He came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up. He entered, as was his custom, into the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and stood up to read. Luke 4:16 WEB
In chapter four of his gospel account, Luke shifts from presenting the circumstances of Jesus’ birth and early life to the beginning of his ministry. Chapter four begins with Luke’s description of Satan testing Christ in the wilderness. After the Devil’s endeavors to tempt Christ into sin fail, Jesus returns to Galilee and is well received for his preaching. But, in his childhood hometown of Nazareth, Jesus offends his listeners as he teaches in a local synagogue on the Sabbath day.
After receiving the scroll of Isaiah, Jesus read prophetic words proclaiming the Year of the Lord’s favor. Christ read from Isaiah 61:1-2 which says, “The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me; because the Lord hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound; To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord. KJV”
Christ follows his reading from Isaiah with an impactful statement. He says in Luke 4:21, “Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing. NIV ” Although the crowd did not perceive it at the time, Jesus’ statement reveals himself as the Messiah. Without consideration of the crowd’s reaction had they known the meaning of Christ’s statement, overall, they initially reacted favorably to Jesus. As we read in Luke 4:22, “All testified about him, and wondered at the gracious words which proceeded out of his mouth, and they said, ‘Isn’t this Joseph’s son?’ WEB”
The Son of God
On the Sabbath day in his hometown of Nazareth, Jesus began to reveal his true identity as the Son of God. Addressing the question, “Isn’t this Joseph’s son?,” Christ responded to the crowd’s desire for him to prove himself through signs and wonders in the same manner he responded to the Devil in the wilderness. On the Sabbath day in his hometown, the Lord answered with the word of God refusing to conform to the will of anyone other than our heavenly Father.
Giving an example of the uniqueness of divine intervention, Jesus said in Luke 4:27, “There were many lepers in Israel in the time of Elisha the prophet, yet not one of them was cleansed, except Naaman, the Syrian.” The crowd grew angry and wanted to throw Jesus off a cliff. They came to see signs and wonders, but all Jesus gave them was the word of God.
Prayer: “Father God, thank you for the comfort of your holy word. Thank you for the lessons learned in scripture. I trust in you and believe in you. The earth and sky porcelain your greatness. Give me wisdom to see you in all of your creation. In Jesus name – Amen”
Yesterday’s Devotional: Do Good to Those Who Hate You
