Well, on a January day in 2007, a man with a baseball cap and blue jeans walked into a busy Washington, D.C. metro station. It was that morning rush hour when everybody was trying to get to work. He walked into the metro station carrying something.
You think it's a bomb, but it's not. It was a violin. Now, street performers are a common sight at this particular metro stop, which is a place in Washington, D.C., where federal employee after federal employee shows up for work. The street performers started playing at 7.51 a.m., and he played for 43 minutes.
During that time, 1,097 people passed him by. And in that time, he made $32.17. One person recognized him and put an extra $20 into his open violin case. So to 1,096 people, this street performer remained a mystery.
Some people said he played beautifully. Others said he was a nuisance. Who was he? Well, give you a clue.
I'll tell you about his violin. It was made by Antonio Stradaveri in 1713, so over 300 years ago now, and it has its own name, the Gibson X. Puberman. The street performer bought it for a reported $3.5 million.
And playing it that morning, he made $52.17. In 43 minutes. I mean, that's pretty great. But Washington Post reporter Gene Winegardens would range everything, says the street performer skills normally command a fee of $1,000 a minute.
So the people watching to DC shortchanged $42,947.83. Joshua Bell was that street performer that morning. He's one of the most technically gifted violinist alive today. A true virtuoso.
His parents arranged for him to have violin lessons when he was a child. I think he was four years old. And he arranged rubber bands on his dresser and started plucking them to make music. He on a lark agreed to play a virtuoso concert performance at a subway stop.
It was a strange feeling Bell told Winegardens afterwards that people were actually, uh, ignoring me. Bell confessed he'd get upset in a concert hall if someone caught or a cell phone rang. But here he remarked my expectations quickly diminished. I started to appreciate any acknowledgement.
Even a slight glance out. I was oddly grateful when someone threw in a dollar instead of change. Winegardens' analysis of Bell watching the video of his own subway performance is worth quoting and full. There are six moments in the video that Bell finds particularly painful to relive.
The awkward times he calls them. It's what happens right after each piece ends. Nothing. Nothing.
The same, the music stops. The same people who hadn't noticed him playing. Don't notice he's finished. No applause.
No acknowledgement. So Bell just saws out a small, nervous chord. The embarrassed musicians equivalent of, er, okay, moving right along and begins the next piece. Familiarity breeds contempt.
Heard one street performer? Heard them all. What's really important is in that violinist in the corner but getting the kids to take care, getting the kids to school on time, getting myself to work. We've been there.
And many times we don't miss anything or we don't miss much by taking that attitude. But sometimes we miss a once in a lifetime opportunity. Something that will never be offered to us again. And we see that danger in Luke chapter four verses 16 to 30.
It's on page 859 of the PUBYB in front of you if you want to take a look at it. Because the passage before us, excuse me, in which it's gospel asks and answers two important questions. First, who is Jesus? And second, where is he going?
Who is he and where is he going? Now normally when I have the privilege of preaching a redeemer, Ted will ask me later, ask the title of your sermon. And I never have a title. So he has to think something up or we work on it together.
But tonight my sermon has a title. Free range Jesus. Free range Jesus. Jesus is God's son, the Messiah, for God's people.
And Jesus is going wherever his father sends him. So Luke chapter four, beginning with verse 16 page 859. And he, that is Jesus, came to Nazareth, where he even brought up. And as was his custom, he went to the synagogue on the Sabbath day.
And he stood up to read. And the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to him. He unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written. The spirit of the Lord is upon me because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind. To set it liberty those who are oppressed. To proclaim the year of the Lord's favor. And he rolled up the scroll and gave it back to the attendant and sat down.
And the eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on him. And he began to say to them, today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing. It all spoke well of him and marveled at the gracious words that were coming from his mouth. And they said, isn't this Joseph's son?
And he said to them, doubtless he will quote to me this proverb, physician, heal yourself. What we've heard you did at Capernaum, do here in your hometown as well. And he said, truly I say to you, no prophet is acceptable in his hometown. But in truth I tell you, there were many widows in Israel in the days of Elijah when the heavens were shut up three years and six months.
And a great famine came over all the land. But Elijah was sent to none of them. But only his airfowl in the land of Sidon to a woman who was widowed. And there were many lepers in Israel in the time of the prophet Elijah.
And none of them was cleansed. But only name it, the Syrian. When they heard these things, all in the synagogue were filled with wrath. And they rose up and drove him out of the town and brought him to the brow of the hill in which their town was built so they could throw him down to the cliff.
But passing through their midst, he went away. Well, let's pray and ask God to help us. If King Jesus, our God and Savior, bless us, open our eyes, show us our sin, show us your glory. And we ask this for your great name's sake.
Amen. Amen. Well, let's set the scene. Jesus is in his hometown.
He is where Luke tells us in verse 16, he'd been brought up. He's in his home synagogue. He's in his home church, as it were. You remember that Jesus was born in Bethlehem, but his parents returned to the Nazareth, which was their hometown town.
And it became his. Jesus was the kid in your Sunday school class who knew all the answers. He heard him about the story by schooling the priests. It's not when he was just a boy.
Luke records that for us in Luke chapter 2. You'd seen him grow up big and strong and good. Luke chapter 2 verse 52, Jesus increased in wisdom and in stature and in favor with God and man. So this crowd knew Jesus.
And by this point, all Galilee, the whole region had heard about him. Luke makes that clear in verse 14 of chapter 4. A report about him went out throughout all the surrounding country. And it's this Jesus, this neighbor of a boy, whose hand is a scroll, stands up out of respect for God's word and reads from the prophet Isaiah from the first two verses of Isaiah chapter 61.
And everyone knows who this passage is about. If you look to Luke 4, 18, the spirit of the Lord is upon me because he has anointed me. The anointed one is the Messiah or the Christ. That's just what that word means.
To say that someone is the Christ is to say that he's the anointed one. To say that someone is the Messiah is to say that he's the anointed one. Now we don't normally anoint people. So some explanation is an order.
To anoint someone is to pour oil over that person. And it's not as those caught up in the essentials oils craze to heal a scratch or to relieve some congestion. No, the oil is poured out. It is a sign that God has chosen a person for a particular task.
In the Old Testament in 1 Samuel chapter 16, having voices and splasured King Saul, the Lord says to Samuel, fill your horn with oil and go. I will send you to Jesse the Bethlehemite, for I have provided for myself a king from among his sons. And you may remember the story. Samuel looks at all Jesse's sons and not one of them was chosen by the Lord.
And Jesse tells the prophet, well, you know, the remains the youngest, but behold, he's keeping the sheep. And Samuel says, sit and get him, for we will not sit down till he comes. And when the youngest son of Jesse comes, the Lord says to Samuel, arise and with him, for it is he. When 1 Samuel 16, verse 13 says, then Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the midst of his brothers and the spirit of the Lord Rush upon David from that day forward.
And when you are God's anointed, you are going to do what God has chosen you to do. God had Samuel anoint David King and he became king. Now of course, you may have to kill Goliath. You may have to be on the run for your life, pretend to be insane in an enemy territory, have your family captured and your best friend die.
But if you're the anointed one of God, you're going to do what God has chosen you to do. God chose David to be king and David became king. And another prophet, Isaiah said that there is a coming anointed one, a coming Messiah or Christ. God's chosen anointed, set apart person who will proclaim good news to the poor.
He's a prophet. He'll proclaim liberty to the captives. He's a rescuer. He will give sight to the blind.
He's a healer. He will set at liberty. Those who are oppressed. He's a deliverer.
He will proclaim the year of the Lord's favor. He's the Messiah, the one who brings God's salvation to God's people at God's appointed time. And Jesus reads this text in front of his hometown friends and he says, this is who I am. This is who I am, verse 21.
Today the scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing. And notice in verse 22 that Jesus gets an initial positive response. All spoke well of him. They marvel at the gracious words that were coming from his mouth.
But then they say, it's not this Joseph's son. Now it seems like an innocent question, but it's not. Ladies imagine someone asking you, so you decided not to wear a dress to this party. Or did you check the weather today?
Or what do you think you're doing? Well, if the person's not wearing the dress at the party, then it's obvious she decided not to wear one. You don't have to ask. If it's snowing outside and you see me in shorts, I didn't check the weather.
You don't have to ask. If a small child is climbing on top of furniture, it's a gift in the kitchen counter in the cookie jar. You don't have to ask, what are you doing? It's obvious.
Well, then why do we ask? I think we ask because we want to communicate in an underhanded way that we think that someone is in need of correction. You should have worn a dress. Jay, do you ever check the weather?
You shouldn't risk your neck, oh, little one, for a cookie. It's not this Joseph's son. It's what they're saying. But what they mean is, Jesus, aren't you getting a little big for your britches?
Well, just as people looked at David, God's anointed king and said, little shepherd boy. So too, the people in Jesus's hometown are saying, hey, carpenters apprentice, who do you think you are? Now we, we who have Luke's gospel, we know the truth. We know that Jesus is not Joseph's son.
We know that he's the son of God. Luke records for us what the angel Gabriel says to Jesus' mother Mary. In Luke chapter 1 verse 35, the Holy Spirit will come upon you and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. Therefore, the child to be born will be called Holy, the son of God.
So Joseph was Jesus's adoptive father, his stepfather. Jesus' father is God himself. So look, we're halfway done. First question, who is Jesus?
Answer. Jesus is God's son, anointed for God's work to preach to God's people to heal their diseases, to set them free and to carry their burdens. Well, let's consider a second question. Where is Jesus going?
Now, to answer this question, which will lead to free-range Jesus, let's look how Jesus responds to their seemingly innocent question. Ancient Joseph's boy, Jesus quotes a parable in verse 23, physician, heal yourself. Now what could this possibly mean? Well think about it.
If you went to the doctor for a headache and he said, oh, I'm really, I'm sorry, I'm having problems focusing because I got this really terrible headache and it's causing, it's impairing my ability to look at you. We could be a little nervous. I remember going to a doctor and I never went back, who actually opened up one of those, like it was a humongous green book and she stared at the book and she said, what are we going to do? And I certainly thought and I may have even said, this is why I come to you, right?
I'm not, you know, if I knew what to do, I would not be here. So physician, heal yourself. Well, in this context, what they're saying to Jesus is, Jesus, if you're so great, do here to your hometown friends, what you've been doing elsewhere. In fact, Jesus know that's what they're saying, which is why he says in verse 23, what we have heard you did at Capernaum do here in your hometown as well.
Now Jesus could have saw his violin nervously, played something they wanted to hear, done some miracles, but he didn't do it. Instead, Jesus goes on the offense and he tells them verse 24, I say to you, no prophet is acceptable in his hometown. And then he tells them, he gives them two examples from the Old Testament of prophets unacceptable in their hometown. Verse 25 and 26, Elijah goes to a widow in Zarephath.
He goes to a foreign woman and he takes care of her even though there were many widows in Israel. Verse 27, Elijah heals a Syrian leper named Naaman again, a foreign, an enemy, even though there were many lepers in Israel. What's Jesus's point? Here it is.
You may think that you have come to weigh me in the balance. You may think that you have come to investigate who I am, but beware, be on guard. If you reject me, the blessing of God will go, but it will go to others. The blessing of God is coming, but it will go to others.
Put another way. Do you think you're the chosen people of God? Well guess what? Israel in Elijah's day.
I thought they were the chosen people of God. Israel in a lysus day. I thought they were the chosen people. But just read the record, read how they lived, take Elijah.
The Lord sends him to Zarephath in 1 Kings 17 because the brook from which the prophet received his water had been dried up. There's a terrible drought in the land and no wonder the people are wicked. In 1 Kings 16 we're told twice in verse 30 and again in verse 33 that Ahab the king of Israel was especially wicked, even when compared to his extremely wicked predecessors. The people of Nazareth are saying they're heirs to some great religion.
But Jesus is saying you have more in common with the 450 prophets of Baal serving Ahab and the 400 prophets of Asherah who ate Jezebel's table. Sure, you worship the God your father's worship. But that has nothing to do with the one true God. Think about 2 Kings 5, name in the Syrian, a foreign soldier and enemy.
He comes to be healed by God and he is healed. And when Jesus says there were other lepers in Israel. His hometown synagogue may have remembered 2 Kings 7 because in that chapter you may remember four lepers discovered that the Syrian enemies had fled and long story short they tell the people who were starving to death so that they could come out and eat and the people did and God healed exactly zero of those lepers. And instead God chose in his gracious mercy to heal a foreigner and an enemy.
No wonder then verse 28 that Jesus hometown synagogue is filled with wrath. So much so that they try to kill Jesus verse 29 but he escapes verse 30. But specifically he went away. Free range Jesus.
The people of Nazareth thought they had something on Jesus because they've seen him grow up. But Jesus reminds them pointedly that God's anointed one goes wherever God sends him. Well there's another point we must consider here and that is we must trust God's servant. That's what the widow does if you remember when Elijah goes to her.
He says make some food for me and she says look I don't have much I'm about to make my last meal for me and my boy so we can eat it before we die. And Elijah assures her make food for me and God will give you flour and oil enough. You will be alright. And first Kings chapter 17 verses 15 she does what God's prophet tells her to do.
And we know how the story ends the jar of flour was not spent neither did the jug of oil come empty according to the word of the Lord that he spoke by Elijah. Name in the command of a foreign army second Kings chapter 5 Elijah tells him if you want to get rid of the skin disease you got to go and bathe in the Jordan. And if you remember maybe initially is angry like you want me to go to the sewer ditch that is the Jordan River when I could have gone home in the sparkly clean waters back in Syria. But his servants come to him and they gently say to him it's a great word that this prophet has spoken to you will you not do it and name and washes and he's made clean.
Well what's the point both the foreign widow and the foreign commander hear God's message believe and trust it and show that they're believing and trusting the message by doing what God says to do. Now no wonder then that Jesus says to them in verse 21 of Luke chapter 4 today the scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing literally in your ears the scripture has been fulfilled in your ears. Jesus is before them but he doesn't say the scripture has been fulfilled in your eyes he says in your ears why it's because they must believe the message first they must hear the word of God first. They want the miracles they want to see the show but Jesus says you will know who I am if you believe the written recorded testimony about me that I just read to you.
If you don't believe the message you won't believe me even if you see me do more miracles than I did in Capernaum. Don't trust the experience don't trust what you read in the Nazareth news or the Galilee Gazette trust the written word of God believe the messenger by believing the message. Let's quickly close with four points of application first and most obviously trust the Bible trust what the Bible says about Jesus. It's easy for us to think that we are in a worse position than the people of Nazareth the people that grew up with boy Jesus but we're not because Jesus said to them Jesus said to them you want to know who I am you trust this book you want to know what to believe about me then you read the Bible.
Jesus does not say take my word for it he does not say look and see he says the scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing. I overheard someone say what do you love more the Bible or Jesus and I imagine the person was expecting the answer to the conversation but I imagine the person was expecting that the answer be well Jesus but notice that Jesus does not talk that way he says to the people who are looking at him his childhood companions he's saying to them you want to know who I am do you want to know who I am then trust what the Bible says about me trust the Bible second the where of arrogantly assuming that you know what the Bible says about Jesus you may think you know but you may not some of us may think we've got the Bible covered we listen to a Christian radio program for a year or something but when something unexpectedly bad happens we walk away from God angry we walk away from God angry. Remember name and servants his servants said to him when he was angry with God's message it's a great word the prophet has spoken to you will you not do it has he actually said to you wash and be clean it's a great word that Isaiah the prophet has spoken to us will you not trust in Christ will you not be washed by him so trust the Bible and then let's consider what the Bible says in humility now third I need to make some of you angry I mean after all Jesus makes his the people listening to him angry so I should do the same here it is know that Jesus that know that you need Jesus know that you need Jesus and you need Jesus more than Jesus needs you the spirit of free range Jesus is going to and fro God the Holy Spirit is working in people's hearts bringing them from death to life from darkness to light Jesus is proclaiming good news to the poor Jesus is proclaiming liberty to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind he's proclaiming the year of the Lord's favor and your response should be as we're about to seeing in a moment past me not oh gentle Savior here my humble cry while on others you are calling do not pass me by your best and only hope is that the gracious and merciful son of God would cast his eyes upon you and say though you are blind see say though you are weak be strong and say that though you are a curse of God be blessed by God my my Father and if you don't it is your loss other people will get God's blessing finally in conclusion take heart you may think you are too broken to messed up and too far gone city rescued but that's just not true free range Jesus the lights to go to the foreign country and to make his enemy a friend if you're a loser in the human race then you are just where God wants you the God who went after a widow in a foreign country the God who went after an enemy commander that same God is coming after you so take heart later in Luke chapter 17 there are actual lepers who call out to Jesus Jesus master have mercy on us and he heals them in the next chapter chapter 18 a blind beggar cries out Jesus son of David have mercy on me and if you remember he's hushed by the crowd and he cries out all the more son of David have mercy on me and Jesus says recover your sight your faith has made you well and then that man can see so when you cry out to Jesus and everyone tells you to be quiet you should shout all the more loudly because he will heal you he will rescue you he will redeem you and he will draw you to himself because that is what he came to do let's pray heavenly father our great King we exalt in you we delight in you we give you thanks and praise for our great and good Lord Jesus thank you that you work in our hearts by the power of your Holy Spirit to open our blood and eyes so that we may see him to renew and restore our wicked hearts so that we may love him and that you give us lips to sing your praise may we do that now and forever for that same Jesus sake amen