Christian Foundations 4 - ServiceNäide

PRIORITISE THE POOR

When Jesus started preaching in the back blocks of Israel at 30, He was an instant hit. He was a fresh face. He had some new things to say. He healed a lot of people. And He was a local boy. Not some city slicker looking for headlines, but a good, old-fashioned, country boy. Jesus had become a bit of a celebrity. Galilee often missed out on these sorts of shows with Jerusalem as the usual centre of such activity. So when Jesus came home to Nazareth, people were understandably excited. Here was the local boy making good. Naturally, He got an invite to speak in their synagogue. But at the end of His sermon, His hometown neighbors tried to throw Him off a cliff. What on earth did He say? Read on.

Read: Luke 4:16-30

Journal

1. What is God saying to me? Which verse is most significant?

2. What do I want to discuss/explore further?

3. What do I need to do?

4. What made Jesus’ hometown so mad?

Reflect

I’ve had some interesting reactions to sermons. A guy stormed out in the middle of my sermon one Sunday morning, and the following day, he attacked his previous pastor with an axe. Fortunately, the pastor was not injured. I’m not sure what I said, but it obviously stirred something awful up. However, I’ve never had the whole church wanting to kill me after I preached. Not that I know of anyway. Not like Jesus here.

The synagogue congregation reacted so violently because Jesus made two things very clear about his ministry. First, He was going to prioritize the poor and needy and struggling. He hadn’t come to tell religious people how to be more godly, but to set free the poor and imprisoned and blind and oppressed. These people were His target. Jesus was mainly speaking figuratively – He had good news for the spiritually destitute. But these people were mostly found among the poor and disadvantaged, so it applied both literally and figuratively. His old neighbors seemed to take that part of His message okay. I guess they figured that they were included, being from the country and all.

But what really got their goat was that Jesus went on to say that there would be no favorites. No one would get an inside run. Not God’s special Jewish people, not even His friends and neighbors in Nazareth. This good news was for everyone and the more desperate and distant you were, the better. Well, they weren’t putting up with that rubbish. Of course, God had favorites like them. “Off with His head.”

In the next study, we will focus on God’s call to serve our church family, but we mustn’t forget Jesus’ priority here. We are especially called to serve the poor, the prisoners, the blind, the oppressed, the refugees, whether that’s their physical or spiritual condition. We serve those who offer us nothing in return. Those who are desperate. Those who have little hope apart from God and His serving people.

Pray

You have such a beautiful heart Lord Jesus and I have been the beneficiary of Your care. You have no personal agenda but to serve Your Father and to serve us. My heart goes out to those who are struggling and desperate and imprisoned and rejected and racked with pain today. Please give me the love and strength to serve those who need to see Your care and cannot help themselves.

Respond

There will be opportunities to serve today. If God gives you the opportunity, do something for someone who can give you nothing in return.

Written by John Sweetman