4: 16-30 After coming out of the wilderness for forty days, Jesus returned Galilee, filled with the Holy Spirit’s power. He taught regularly in the synagogues and became quickly known and praised throughout the whole region. He went to the synagogue in Nazareth on the Sabbath (the seventh day of the week, a day of rest and worship), where he went as a child and when he stood up to read the scriptures, the scroll of Isaiah the prophet was handed to him. The ritual at the time was to read the Mosaic law, with the person reading choosing any passage they wished. When Jesus was handed Isaiah’s scroll, he began reading from Isaiah 61:1,” 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.”
As Messiah, Jesus was anointed as the rightful King of Israel. In the scripture that he had, Jesus was anointed as a prophet to spread the good news. Scripture was normally read while standing. Jesus stopped reading in the middle of verse 2 and sat down, the position of one teaching. All eyes were on him at this point. He then said, “The Scripture you just heard has been fulfilled this very day!” The next phrase that was not read was “and the day of our God’s vengeance.” The second phrase refers to the end of the world when Christ will come back (his second coming) and the world will be judged. Jesus only read the part that was being fulfilled at that time.
There was a lot of talk among those who heard him read Scripture. They were amazed and wondered, “Isn’t this Joseph’s son? Although Jesus was becoming known and praised throughout the region, knowing that Isaiah 61 was a messianic prophecy, the people were confused and troubled that a young preacher they knew as Joseph’s son was claiming to be the long-awaited Messiah.
The people in Jesus’s hometown gathered, not because they had a genuine spiritual interest in what he was teaching, but more out of curiosity as they expected to see him heal others as he had done in Capernaum, a nearby city. Instead of satisfying their curiosities and performing the healing they were hoping to see, Jesus illustrated a principle that stood true time and time again in the Old Testament, “no prophet is accepted in his own hometown.”
Jesus gave an example of Elijah, a prophet who was rejected by his hometown. During a drought that lasted 3 years and 6 months, there were many widows in need; however, Elijah was not sent to help any of them. Rejected by the people of his hometown, he took refuge in the home of a widow in a Gentile (non-Jewish) town. Another prophet, Elisha, was around many people in Israel who had leprosy. He skipped over all the lepers an only cleansed one leper, a Gentile general from Syria.
As the crowd heard this, the became furious as the examples he gave implied God’s acceptance of Gentiles and his rejection of Israel (the Jews). They jumped up and ran towards him, forcing him to the edge of the hill on which the town was built, with the intention of pushing him over the cliff. Through a miracle, Jesus was able to foil their attempt to kill him and walked right through the crowd.
I was bullied quite a bit when I was younger. I never really fit in with the “in” crowd. I did not drink, smoke or do drugs. I tried alcohol and smoking one time and that was enough for me to know that I did not like it, nor what it did to my body. I wanted to help others and felt uncomfortable around crowds that were involved in drama or gossip. I stayed to myself and was very shy. I made a few friends here and there, but for the most part, because I didn’t talk much, most people either didn’t want to get to know me or made fun of me because I didn’t fit in.
Things became harder as I got older and went out on my own. I attracted the wrong people and ended up in some relationships that felt one-sided or abusive. I felt stuck and very alone. I learned that if I could concentrate on others instead of myself, and make them happy, then I could feel happiness and joy through them. It’s not a great place to be, but it was the only thing I knew how to do at the time. I wish I could have been more like Jesus and when in a place where I was not wanted or when faced with someone wanting to harm me in any way, I could walk right through the situation with my head held high and walking with Jesus instead of trying to do everything on my own. When faced with challenges that would knock anyone down, Jesus kept his focus on God and what he was sent here to do. It has taken me way too many years to learn how to walk with God through life’s challenges, and it has made a world of difference! I am grateful for my past; although several parts were painful, it finally broke me to the point where I learned to rely on God and my past allowed me to connect to others who are going through similar life challenges in a way I could not had I not had the experience.