Luke 4:14-21
Jesus Rejected at Nazareth
14 Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit, and news about him spread through the whole countryside. 15 He was teaching in their synagogues, and everyone praised him. 16 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, 17 and the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him. Unrolling it, he found the place where it is written:
18 “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,
19 to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor."
20 Then he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant and sat down. The eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fastened on him. 21 He began by saying to them, “Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.”
Reflection:
Just as the Spirit led Jesus into the desert, he now led him to Galilee and back to his hometown in Nazareth. His teaching brought praise, and was as was his custom he was in the synagogue on the Sabbath. Jesus reminds us that it is indeed good and right to be at church on a weekly basis to hear God's Word being read among other things. On this day he read from the book of Isaiah. This being his home church he was given the opportunity to be a reader. The priest and Levite usually read two passages, and lay members read five other passages, and Jesus today was one of them.
Within the scroll or book of Isaiah, Jesus turned to chapter 61. This was a Messianic passage Isaiah cites as he is speaking to the Jews, who will soon be in exile. But Isaiah prophesies about a future king who will set people free from sin. He will proclaim Good News to the poor and set prisoners free. Of course the Jews were waiting for this day in the sense of their own freedom from their oppressors, and a desire to become the nation they once were. But on this day Jesus is going to announce something much greater than the hope they had for temporal security.
After he read this and sat down, it says the eyes of all were fastened on him. The people sensed something profound was about to happen. Then, he said something that must have shocked them. He said, "today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing." What did this mean?
1. Jesus was the one who all the prophets had predicted would come as the Messiah. He fulfilled all the prophecies. As we look back on Jesus' life and see all the prophecies, we gather that he did fulfill every one of them. The chance of this happening in one man is astronomical, and a solid proof that Jesus was and is the Messiah, the Son of God.
2. He began his preaching and fulfillment in his hometown, where he grew up. These were the people who saw him as a little boy. They had probably heard of the time when at thirteen he was in the temple teaching the elders with amazing insight. We see Jesus' heart to reveal himself to His people and his family first.
3. Jesus connects the Old Testament prophecy linking God's covenant and promise to the Jewish people which would be fulfilled through them, through the line of David and to the Gentiles as we will see. This this fulfilled the original promise to Abraham made in Genesis that he would be a blessing to all nations.
We will see tomorrow that despite this astounding announcement by Jesus it will not be met with acceptance by even those closest to them.
14 Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit, and news about him spread through the whole countryside. 15 He was teaching in their synagogues, and everyone praised him. 16 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, 17 and the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him. Unrolling it, he found the place where it is written:
18 “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,
19 to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor."
20 Then he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant and sat down. The eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fastened on him. 21 He began by saying to them, “Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.”
Reflection:
Just as the Spirit led Jesus into the desert, he now led him to Galilee and back to his hometown in Nazareth. His teaching brought praise, and was as was his custom he was in the synagogue on the Sabbath. Jesus reminds us that it is indeed good and right to be at church on a weekly basis to hear God's Word being read among other things. On this day he read from the book of Isaiah. This being his home church he was given the opportunity to be a reader. The priest and Levite usually read two passages, and lay members read five other passages, and Jesus today was one of them.
Within the scroll or book of Isaiah, Jesus turned to chapter 61. This was a Messianic passage Isaiah cites as he is speaking to the Jews, who will soon be in exile. But Isaiah prophesies about a future king who will set people free from sin. He will proclaim Good News to the poor and set prisoners free. Of course the Jews were waiting for this day in the sense of their own freedom from their oppressors, and a desire to become the nation they once were. But on this day Jesus is going to announce something much greater than the hope they had for temporal security.
After he read this and sat down, it says the eyes of all were fastened on him. The people sensed something profound was about to happen. Then, he said something that must have shocked them. He said, "today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing." What did this mean?
1. Jesus was the one who all the prophets had predicted would come as the Messiah. He fulfilled all the prophecies. As we look back on Jesus' life and see all the prophecies, we gather that he did fulfill every one of them. The chance of this happening in one man is astronomical, and a solid proof that Jesus was and is the Messiah, the Son of God.
2. He began his preaching and fulfillment in his hometown, where he grew up. These were the people who saw him as a little boy. They had probably heard of the time when at thirteen he was in the temple teaching the elders with amazing insight. We see Jesus' heart to reveal himself to His people and his family first.
3. Jesus connects the Old Testament prophecy linking God's covenant and promise to the Jewish people which would be fulfilled through them, through the line of David and to the Gentiles as we will see. This this fulfilled the original promise to Abraham made in Genesis that he would be a blessing to all nations.
We will see tomorrow that despite this astounding announcement by Jesus it will not be met with acceptance by even those closest to them.
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