Hey, podcast listeners! Thanks for streaming today's podcast, From Pathway to Victory. Pathway to Victory is a nonprofit ministry featuring the Bible teaching of Dr. Robert Jeffress. Our mission is to pierce the darkness with the light of God's word through the most effective media available, like this podcast. To support Pathway to Victory, go to ptv.org slash podcast and click the donate button, or follow the link in our show notes.
Now, here's today's podcast, From Pathway to Victory. Now, think about it. If anybody should have been exempted from having to go to worship, it would have been Jesus. And yet, he felt it necessary every week to be in worship. My old professor Howard Hendricks used to say, men, if Jesus felt it that necessary to pray, the Son of God, the perfect Son of God, how much more do we need to pray?
Dr. Jeffress? Thanks, David, and welcome again to Pathway to Victory. Well, even though time is running short, it's not too late to reserve your spot on the upcoming Pathway to Victory cruise to Alaska.
The dates are June 15th through 22nd. Onboard a luxurious cruise liner, you'll be sailing the calmer inside passage to see one of God's masterpiece creations. The majestic views are breathtaking, and the quaint villages we'll visit along the way are spectacular. I can't think of a better way to refresh your soul than to bask in the beauty of Alaska. Space is limited, and so you need to reserve your cabin very soon.
It's a simple process when you go to ptv.org. Just last year, Pathway to Victory was pleased to host another trip of a lifetime. In 2023, we traveled with about 500 people to the Holy Land. Over 10 days, we traced the footsteps of Jesus, and we paused at the major historic sites and reflected on his ministry. Well, for the next two weeks on Pathway to Victory, you're going to hear the messages I delivered while visiting the Holy Land.
But that's not all. Following our tour, I was inspired to create an exclusive coffee table-style book for you. It's filled with colorful photos from Israel, along with personal insights I've written for you. My book is called The Power of the Cross, and when you give a generous gift to support the ministry of Pathway to Victory, I'll make sure a copy is sent to your home.
Right now, I want you to picture yourself in the cool and sunny breeze of Capernaum overlooking the ruins. Some have called this ancient site ground zero for the ministry of Jesus. So, let's get started with today's message. Now, the best place to start when we talk about the ministry of Jesus is with the beginning, and that's what we're going to do today. Because we're in the area, northern Israel, Galilee, where Jesus began his three-year ministry before he went to Jerusalem, was crucified, was married, and as we're going to see next week, rose again on the third day.
And we're at ground zero for the ministry of Jesus. Now, where we are, we call Capernaum, and Jesus was in this northern area. He started in Capernaum, did some miracles, turned the water into wine, or as Baptists say, the wine into water.
Depends how you want to look at it. But no, he turned the water into wine, and then he went to his hometown of Nazareth, and then he came back to Capernaum, and here he healed Peter's mother-in-law. By the way, this doesn't cost you anything extra, but that's proof that Peter and the apostles were married. They were not married. He had a mother-in-law, which meant he had a wife, and he healed her.
Well, we're going to look at that middle story. He's been to Capernaum, and now in Luke chapter 4, we're going to look at what happened the day Jesus arrived back in Nazareth and decided to go to church. I've titled the message today, The Day Jesus Went to Church. And Luke picks up the story in Luke 4, beginning with verse 14. Every town had a synagogue. You'll remember that the synagogue came into being in the 6th century B.C.
during the Babylonian captivity. When Babylon invaded Jerusalem, destroyed the temple, took the Israelites captive, they wanted to worship. They didn't have a temple, and so they formed synagogues. To have a synagogue, you only needed 10 Jews.
The law said to have a synagogue. And so every town had a synagogue, and Jesus began ministering in those synagogues. And then verse 16 tells us, he came to his hometown of Nazareth.
That's about 5 miles from here. Nazareth, his hometown, where he had been brought up. And as was his custom, he entered the synagogue on the Sabbath and stood up to read. You know, I can identify with the emotion Jesus must have felt as he went back to that place of worship he had grown up in. People who knew him, friends, neighbors, and now here was Jesus coming back and he's going to teach those he grew up with. Many of you know I grew up in the church I now pastor, the First Baptist Church of Dallas. I spent my first 30 years there. There are still a thousand women who claimed they changed my diapers when I was a baby in the church.
But it's a moving experience. I remember I spent my first 30 years there, and then I left for 22 years to go pastor in two other places. And I can't describe to you the emotion when I came back to my home church and looked in the eyes of lifelong friends and began to open the scripture and preach to them. I can only imagine how Jesus felt. But the praise I want you to notice in this passage is he went to the synagogue as was his custom on the Sabbath. Jesus wasn't an Easter and Christmas only attender.
He attended every week. He had a custom of going to the synagogue. He had gathered together with other believers for worship.
Now think about it. If anybody should have been exempted from having to go to worship, it would have been Jesus. And yet he felt it necessary every week to be in worship.
What does that say to us? We need a time when we're encouraged by other believers, when we're with a group of people praising God and remembering there is a God we serve who's in control of everything that happens in our life. And when we're not there, we suffer for it.
And so do those who are around us suffer when we're not there. You know, when you're not in your place of worship on Sunday morning, that means there's one less voice praising God. There's one less prayer being offered. There's one less spiritual gift being exercised in the body of Christ. That's why the writer of Hebrews said, Let us consider how to stimulate one another to faith and good deeds, not forsaking one another as has become the habit of some. Frankly, I think the greatest effect of this pandemic that we went through, I think the greatest disaster of the pandemic was how it separated people from their churches. People got out of the habit of going to church, and there's no accident that anxiety, anger, mental illness are at an all-time high at the very time church attendance is at an all-time low. We need to be with one another in worship. We're kind of like those two porcupines in northern Canada who huddled together to keep warm.
They kneaded each other, even though they needled each other. I know other Christians can get on our nerves at times, but we truly do need one another. Jesus understood that. He was not only fully God, he was fully human. So the Bible says he came, and as was his custom, he entered the synagogue and he stood up to read.
What did he read? The synagogue had a strict order of worship. There's nothing wrong with an order of worship.
People think, oh, that's too mechanical. We ought to just let go and let God. No, God says he wants order in things. Let everything, Paul said, be done decently and in order. And there is an order to the worship in the synagogue. It would begin with an invocation, a reading of Deuteronomy 6, the great Shema of Israel, hero Israel, the Lord your God is God, the Lord your God is one God. And that would be followed by the reading of the Scripture. The Jews would stand to read from the Scripture together. We stand together to read from God's Word in honor of the Word of God.
That came from the Jewish worship. And then the reading of Scripture was followed by the instruction when the rabbi would apply the truth to every individual hearer. Well, when Jesus came back, the hometown boy, they gave him the scroll to read and he read from Isaiah chapter 61. The Bible says, and the book of the prophet was handed to him and he opened and found the place where it was written. And this is what he read from Isaiah 61.
Guess what his message was? It was on Bible prophecy. People say, prophecy is irrelevant.
No, it's the only thing that makes sense in a world that's out of control to know that God has a plan for the future. This was a prophecy about the coming Messiah. The Spirit of the Lord is upon me because he anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to set free those who are downtrodden, to proclaim the favorable year of the Lord. Notice four characteristics Jesus said would mark the coming Messiah they had been waiting for for 2000 years. He would be anointed by the Spirit.
Number one, the Spirit of the Lord is upon me. He would announce secondly, the arrival of salvation. He has sent me to proclaim the release of the captives.
He's not talking just about political captives, but spiritual captives. Thirdly, he would bring God's salvation. Not only would Messiah announce salvation, he would be the one to bring it to set free those who are downtrodden. And finally, the Messiah would offer forgiveness from sins. That's what he meant when he said the Messiah would proclaim the favorable year of the Lord. What is the favorable year of the Lord? It was a reference to the Jubilee year when a Jew's debts would be completely forgiven and slaves would be set free. Jesus said the Messiah would announce that it is a favorable year of the Lord when God's forgiveness, his release is available to everyone. Now, Jesus was quoting from Isaiah that had been written 800 years before that event. But listen to what Isaiah 61 to actually says, all of those things I said and to proclaim the favorable year of the Lord and the day of vengeance of our God.
But that's what Isaiah 61 to says, but Jesus left out that last phrase, the day of vengeance of our God. Why did he leave that out? Was he running out of time? People were getting hungry.
It was noon time to go eat. Why did he leave it out? He was signaling something that is crucial to understanding Bible prophecy. Jesus was announcing, he was foretelling that there would be not one, but two comings of the Messiah. The first time the Messiah came, he would come as the suffering servant to be crucified to a wooden cross to pay for the sins of the world. That's the first time he comes to offer salvation to any and all who would believe. But there is a second coming of Christ when he comes not as the suffering servant, but as the sovereign King of Kings and Lord of Lords. And we're going to talk about that when we stand looking over the plane of Megiddo where the great final world battle will be fought. Revelation 19 15 says at that time from the Messiah's mouth will come a sharp sword so that with it he may smite the nations and he will rule them with a rod of iron as he treads the winepress of the fierce wrath of God the Almighty.
But that was at a future date. Jesus said, I have come now to announce it is the favorable year of the Lord. Well, people were amazed by that. They were amazed at his gracious words that fell from his lips and notice the last phrase of verse 20 and the eyes of all in the synagogue were upon him. They were probably secretly thinking to themselves, is this guy Joseph's son saying he is the Messiah? After he read that he sat down as the rabbis did to teach and he didn't leave any doubt. He began to say to them, today, this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.
Ladies and gentlemen, make no mistake about it. Jesus claimed to be the Messiah. Critics of Christianity say, oh, he never claimed to be God. That's something his disciples added on to make a good story better. We're going to see at Caesarea Philippi, the place where Jesus said, Peter, you hit it right on the head.
I am the Christ, the son of the living God. Over and over again, Jesus claimed to be the Messiah. He knew their doubts and in verse 23, he said to them, no doubt you will quote this proverb to me, physician, heal yourself, what you've done in Capernaum do here in your hometown.
In other words, do some more miracles for us. But he said, verse 24, truly, I say to you, no prophet is welcome in his hometown. But that doesn't mean you can't prophesy and speak and pastor to your hometown. It's just going to be a little more difficult. I mean, when I first came back to First Baptist 16 years ago, there were some who said, can that guy who is a little kid running around here playing his accordion, is he really going to be our pastor?
You know, there are some doubters, that's okay. But Jesus was sent to minister to his people. And then he tells them two stories. He said, remember the days of Elijah, when Elijah stayed with that widow, the widow wasn't a Jewish widow, she was a Gentile widow. And remember, Elijah, when he provided healing, it was to a Gentile, Naaman, the captain of the Syrian guard, Jesus was signaling that the gospel he came to preach was wider than just for the Jews alone. And the Jews didn't want any part of that. They had no delight in hearing about the wideness of God's mercy. They wanted God's mercy to be limited to them and them alone. Verse 28 says, and all the people in the synagogue who had been praising Jesus, who had been amazed at the graciousness of his words, all the people in the synagogue were now filled with rage as they heard these things. And they tried to kill him. They tried to take him to the edge of the cliff and throw him over. But verse 30 says, but passing through their midst, he went on his way.
Will you mark something down and remember it? You never have to fear death. No man, no woman dies one second before his or her time. Every Christian is immortal until his work on earth is done. Jesus wasn't ready. His hour had not come yet. He passed through their midst.
What does this say to us today in closing? You know, we're talking about the steps that Jesus walked. We're talking about his life and ministry the next 10 days. But the reason we're studying these things is not just to increase our intellectual knowledge of the Bible, but to increase our commitment as disciples. As we go through the week, I want you to remember this definition of what it really means to be a disciple. To be a disciple of Jesus means to live my life as Christ would live my life if he were I. You see, we get it backwards. We think to be a disciple, we ought to try to imagine what we would be like if we were transported back 2000 years ago and lived in Galilee and walked around in sandals and a bathrobe. You know, what would our lives be like?
No, that's reverse. To be a disciple means to live our life if Jesus would live our life if he were I. If Jesus had your mate, how would he treat him or her? If Jesus was facing the challenge you're facing with your children, what would he do? If Jesus was working in a hostile work environment where people are opposing him, what would you do? What would he do?
That's what it means. If Jesus had whatever amount of money you had, how would he spend that money? That's what a disciple is. To be a disciple means to live my life as Jesus would live my life.
With that in mind, I want to close with these three quick principles about discipleship that we learned from this story of Jesus going to church. First of all, as Christ's disciples, we need to imitate Jesus' disciplines. Jesus had spiritual disciplines that are the secret to his strength. You know, an athlete who fails to train before the game isn't going to be ready when the game comes.
He trains before the game so that when he's in the heat of the game, his impulses come reflexively, automatically. Jesus' secret was what he did before the test temptations came in his life. Jesus had spiritual disciplines. One was going to worship.
That was important. Another was prayer. And I mention that because Mark 1 tells us that right in this area, Capernaum, Jesus had the single busiest day of his ministry.
Remember what Mark 1 says? He started in the morning. He spent the day healing and teaching and casting out demons. It's the longest recorded days in Jesus' ministry. But Mark 1 35 says, the next morning, while it was still dark, Jesus went out to a lonely place and prayed. See those mountains? That's where Jesus went up.
He went up in one of those mountains. He had a place where he met with God every day. Now, if I had been Jesus, I hate to confess this, after a busy day of ministry, I could have said, Lord, I'm sure you understand if I sleep in today.
Look at all I did for you yesterday. But Jesus understood prayer was his spiritual lifeline. My old professor Howard Hendricks used to say, men, if Jesus felt it that necessary to pray, the Son of God, the perfect Son of God, how much more do we need to pray? If we're going to live like Jesus did, we need to emulate Jesus' disciplines. Secondly, we need to emulate and imitate Jesus' courage. Jesus didn't let anything stop him, especially criticism. Criticism that came from his friends, from his acquaintances, even his family members that were there that day, criticized him.
Somebody said the test of a person's character is what it takes to stop him. Criticism couldn't stop Jesus. You may be going through some criticism right now. Because of your stand for Christ, David Roper says that when criticism comes, it usually comes first when we least need it. Secondly, when we least deserve it. Third, from people least qualified to give it.
And fourth, in a form that is least helpful to us. That's why you can't let your critics stop you. If you're pleasing God, and that was Jesus' goal to please God, you won't be stopped by criticism. And then finally, to imitate Jesus, we need to articulate Jesus' message. We need to preach the same message Jesus preached. And that is we are still in the acceptable year of the Lord. We are still at the time that anybody who calls on the name of the Lord can be saved.
We're still in that age of grace, but we are closer to the end of the age of grace than Jesus was 2,000 years ago. There is a day of vengeance, a day of judgment coming, and we need to make sure people are prepared for it. That's what the mission of Pathway to Victory is. To reach as many people as possible as quickly as possible with the truth of God's Word. We'll be standing up over Megiddo looking at that place where the final battle will be fought. I have no idea when that's going to be, but I know this, as Paul said in Romans 13-11, for our salvation is nearer to us than when we first believed. Every day that passes, every second is moving us to that time when we meet God. And the most important thing we can do is be ready ourselves by trusting in not just one way, but the only way to be saved, and then sharing that good news with others. Father, we thank you that you didn't leave us to suffer the consequences of our sin, but you, the mighty God, the creator of this whole universe, cared about us enough that you sent your son Jesus to die on the cross, to die this excruciating death so that we might have eternal life. And Father, I pray for anyone here today who doesn't have that assurance that when you come or they go to meet you, they're going to be welcomed into heaven. I pray you'd begin working in their hearts right now, and by the end of this trip, they will say with confidence, I know in whom I have believed. Father, we thank you for your love for us. Protect us throughout this trip, and we pray this in Jesus' name.
Amen. You may have noticed that today's message sounded a little different than normal. That's because my message was recorded on location in Capernaum, Israel. It was the first of eight messages I delivered during the 2023 Pathway to Victory Tour to Israel. And in a moment, David will explain how to request recordings of this unforgettable experience.
For the foreseeable future, visiting Israel has become difficult. But it doesn't change the fact that our whole world and all of human history revolves around one moment. I'm referring, of course, to the Easter story and the miracle of the resurrection. On return from Israel, I was motivated to capture the Easter story in a brand new book that was complemented with my favorite pictures from Israel. My coffee table book is called The Power of the Cross, and it tells the story of the last seven days of Jesus, from His triumphal entry into Jerusalem to His resurrection on Easter morning. You're invited to request your copy of this colorful book today. A copy of The Power of the Cross is yours when you give a generous gift to support the ministry of Pathway to Victory. When you respond today, I'm going to include a brand new resource I've written called Three Days That Changed the World.
This multifolded brochure gives you an hour by hour account of the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ and the events that changed history forever. Thank you for giving generously to Pathway to Victory. As an active participant in this ministry, you're allowing us to reach millions of listeners and viewers with The Power of the Cross.
David? Thanks, Dr. Jeffress. Today, when you support the ministry of Pathway to Victory by giving a generous gift, we'll say thanks by sending you The Power of the Cross.
It's the brand new, beautifully illustrated coffee table style book based on the teaching of Dr. Robert Jeffress. Simply give us a call at 866-999-2965 or visit online at ptv.org. Now, when you give $75 or more, we'll also send you Live from Israel, eight powerful messages by Dr. Jeffress from the Holy Land.
These messages were recently preached on location in Israel, and you'll get them on both DVD video and MP3 format audio discs. Again, call 866-999-2965 or go to ptv.org. Now, if you'd prefer to send a donation by mail, write to P.O. Box 223-609, Dallas, Texas, 75222. That's P.O. Box 223-609, Dallas, Texas, 75222. I'm David J. Mullins.
Any experienced sailor knows that when the weather changes, it can get rough pretty quick. Join Dr. Jeffress next time on the Sea of Galilee as he recounts the disciples' dramatic experience on the water with Jesus. That's coming up Tuesday on Pathway to Victory. Pathway to Victory with Dr. Robert Jeffress comes from the pulpit of the First Baptist Church of Dallas, Texas. You made it to the end of today's podcast from Pathway to Victory, and we're so glad you're here. Pathway to Victory relies on the generosity of loyal listeners like you to make this podcast possible. One of the most impactful ways you can give is by becoming a Pathway partner. Your monthly gift will empower Pathway to Victory to share the gospel of Jesus Christ and help others become rooted more firmly in His word. To become a Pathway partner, go to ptv.org slash podcast and click on the donate button or follow the link in our show notes. We hope you've been blessed by today's podcast from Pathway to Victory.
