Hope
The way we view the future often depends on our general outlook. An optimist sees lots of reasons to hope. By contrast, a pessimist focuses on worst-case scenarios.
1.
As you look to the future, do you tend towards optimism or pessimism? Why?
Having described Jesus’ birth, in chapters 2 & 3 Luke has given more proof that Jesus is the long-awaited saviour and Messiah. Now we pick up the story as Jesus causes a stir in his hometown of Nazareth.
Jews regularly gathered in the synagogue to hear teaching from their sacred scriptures. As a scroll is handed to Jesus, he reads from a text written by the prophet Isaiah more than 600 years before his birth.
Read Luke 4:14-19
14 Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit, and news about him spread through the whole countryside. 15 He was teaching in their synagogues, and everyone praised him.
16 He went to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, and on the Sabbath day he went into the synagogue, as was his custom. He stood up to read, 17 and the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him. Unrolling it, he found the place where it is written:
18 ‘The Spirit of the Lord is on me,
because he has anointed me
to proclaim good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners
and recovery of sight for the blind,
to set the oppressed free,
19 to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favour.’
2.
What are the main themes of the words that Jesus reads?
Jesus’ listeners are Judeans under Roman occupation. They are an oppressed nation. Suffering from high taxes and limited freedom, they would have felt trapped. Understandably the frustrations of life leave them looking for hope.
The Romans were quick to stamp out any threat to their rule. This left little hope of a rebellion. Instead, most people were waiting for the Messiah, a powerful king who would rescue them. The words that Jesus reads speak of this Messiah.
3.
Imagine yourself as one of Jesus’ listeners. As you hear Jesus read Isaiah’s words, what do you find most appealing?
4.
Verse 18 refers to those who are ‘poor’. How do verses 18-19 help expand our understanding of who the 'poor' might include?'
When Jesus uses the word ‘poor’, he’s talking about anyone who is in need. He uses the example of those who are trapped, weak, and excluded. But for anyone who feels their need, Jesus comes with good news: the promise of knowing the help and favour of God.
Read Luke 4:20-22
20 Then he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant and sat down. The eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fastened on him. 21 He began by saying to them, ‘Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.’
22 All spoke well of him and were amazed at the gracious words that came from his lips. ‘Isn’t this Joseph’s son?’ they asked.
5.
What is Jesus claiming about himself?
6.
What do you notice about the people’s initial response to Jesus’ claim?
On hearing the magnitude of Jesus’ claim, his hearers are amazed. But if you read on, their amazement soon turns to doubt and then to hostility.
They are offended when Jesus offers his ‘good news’ to non-Judean people. But perhaps most crucially, they find it hard to receive Jesus’ ‘good news’ because they do not truly see themselves as poor and needy.
For those who do consider themselves poor and needy, meeting Jesus is transformative. We see this play out as Jesus meets a widow.
Read Luke 7:11-17
11 Soon afterwards, Jesus went to a town called Nain, and his disciples and a large crowd went along with him. 12 As he approached the town gate, a dead person was being carried out – the only son of his mother, and she was a widow. And a large crowd from the town was with her. 13 When the Lord saw her, his heart went out to her and he said, ‘Don’t cry.’
14 Then he went up and touched the bier they were carrying him on, and the bearers stood still. He said, ‘Young man, I say to you, get up!’ 15 The dead man sat up and began to talk, and Jesus gave him back to his mother.
16 They were all filled with awe and praised God. ‘A great prophet has appeared among us,’ they said. ‘God has come to help his people.’ 17 This news about Jesus spread throughout Judea and the surrounding country.
Two crowds meet at the edge of the town: one with Jesus, one carrying a dead man to bury him outside of the city.
7.
What would have been the different moods in these two crowds?
8.
How does Luke’s description of the funeral show it to be particularly hopeless?
As the widow mourns the loss of her son, it no doubt reawakens the pain of losing her husband. In a culture where men held the economic power, she is left alone and vulnerable.
The widow does not ask for help, but as Jesus sees her, he chooses to act.
9.
Read verse 13. What do you think motivates Jesus to respond in the way he does to this hopeless situation?
Touching a coffin would have made someone ceremonially unclean in the eyes of the community. But Jesus stops the procession as he deliberately walks through the crowd to place his hand on the coffin.
10.
What do verses 14 - 15 show us about how Jesus delivers ‘good news to the poor’?
This woman cannot offer Jesus anything. Yet without being asked, Jesus tenderly steps in to restore her son to life. As Jesus gives back the boy to his mother, he does so as a gift. Jesus always acts like this.
He offers help and healing to people as a gift, not as something they have to earn.
11.
Consider the crowd’s response to Jesus’ miracle. What hope do they now express?
Process Together
In the face of human hopelessness and helplessness, Jesus is moved to compassion. But his compassion is not merely a feeling. It moves him to action. And as he raises the dead son, he shows that he has the power to turn hopeless situations around.
Jesus’ actions verify his claim to bring ‘good news to the poor.’ As we continue to read Luke’s Gospel, we will continue to see Jesus freeing people from their sickness, their past, and their shame. These people all realise that they can’t help themselves.. They realise that they are ‘poor.’
The crowds in Nazareth struggle to accept Jesus’ claims because they struggle to see themselves as ‘poor.’ They aren’t prepared to see themselves as hopeless.
12.
What might keep us from seeing ourselves as needy?
13.
Where do you turn for hope as you look to the future?