“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:”
Luke 4:14-17 NIV
Jesus’ resolve to live by the words of His Father was quickly put to the test in His hometown, Nazareth. What better place to begin, where He had grown up under scrutiny, where He was best known by the community, so they thought.
Once again, come Sabbath, Jesus took His place in the synagogue, however, not as a regular worshipper but as a recognised “rabbi”, a teacher of the law. He has become well-known in the region for His teaching and authority.
Jesus stood up to read the Scripture for that day. He deliberately selected a passage that formed part of Isaiah’s prophetic picture of the Messiah. How fitting that Isaiah prophesied about the Messiah’s ministry of deliverance and healing for His broken people, an exact description of His mission which had already begun in nearby Capernaum.
“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.” …He began by saying to them, “Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.””
Luke 4:18-19, 21 NIV
Well, that set the cat among the pigeons! Imagine the audacity of the man! One of their own villagers, a young upstart who grew up in front of them, claiming to be the fulfilment of their great prophet Isaiah’s immortal words!Who did He think He was?
Jesus’ next words struck a raw spot. He made it clear that He already knew that He would be rejected.
“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 did in Capernaum.’ ” “Truly I tell you,” he continued, “no prophet is accepted in his hometown.”
Luke 4:23-24 NIV
Using two stories from Israel’s own history, Elijah’s miracle for a Gentile widow in Zarephath and Elisha’s healing of Naaman, the Syrian, as illustrations, He foretold that His own people would reject Him because of His ministry to Gentiles! Well, that did it!
Before He even said any more, a heated debate broke out. Some were impressed…others were incensed. The mention of the Gentiles made their blood boil. Without giving any consideration to His message of hope, or His mission of mercy to all people, they unceremoniously threw Him out and even tried to eliminate Him.
However, this was Jesus…and their murderous rage didn’t work. At least not this time.
One thing was clear…little by little, Jesus began to determine who were willing to listen to His message and who were not. By rejecting Him, they were rejecting the Father who sent Him, and His gracious message of deliverance and redemption.
This brings us to an important consideration at this point…
To be continued…