‘When he came to the village of Nazareth, his boyhood home, he went as usual to the synagogue on the Sabbath and stood up to read the Scriptures. The scroll of Isaiah the prophet was handed to him. He unrolled the scroll and found the place where this was written: “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, for he has anointed me to bring Good News to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim that captives will be released, that the blind will see, that the oppressed will be set free, and that the time of the Lord ’s favor has come. Isa 61:1-2 (Greek version); 58:6.”’ Luke 4:16-19 (NLT)
‘He rolled up the scroll, handed it back to the attendant, and sat down. All eyes in the synagogue looked at him intently. Then he began to speak to them. “The Scripture you’ve just heard has been fulfilled this very day!” Everyone spoke well of him and was amazed by the gracious words that came from his lips. “How can this be?” they asked. “Isn’t this Joseph’s son?” Then he said, “You will undoubtedly quote me this proverb: ‘Physician, heal yourself’—meaning, ‘Do miracles here in your hometown like those you did in Capernaum.’ But I tell you the truth, no prophet is accepted in his own hometown. “Certainly there were many needy widows in Israel in Elijah’s time, when the heavens were closed for three and a half years, and a severe famine devastated the land. Yet Elijah was not sent to any of them. He was sent instead to a foreigner—a widow of Zarephath in the land of Sidon. And many in Israel had leprosy in the time of the prophet Elisha, but the only one healed was Naaman, a Syrian.”’ Luke 4:20-27(NLT)
‘When they heard this, the people in the synagogue were furious. Jumping up, they mobbed him and forced him to the edge of the hill on which the town was built. They intended to push him over the cliff, but he passed right through the crowd and went on his way.’ Luke 4:28-30(NLT)
QUIET MOMENT
The custom, the regular weekly pattern for Christ, was to spend His Sabbath in the synagogue. Do you have any regular, customary, spiritual disciplines? If so, what are they? How committed to them are you? If you do not have any regular disciplines, what would be the first thing you would need to get in place?
GOING DEEPER
The light shines forth. Jesus announces His message and His mission in Nazareth. Look back at Luke 4:18-19. What was Christ sent to do? What was God’s assignment for Him? What have you been saved to do? Do you think it would be the same mission God the Father gave to His son?
Continue reading Luke 4:20-27. What is Jesus’ message to them? Regardless of what these people were saying, Jesus knew their hearts. They would eventually reject Him. We need to be careful of our own hearts as well. How do you respond to the sermon preached on Sunday morning? What do you do with the words that are preached to you? Do you take the Word of God to heart and into your life?
Read Luke 4:28-30.
1. What is the response of the people to what Jesus says? What do they do?
2. What does Jesus do in response?
3. Think for a moment about Jesus’ response to those who were trying to attack Him. Do you get frightened when you think of the responses of men? How can this passage speak to that fear?
REFLECTION AND PRAYER
Ask God to give you ears to hear His message and to help you understand His heart so that you can follow Him in obedience, without compromise, even if it means enduring great opposition.
TAKING THE TRUTH TO HEART AND BRINGING IT TO LIFE
Choose one truth from today and apply it to your heart. Take it with you throughout the day.
from Jesus, I Need You Part 5