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.
Read Luke 4:16-30 in context and/or in other translations on BibleGateway.com!
Something I find amazing about Jesus is that He seemed to switch between teaching, healing, and helping people to challenging them and practically pushing them away. This is probably most visible in an event that happens at the beginning of Jesus’ ministry.
While coming home to Nazareth, Jesus comes to the synagogue on Sabbath, and He is invited to speak. So Jesus pulls a prophecy from Isaiah and shares how it is being fulfilled in their midst.
The people in this synagogue were amazed and impressed by Jesus. “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.” (v. 22)
However, right at the moment when Jesus is receiving the most praise does the switch flip and He moves to challenging those present. Jesus continued by saying, “‘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.” What I’m about to tell you is true,’ he continued. ‘A prophet is not accepted in his hometown.’” (v. 23-24)
Jesus begins by drawing them towards a truth about who He is. But when they miss the relevance that He is talking about Himself and not simply sharing a typical message like they had heard during other weeks from other teachers, He shifts to challenging them regarding the core idea: These people like Jesus, but they don’t think He is special or significant.
Perhaps the truth that we read about here speaks to our own human nature. The closer we get to someone, or the longer we have known an individual, the less impressed we are with them. While there may be moments of triumph, we will remember the past and both the ups and the downs.
These members of the Nazareth synagogue had watched Jesus grow up. They were among the closest to Jesus that a group of people could have been. But in their response, we see a key phrase that points us to what they really thought of Jesus: “Isn’t this Joseph’s son?” they comment among themselves.
This tells us that even though they may have heard rumors about Jesus’ virgin birth, most of them didn’t believe it. To this group of people, Jesus was simply the carpenter’s son and nothing more. He may have shared a great message, and there may be some amazing rumors circulating around about Him, but He is just a carpenter’s apprentice to them – not the Messiah, God’s Son.
Right at the moment that Jesus was receiving the greatest praise from men, He pushes them regarding who He truly is. Jesus starts with a compliment, but He ends with a challenging truth – and this challenge is one that you and I must answer for ourselves: Is Jesus God’s Son and promised Messiah or is He simply a carpenter’s apprentice and nothing more?
This thought was inspired by studying the Walking With Jesus “Reflective Bible Study” package. To discover insights like this in your own study time, click here and give Reflective Bible Study a try today!
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