The Sermon That Almost Got Jesus Killed

Seven verses, Jesus Loved. This is our brand new series. My name is Adrian. I'm one of the pastors here. Good morning. Are you guys excited to be at church? Yeah, man. I was like-- I had to sit down and worship. I was like, I need to calm down. Because I was-- that was-- that was good. Can we just thank the worship team? Man, I was like-- Thank you, guys.

Well, I'm really excited about this series. We're looking at seven Bible verses or passages that Jesus quoted that defined what he was all about. We'll get a glimpse into the mind of Jesus. We don't often get to read in the internal thoughts of Jesus. But in this series, through these verses, we'll get a sneak peek into that.

If you started coming to Twin Lakes Church after maybe Christmas, you got intrigued by the series, how joyful people think. Well, this is a great follow-up because really at its core, this series is about how Jesus thinks. And it's a great way to spiritually get prepared for Easter because in seven weeks-- Easter's in seven weeks. I know, right? And I'm like, what happened?

Each week as we go through this series and we read the story of Jesus, the drama and mystery will unfold up to Easter. If you think about it, Bible verses people love give you a glimpse into what makes them tick. Like if somebody loves the verse, God is love. Well, they're probably going to be a loving person, right? If somebody likes rejoice always, they're probably going to be a happy person.

If they like a verse like Samson killed 1,000 men with a donkey's jawbone, they probably watched Gladiator 2 twice. And we start with a verse in this series that Jesus quoted. And what's interesting in this story is that Jesus stops the verse midway through. He shuts the scroll and then walks down. And what he leaves out of the verse he was quoting so scandalizes his crowd, his audience, his hometown congregation that it freaks them out. They lose it. And they actually start a riot. It's a tough crowd and a great story. Let's dig in.

Now, you can take out your message notes. If you got those when you handed in, if you have a Bible, you can take that out. There's some Bibles under you most likely or in front of you. You can turn to Luke, the book of Luke. It is the third book of the New Testament on page. It's all different. And we're going to be in chapter 4 of Luke. If you have a Bible on your phone, you can tap away. And as you get there, as you find your spot, here's a little context.

What Luke has been talking about in the first three chapters, he begins with the birth of Jesus. And we have the God, the divine Son of God is here in Jesus. And then he leads up to his baptism where Jesus goes to the Jordan River. His cousin is there, John the Baptist, who baptizes him. And then in that moment, we see Luke describes it as the Spirit of God descends upon Jesus to empower him to begin and do his ministry.

And so then right after that, he's taken into the wilderness where he's there fasting for 40 days tempted by the devil. Which by the way, he quotes scripture to defeat and defend and resist. And then he begins his ministry. We pick up the story in verse 14, chapter 4 of Luke. Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit. And news about him spread through the whole countryside. He was teaching in their synagogues, and everyone praised him.

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, and the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him. Unrolling it, he found the place where it is written. We'll pause there. So Jesus was baptized, filled with the Spirit, begins his ministry. His fame spreads. I'm sure his hometown heard about it. He's in town. They're like, whoa, Jesus is here. Like, we should probably let him read at church.

And so he goes to Nazareth, his hometown. Nazareth looks like this today. Very beautiful. Like, let me just say, every time I see a picture of parts of the Holy Land, I'm always like, I thought it was all desert. I'm like, it's so lush. The town at that time, historians believe, measured about 10 to 30 acres. And it had a population of about, they think, 200 to 500 people. All that to say, very small town. Everybody knew everybody, and everybody's business, right?

So Jesus goes to church, the synagogue, because it was a Sabbath. And you can today visit a recreation of a synagogue at that time. And I want you to just look at this room. It's not that big. And so however many people are there, they are packed in there. Jesus is probably up near the front there reading that scripture. And so he stands there. They hand him the scroll of Isaiah. And this is what a scroll looks like or looked like back then.

A large piece of parchment with the Hebrew scriptures on there and rolled up, sometimes on both sides with two wooden dowels to open and close it. A lot of the-- if you read the Old Testament, you look back there, there's some really small books. They put those together on a scroll. But Isaiah was such a large book of the Old Testament that it was on one big scroll. And so they handed him this scroll of Isaiah. And then he opens it. And I believe he just opens it right to a spot he wants to read.

And this is what he reads. Verse 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 to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor." This is from Isaiah. And in our Bibles, chapter 61. "These verses are verses that all Jewish people knew and they loved. Because these were prophecies about the Messiah. These are prophets telling and then writing down about a hero who would come and rescue them and defeat their enemies."

And so here's where Jesus stirs the pot. Verse 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." Jesus cuts the verse short. So he begins reading Isaiah chapter 61, verse 1. He gets into verse 2. And before he finishes verse 2, shuts the scroll, hands it back, and sits down. And everyone is just staring at him like, "Maybe they're thinking--" because what normally would happen is there would be a reading of scripture. Then the teacher would sit and teach.

And so maybe they were thinking, what is he going to say about this? Maybe there was something in that. I think a lot of them were like, wait, you didn't read our favorite part. You stop. Read the rest. They were feeling unsatisfied. Maybe like, imagine you go to your favorite band's concert. You're there. It's the end of the concert. You haven't heard the song you want to hear yet. They've waited. They've saved it. Maybe even after the encore. And then you hear the notes of the song play. Electricity is flowing through your body.

You can feel the excitement of everyone in the room around you. You begin to think, I paid all this money. I listened to all those opening acts. I listened to all your other songs. But now it's my time. I stood there. And now I'm holding hands with my friends. Here it comes. We're about to jump. And we're about to scream. Because I'm excited. And then the music shuts off. The lights come on. An announcement says, thank you for coming. Drive safe. And everybody you're holding hands with screams, no! Even right now, some of you are like, finish the song, please.

So that's how I feel. Like, I need to hear the drums. That's what Jesus did. He starts reading this passage. And they were waiting for their favorite part. They're like, oh, I know this one. The Messiah has been anointed. Yeah. To preach the good news. Yeah. Sight to the blind and release the prisoner. Yeah. Bring the year of the Lord's favor. Yeah. Book shuts. Sit down. What?

And here's what he omitted. Isaiah chapter 61, verse 2. To proclaim the year of the Lord's favor and the day of vengeance of our God. To comfort all who mourn. Vengeance and judgment of their enemies, the Gentiles. This is the thing. The people of God, the Jews, have been waiting for over 500 years for this to come true. Over 500 years before this moment, Babylon had taken Jerusalem. And since then, they have been a people occupied. And at the current time, it was Rome.

It's what they dreamt about. It's what they talked about. It's what moms and dads used to tell, you know, bedtime stories to their little kids. That one day, the hero would come and kick out the Romans. It's also what they heard at church. They'd go to the synagogue and people would read scripture. And they would hear about this kind of thing. The Dead Sea Scrolls, you probably heard about them. They were these ancient Jewish scrolls found in these caves near the Dead Sea.

And in these scrolls, there were lots of different things. Lots of parts of the Bible. Isaiah was in there. But they also found sermons of the time around when Jesus was preaching and alive on earth. These sermons talked about how the Messiah would come and destroy the Gentiles. And people were hearing these sermons in synagogues around, you know, all over the other towns. At the same time, Jesus is reading these verses. This is what they sounded like. "On the day when the Gentiles fall, there shall be a battle and horrible carnage before the God of Israel. For it is a day appointed by him as a battle of annihilation." This is gladiator two stuff.

Why did Jesus leave this out? You know, maybe they thought, okay, he left it out, but maybe he's going to talk about it. Maybe he's going to talk about how God's going to get them, get our enemies. All those people who don't deserve God's love and acceptance. So what did Jesus say when he sat down? Verse 21. "He began by saying to them, 'Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.'" That's it. "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?

So this is what's happening. Jesus drops a bomb. He's like, yeah, here are these messianic prophecies that we all love. And it's being fulfilled right now in your hearing. That means like in this moment. And at first they're like, wow, this guy speaks really well and like authoritatively. But then they start thinking, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait. That's Marian Joseph's kid. This is his hometown. He grew up here.

So the people at this church are people that saw him as a little kid running around. I don't know what Jesus did. I mean, I imagine he's flying around, but I don't think so. I, you know, he's just a normal kid. And they're like, who is it? Who are you to say any of this to us? So they immediately start questioning him in their hearts. And he knows what they're thinking because, listen, I'm going to encourage you. Read, if you've never read the gospels, read them. They're really good. Like some of the best stuff out there. I'm seriously, not just because it's like about our Lord, but it's very interesting and exciting and adventurous and mysterious.

But one of the things you find out, there is a power Jesus has is he can read your mind and hear your thoughts. And so I think that's what's happening here. Cause he says this verse 23, Jesus said to them, surely you will quote this proverb to me physician, heal yourself. And you will tell me, do here in your hometown, what we have heard that you didn't compare to him. His fame had spread. And you know what? He knows that they're thinking, yeah, prove it.

Verse 24, truly I tell you, no prophet is accepted in his hometown. I assure you that there were many widows in Israel in Elijah's time when the sky was shut for three and a half years and there was a severe famine throughout the land. Yet Elijah was not sent to any of them, but to a widow in Zarephath in the region of Sidon. And there were many in Israel with leprosy in the time of Elisha, the prophet, yet not one of them was cleansed only naming the Syrian.

So we have a widow and this guy naming. What Jesus is doing is he's doubling down. He's like, you think I left out the best part? No, no, no, no. First, let me remind you of two other stories in the Old Testament. First, a widow. You have to remember widows at the time, people didn't feel bad for them. They were like on the lowest social rungs, you know, on the social ladder in that society in ancient times, because a widow before she was a widow, her husband was the way that she found her livelihood.

But if he passed away, she was destitute. And not only is she a widow, but she is she lived in Zarephath. And what these people heard is she's a Gentile. She's a widow who is a Gentile. And Jesus is saying that's who God sent his prophet to help in the famine. And then he talks about this guy, Naaman. He was a leper. He had leprosy, this skin disease that affects your nerves. And then you become disfigured. So he was already an outcast. People don't touch them. And then he says, you know, he starts with this leper and he names him. Naaman the Syrian.

Now people would know because that is in the scriptures that Naaman is a Gentile from Syria, which at the time was in war with Israel. And Naaman was a general in that Syrian army. Naaman is like the most Gentile, Gentile enemy-est enemy that they could think of. A general of Syria. And Jesus says that is who God sent help and healing to. What Jesus is doing by leaving out that verse for this crowd is he was flipping the script. Instead of judgment and destruction, the Messiah is bringing hope and healing for their enemies.

So how did they respond? Super stoked? Verse 28. All the people in the synagogue were furious when they heard this. Check this out. If you've never read this. They got up, drove him out of the town and took him to the brow of the hill on which the town was built in order to throw him off the hill. Off the cliff. But he walked right through the crowd and went on his way.

Okay, listen. This is Luke chapter four and they're trying to kill Jesus. Do you remember who these people are? He is a hometown. I mean, I don't know if there's family members there, like a little brother. It's like, I'm gonna get him, you know, but they were upset. I remember the first time I read it. I'm like, whoa, doesn't Jesus die later in this story? I mean, what a way to start your ministry, right? You start by quoting one of your favorite verses and then you almost get thrown off a cliff.

René knew I was talking about this and he's like, oh, here's this picture I took. This is Trent. This is Nazareth. This is where people believe, where they believe this story happened at the end, where they're about to throw him off this cliff. Now, some of you are thinking that looks like Watsonville. This is Mount Madonna and you took this yesterday. No, I promise. This is Nazareth. And they believe they marched Jesus to where Trent is standing. And on the other side of these rocks, it's 760 feet down. It wasn't like, let's hope he gets scraped up. They wanted to kill Jesus.

What about his message would make them want to do this? Well, these verses Jesus quoted reveal three things. If you like to take notes and fill out your paper, here's your chance. First, Jesus reveals who he is. If you look at this passage, the word for anointed in the Hebrew scripture, it's the word that we get Messiah. In the Greek, the Aramaic, it's where we get Christ. And so this is a messianic prophecy is about the coming hero. And it says the Messiah would be filled with the spirit of the Lord.

Now, remember right before this, Luke talks about Jesus's baptism where the spirit of the Lord descended on Jesus. And then Jesus says this scripture is being fulfilled in your hearing right now. What Jesus was doing is he was claiming that he was the Messiah, the Christ, which are titles. Christ is not his last name. That's who he is. And Jesus was the one that people had been waiting for. Jesus was a hero of all those bedtime stories. The one who would rescue them from their enemies.

Jesus is saying that is me. Second, Jesus reveals what his message is. He's defining his message and mission, the Messiah's mission. And these are the words he uses. Good news, freedom, sight, and the Lord's favor. The Messiah is there. Jesus is here to preach the good news. Now, what is the good news? I think you can sum it up in this last section. Proclaim the year of the Lord's favor. The year of the Lord's favor. This refers to a Jewish, to a concept in Jewish law called the year of Jubilee.

If you remember in the first pages of the Bible, God created the heavens and the earth in six days. And on the seventh day, we created everything. And on the seventh day, he rested. And so Israel was taught to work six days and then rest on the seventh day. It was called the Sabbath. And then every seven years, there was meant to be a Sabbath year. And then every seven times seven years after that, there would be a year of Jubilee. Sort of like super Sabbath.

And in this year, in the year of the Lord's favor, all debts were canceled. Prisoners were set free. Slaves set free. And anyone who had lost their land could get it back. The year of Jubilee was a reboot, a restart, a do-over. And the prophets of old then would prophesy about an eternal year of Jubilee. A year of the Lord's favor. An eternal favor. And that the Messiah would come to establish. He would come and establish his kingdom and inaugurate this endless Jubilee.

What does that look like? And Isaiah describes it. It's sight for the blind. And this is what Jesus was doing both physically and spiritually. If you continue reading the Gospels after this story, you keep going. Soon we'll see that Jesus encounters people that are blind and he heals them of their physical blindness. But also, Jesus says in John's Gospel, "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life."

Also, the Jubilee looks like freedom for the prisoner and oppressed. Again, both physical and spiritual freedom. Because you know, it is in the Bible that we find that all humans have dignity. Because in the first pages, all humans, men and women were created in the image of God. So every human on this planet has the image of God. They bear the image of God. And so every person, no matter where they're from or what they look like, or what they do or what they say, bear the image of God. And so they have dignity.

And it's for this reason that it is Christians who have been on the forefront of ending slavery. From Paul's letter to Philemon, if you read that letter, that is about letting this slave free. To the abolitionists in the 18th century, it is the message of Christ that has moved people to set literal, physical, captives free. But there is also a spiritual enslavement that Jesus talks about back then that lives on today. In John's gospel, Jesus says the very famous line, "The truth shall set you free." Have you heard this?

Now, you've probably heard lots of people talk about this, about a lot of things. Like here are some facts, "And the truth will set you free." I've probably used that on my kids. Like this is what's happening. "And the truth shall set you free from being grounded." I've misquoted Jesus, and so has everybody else. That's not what he's talking about. In John, when he says this verse, "The truth shall set you free," or those words, right after it says, his followers are like, "Set us free from what? We're not slaves. We don't need freedom." And this is what he says, "Jesus replied, 'Very truly I tell you, everyone who sins is a slave to sin.'" And later we read from Paul that all of us have fallen short. We all have inherited this sin, and we all have sinned, and are slaves to sin. So his message is a message of freedom from that enslavement.

Third, Jesus reveals where he is going. And this is where they think Jesus went too far. Where does Jesus take the good news of freedom and healing? He uses these words. He takes it to the poor, the prisoners, the blind and oppressed. Now we read these words today, and we're like, "Poor, prisoners, blind, and oppressed." Yeah, what's a big deal? But for the people back then, poverty, sickness, slavery, those are marks of dishonor on a person. These describe people on the fringes of society. These aren't the people they expected the Messiah to come bring any news to.

But Jesus was saying that the Messiah, he was coming for these people. So why does Jesus use these terms? Because obviously, it's not just these people who hear the gospel and are transformed. It's anybody and everybody. But what these words describe are people who know they need help. At that time, if you were poor, a prisoner, a blind, or oppressed, that's all you were going to be. You were never going to not be in poverty. You were never going to be freed. And you were never going to see. Not on your own.

Now, Jesus did not come only for these people, but they were the people who acknowledged they need help. Because that's who Jesus was bringing the good news to. People who acknowledge they need help, whether you're rich or poor, whether you're healthy or sick, if you acknowledge, "I need a Savior," that's who the good news is for. But if you look at a list of people Jesus encounters in the first few pages of the Bible, or of this book, Luke, I mean, just after, it's just five to eight. But if you look at this list, these are people living on the fringes. Some of them were outcasts. Some of them were literal enemies.

Jesus' audience wanted a war, but he was offering spiritual freedom and peace. And he was offering it to people they think didn't deserve it. And because of that, they wanted to kill Jesus. So the question remains is this. What does this mean? What does this mean for me? Because after hearing this story about Jesus and what his mission was, what his message was, who he was, and where he was going, you got to ask yourself two questions.

Number one, is this the Jesus I believe in? One day, Jesus asked his disciples, "Who do people say that I am?" And they're like, "They say you're this guy or this guy, this prophet, the Elijah." And then he goes, "Okay, well, who do you say that I am?" And then Peter speaks up as he does. Peter just talks. He doesn't think, he just says words. But what he says in this moment, it says, "You are the Messiah." And Jesus is like, "You got it, buddy." And if you read it, he's like, "You actually didn't know it. God put it in your mouth, but good job." And everybody's high-fiving him. He's like, "I did it! Yeah, finally! I said something right!" But even Peter still needed to understand what that meant.

Because Jesus, shortly after, would say, "The Messiah, I would have to die to accomplish my mission. To defeat our enemies, I need to die." Peter, does he think? No. He speaks. And he tells Jesus, "Never. Not on my watch." Which I always think like, "That's Jesus. You've been with him. And he's done all his wild stuff. You're going to challenge him?" "Yeah, I'm Peter." I'm like, "That makes sense." So what does Jesus say to Peter after that? He just high-fived Peter, right? I don't know if he did, but I'm just imagining. Did they high-five back then? I don't know. Who knows? High-five?

Shortly after, Peter says, "No." This is what Jesus says. A very famous line. Lots of people know. "Get behind me, Satan." To Peter. Peter was like, "You just high-fived me? You just call me Satan?" That's what Jesus is asking you today. Who do you believe I am? Because if it's possible for his disciples to get it wrong, it definitely could happen to us. Is it possible that you have a distorted view of who Jesus is, and what he's here to do, and who he's here to do that to, or with, or for?

Here's a quick test. Imagine Jesus, the Jesus you believe in. Now, does this Jesus agree with you 100% about everything? When you're watching the news channel that you watch, you're like, "Yeah, this is the news channel Jesus would watch." Is the Jesus in your mind, does he accept only the people who you think deserve his love? Does he reject the people you think deserve to be rejected, who you despise and hate, then chances are that's not Jesus. That's not this Jesus.

Jesus is the Messiah who came to bring good news and healing and freedom to people who need saving, which includes you, it includes the people you love, and it includes the people you hate. Listen to the words of Jesus. "For the Son of Man came," he's talking about himself, about the Messiah, "he came to seek and to save the lost." And you know who that is? That's all of us. It begs the second question, is this the Jesus I reflect?

Listen, church, when you believe and confess that Jesus, the Son of God, died on the cross for your sins and rose from the dead in the power of the Holy Spirit, you are filled with the same Spirit of God, which is an amazing truth, and that means that you are a follower of Jesus, you are a Christian, you are a son and a daughter of God through the power of the death and resurrection of Christ and the Spirit of God.

And so Jesus calls his followers to continue his mission, and that's what we see happening in the early church. Empowered by the Spirit, the early followers of Jesus, they preach the good news to everyone, everywhere. And God wants that to continue today with you, right here in Santa Cruz and beyond. So how do you do that? How do we do that? We need to continue his mission. We need to preach the gospel. We need to share the love of Jesus.

But I want you to think about this. In the first century, why do you think people were compelled to become Christians? Because it wasn't easy. They were all persecuted. But what made people want to become Christians? I imagine that it was the love and the compassion that they saw in the early church, in those early followers of Jesus. And I believe that's what we need to do. We need to reflect his love.

Because there is so much division and hate in our world. I've been off social media for over two years now, where I don't go and check and endlessly scroll anymore. I recently had to go on for a reason, and then I was like, "Ooh, it's rough in here." There's so much division and hate, not only on social media, but all over us, all around us. Even between brothers and sisters in Christ. Like, Christians fighting, hating, name-calling. I think Jesus knew this was going to happen. I think back then, Jesus knew YouTube was coming, and the videos people were going to make against each other.

And this is what he says, "By this, everyone will know that you are my disciples. If you love one another, love is our badge. Not being right, love. Show love, be kind, be like Jesus." We need to reflect his compassion. He also says this, "Let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven." Throughout history, beginning of those early followers, it is Christians, followers of Jesus, who are on the forefront of helping people in need. We need to reclaim that reputation.

When people think of the church or Christians, they need to think those are the people that love and help people. If we want to share the gospel, people need to want to think that that's true. This is what that means. If somebody who's not a Christian sees somebody, who is a Christian, they're going to — they have to think, "That's what happens when you become a Christian. I want that." I want to believe that's true, that that Christian transformed, "Does this? Okay." That looks like love and compassion in action.

Each of us, through the power of the Holy Spirit, serving and loving each other and our community. Be welcoming to everybody, still preaching the gospel, the truth of the gospel, but with a wide welcome of love. Compassion, how do you do that? Volunteer. There are many opportunities here at Twin Lakes Church, in our local community, even globally, ways you can get involved. And then when you are serving and you are loving and somebody asks you, "Why do you act this way? Why do you do that?" The answer is Jesus.

And it also looks like loving those who you think and you deem are unlovable. You know, Jesus told his hometown the Messiah was coming for everyone, even their enemies, and they wanted to kill him for it. He's saying the same thing to us. You need to love your enemies. The people you don't like, the people that you don't want to become Christians. I mean, if you're honest, there are people in this world, in our community, who are like, like, "Do I want them to come to church with me?" The answer is yes, because they need Jesus. Pray for them, serve them.

Finally, there are some of you in this room that you're like, "I just need help. I need Jesus." This is his message to you. I mean, really to all of us. He is here to bring you healing and freedom. You know, he left out that part of the verse, but it's not that that part doesn't come true, that there's vengeance for God against the enemies of his people. It's just that we got the enemies part wrong. We thought that meant other people.

But what the truth is, is that the death, the life, the death, the resurrection of Jesus defeats our true enemies, Satan, sin, and death. Those are your enemies. And today, if you're here and you've never taken that step forward to accept Jesus and his free gift of salvation, freedom from these enemies, he offers you that today. And I'd love to lead you in a prayer to do that. Let's pray together.

And with our eyes closed, if you're here today and you're like, "Yeah, I've been at church a long time, but I've never taken that step. Or maybe today's your first time and the Spirit is moving in your heart." And you're like, "Yeah, I'm ready." But Jesus, his arms are wide open offering you love and acceptance because of what he did. And the Bible says this, "If you believe that Jesus, the Son of God, died for your sins on the cross and confessed with your mouth that God raised him from the dead that he is alive today, if you believe and you confess that, you will be saved."

And so that's all you have to do. And there's no magic way to do it, but just in your heart right now, you can just say, "I believe and I confess and I follow." And if you did that, please tell somebody, "Congratulations. Welcome to the family." Father, we thank you for your love and your grace. That God, you showed us your great love by sending Jesus to die for us while we were still sinners. That God, I thank you, Lord, that you don't wait for us to get our acts together to save us, but God, you save us and help us get our acts together.

And so God, I pray that you would encourage those who maybe today have made that first step of accepting your free gift of salvation in response to the moving of your spirit. Would you encourage them, Lord, with your presence, Lord, in their life as they're filled with the spirit right now. God, what an amazing truth. And for the followers of Jesus in this room, Father, I pray you help all of us to realize who you are, what you're here to do, and who you're going to do that for.

And may we reflect that same love and mission in our own lives. And in this church, God may, not just Twin Lakes Church, but the church global, may our brothers and sisters worldwide be known for the people who love and are compassionate, all because of Jesus. And it's in His name we pray. Amen. Amen.