Jesus arrived at His home town of Nazareth, after ministering in the Galilee. Luke 4:16
He went into the synagogue on Sabbath, as was His custom. He stood up to read from the scroll of the prophet Isaiah, the opening of chapter 61, powerful verses;
61 The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me,
because He has anointed me
to proclaim good news to the poor.
He has sent me to bind up the broken-hearted,
to proclaim freedom for the captives
and release from darkness for the prisoners,
2 to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favour
He began by saying to them, “Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing”. Luke 4:21
He told them that He was the fulfilment of Isaiah’s words, spoken 700 years earlier and they knew Him and His family, they declared His brothers and sisters were there with them. And they took offence at Him! Mark 6:3
The Lord came to the people of His home town, Nazareth, as someone they knew, or thought they knew. How many people today are expecting Jesus to come to us, in the way we expect and believe? According to our preconceived ideas of how He should look and behave. It didn’t happen! Not only that, but Jesus immediately challenged them by referring to two famous prophets from Israel’s history.
23 Jesus said to them, ‘Surely you will quote this proverb to me: “Physician, heal yourself!” And you will tell me, “Do here in your home town what we have heard that you did in Capernaum.’”
24 ‘Truly I tell you,’ he continued, ‘no prophet is accepted in his home town. 25 I assure you that there were many widows in Israel in Elijah’s time, when the sky was shut for three and a half years and there was a severe famine throughout the land. 26 Yet Elijah was not sent to any of them, but to a widow in Zarephath in the region of Sidon. 27 And there were many in Israel with leprosy in the time of Elisha the prophet, yet not one of them was cleansed – only Naaman the Syrian.’ Luke 4
Neither prophet, Elijah nor Elisha, had been sent by God to anyone in Israel, they’d both dealt with people from Syria, to the far north of their own people.
The Bible also says that even Jesus, could not do many miracles there because of their unbelief. Matthew 13:58
The prophets of the Old Testament were able to help the poor widow and her dead son. Also, Naaman, the leprous army commander, but Jesus couldn’t help His neighbours from Nazareth. Their unbelief prevented Him, only a few sick people were healed.
In the end they were so angry that they tried to kill the Lord, but it wasn’t His time yet. Luke 4:29
Is it possible that we too, can be so bound up with religion in our day, that many might fail to recognise the Lord in our midst? We need a personal relationship with the Lord in these days like never before.
11 And many false prophets will appear and lead many astray. 12 Sin will be rampant everywhere and will COOL THE LOVE OF MANY. 13 BUT THOSE ENDURING TO THE END WILL BE SAVED. Matthew 24 TLB
(Jesus quoted true prophets and warned of false prophets).
God bless and keep you today.