Luke 4:14-30 — Highs and Lows

READ THIS: Luke 4:14-30

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.” 22 All spoke well of him and were amazed at the gracious words that came from his lips. “Isn’t this Joseph’s son?” they asked. 

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 hometown what we have heard that you did in Capernaum.’” 24 “Truly I tell you,” he continued, “no prophet is accepted in his hometown. 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.” 

28 All the people in the synagogue were furious when they heard this. 29 They got up, drove him out of the town, and took him to the brow of the hill on which the town was built, in order to throw him off the cliff. 30 But he walked right through the crowd and went on his way.

WHAT’S THIS MEAN, ANYWAY?

Well, that certainly escalated quickly... At the beginning of this passage, there were people praising Jesus, and by the end of it, Jesus's entire hometown wanted to kill him! What on earth happened here? There's a couple of really cool things that Jesus just did, but they can be easy to miss. Let's check it out!

The first cool thing we see here is in verses 17-19. Jesus is invited to read from Isaiah, and he chooses a very specific passage: Isaiah 61:1-2. But here's the thing... Jesus doesn't actually finish the passage! In fact, He stops halfway through a sentence, then says "today, this scripture is fulfilled." This passage was one of many that spoke about the Savior of the world who would come and set God's people free, proclaiming the year of the Lord's favor. The second half of that section of Isaiah actually spoke about vengeance and justice and judgment, but these things won't fully happen until Jesus comes back again. That's why Jesus rolled up the scroll halfway through! Check out the "try this" section if you want to read the rest of what Isaiah wrote.

But that's not all that happens here. Rather than realize that Jesus is the Savior they have been waiting for, they question themselves and Jesus. They are like "um... He can't be God, that's just Joseph's kid!" So once again, just quotes prophecies to them, but these are harsher. He says that no prophet is welcome in their hometown (just as He hasn't been welcomed well), and the people there were NOT happy about it. They do their best to kill Jesus right then, but God doesn't allow it! Even in these moments, we see that both God and Jesus are aware that the time for Jesus's sacrifice has not yet come.

But what does all this teach us? Two big things! Number 1: God's Word is powerful! There isn't a single promise in God's Word that won't come true, and if it hasn't happened yet, it will! Number 2: sharing God's Word doesn't always lead to happy responses... it has highs and lows! Part of our job as believers is to share the good news with others. Some may receive it well (see v. 15), and others may not! But we must be obedient and willing to do what God calls us to do!

THINK ABOUT IT:

1. Have you ever shared about Jesus with someone and it went really well? Has it ever not gone very well?

2. What do you think God is trying to teach us in the moments where people don't want to hear us sharing about Him?

TRY THIS:

Here's the rest of that section of Isaiah 61 from earlier... check it out! If you want to read the whole chapter, head HERE!

1 The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me, because the Lord has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners, 2 to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn, 3 and provide for those who grieve in Zion—to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of joy instead of mourning,and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair. They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the Lord for the display of his splendor.

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