Belington progressive. [volume] (Belington, W. Va.) 1912-1927, 1924-09-11

i LESSON TEXT-Luke 4:16-s0.
GOLDEN TEXT-"He hath anninted
me 10 preach the gospeL"-Luke 4:Is."
PRIMARY ToPIC-Jesus Visits His
4 Home Town
JUNIOR TOPIC-Jesus Faces a Mob.
INTERMEDIARY AND SENIOR TOP
IC--Jesus Explains His Message
YOUNG PEOPLE AND ADULT TOPIC
The Mission of Christianity
!. Jesus In the Synagogue (v. 16).
On the Sabbath day He went into
the synagogue according to His Gus
| tom. He no doubt went that day with
new and definite purpose, but 1t is
refreshing to know that it was accord
ing to His habit
II. Jesus Reading the Scriptures
! ivy. 17-19).
l. The Book Handed to Him " 1).
1t was not only His custom to attend
the place of worship but to take part
in it, This privilege was not confined
to the rabbls (Acts 1919.
2. The Passage Read Qsaiah 81 L,
4 p. Most likely this passage was ehos-
en- by Him with specific purpose.
3. The Content Of the Passage wv.
IS, 19).
j tD The mission of the Messiah w..
Il 49,. 1t was:
(a) To preach the gospel to the
poor. The good tidings which Jesus
proclaimed are peculiarly welcome to
the common people
(b) To heal the broken-hearted.
The gospel of Christ peculiarly meets
the needs of those whose hearts are
crushed by the weight of their own
sins or by the burden of sorrow and
4 disappointment
4 H(c) To preach deliyerance to the
eaptives. The gospel of Christ does
actually set man free from the slav-
l-'ery OF sin (John 8 :36).
(d) Recovering of sight to the
blind. Christ did actually make those
who were physically blind TO see John
go, y and also opened the eyes Of
those who were spiritually blind Q
John 500.
.&.(e) To set at liberty them that are
bruised. The power of Christ can free
the most utterly hopeless ones.
(f) To preach the acceptable year
of the Lord. The primary allusion is
the year of Jubilee Uev. % $40 in
Which all those in bondage were re
leased
(2) The special endowment of the
Messiah (v. 1S). The reason why the
Spirit was upon Him was that He
q might fulfill specifically His Messlanc
work. 1t was not for the display o.
power The enduement of the Holy
Esprit isynot for mere powers sake.
RI Ill. Jesus Expoundins the Scriptures
II tyy. 2oo2D.
III He Closed the Book and Sat
Down. 1t seems to have been the Gus
tom of the Jewish teachers to sit while
teaching.
.. "ThisfDay Is This Scripture Full
filed" This statement is no doubt but
| gist of what He said
/ ~. Jesus Reception by the People
(vv 22-30).
Their reception was aracterizeG
by
/. Ignorant Prejudice ". 81. els
not this Joseph's SOM" AS if TO say
"This is our fellow townsman with
whom we have been acquainted for
years Surely, therefore, He cannot be
] the Messiah
2. Unbelef as to His Supernatural
Character ". 23). They challenged
Him to exhibit examples of divine
power as He had done in other places
8. Personal Jealousy ". pa. Jeal-
ousy prevents us from seeing the es-
sentia1 worth of the men in our midst
Foreigners are more appreciative. A
prophet is not accepted at home, pri-
marily because he is a prophet.
Prophets were sent in times of moral
and spiritual declination and their mes
sages were stern rebukes of sin. He
adduces two outstanding examples of
the willingness of foreigners to believe
God
"a Elijah was sent to widow at
Sarepta wv. %, 26). Many widows OF
Israel were passed by due, doubtless, to
the fact that they would not have re-
ceived the prophet.
(2) Naaman, the foreigner, of many
lepers was the only one cleansed.
A. Violent Hatred wv. 800. This
comparison of the Jews t foreigners
so stunned their pride tl;'f they madIy
drove Him out of their 81 V even tried
to kill Him. He showed them that
just as Elijah had brought blessing to
4 one who lived in Sidon and Elisha to
one In Syria, while the people Of
Il Israel went on suffering even so the
| Gentiles would receive the blessings of
His saving power while they, the
chosen nation, would suffer in unbe-
i lief.