Isaiah 61 or whether Jesus turned there we don't know but that's where he read from and either way it was God's providence that he brought that about and so he reads a direct quote out of
[57:34] Isaiah 61 the spirit of the spirit of the gospel to the poor to heal the broken hearted proclaim liberty to the captives recovery of sight to the blind to set free those who are oppressed and to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord and he closes the book and gives it back and sits down he's done his part and then and then it says and all eyes were fixed on him what do they want i wonder why they're waiting for clarification for exposition they're waiting for him to teach to explain this passage and what does he say today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing guys that was speaking about me today that day has come and he probably used many words but he began with that and so revealing right to his hometown his home people possibly his brothers were there we're not told but he's in
[58:57] Nazareth the guys he grew up with are there and today this scripture is fulfilled it says they all bore witness and marveled at his gracious words and then they said is this not Joseph's son and they hiccuped and couldn't get over it how is it possible that he grew up in our hometown Joseph's son that he would do these things and speak in this manner and say that today scriptures are fulfilled in me and Jesus answers you will surely say this proverb to me physician heal yourself whatever we have heard done in
[60:03] Capernaum do also here in your country and he had just healed the nobleman son from Cana and they're saying show us another miracle do it do it again here at home and and then he says no prophet is accepted in his own country then then we have two illustrations to reveal the hardness of their hearts as they cannot get over the fact that he a local guy could come from God and he uses the illustrations from Elijah and from Elisha and he begins with Elijah praying for a drought and God sent three and a half years of famine and during that famine so this was to the northern tribes
[61:12] Samaria and Galilee in the Old Testament and it was because of their hardness of hearts they were Baal worshipping anti-God back then and Elijah had a message for them and God tried to get their attention but with a drought and for three and a half years it didn't rain now we think we have a dry when it doesn't rain for a month or two three and a half years and he says who benefited during that drought who was ministered to during that drought and he says none of them was Elijah sent except to Zarephath in the region of Sidon to a woman who was a widow and he ministered to her now that is up on the coastline up higher yet right around there outside of Israel that's the only place where
[62:20] Elijah was able to minister and he met that widow's needs sustained her during that drought and what he is saying is I couldn't minister to any of you in Israel because the hardness and then he goes on in the time of Elisha and many lepers were in Israel in the time of Elisha the prophet and none of them were cleansed except Naaman the Syrian we may know that story of Naaman the Syrian coming to be cleansed and so Elisha well God used Elisha to heal him of his leprosy but to none of the Israelites the Jews were healed of their leprosy and there was a lot of it and so what he is saying is just like it was back then where you rejected
[63:25] Elijah and Elisha you're rejecting me excuse me maybe we should be taking a break okay what's their response so he's telling the truth going back to the Old Testament from their people and revealing their hardness and comparing it to them and it says so all those in the synagogue in verse 28 when they heard these things were filled with wrath filled with wrath rose up and thrust him outside of the city led him to the brow of a hill on which their city was built that they might throw him over the cliff let's do away with this guy let's get rid of him and then our consciences will maybe leave us be and so to put him away okay the first rejection that's direct here is from his own people any questions or thoughts on that perhaps there's a sense of that that he would be lifted up or have that honor there could be an aspect of jealousy but more so if this is true what he is saying then they need to bow the knee to him because he is then
[65:29] Lord he is the Savior he is the Messiah and if I acknowledge what he is saying and that what Isaiah prophesied is now true then I need to listen to Jesus but we played ball together when we were 12 years old right it's it's even deeper than that it's very fact that our human nature rebels rejects submission but then a prophet in his own country is without honor and so that that kicks in double yeah and we know that today as well missions at home is harder than abroad where they don't know you it is we struggle with listening to the message of a local all right that's number three number four okay his residency in
[66:48] Capernaum Matthew 4 13 to 16 so they want to push him off the cliff and kill him and he escapes out of their midst and verse 13 in Matthew 4 and leaving Nazareth he came and dwelt in Capernaum which is upon the sea coast and the borders of Zebulun and Nephthalem that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Isaiah the prophet saying the land of Zebulun and the land of Nephthalem by the way of the sea beyond Jordan Galilee of the Gentiles the people which sat in the darkness saw great light and to them which sat in the region in shadow of death light is sprung up okay thank you so leaving Nazareth he came and dwelt in Capernaum so the rest of his Galilean ministry is now centered in Capernaum that thriving fishing town on top here so he makes that home and by the way a number of his disciples came from
[67:57] Bethsaida which is very close so that whole region very central for ministry as well lots of people living in those areas around the lake so he leaves his hometown and moves to Capernaum and then we have the prophecy fulfilled in Isaiah chapter 9 where the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali by the way of the sea by the way of the Jordan Galilee of the Gentiles the people who sat in darkness have seen a great light and upon those who sat in the region in shadow of death light has dawned and so those Gentile nations now receive a great light these maps are a bit small but I'm going to there's
[69:05] Naphtali and Zebulun is here and so Capernaum is there so it's to the north basically and so it was the intersection of lots of traffic that was Capernaum would have been on the main trade route from up beyond the Mediterranean they would all come down through here and so he was right in that path he would have interacted with lots of Gentiles as well as they would come for business and even travel so that's very convenient that that would be his ministry center from there on so it's his residency in Capernaum okay number five Christ's authority over nature and let's read on verse 18 through 22 in Matthew 4 and Jesus walked by the sea of
[70:06] Galilee saw two brothers Simon saw two brothers Simon and called Peter and Andrew his brother casting a net into the sea for they were fishermen he said then he said to them follow me I will make you fishers of men that immediately left their nets and followed him going on from there he saw two brother he saw two other brothers James and the son of Zeban and John and his John his brother in the boat with Zebony and their father mending nets he called them and immediately they left the boat and their father and followed him okay I used to ponder about this as a younger believer because to me when I read this I could see Jesus walking on the seashore and he saw the fishermen hey guys come follow me and they left their nets and they followed him and being ignorant of the scriptures more back then but it always baffled me
[71:17] God is that what you want from me to just blindly follow you and these these disciples to be or apostles later did not blindly follow him in fact we met them on the Jordan where John was baptizing they they they they already followed Jesus there they asked questions there already it says he went to Cana with his disciples they witnessed the miracles there and so they've yeah somewhere back they went back fishing but they've already been exposed to Christ and let's turn to to Luke chapter 5 and it adds a nice touch to this Luke chapter 5 and we need to read all 11 verses to get the story here and it came to pass that as the people pressed upon him to hear the word of
[72:31] God he stood by the lake of just Nazareth and saw two ships standing by the lake but the fishermen were gone out of them and were washing their nets and he entered into one of the ships which was Simon's and prayed him that he would thrust out a little from the land and he sat down and taught the people out of the ship now when he had left speaking he said unto Simon launch out into the deep and let down your nets for a draught and Simon answering said unto him master we have toiled all the night and have taken of nothing nevertheless at thy word I will let down the net and when they had done this they enclosed a great multitude of fishes and their net broke and they beckoned unto their partners which were in the other ship that they should come and help them and they came and filled both the ships so that they began to sink when Simon Peter saw it he fell down at Jesus knees saying depart from me for I am a sinful man O Lord but he was astonished and all that were with him at the draught of the fishes which they had taken and so was also
[73:34] James and John the sons of Zebedee which were partners with Simon and Jesus said unto Simon fear not from henceforth thou so we have a little more reason to forsake all and follow him and so as Jesus is teaching and here we get to do that there's multitudes pressing about him to hear that he got into one of the boats Simon Peter's and roll out from the land a little bit and then speak to the people on the shore and after he's finished speaking he tells Peter why don't you now in fishing on the sea of Galilee they fished at night that's when the fish would come up to feed and Peter says but Lord we fished all night and we didn't catch one now during the day you want us to let down our nets but nevertheless because you say so
[74:40] I will and he let down his net and it was so full that it was breaking and what's Peter's response what does he say he says depart from me I am a sinful man why that he felt unworthy so he has already witnessed what Christ has done in other places Peter was there and here he sees it again first hand in his field of work because Peter was a fisherman that was his life on the sea of Galilee so he made his living and coming up empty that night no wages that night and Jesus showed him his power over nature in that way and so
[75:44] Peter's response is depart from you oh Lord I am a sinful man and they were astonished and also were James and John the sons of Zebedee partners with Simon and Jesus says don't be afraid from now on you're going to catch men and they forsook all and followed him what's the lesson for us today go witness does Jesus expect us to forsake all without clarity of calling he reveals himself and and I think roughly a year has gone by already from Jesus baptism he's he's ending the close to the end of his first year ready they they have had time to think and to see
[76:54] Jesus at work and and they are now ready to follow that calling so Jesus obviously does call them come follow me I'll make you fishers of men but they've seen enough and so for us today it is no different that we must be convinced who he is to be of use to him to follow him to go and he doesn't blindly call us and expect us blindly to go but he shows us and so I think that's very critical ministry or going out for the Lord if we are not convinced from the depths of our heart that God has revealed himself and shown me and called me we won't last we have to believe it from the depths of our heart understand and that often takes time and a process as God reveals that to us but when it comes then we ought not to fight and here they forsook their nets they didn't fight and they followed him okay there was there was not an emotional response here it was an intellectual response yeah there was emotions from astonishment but but the intellectual was there and those two the intellectual has to lead the emotions contribute but but in our heart we have to understand because if
[78:56] I'm following an emotional call it's not going to work it's going to collapse and so that's just something for us to keep in mind our emotions have to be tempered by sound doctrine by sound thinking and that's what endures any thoughts about that how that changed my life yeah that's a long story Providence but the process that
[79:57] God used to call me into ministry was over eight years an eight year period from the first glimpse that he had something more for me and it had I'll keep it brief because we need to keep going it had to do because we were up on a new church building shingling the roof and a whole bunch of us guys and we were just grouping in the center there for a little pause and one of the guys turns to us as a whole group and says which one of us is going to be the pastor here and it had never entered my mind before I almost fell off the roof literally it just it was like he hit me with a sledgehammer between the eyes and
[81:02] I remained rooted and didn't dare say a word and I never said boo and it took another almost eight years of preparation I don't even think I told you right away and then there was a lot more verification that happened in the next time or next years but we'll leave that for another day but yeah the Lord is very faithful in those ways okay number six Christ's authority over demons so we're in Capernaum and we can stay right in Luke chapter four and thirty one to thirty seven then he went down to
[82:07] Capernaum a town in Galilee and on the Sabbath he taught the people then there they were amazed at his teaching because his words had authority in the synagogue there was a man possessed by a demon and an impure spirit he cried out at the top of his voice go away what do you want with us Jesus of Nazareth have you come to destroy us I know who you are the holy one of God be quiet Jesus said sternly come out of him then the demon threw the man down before them all and came out without injuring him all the people were amazed and said to each other what words these are with authority and power he gives orders to the impure spirits and they will come out and the news about him spreading throughout the surrounding area okay thank you so we're in
[83:20] Capernaum and guess what on the Sabbath he is in the synagogue and he's teaching them and they're obviously asking they're recognizing the authority in him so they're allowing him again to speak to teach them from the scriptures and so it's on the Sabbath they were astonished at his teaching for his word was with authority and now the Jews were not accustomed to teaching with authority and the lawyers the teachers of the law they would not teach with conviction very much of what they taught was written by the rabbis and from their from their own Jewish books and they would say
[84:21] Rabbi so-and-so believes it could have be this way and Rabbi so-and-so says it's this way and here Jesus comes and he doesn't say so-and-so he says this is the way it is with authority with conviction as if Jesus is totally 100% convinced of reality and truth and they are not used to it and so they're astonished and you know where did this man get his teaching and so they're recognizing that in him so as he's in the Sabbath in Capernaum they're astonished and in the synagogue there's a man with a spirit an unclean demon and he cried out with a loud voice saying let us alone what have we to do with you Jesus of Nazareth who is crying out the demon is taking control of that man he's indwelt taking control of his voice of his mind and he's crying out leave us alone
[85:36] Jesus what have we to do with you so the demons of course know Jesus they know him personally from back in heaven and in other places have you come to torment us they know their future and so here too that demon recognizes did you come to destroy us I know who you are the holy one of God so here the demon world positively identifies Christ before the people in the synagogue you are the holy one of God you are the Christ this is this is Satan's people acknowledging who Jesus is and by the way
[86:36] Satan always has to bow at the name of Christ he has no power against him and we see that even here Jesus rebuked him be quiet and come out and when the devil had thrown him in their midst so this demon throws the guy down before he departs in their midst and it came out of him and did not hurt him so restricted in power already but threw him down convulsed him maybe and then he was gone and the man was freed from his invasion and they're all amazed what a word this is they say with authority and power he commands the unclean spirits and they come out and the report about him went into every region or every place in the surrounding region so
[87:50] Capernaum and then abroad the news is just traveling even the demons have to go our time is getting close to done let's do one more Christ authority over sickness we can keep on reading I think 48 or verse chapter 4 38 to 41 in Luke 38 to 41 is it my turn I'll read it is it going to pick up both all right now he arose from the synagogue and entered
[89:06] Simon's house but Simon's wife's mother was sick with high fever and they made request of him concerning her and so he stood over her and rebuked the fever and it left her and immediately she arose and served them maybe I'll read two more when the sun was setting all those who had any that were sick with various diseases brought them to him and he laid his hands on every one of them and healed them and demons also came out of many crying out and saying you are the Christ the son of God and he rebuked them did not allow them to speak for they knew that he was the Christ so his authority over sickness so leaving the synagogue going to Peter's house and there his mother-in-law is sick with fever with high fever the wording there sounds like she is very sick and she's bedridden and and Jesus commands rebukes the fever and and it left her and then notice what it says after and immediately she got up and served them when when we're sick and the fever goes away do we have our strength a minute later and immediately she got up and served them not only was the fever cast out she was restored to health and it was a miracle in that way as well and so the power of
[91:02] Christ demonstrated over sickness in that way and she and because of that many brought the sick to him and he laid hands on them and healed them all and cast out the demons so his local ministry just people would have come from far and wide to bring their their ailments to him and to be healed and so why why did God as we close with this why did God use Jesus to do all this healing and all this miraculous stuff what was his purpose yeah to confirm who he was and ultimately it was not about them being healed but by them recognizing this is the son of God and to be spiritually healed and by showing signs and wonders he was further verifying who he was and because there's no benefit to healing someone physically if they're going to hell right ultimately
[92:31] God wants our spiritual healing that we become born again that we become his children and so going through this keeping these things in mind as God is revealing himself mightily to the Jewish nation primarily the Jewish nation all right we need to wrap up it's time any last questions before we close our all to theew