Our text this morning is found
in the gospel of Luke chapter 4. We read part of this last
Sunday, but we want to put the emphasis on a different place
this morning. So again, back to Luke chapter
4, begin in verse 16, read down through verse 30. And I want
to preach this morning on the subject, sovereignty, a hated
doctrine, the offense of sovereignty and we find it here in this passage
of the scripture that men have a natural inbred animosity and
enmity against the sovereignty of God and there's a reason for
that we look at it along the way. Luke chapter 4 and we begin
in verse 16 please down through verse 30. All right, here's Luke 4, 16
and following for those on the internet, tapes and CDs. And
he came to Nazareth, Jesus did, where he had been brought up.
And as his custom was, he went into the synagogue on the Sabbath
day, and stood up for to read. And there was delivered unto
him 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 hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the
poor, he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach
deliverance to the captive, and recovering of sight unto the
blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised. to preach the
acceptable year of the Lord. Now we used that last week on
the year of Jubilee. But now let's go further in verse
20. And he closed the book and gave it again to the minister
and sat down, and the eyes of all them that were in the synagogue
were fastened up on him. And he began to say unto them,
This day is the scripture fulfilled in your ears. And all bear him
witness, and wondered at the gracious words which proceeded
out of his mouth. And they said, Is not this Joseph's
son? And he said unto them, You will
surely say unto me this proverb, Physician, heal thyself, or whatever
we have heard done in Capernaum, do also here in thy country. And he said, verily, I say unto
you, no prophet is accepted in his own country. But I tell you
of a truth. Many widows were in Israel in
the days of Elisha, when the heaven was shut up three years
and six months, when great famine was throughout all the land. But unto none of them was Elisha
sent, save unto Sarepta, a city of Sidon, unto a woman that was
a widow. And many lepers were in Israel
in the time of Elisha the prophet, and none of them was cleansed,
saving Naaman the Syrian. And all they in the synagogue,
when they heard these things, were filled with wrath. And Rosa and thrust him out of
the city, led him unto the brow of the hill whereupon their city
was built, that they might cast him down headlong. But he passing
through the midst of them went his way, as he did on other occasion. Look at verse 28. All they in
the synagogue, when they heard these things, were filled with
wrath. Now, let's investigate that this
morning, the offense of sovereignty, particularly unto religionists. We best begin, I think, by looking
at the overall context of this particular place in scripture
and of this great event. In our passage it marks what
some have called the beginning of our Lord's Galilean ministry. As early he begins his ministry
in Galilee. We read in Luke chapter 3 and
verse 22 Jesus began to be about 30 years of age, which was the
age, by the way, when the Levitical priests began in earnest their
ministry about the altar, and they ceased their public service
at about age 50. You see that in Numbers chapter
4 and verse 3. And Luke adds, being as it was
supposed the son of Joseph being about 30 years of age being as
it was supposed the son of Joseph as it is in Luke 4 and verse
22. Is not this Joseph's son that
has stood here and told us these things this morning even Mary
in Luke chapter 2 and verse 48. refers to Joseph in speaking
to Jesus as thy father, thy father Joseph. And so we learn that
this is not an attack upon the virgin birth of our Lord, or
of the immaculate conception of the humanity of our blessed
savior just that he grew up in the home under the parentage
of joseph and of mary and was subject under them Luke chapter
2 and verse 51. And at a particular time they
settled the family in the little city of Nazareth, Luke chapter
2 and verse 51. So he was known as Jesus of Nazareth
or Jesus the Nazarene. He was supposed to be the son
of Joseph since he lived and was raised in that house. Now
Luke gives us here three things at the beginning of the ministry
of our Lord in his gospel. Number one is his baptism in
Luke chapter 3, 21 and 22. Luke gives us a lengthy genealogy
of our Lord's humanity. Secondly, and you'll find that
in chapter 3, 23 through verse 38. And then thirdly, he gives
us the temptation of our Lord at the hand of Satan. Chapter
4, verse 1 through verse 13. Then our text finds him in Galilee
where he had come in the power of the Spirit. And his fame began
to spread as he began to teach and he began to do great works
and wonders and miracles among them. And his fame spread from
place to place in that area. And it said that the people glorified
him. And on a certain Sabbath then,
in our Texas morning, in a synagogue service, in the city of Nazareth,
his hometown, as I like to call it, where he had been brought
up, as we read in the text. He read a passage from the prophet
Isaiah. He asked for the scroll, he unrolled
it, and he found a certain passage in our Bibles. It's found in
chapter 61 of the book of Isaiah. And Luke 4, in verse 22, all
bore witness of him wondering at the gracious words that he
spake unto them and so forth. Now, I submit for you to consider
something, that the words in verse 23 and following might
seem abrupt. and disconnected to the earlier
services and words. It might seem a sudden departure,
an unexpected changing of the subject altogether on the part
of our Lord. So what has it to do to connect
it to the passage and the message of Isaiah chapter 61? What does
the Lord begin to speak of Elijah and Elisha, the great prophets
of old, and the honor of a prophet. See the last sentence, if you
would, in verse 22. And they said, is not this Joseph's
son? This one who has stood here this
morning and opened the scroll and read these things unto us
and made that declaration that they're fulfilled in him. Oh,
is this not the son of Joseph? Now, Methinks that this is the
transition from the passage from Isaiah to the attitude about
prophets and what the Lord tells them about the two great prophets
in other days in Israel. I think these are two of the
greatest prophets to ever grace Israel, Elijah and Elisha. And then in verse 22 again, they
were charmed by the way that our Lord spoke unto them, whether
it was the authority of his speaking or of his voice or the air of
his eloquence in doing so, they agreed that the passage that
the Lord had read was one messianic and referred unto the Lord Jesus
Christ. And they were impressed by his
speaking ability, the command, the attention of his audience,
and how they said spellbound as our Lord read those things
and spoke these words. But in spite of that, Something
puzzled them as they were in this experience. Yea, something
stumbled them that our Lord did and that our Lord said. Something
that they could not seem to reconcile in their mind, while on the one
hand They bear him witness at the great prophecy of Isaiah. They were testifying of him and
toward him. His words were gracious. His
words were deep and they were rich and they were sweet sounding
upon their particular ear that day. And they could not deny
the truth that he had spoken and read from the scripture Isaiah,
but especially his manner of speaking kind of held him spellbound
for a while, and yet this was as supposed the son of Joseph. This was Joseph's son. This is
their fellow townsman. They have known him all of these
years. He was a familiar figure and
a citizen of that city. Luke chapter 3 and verse 23. And in Matthew chapter 13 and
verse 55 and 56, Matthew writes it like this. Is not this the
carpenter's son? Is not his mother called Mary? And his brothers, James, Joseph,
Simon, and Judas, and his sisters, are they all not with us? Whence
then? That is, from where did he get
these things? Unquote. That's Matthew's account
of this same event. Mark 6 and verse 3 also records
this event, a short version, and it adds this. And they were
offended at him. Why? Why, he had no training
in the school. He'd never attended the seminary.
He'd never sit at the feet of the great teachers and philosophers
and scholars. and the doctors of that day.
John 6 and 42, is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father
and mother we know? How then does he say, I came
down from heaven? He's speaking there of the bread
of life. Remember John 1 46? Can any good
thing come out of Nazareth? But it was not famous for great
works of God or great people or prophets of God. Now these
things drew a two-fold response from the Lord Jesus Christ. If we look at verse 23 again,
And he said unto them, You will surely say unto me this proverb,
Physician, heal thyself, a famous proverb in Israel, and even unto
thy day. Whatsoever we have heard done
yonder in Capernaum, do also here in thy country." Our Lord
read their mind and they thought. They had this thought, charity
begins at home. We've heard that over and over. Do for your own town and your
own friend and your own neighbors more or exactly what you have
done for the wicked city of Capernaum." Gil said, they claimed rights
to his favors and benefit, it being his native place, unquote. Now let's look again at verse
24, and here's another thing. And he said, Verily I say unto
you, no prophet is accepted in his own country. Also see John
chapter 4 and verse 44. Remember that the Jews also turned
on Paul like they turned on our Lord Jesus. Now, remember from
verse 16 here, Nazareth was, quote, where he had been brought
up. He lived there. He was raised
there. And we see that he stayed there
till about age 30 and began a ministry among them. He lived with Joseph
and Mary and those brothers that were named. and sisters that
were not named. And we think perhaps even working
with Joseph in the vocation of carpentry, in the carpentry trade
with his father Joseph. And in fact Mark 6 and verse
3 actually calls Jesus the carpenter. the carpenter, referring to Jesus. And in that town, and with that
family, he attended the synagogue on the Sabbath day. It was a
custom in verse 16. He was a familiar sight in their
sleepy little town. They could remember when he was
just a child, then an adolescent, and finally a young man. And never thought of him in all
that time as being the Messiah or even a prophet. For they took
him to be an ordinary man who practiced the Jewish religion
and lived in their city. Now in verse 25 through 27, he
tells them some events from their past history. And notice he introduces
it by saying, I tell you in truth. I tell you what is true. of the two great prophets of
God in Israel, Elijah and Elisha, and how Elijah supplied a destitute
widow during the great famine. Now this is 1 Kings chapter 17,
if you want the reference. And he tells how Elisha cleansed
a leper. And how? By sending him to dip
seven times in the river of Jordan. And this you have in 2 Kings
chapter 5. So it's from their scripture.
And now see the reaction of those present in the synagogue again. If I may read verse 28 and 29.
Or they in the synagogue, when they heard these things, were
filled with wrath, and rose up and thrust him out of the city,
led him to the brow of the hill whereupon their city was built,
that they might cast him down headlong, that they might throw
him down, and that he might be killed by falling off of the
cliff. Now that's too clear to misunderstand
right there out of their scripture. Right here, the definition and
description of their action. All heard these things. Notice. Instead of saying, amen, bless
the Lord, praise His name, we read, they were full of wrath.
Their anger boiled over. Rage boiled up in them. Fury
came up in their mind and in their heart. What the Lord said
infuriated Him. And they lay hold upon Him and
dragged Him to the brow of the city where they might throw Him
over. My, how quickly did their minds
change. How quickly did the tide turn. from marveling at his gracious
words to taking his life for telling them something that was
written in their own scripture which they profess to be infallible
and inerrant. So the question then is this. What is the purpose of the Lord
in referring to the prophets Isaiah and Elisha? Mark and Matthew do not include
this part of it in their gospel. Why does the Lord tell them these
familiar things that they'd heard read in the synagogue many times? And further, what about it so
infuriated them that they would kill him, one of their fellow
townsmen and citizens? Now, we wonder, did the Lord,
a couple of things here, did the Lord, number one, was his
intention or his motive, refer to these two prophets to confirm
the fact that a prophet is not without honor in their own country,
their own house, and their own kin. Or, number two, is the Lord
intending this as a rebuttal of their offense in verse 23. That the Lord did not exclusively
bestow His mighty works in His own country, in His own town,
in His native place or hometown, among family, friends, neighbors,
and acquaintances. And that they resented Him helping
those in a foreign city such as Capernaum that he reserved
his favors for his own town people and city, as if they were limited
in some way. Contextually, me think that this
is a good connection. You will see that Matthew and
Mark do not include the reference to Elijah and Elisha, or to the
rage of the people, or to the attempt on the life of our Lord. Both of them do include the saying
that a prophet is not without honor in his own house, country,
city, and family, kin, and such like. What had the Lord done
now that so offended them that they were moved to killing? He
had heaped blessings upon Capernaum, many of them. If you read in
the scripture, the gospel, some of our Lord's greatest works
were done in the city of Capernaum. And he said that would bring
down the greater judgment on their head because they saw it
and did not repent and believe. Now what had Elisha and Elijah
done? Not just the Lord had blessed
Capernaum greatly, but what had Elijah and Elisha also done? Well, here it is. As for Elijah,
with many destitute widows in Israel, in dire circumstances,
in the midst of a horrible famine, apt to perish from hunger, and
from starvation. And yet, Elijah is sent by God,
by the way, to a Gentile widow in the city of Sarepta. The emphasis is in verse 25.
Many were widows in Israel during the drought and the famine, in
poverty, destitute. Many of them were like that,
a multitude of them, and yet here's what the scripture said
or the Lord said, yet to none of them was Elijah sent. but to a Gentile widow in another
place with another nationality altogether. This was in the days
of Elijah. And secondly, what had Elisha
done? In verse 27 you have it, in the
time of Elisha the prophet, many lepers were sick and perishing
in Israel in his time with that flesh rotting disease of leprosy,
and yet none of them was cleansed except Naaman, a Syrian Gentile."
Over in Syria. And note in both cases, it was
in Israel. Many widows in Israel. Many lepers
in Israel. Many widows were hungry in Israel,
yet Elijah goes over to Sarepta to a Gentile widow. Many Jews
were lepers, and yet only the Gentile Naaman was cleansed of
leprosy in the time of that great prophet. Now note again the reaction
of the people, rage, anger, wrath, because they understood the Lord
to be saying that such things were determined by the sovereign
counsel and purpose and will of God, that he does as he will. He sends his prophets where he
will and to the people he will. That he's under no obligation,
as A.W. Pink said, to work miracles except
where he will and where it pleases him. I share a line from J.C. Ryle in his commentary on Luke,
and it's this, quote, we learn how bitterly human nature dislikes
the doctrine of the sovereignty of God unquote, yes, how they
hate it, how they reject it, how they fight against it, and
how they deny it, and how they pervert it. It is among the most
offensive doctrine in all of the scripture, the sovereignty
of God. the absolute sovereignty of God,
that he owns all, that he has power and authority over all
and everyone and everything. And it is one of the most insulting
and one of the most despised doctrines that you'll find anywhere
in the scripture. What they cannot deny, they twist
and pervert to fit their own notion. Absolute sovereignty
they cannot tolerate. They will not let God be God
and know that all power in heaven and earth resides in him." You
remember their displeasure. Keep that in mind. And what they
heard. With that in mind, let's look
at some other examples of the enmity of people against the
sovereign work and the purpose of God. You remember Jonah, of
course, in the book of Jonah sent to preach to the large,
wicked city of Nineveh, mostly Gentile. And his message was
to be, yet 40 days and Nineveh shall be destroyed. And he came
crying out loud, 40 days and Nineveh shall be destroyed. And
God granted repentance unto the people and they were spared.
And in Matthew chapter 12 and verse 41, Jonah chapter 3 verse
5 through verse 10 we find, we read in Jonah chapter 4 and verse
1, but it displeased Jonah exceedingly. He was very angered and he even
prayed to the Lord that he might die. He resented God's sovereign
mercy unto the Gentile city of Nineveh. He had rather that they
be destroyed. His message had been 40 days
and destruction shall come upon their head. Then again, another
example. Remember the offense which the
Pharisees took? Against our Lord, Jesus cried
when they saw him receiving and eating with sinners. During the
days of his ministry upon the earth, they caught him sitting
with publicans and with sinners. The worst sort of people imaginable
in their time. Saying, this charge, this man
receives sinners and he eats with them. Luke 15 and verse
2. They had the most deadly leprosy
of all. Self-righteousness. That would
kill them quick as anything. And remember that some of the
Jews lamb-blasted the apostle Peter because, quote, you went
in unto men uncircumcised and did eat with them, Acts 11 and
verse 3. They called Peter on the carpet
for what he had done, going in unto the Gentile, eating with
them, having common fellowship with them, and even preaching
them the word of God. which till then it had been unlawful
for Peter to do such a thing, Acts chapter 10 and verse 28. F.F. Bruce put it this way, for
Jew to mix in Gentile society is taboo, unquote. Good way to put it. being a prohibition
that was imposed by social custom. Till his vision, Peter could
never see himself in that situation. But he said, the Lord showed
me what I ought to do. The religionist, and especially
the Armenian, detest and even blasphemes the sovereignty of
God when they hear it in their midst. and especially the sovereignty
of God in salvation. Oh, how they hate it, and their
enmity is so quickly aroused. They're perfectly content to
let God be sovereign up to a particular point. They'll give God credit
for a wonderful creation that He has made. They'll give God
credit and praise for the flowers and the birds and the trees.
the babies and the puppies and the sunsets. They're perfectly
willing to give God the glory for all of that, for rain and
for health and for things of that nature. They delight to
hear of the love of God and the kindness and gentleness and the
sweetness of the Lord Jesus Christ. And their two foundational doctrines,
however, are universal. Their two foundation doctrines
are God loves everyone without exception and Christ died for
everyone without exception. That God desires and has provided
salvation for all people. all sinners in the world, while
they hear these lies, they cherish as truth, and their enmity sleeps,
and they are sweeter than sugar on ice cream, until brought to
bear with the sovereignty of God. but to hear that God does
not have a wonderful plan for everyone's life, that God does
not love all, nor did Christ not die for all, that God's purpose
includes both election and reprobation. This arouses their anger, draws
out their enmity, in plain sight and open to the sovereignty of
God, that He showers His blessing upon whom He would, that if He
blesses some, He's not obliged to bless all in the same way
or to the same degree. An example you have in our text
here, in Luke chapter 4, when they became so enraged by what
they heard that they attempted to throw the Son of God off of
a cliff and kill him. That their hatred of this truth
would arouse their animosity and would actually drive them
to the point of becoming murderers. Not just of a prophet, but of
Messiah himself, of the very Son of God. Consider a passage,
if you might, from the sixth chapter of John's Gospel, verse
63 through verse 69, where, in verse 63, the Lord said, It is
the Spirit that quickens the flesh, prophets, Nothing. Then he said again, in verse
65, no man can come unto me except it were given to him of my father. He had said in verse 64 that
some believed not on him and he knew from the beginning who
believed not and who should betray him. He knew that from the beginning. Verse 65, we have a therefore. Therefore. For this reason, on
this account, I've told you, no one can come to me, no one
can embrace me, believe upon me, no one can do that except
unless it be given unto him of my Father. Except my Father give
it to him, enable him, and be the worker in that work. This
verse to me resembled Verse 44, further back in the Gospel of
John, none can come to me except the Father which has sent me
draw him and I'll raise him up on the last day. Then here verse
66 in John 6, from that many of his disciples went back and
walked with him no more. These words in 666 are the same
as those in John chapter 18 and verse 6 of those who went backward
and fell to the ground when the Lord spoke unto them as they
came to the rest. And the same Greek word is here. They went back. They walked with
Him no more. They fell back. They fell away
from what they had heard in the Lord's speaking and that in both
cases. And in John chapter 6, both from
the Lord saying, He was the bread of life come down from heaven,
which they called in John 6 and verse 60, a hard saying. But also the statement concerning
sovereign grace from our Lord that in an inward work of God
is necessary prior to one believing and one coming unto Christ, or
to come to Him. By the way, I think this is a
good time for us to make a point. It's a good place to remind ourselves
that the Lord Jesus Christ, during His public teaching ministry,
taught the five doctrines of grace. You read the scripture,
you read the gospel, and you'll find that he taught all five
of what we call the doctrines of grace. He taught depravity,
especially inability. Our Lord emphasized inability. He taught election. I've chosen
you. Some are chosen. He taught particular
redemption. My blood shed for many. He taught
effectual calling. They shall come to me. He taught
the preservation of the saint. They shall in no wise perish.
or be cast out. So in John 6 and John 10, we
find our Lord teaching these very things. And he taught these
things openly and publicly. They were not little secrets
that he told to the apostles behind closed doors and said,
now look out, don't tell the people about this because it's
too strong for them and it'll offend them. No, the Lord taught
it openly. There are many preachers today,
I've met many preachers, who tell me in private they believe
in the doctrines of grace and they do not preach them in the
pulpit of their churches because they say they believe in sovereignty,
but it's not something that ought to be preached. It would affect
the size of their church and they know that right well. Because
when their people heard such thing, they would be like those
hearers in John chapter 6. They would go away and they would
attend no more. They would go back. To hear sovereignty
and election and reprobation and of God hating Esau very clearly
in the scripture causes some to speak blasphemous word against
Christ's sovereignty and doctrine and they break out into their
blasphemy, insults against what Jesus taught. I remember Brother
Holock brought me a tape one time of a very famous radio preacher
in a tirade against the doctrines of grace. He said this, It is
sending millions to eternal torment. It is a doctrine out of the pits
of hell. It is a damnable lie. That man's name was Jimmy Swaggart,
by the way. I talked to a radio announcer
back when we were on the radio. I'd go in, I'd go back in the
control room and always talk to him, dropping my tapes off.
One day I got in a conversation with the disc jockey, I guess
you'd call him on air, at that particular time about the doctrines
of grace and I spoke them rather strongly to him and he said this
to me, he said, I could not love nor would I serve a God like
that. And a few weeks later I went
back, I didn't see him and I said to the receptionist, where's
so-and-so? Said, oh, he had a little minor
surgery the other day and died. He had minor surgery, thought
would be very minor, and he passed away. J.C. Rowland's comments
on the text in Luke chapter 4 listed two reasons for the violent anger
of those of Nazareth. Number one, that favor was shown
to the Gentile, not exclusively to the Jew. Number two, the doctrine
of God's sovereignty in saving sinners is a great offense to
many people in our day, but it is based upon nothing but the
sovereign good pleasure and will of God is a great offense. Now while there's time, let's
spend some time in one of the strongest chapters on sovereignty
anywhere in the New Testament, that would be Romans chapter
9. Paul here overturns three objections which he anticipates
could and have been raised against the sovereignty of God's dealing
with people. There are three objections that
are still being made today, so they're relevant. Those three
objections are this. Number one, in verse 6, that
if Jews are perishing, then God's word and God's promises have
failed. Spirit-led Paul shows in verse
6 to verse 9 why the word of God has not failed, because not
all are spiritual children of Abraham. The second objection
is in verse 14, that sovereign election and reprobation is an
unjust thing. It's unrighteous for God to act
in that way. It is unrighteous to do that
before they're ever born without any consent of their own will
and their choice. Without a consent of the will
and consideration of the individual. Ah, but Paul said, there's the
case of Jacob and Esau, verse 10 through verse 13. And so he
overthrows that objection. I've heard many say to me, that's
not fair. I've had them say it. That's
not fair. God wouldn't be fair to do that.
God's not fair. God's righteous, holy, sovereign,
and eternal. And the third objection is in
verse 19 of Romans chapter 9. Why then, you will say, does
he find fault? Now, if God's will is supreme,
if it can't be resisted, why in the world then would you find
fault? But Paul gives the example of
Pharaoh whose heart God hardened and then destroyed him for his
wickedness. Now here's a clear example. Let's conclude. The sovereignty
of God is declared in scripture. Call it what you will. Sovereign
grace, Calvinism, doctrines of grace, sovereignty, hardshellism,
The Bible teaches the sovereignty of God. It teaches predestination
and away with talk of being a two or a three or a four-point Calvinist
or sovereign grace because they are a unit and they stand or
they fall together. And it comes to what Robert Haldane
called refined Arminianism, quote unquote, for you cannot modify
or moderate grace doctrine without sliding toward Arminianism. Now let me tell you the reason
why it's so hated. The clash is between free will
and divine sovereignty. Here is the tipping point. But
you cannot serve free will and God's sovereignty at the same
time. For to love one is to hate the
other, to cleave to one and dismiss the other. like the Lord said. What the Lord did was quote scripture. The Lord quoted them scripture,
and they raged and were angry. They bended their anger. Instead
of saying, Amen, Amen, they were angry. And all he did was read
a passage of scripture and make an application. Now, what we
do is quote scripture and they say, I could not love and I would
not serve a God like that. So that shows the attitude toward
the sovereignty of God. It's a dangerous thing to blaspheme
the word of God's plain revealed truth.