14 And Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit to Galilee, and a report about him went out through all the surrounding country. 15 And he taught in their synagogues, being glorified by all.
16 And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up. And as was his custom, he went to the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and he stood up to read. 17 And the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to him. He unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written,
18 “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,
because he has anointed me
to proclaim good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives
and recovering of sight to the blind,
to set at liberty those who are oppressed,
19 to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”
20 And he rolled up the scroll and gave it back to the attendant and sat down. And the eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on him. 21 And he began to say to them, “Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.” 22 And all spoke well of him and marveled at the gracious words that were coming from his mouth. And they said, “Is not this Joseph’s son?” 23 And he said to them, “Doubtless you will quote to me this proverb, ‘“Physician, heal yourself.” What we have heard you did at Capernaum, do here in your hometown as well.’” 24 And he said, “Truly, I say to you, no prophet is acceptable in his hometown. 25 But in truth, I tell you, there were many widows in Israel in the days of Elijah, when the heavens were shut up three years and six months, and a great famine came over all the land, 26 and Elijah was sent to none of them but only to Zarephath, in the land of Sidon, to a woman who was a widow. 27 And there were many lepers in Israel in the time of the prophet Elisha, and none of them was cleansed, but only Naaman the Syrian.” 28 When they heard these things, all in the synagogue were filled with wrath. 29 And they rose up and drove him out of the town and brought him to the brow of the hill on which their town was built, so that they could throw him down the cliff. 30 But passing through their midst, he went away.
(ESV)
STOP! Think a little 🤔 What is God saying to you?
- What is the writer saying?
- How do I apply this to my life?
Jesus returned from the wilderness and began to minister in the power of the Spirit. The Holy Spirit’s power was the source of Jesus’ authority. As He began His ministry news about Him spread, He taught in the synagogues and everyone praised Him. But that wouldn’t last long.
When He came to Nazareth where He had grown up. He went into the synagogue on the Sabbath as He usually did and was given an opportunity to read from the Scriptures. He was given the scroll of Isaiah (they didn’t have nice bound Bibles or smart phones with Bible apps—how blessed we are to have the scriptures at our finger tips all day every day). He found Isaiah 61 and began to read the prophecy that spoke about Himself. The prophecy spoke about the Messiah as one empowered by the Holy Spirit who’s mission was to reach the poor, the captives, the blind, and the oppressed and to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favour. Jesus stopped in the middle of a sentence (61:2) just short of the part that speaks of God’s judgement. Jesus had read with such palpable authority that when he handed the scroll back, they all had their eyes fixed on Him waiting for Him to explain what He’d read. He explained that what He had read was fulfilled in their hearing—He was the Messiah and the offer of the Lord’s favour was being offered to them right then. Their response was positive and they marvelled at what He had said until someone pointed out that He was Joseph’s son. Suddenly they assumed He was just one of them. How could an ordinary man, one who had grown up around them make such a lofty claim?
Jesus notices their unbelief and verbalises their desire to have Him perform miracles in their presence to validate His claims. But He also points out that they have already heard of the miracles He had performed in Capernaum. Jesus refers to two Old Testament stories. The first is from the time of Elijah when there was a three-year drought. During that time there were many widows with great need but Elijah went to none of them. Instead, he went to Zarephath in Sidon, a Gentile (1 Ki 17:1-16). The second was from the time of Elisha when there were many lepers in Israel but Elisha didn’t cleanse any of them but cleansed Naaman the Syrian, a Gentile (2 Ki 5:1-4). In both of these stories, Israel was bypassed because of their unbelief. Jesus’ point was that they should respond differently at this time. But they were filled with anger and they drove Him out of town and intended to throw Him off a cliff. But it was not the time, place, or manner Jesus was meant to die so He slipped through the crowds and went away.
The Jews were waiting for Messiah. They believed He would come at any time. But because Jesus didn’t fit into their paradigm of what He should be, they rejected Him. Some people reject His offer of salvation to this day because they want it in a different package, something to better suit them. That same thinking can affect us as believers as well. We don’t want to obey God because some part of His instruction doesn’t fit with the way we think things should work. We need to remember that God’s ways are not our ways. In what area do you need to adjust your attitude and trust that God’s way is right even if it doesn’t suit your preference?
Major Stories of the Bible Reading Plan
David and Goliath: 1 Samuel 17-18
The people not only wanted a redeemer but someone who would make their small, constantly disobedient nation, great again. This is one of the reasons why they rejected Jesus because He was not someone who would help their nation defeat those around them. Like many of us can be, Israel was focused on worldly things and not the things of God. Overall, Jesus plan would bring them more joy and fulfillment if they accepted Him but they wanted immediate rewards of defeat of the places around them.