appointing to preach the gospel to the poor, (2) to heal t he broken hearted, (3) to deliver the captives, (4) to recover the blind, (5) to liberate the bruised, (6) to pro- claim the acceptable day of the Lord, and (7) the day of vengeance of our God. The seventh He did not read but "closed the book." He proclaimed t he day of grace, but the day of judgment waits His coming again, and is as cer- tain as t he other, for it is certified by the other which came to pass as t he prophet predicted. These texts show how Jesus meets those six points: (Lk. 3:22; Mat. 5 : 3; Lk. 6:20; Mat. 11: 28, 29; Ac. 5:18, 19; 12:3-11; Rom. Jno. 9:11; Eph. 1:17, 18). 8:2; Lk. 13:16; Ac. 26:18; Hb. 2 : 1 4; n i . HIS REJECTION. 1. Admissions. They confessed His gifts, wisdom, miracles. These admis- sions and those of His objectors today are among the best evidences of His claims. "Whence all t h i s ?" they said. If they cared to know they could find out. Sincere inquiry would bring t he answer. 2. Objections. They were "offend- ed" (stumbled). That He grew up among t h em; and t h at they knew His reputed father, His mother, brothers and sisters, led them to contemn Him. How could He be the greaty Messiah? "Familiarity breeds contempt." Men should be judged not by whence they came but by what they are, and words not by whence they came but by their relation to grace and t r u t h; for even Jesus would have His Person recog- nized by His words and deeds (Mat. 11: 4-6; Jno. 7:17; 14:10, 11). 3. Jesus' response. (1) A proverb: "He al thyself," do some wonder here at home, show us a sign? (Mat. 16; 1 Cor. 1 : 2 2 ). Signs have their place, but no power to convert willful men (Lk. 1 6 : 3 1 ). Jesus refused such de- mands. His sinless years among them, His words of wisdom now, and f ame abroad should have made them humb le inquirers, rather than proud question- ers. His rejectors today are equally inexcusable. (2) "No prophet is ac- cepted in his own country." As E l i j ah rejected by his own people (their an- cestors) had fed the Sodonian widow, and healed the Syrian leper (1 Kgs. 17:8-16; 2 Kgs. 5:1-19) etc., so Jesus would go to the Gentiles. 4. The Nazarene resentment. Th at Jesus compared Himself to Elijah, and themselves to their wicked forefathers, and intimated the transfer of Messianic also sevenfold, (1)
2. His participation. He "took p a r t ." He was no dumb member. This, too, a good custom. A means of grace to speaker and hearer. " He stood to read," which each may do who has a Bible and knows how. 3. His Book. "Was it our J e s u s ?" asked a child when a strange minister told some sweet story. "Yes." Was it our Bible? The very same. "He took the Book," and the Old Testa- ment, at that. 4. His text. It was f r om the prophets. Jesus believed the prophets, their predictions and their literal ful- fillment, and their miracles;, all through His use of the prophets and references (Lk. 4:25-27) to the multi- plied oil and meal (1 Kgs. 17:8-16), and the healing of Naaman (2 Kgs. 5: 1-19), shows it. He chose Isa. 61:1, 2, a little modified to suit His present pur- pose, and f r om "a section of Isaiah's prophecies whose burden is that mys- terious 'Servant of Jehovah,' despised of men, abhorred of the nation, but be- fore whom kings, on seeing Him, are to arise, and princes to worship; in visage more marred than any man, and His form than the sons of men, yet sprinkling many nations; laboring seemingly in vain, and spending His strength for nought. Yet Jehovah's Servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob and be His Salvation to the ends of the e a r th (Isa. 4 9 :—) ." J. F. & B. See how the Old Testament, the New Tes- tament, and succeeding history, like a document torn in three- parts, fit to- gether, witnessing t h at Jesus is that Servant of t h e ' Lo r d, the Messiah. 5. His sermon. Not a word of it is given. It was a great one. "All bare testimony" to that, and "wondered." It held them; " t he eyes of all were fas- tened upon Him." Inattention is a dis- credit to either preacher or hearer, or both. Christ preached Christ. So every t r ue minister (1 Cor. 2 : 2 ), who if more eager to get you to "Fix your eyes upon J e s u s" than " f a s t e n" them on himself, is more like to get you to do both. 6. His application. It was to Him- self. "This day is this Scripture ful- filled," etc. As if to say, "I t h at speak unto thee am He" (Jno. 4 : 2 6 ). These words, " The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me," Jesus appropriated, thus claiming to be " t he Lord's Anointed," that is, t he Messiah, the Christ. He was anointed, and appointed. The anoint- ing was sevenfold (Isa. 11:1-5), the
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