Rejection in Nazareth

Jesus came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up. As was His custom, He entered the synagogue on the Sabbath. And when He stood up to read, the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to Him. Unrolling it, He found the place where it was written:

“The Spirit of the Lord is on Me because He has anointed Me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent Me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to release the oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”

Then He rolled up the scroll, returned it to the attendant, and sat down. Now, in the synagogue, the teacher would read the Scripture passage that was the subject of their teaching, and they would then teach the listeners. And so, the eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fixed on Jesus. And He began by saying, “Today this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.”

As Jesus taught, all the people spoke well of Jesus and marveled at the gracious words that came from His lips. “Isn’t this the son of Joseph?” they asked.

Jesus knew they were aware of the events since His return to Galilee. And so, Jesus said to them, “Surely you will quote this proverb to Me: ‘Physician, heal yourself! Do here in Your hometown what we have heard that You did in Capernaum.’ ”

Then He added, “Truly I tell you, no prophet is accepted in his hometown. But I tell you truthfully that there were many widows in Israel in the time of Elijah when the sky was shut for three and a half years and great famine swept over all the land. Yet Elijah was not sent to any of them, but to the widow of Zarephath in Sidon. And there were many lepers in Israel in the time of Elisha the prophet. Yet not one of them was cleansed—only Naaman the Syrian.”

On hearing this, all the people in the synagogue were enraged. They got up, drove Him out of the town, and led Him to the brow of the hill on which the town was built, in order to throw Him over the cliff. But Jesus passed through the crowd and went on His way.

(See Isaiah 61:1-2; Luke 4:16-30)

-

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Lamentations 3:22-23 – Even Through the Bad, God is Faithful

Image
The LORD'S lovingkindnesses indeed never cease, For His compassions never fail. They are new every morning; Great is Your faithfulness. --Lamentations 3:22-23 NASB The most significant thing about this wonderful passage is where we find it in the Bible. The Book of Lamentations tells of the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple, which took place over 587 and 586 BC when Babylonian King Nebuchadnezzar overran the city. The surviving inhabitants either fled to other countries, were carried away to Babylon as slaves or remained under the brutal rule of an occupying force. Lamentations does not name its author, but it is generally attributed to the prophet Jeremiah. For many years Jeremiah had warned the people and their leaders about their unfaithfulness to God. Jeremiah knew that being chosen by God did not translate to a free pass. He knew that actions had consequences. If God's people were not faithful to God's instructions, bad things would happen. But even...
Read more

God's Provision and Israel's Waywardness

1 Sing aloud unto God our strength: make a joyful noise unto the God of Jacob. 2 Take a psalm, and bring hither the timbrel, the pleasant harp with the psaltery. 3 Blow up the trumpet in the new moon, in the time appointed, on our solemn feast day. 4 For this was a statute for Israel, and a law of the God of Jacob. 5 This he ordained in Joseph for a testimony, when he went out through the land of Egypt: where I heard a language that I understood not. 6 I removed his shoulder from the burden: his hands were delivered from the pots. 7 Thou calledst in trouble, and I delivered thee; I answered thee in the secret place of thunder: I proved thee at the waters of Meribah. Selah. 8 Hear, O my people, and I will testify unto thee: O Israel, if thou wilt hearken unto me; 9 There shall no strange god be in thee; neither shalt thou worship any strange god. 10 I am the LORD thy God, which brought thee out of the land of Egypt: open thy mouth wide, and I will fill it. 11 But my ...
Read more

Love in Proverbs (a Bible Meditation)

Proverbs 3:3-4 Never let loving devotion or faithfulness leave you; bind them around your neck, write them on the tablet of your heart. Then you will find favor and high regard in the sight of God and man. Proverbs 10:12 Hatred stirs up dissension, but love covers all transgressions. Proverbs 15:17 Better a dish of vegetables where there is love than a fattened ox with hatred. Proverbs 17:9 Whoever conceals an offense promotes love, but he who brings it up separates friends. Proverbs 17:17 A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for adversity. Bible meditation, excerpt from collection,  Love: Bible Meditations  available on  Amazon.com .
Read more