As Luke describes the early part of Jesus’ ministry, we read about a visit Jesus takes to His hometown of Nazareth, and specifically to the synagogue that He likely grew up attending.
However, this visit was different. All the times before this, Jesus’ time in this synagogue had been out of the spotlight and prior to His baptism while Jesus was simply learning and practicing carpentry with Joseph. Now, following Jesus’ baptism and trip into the desert to be tempted, we find Jesus returning to Nazareth for a visit after having left the family business and stepping into the role and mission God had sent Him into this world to accomplish.
But things were different. Word had been spreading about what Jesus was doing, and it made the people who saw Jesus grow up a little confused. Let’s read about what happened.
Our passage is found in the gospel of Luke, chapter 4, and we will read from the New International Reader’s Version of the Bible. Starting in verse 16, Luke tells us that:
16 Jesus went to Nazareth, where he had been brought up. On the Sabbath day he went into the synagogue as he usually did. He stood up to read. 17 And the scroll of Isaiah the prophet was handed to him. Jesus unrolled it and found the right place. There it is written,
18 “The Spirit of the Lord is on me.
He has anointed me
to announce the good news to poor people.
He has sent me to announce freedom for prisoners.
He has sent me so that the blind will see again.
He wants me to set free those who are treated badly.
19 And he has sent me to announce the year when he will set his people free.”
20 Then Jesus rolled up the scroll. He gave it back to the attendant and sat down. The eyes of everyone in the synagogue were staring at him. 21 He began by saying to them, “Today this passage of Scripture is coming true as you listen.”
22 Everyone said good things about him. They were amazed at the gracious words they heard from his lips. “Isn’t this Joseph’s son?” they asked.
23 Jesus said, “Here is a saying you will certainly apply to me. ‘Doctor, heal yourself!’ And you will tell me this. ‘Do the things here in your hometown that we heard you did in Capernaum.’ ”
24 “What I’m about to tell you is true,” he continued. “A prophet is not accepted in his hometown. 25 I tell you for sure that there were many widows in Israel in the days of Elijah. And there had been no rain for three and a half years. There wasn’t enough food to eat anywhere in the land. 26 But Elijah was not sent to any of those widows. Instead, he was sent to a widow in Zarephath near Sidon. 27 And there were many in Israel who had skin diseases in the days of Elisha the prophet. But not one of them was healed except Naaman the Syrian.”
28 All the people in the synagogue were very angry when they heard that. 29 They got up and ran Jesus out of town. They took him to the edge of the hill on which the town was built. They planned to throw him off the cliff. 30 But Jesus walked right through the crowd and went on his way.
When reading this event, I am always amazed at how those in the Nazareth synagogue are so excited about Jesus’ opening words as He is reading from Isaiah’s writing, but they immediately turn on Jesus for sharing some difficult truths. It is as though they were waiting for a reason to doubt Jesus, or perhaps Jesus was waiting for a moment to challenge who they believed Him to be.
The hinge moment in this entire event is one comment that the Jews in this synagogue ask themselves about Jesus. In verse 22, Luke tells us that those in the Nazareth synagogue asked themselves, “Isn’t this Joseph’s son?”
Perhaps this question is a valid question. Perhaps those in the Nazareth synagogue did not know about the extraordinary circumstances surrounding Jesus’ birth. It is possible that Mary and Joseph had kept the secret of Jesus’ birth quiet and those in this Nazareth synagogue believed Jesus to be like any other person in their midst.
However, it is also possible that Mary and Joseph had told those in this synagogue the extraordinary birth of Jesus, the escape to Egypt, and how God had called them back to Nazareth after it was safe to return. If this was the case, then it also wouldn’t surprise me to learn that those in Nazareth were skeptical of what Mary and Joseph told them. I wouldn’t hesitate thinking that many in the synagogue preferred to think Jesus was Mary and Joseph’s biological son.
However, Jesus uses this rhetorical question as an opportunity to challenge those present. While Jesus does make some negative predictions specifically about those in the Nazareth synagogue, the message Jesus refreshes their mind with from Israel’s past is fascinating to me. It is in the anger that we see when Jesus shares historical fact that reveals the character of those present, and what Jesus shared interestingly enough proves His point just as strongly as the rejection He faced.
The big point Jesus wants to emphasize for us is in verse 24 when He says, “A prophet is not accepted in his hometown.” Jesus uses this truth to emphasize and predict what those in this synagogue would do minutes later.
However, the examples Jesus shares don’t appear to support this key point. Jesus then shares two of the most famous prophets in Israel’s history helping people outside of Israel while people in Israel were suffering. In Elijah’s case, the famine was caused by the rebellion of the king, and the land was being punished. It is hard to say what a widow living in Israel would have done if Elijah has shown up. She would have faced the dilemma of helping Elijah or turning him over to the king. In Elisha’s case, we discover a miraculous healing of a Syrian official, when there were obviously people in need in Israel.
On the surface, the examples Jesus shared amplify God’s love for those outside of the Jewish nation. However, it doesn’t really speak negatively about the Jews themselves. In contrast, the message Jesus shared directly conflicted with the egotistical, self-inflated view the Jews had of themselves, which said God would bless them for who they were and not for what they were currently doing. Jesus challenged them with these examples.
However, under the surface, we see these examples showing how God’s people rejected His prophets. In the days of Elijah’s famine, the people of Israel had sided with the king of Israel who had rejected and rebelled against God. If a widow loyal to God earnestly hunted for Elijah to ask for help, I’m confident God would have helped the widow’s search to be successful. In the case of Elijah and the famine, the people of Israel rejected the clear prophet God had sent them.
In the days of Elisha, nowhere do we see someone with skin diseases coming to ask Elisha for help. It takes the captive slave of a foreign officer to suggest he goes to see Elisha to ask for help. And even after receiving instructions, it takes Naaman’s advisors to convince Naaman to actually follow through with the relatively simplistic instructions. While Naaman is the only one healed of the skin disease he had during this era of history, I don’t believe it was because God was punishing everyone else, but that no one else had been determined to ask for God and the prophet’s help.
Those living in Nazareth at the time had the opportunity of a lifetime in front of them. They had the opportunity to be the first group of Jews to accept a prophet who had grown up among them even when all the evidence and history pointed the other way. In the same way, when God sends people into our lives, it is possible He will use strangers, but it is also possible He will use those closest to us to help us turn our lives back to Him.
When God sends someone into our life, we would be wise to pay attention and accept the message leading us back to God!
As we come to the end of another podcast episode, here are the challenges I will leave you with:
As I always challenge you to do, continue purposefully seeking God first in your life. Choose to accept the people and messages He sends to us and choose to turn your heart, your mind, your life, and your will back to God. Intentionally place your faith, hope, trust, and belief in Jesus and what He accomplished for us on our behalf.
Also, continue praying and studying the Bible for yourself to learn, grow, and open your heart to God. While other people can have interesting and useful ideas, choose to filter everything you hear and read through the truth of God’s Word the Bible! God has blessed and protected the Bible for us and He has gifted the Bible to us so we can learn His truth for our lives!
And as I end every set of challenges by saying in one way or another, never stop short of, back away from, chicken out of, or reject where God wants to lead you to in your life with Him!