GETTING STARTED
There was a man in England who was convicted of treason. The people stormed the Tower of London and were demanding he be freed. They chanted, caused a riot, and grew larger in number to get their hero out of there. A magistrate got on the wall and made a speech, describing the story of the prisoner and how dangerous he was to England. The same mob that came to save the man then burst through the stone wall and dragged him out in order to beat and hang him themselves.
- Have you ever thought highly of someone only to have that opinion change rather quickly? What caused the change?
READ THE WORD: LUKE 4:14-30 (ESV)
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.
English Standard Version, copyright 2001 by Crossway Bibles. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
DIGGING DEEPER
- Jesus was teaching in his hometown. How did the people respond to him in verses 15 and 22?
- After verse 22, Jesus described two Old Testament stories of God helping non-Israelites. How did the people respond after hearing this? List and compare from the previous question.
- Why did the crowd in the synagogue turn against Jesus so quickly and act violently against him?
- This story is a precursor to Jesus’ ministry. He declared God’s love and God’s plan to fulfill what he had promised only to be rejected and persecuted, because God’s plans did not meet the Israelites’ expectations. Where in your own life are God’s plans different than you thought they would be? Are you submitting to his way or are you in rebellion against him?
RESPOND TO GOD
The Lord was first favored by the crowds, and then later, despised by them. Like the Israelites, we are quick to listen and approve when good things are said to us, but when we are told a different story than we want to hear, we are apt to get angry. We must be careful not to turn from Jesus when events, relationships, or circumstances in our life do not meet our expectations or go as we thought they would.
- Pray that you will be open to God’s plans, even if they are different from your own.
- Ask God for grace when looking at your own turning points.
