“Truly I tell you … no
prophet is accepted in his hometown.” - Luke 4:24
Jesus’ ministry was off to a
tremendous start. Within a few months of being baptized and facing down the
temptations of Satan, Jesus chose at least four of his twelve disciples. He
performed his first miracle—turning water into wine at a wedding in Cana of
Galilee. He also shared with Nicodemus the most important verse in the whole
Bible—John 3:16.
Suffice it to say: Before he ever rolled into his hometown ofNazareth , Jesus was doing
a whole lot of life-changing ministry. When he went to Galilee ,
news about him spread quickly “through the whole countryside” (Luke 4:14). Luke
tells us in verse15 that Jesus taught in the Jewish synagogues and “everyone
praised him.” Jesus had reached a ministry sweet spot where most people loved
him and cheered for him. His fans were many and his critics were few. But that
would all change quickly as he returned home.
Suffice it to say: Before he ever rolled into his hometown of
Word quickly spread through Nazareth that Jesus had
returned, and his new-found reputation as a powerful teacher and miracle worker
had preceded him. So, as Jesus entered the synagogue, he must have been
approached by one of the religious leaders and asked if he’d like to read a
Scripture and offer the exposition on that Scripture. When the attendant handed
Jesus the scroll of Isaiah, Jesus stood and opened it to Isaiah 61:1-2, reading
its words with just some minor variations: “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 freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to
release the oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”
After reading those words, Jesus
rolled up the scroll, returned it the attendant and sat down. Everyone
understood this to be a nonverbal cue that Jesus was about to begin his
teaching. But none of them could have anticipated what he said next: “Today
this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing” (v. 21). At first the crowd was
supportive. They knew that this passage referred to the coming Messiah, who
would preach good news to the poor, release prisoners and open the eyes of the
blind. In verse 22, “all spoke well of him and were amazed at the gracious
words that came from his lips.”
But after a few seconds, the reality
of what Jesus was saying must have sunk in. Jesus said the prophecy was being
fulfilled right here and now…in this synagogue…in this very room. So, their
reaction shifted: “The Carpenter Boy that we’ve known for 30 years is actually
saying that HE is the fulfillment of Scripture. He is actually saying that HE
is the promised Messiah!” The crowd in the synagogue quickly went from being
amazed to being offended.
And then they went from being
offended to being furious when Jesus made his bottom-line statement in verse 24:
“I tell you the truth, no prophet is accepted in his hometown.” Jesus offered
two quick illustrations of this truth. The prophet Elijah was sent by God to a
Gentile widow in Zarephath instead of to a Jewish widow in Israel . And of
all the lepers in Israel ,
God didn’t send any of them to Elisha to be healed. God only sent him a Gentile
leper. By the time Jesus finished giving these examples of strangers who were
more receptive to God’s blessings than the Israelites, the Jews in the
synagogue were fuming. It was bad enough that Jesus was claiming to himself be
the fulfillment of Scripture. But talking about Gentiles winning God’s favor
before the chosen Jews…that was unacceptable!
Interestingly, Jesus’ hometown
neighbors were basically repeating Satan’s third temptation in the desert, when
he took Jesus to the pinnacle of the temple and tried to tempt him to glorify
himself by doing a 150-foot swan dive to the pavement below. But once again, Jesus
resisted the urge to make a flashy escape.
We know that Jesus had the power to
defy the laws of physics. In Matthew 14:25, Jesus walked on a lake. If you
didn’t realize it…that’s impossible. And so does walking through walls into a
locked room and ascending into heaven after his resurrection. So, Jesus
certainly could have jumped off the temple roof and survive the fall, or he could
have taken a leap off the Nazareth
cliff and defied gravity for all to see. But in both cases, he didn’t. Why?
Because Jesus and God the Father had
already decided that he wasn’t going to take the quick and easy path, the path
of showboating and scaring his followers half to death. Instead, he made
himself “of no reputation” (Philippians 2:7). Almighty God had chosen the
slower, more humble path of pain and suffering. Jesus chose the path of the
cross. And I’m so glad that he did. It wasn’t flashy, but it saved my life…and
yours.
Dane Davis is the Lead
Pastor of First Christian Church in Victorville. For more information,
visit www.YourVictorvilleChurch.com and join us for church tomorrow Sundays at 10 a.m.
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