So Great a Salvation (Luke 4:14 - 21; Eph. 2:8 - 10)
In my sermon last week from John 2:1-11 where Jesus attends a wedding in Cana of Galilee and changes water into wine, we saw how John invests statements, questions, images, as well as words, phrases, and concepts with multiple meanings. (This sermon can be accessed at the Immanuel Baptist Church, Frankfort, KY Facebook page – worship service for Jan 16, sermon starts at about 17.15). A statement or phrase or image may mean one thing on the conversational level, but have deeper spiritual or moral or theological meanings. Now, while this is most obvious in John, this is actually true of all the Gospels. This is most certainly true of our text today. All three of the Synoptic Gospels include an account of Jesus teaching in the synagogue in his hometown of Nazareth where he grew up, and they all speak of his rejection by the people in Nazareth, but only Luke tells us what Jesus actually taught. Mark and Matthew’s account are very similar. Not word for word, but Matthew close...