Luke 4:14-30

Find a quiet place, alone and apart from distractions. Be comfortably alert, still, and at peace. Say the Lord’s Prayer. Sing or cant the Jesus Prayer. Pray for family, friends, neighbors, and yourself. Look at Isaiah 6:1–4.

1.         Following the wilderness temptation, Jesus heads back to Galilee and news of Him had spread throughout the region. Mark, in chapter 6, tells us Jesus had been teaching in synagogues throughout the region.

2.         As was His habit, Jesus visited His hometown synagogue and was invited to read from the scroll a passage from the prophets. Every Sabbath day service consisted of readings, prayers, hymns, sermons, and teachings. (Our Sunday morning worship service is patterned after that of these ancient Jewish synagogues.)

3.         The passage Jesus read was from Isaiah chapter 61. It is not sure if this had been the exact passage prescribed or if Jesus turned to another section.

4.         The opening piece is about the anointed one, the Christ, whose work it was to proclaim good news to the poor, and from “proclaim” we have our word “evangelize.”

5.         Finishing reading the passage from Isaiah Jesus sits down and announces that this prophesy of Isaiah was right then fulfilled.

6.         Then trouble arose. Afterall Jesus was merely Joseph’s son and Jesus replies that no prophet, one who speaks God’s word, is accepted where he is known.

7.         Jesus then proceeds to remind those present that Elijah was sent to a Gentile woman and Elisha to “cleanse” a non-Gentile named Naaman. These stores are found in 1 Kings and 2 Kings.

8.         Hearing this, the synagogue crowd became angry and attempted to throw Jesus off a cliff, a kind of “stoning” in that day.

9.         Despite this effort, Jesus walked right their midst and left Nazareth. Jesus never returned.