Assuredly, I say to you, no prophet is accepted in his own country

 

 Then Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit to Galilee, and news of Him went out through all the surrounding region.  And He taught in their synagogues, being glorified by all.  So He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up.  And as His custom was, He went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and stood up to read.  And He was handed the book of the prophet Isaiah.  And when He had opened the book, He found the place where it was written:

"The Spirit of the LORD is upon Me,

Because He has anointed Me 

To preach the gospel to the poor;

He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted,

to proclaim liberty to the captives

And recovering of sight to the blind,

To set at liberty those who are oppressed;

To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD." 

Then He closed the book, and gave it back to the attendant and sat down.  And the eyes of all who were in the synagogue were fixed on Him.  And He began to say to them, "Today this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing."

 

So all bore witness to Him, and marveled at the gracious words which proceeded out of His mouth.  And they said, "Is this not Joseph's son?"   He said to them, "You will surely say this proverb to Me, 'Physician, heal yourself!  Whatever we have heard done in Capernaum, do also here in Your country.'"  Then He said, "Assuredly, I  say to you, no prophet is accepted in his own country.  But I tell you truly, many widows were in Israel in the days of Elijah, when the heaven was shut up three years and six months, and there was a great famine throughout all the land; but to none of the was Elijah sent except to Zarephath, in the region of Sidon, to a woman who was a widow.  And many lepers were in Israel in the time of Elisha the prophet, and none of them was cleansed except Naaman the Syrian."  So all those in the synagogue, when they heard these things, were filled with wrath, and rose up and thrust Him out of the city; and they led Him to the brow of the hill on which their city was built, that they might throw Him down over the cliff.  Then passing through the midst of them, He went His way.

 

- Luke 4:14-30 

 

Yesterday we read that, following His Baptism by St. John the Baptist, Jesus, being filled with the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, being tempted for forty days by the devil.  And in those days He ate nothing, and afterward, when they had ended, He was hungry.  And the devil said to Him, "If You are the Son of God, command this stone to become bread."  But Jesus answered him, saying, "It is written, 'Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God.'" Then the devil, taking Him up on a high mountain, showed Him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time.  And the devil said to Him, "All this authority I will give You, and their glory; for this has been delivered to me, and I give it to whomever I wish.  Therefore, if You will worship before me, all will be Yours."  And Jesus answered and said to him, "Get behind Me, Satan!  for it is written, 'You shall worship the LORD your God, and Him only you shall serve.'"  Then he brought Him to Jerusalem, set Him on the pinnacle of the temple, and said to Him, "If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down from here.  For it is written:  'He shall give His angels charge over you, to keep you,' and, 'In their hands they shall bear you up, lest you dash your foot against a stone.'"  And Jesus answered and said to him, "It has been said, 'You shall not tempt the LORD your God.'"  Now when the devil had ended every temptation, he departed from Him until an opportune time.   

 

   Then Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit to Galilee, and news of Him went out through all the surrounding region.  And He taught in their synagogues, being glorified by all.  So He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up.  And as His custom was, He went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and stood up to read.  And He was handed the book of the prophet Isaiah.  And when He had opened the book, He found the place where it was written: "The Spirit of the LORD is upon Me, because He has anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed; To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD."  Then He closed the book, and gave it back to the attendant and sat down.  And the eyes of all who were in the synagogue were fixed on Him.  And He began to say to them, "Today this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing."  My study Bible notes that, as Christ is the eternal Son of God, He did not become the world's anointed Savior, but rather has always been our Savior from before the foundation of the world.  It was Christ who spoke through Isaiah who said, "The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me" (Isaiah 61:1).  Jesus doesn't say, "The Spirit has come upon Me."  When the Spirit of the LORD descended on Jesus at His Baptism (see above, Luke 3:22), this was a sign which revealed an eternal, not temporal, truth to the people.  The acceptable year of the LORD is the time of the Incarnation, when the Kingdom of heaven has come to earth (see 2 Corinthians 6:2).  

 

 So all bore witness to Him, and marveled at the gracious words which proceeded out of His mouth.  And they said, "Is this not Joseph's son?"   He said to them, "You will surely say this proverb to Me, 'Physician, heal yourself!  Whatever we have heard done in Capernaum, do also here in Your country.'"  Then He said, "Assuredly, I  say to you, no prophet is accepted in his own country.  But I tell you truly, many widows were in Israel in the days of Elijah, when the heaven was shut up three years and six months, and there was a great famine throughout all the land; but to none of them was Elijah sent except to Zarephath, in the region of Sidon, to a woman who was a widow.  And many lepers were in Israel in the time of Elisha the prophet, and none of them was cleansed except Naaman the Syrian."  So all those in the synagogue, when they heard these things, were filled with wrath, and rose up and thrust Him out of the city; and they led Him to the brow of the hill on which their city was built, that they might throw Him down over the cliff.  Then passing through the midst of them, He went His way.  According to my study Bible, this double response of both marveling and rejection occurs frequently in those who encounter Christ (see Luke 11:14-16; John 9:16).  Being rejected in His own country fulfills the rejection of the Old Testament prophets such as Elijah and Elisha.  Moreover, it foreshadows Christ's rejection by the whole Jewish nation at His trial before Pilate (John 19:14-15).  My study Bible adds that Christ accepts death according to the Father's will, not at the will of the Jews.  Here, the hour of Christ's Passion has not yet come (see John 8:20).  Important to note is that Jesus' statement, "Assuredly, I  say to you, no prophet is accepted in his own country," appears in all four Gospels (see also Matthew 13:57; Mark 6:4; John 4:44).

 

We all face rejection in our lives, perhaps on a frequent basis.  But shall we consider Christ, the Lord of the Universe, and the rejection He goes through in His earthly ministry?  There is not simply this rejection that we read about in today's reading, but, as my study Bible also notes, the rejection to come from the entire nation.  Perhaps it is important that this first rejection comes so early in His ministry, and it happens in His hometown of Nazareth.   We may find familiarity with what we've experienced in life; that is, the humiliation of being embarrassed, and rejection in front of a body of our peers.  This is important, because Christ gives us a sense of what it is to persevere in doing what is right in God's sight, and out of loyalty and love for God.  In this sense, Christ's rejection is another kind of temptation that bears a small resemblance to the temptations in the wilderness by Satan which we read about yesterday (see above).  In yesterday's reading, Jesus' relation to the Father was tested ("If You are the Son of God. . .") in terms of His needs (bread), worldly power and authority ("all the kingdoms of the world"), and the danger He would face ("throw yourself down from here").  In today's reading, we find similar temptations, in that in His hometown He is no longer welcome (so it could not be a place of refuge for Him in the world), His authority is rejected, and He's placed in danger as they try to throw Him off a cliff.  These all repeat, in some sense, the temptations of the devil.  If we examine this pattern closely, we see that for Jesus it will repeat in different forms throughout His ministry, particularly in the patterns of growing hostility and opposition by the religious authorities in Jerusalem, and among those who rule for Rome.  But additionally, the people will also turn against Him at different times, the crowds who are often led in very capricious ways either by authorities or one another.  In all ways, Christ's earthly ministry is meant to heal, and so His rejection becomes a paradigm.  When we find ourselves in this place of rejection or humiliation, we need to turn to Him for how to walk through it, how to find His light in our darkness (John 12:35).  For Jesus, His "pattern" is always to be the Son of God; this is who He is and the life He leads.   But for those of us who desire to become "sons of God" by adoption, it is also the identity we must follow in imitation of Him.  "How does God want me to respond?" is always an important question.  Turning to prayer, to Scripture, to the saints, to worship -- all are essential ways to face our own temptations in the face of humiliation and rejection, the withdrawal of safety and security, the uncertainty of hostility and danger.  This must be an active pursuit on our part, not a passive or lazy one, for each person will face unique struggles and challenges, and God may desire particular responses for each situation.  Such is the nature of spiritual struggle, for which we have been given so much by Christ, including the gift of grace, the Holy Spirit, and all the tools of the Church.  Let us "work the works of God" in our active spiritual life, as He has taught us.

 

The Spirit of the LORD is upon Me

 

 Then Jesus  returned in the power of the Spirit to Galilee, and news of Him went out through all the surrounding region.  And He taught in their synagogues, being glorified by all.  

So He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up.  And as His custom was, He went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and stood up to read.  And He was handed the book of the prophet Isaiah.  And when He had opened the book, He found the place where it was written:

"The Spirit of the LORD is upon Me, 

 Because He has anointed Me

To preach the gospel to the poor;

He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, 

 To proclaim liberty to the captives

And recovery of sight to the blind,

To set at liberty those who are oppressed;

To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD." 

Then He closed the book, and gave it back to the attendant and sat down.  And the eyes of all who were in the synagogue were fixed on Him.  And He began to say to them, "Today this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing."  

 

So all bore witness to Him, and marveled at the gracious words which proceeded out of His mouth.  And they said, "Is this not Joseph's son?"  He said to them, "You will surely say this proverb to Me, 'Physician, heal yourself!  Whatever we have heard done in Capernaum, do also here in Your country.'"  Then He said, "Assuredly, I say to you, no prophet is accepted in his own country.  But I tell you truly, many widows were in Israel in the days of Elijah, when the heaven was shut up three years and six months, and there was a great famine throughout all the land; but to none of them was Elijah sent except to Zarephath, in the region of Sidon, to a woman who was a widow.  And many lepers were in Israel in the time of Elisha the prophet, and none of them was cleansed except Naaman the Syrian."  So all those in the synagogue, when they heard these things, were filled with wrath, and rose up and thrust Him out of the city; and they led Him to the brow of the hill on which their city was built, that they might throw Him down over the cliff.  Then passing through the midst of them, He went His way.

 

- Luke 4:14–30 

 

On Saturday, we read that Jesus, being filled with the Holy Spirit [and following His Baptism] returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, being tempted for forty days by the devil.  And in those days He ate nothing, and afterward, when they had ended, He was hungry.  And the devil said to Him, "If You are the Son of God, command this stone to become bread."  But Jesus answered him, saying, "It is written, 'Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God.'"  Then the devil, taking Him up on a high mountain, showed Him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time.  And the devil said to Him, "All this authority I will give You, and their glory; for this has been delivered to me, and I give it to whomever I wish.  Therefore, if You will worship before me, all will be Yours."   And Jesus answered and said to him, "Get behind Me, Satan!  For it is written, 'You shall worship the LORD your God, and Him only you shall serve.'"  Then he brought Him to Jerusalem, set Him on the pinnacle of the temple, and said to Him, "If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down from here.  For it is written: 'He shall give His angels charge over you, to keep you,' and,'In their hands they shall bear you up, lest you dash your foot against a stone.'"  And Jesus answered and said to him, "It has been said, 'You shall not tempt the LORD your God.'"  Now when the devil had ended every temptation, he departed from Him until an opportune time.

 

 Then Jesus  returned in the power of the Spirit to Galilee, and news of Him went out through all the surrounding region.  And He taught in their synagogues, being glorified by all.  Let us note how the Gospel is careful to tell us that all things are done with the power and involvement of the Holy Spirit in Christ's ministry.  This was expressed as a sign "like a dove" at His Baptism, in His being led into the wilderness to be tempted for forty days by the devil (see yesterday's reading, above), and now in this earlier part of His public ministry, in which He returned to Galilee, and taught in their synagogues, being glorified by all.

 

 So He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up.  And as His custom was, He went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and stood up to read.  And He was handed the book of the prophet Isaiah.  And when He had opened the book, He found the place where it was written:   "The Spirit of the LORD is upon Me, because He has anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed; to proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD."   Then He closed the book, and gave it back to the attendant and sat down.  And the eyes of all who were in the synagogue were fixed on Him.  And He began to say to them, "Today this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing."  Jesus reads these words from Isaiah 61:1-2.  My study Bible comments that being the eternal Son of God, Christ did not "become" the world's anointed Savior, but He has always been our Savior from before the foundation of the world.  It was Christ speaking through Isaiah who said, "The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me" (Isaiah 61:1).  We are further asked to note that Isaiah does not write, "The Spirit 'has come' upon Me."  When the Spirit of the LORD descended upon Jesus at His at His Baptism (see Luke 3:22), this was a sign which revealed an eternal -- not temporal -- truth to the people.  The acceptable year is the time of the Incarnation -- when the Kingdom of heaven has come to earth (see 2 Corinthians 6:2).

 

So all bore witness to Him, and marveled at the gracious words which proceeded out of His mouth.  And they said, "Is this not Joseph's son?"  He said to them, "You will surely say this proverb to Me, 'Physician, heal yourself!  Whatever we have heard done in Capernaum, do also here in Your country.'"  Then He said, "Assuredly, I say to you, no prophet is accepted in his own country.  But I tell you truly, many widows were in Israel in the days of Elijah, when the heaven was shut up three years and six months, and there was a great famine throughout all the land; but to none of them was Elijah sent except to Zarephath, in the region of Sidon, to a woman who was a widow.  And many lepers were in Israel in the time of Elisha the prophet, and none of them was cleansed except Naaman the Syrian."  So all those in the synagogue, when they heard these things, were filled with wrath, and rose up and thrust Him out of the city; and they led Him to the brow of the hill on which their city was built, that they might throw Him down over the cliff.  Then passing through the midst of them, He went His way.  My study Bible comments that this double response of marveling and rejection occurs frequently in those who encounter Christ (see Luke 11:14-16; John 9:16).  Christ's being rejected in His own country is a fulfillment of the rejection of the Old Testament prophets such as Elijah and Elisha.   Furthermore, it foreshadows His rejection by the whole Jewish nation at His trial before Pilate (John 19:14-15).  Jesus accepts death according to the Father's will, my study Bible tells us, and not at the will of the nation or the people.  Here, the hour of Christ's Passion has not yet come (see John 8:20).  Jesus' statement that no prophet is accepted in his own country appears in all four Gospels (see also John 4:44; Mark 6:4, Matthew 13:57).

 

Jesus reads from the prophecy of Isaiah: "The Spirit of the LORD is upon Me."  And when He finishes reading the passage, He declares to the people of His hometown of Nazareth: "Today this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing."  It's interesting that so much of Luke's Gospel (particularly the passages we have read so far in the lectionary at this time, beginning especially with Friday's reading of the events of Jesus' Baptism) concerns itself most transparently with the work of the Holy Spirit, active and participating in our world through the life and ministry of Jesus Christ.  After all, it is Luke's Gospel that tells us of the Annunciation, and Gabriel the Archangel's announcement to Mary that she will conceive a child.  When she asks, "How can this be?" the angel replies to her, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Highest will overshadow you; therefore, also, that Holy One who is to be born will be called the Son of God" (Luke 1:35).  In all things concerning Christ, we find the activity and anointing and blessing of the Holy Spirit.  Today's reading is no different, because the fulfillment of the prophecy of Isaiah is also linked to the Spirit, as we read.  Most clearly the Spirit appeared "in bodily form like a dove" at Christ's Baptism, and from there the Holy Spirit drove Christ to the wilderness to be tempted by the devil while He fasted forty days.  The Spirit was also at work in Christ's beginning His ministry in Galilee, and now here He is in His hometown of Nazareth (that is, where He had been brought up), also in Galilee, where His fame has already spread.  But the interesting part of this work of the Holy Spirit is that it doesn't lead automatically to a life and ministry for Jesus that is simply filled with a worldly concept of "success."  While His fame has grown (He has been glorified by all), this doesn't mean that He meets with universal acceptance.  In fact, so far, quite the opposite seems to have happened.  He is first led by the Holy Spirit to be opposed, tested, and tempted by the devil in the wilderness.  And here, while He's come back to the place He was raised with a lot of renown in Galilee already, the people both marvel and become offended.  Where did He get those gracious words?  Then the real work begins, and Jesus tells them the truth, that He can't reproduce the marvelous works they've heard about which have taken place in Capernaum (possibly at the wedding reported by John).  For these things require faith, and they will not be done as proofs, or on demand.  And so comes the opposition and rejection, even outrage on the part of His neighbors at Nazareth.  Who does He think He is, after all?  He reminds them that prophets of the past -- Elijah and Elisha -- were not sent to their own to do great works, but rather to foreigners, and the response of His former neighbors is wrath.  Perhaps the lesson we should take from this is to understand that success on God's terms and success on worldly terms are two entirely different classes of experiences and values.  Do we need to be popular and liked by everyone?  Can we stay "friends" with all those who are not going to like the truth we embrace in our faith?  Perhaps even fellow Christians, members of our families, and those of our community reject truths we are led to embrace in our faith.  Particularly difficult is when political tests (of any type) come to apply as checks to our faith.   But a life spent pleasing God is just not going to be the same life that seeks instead the "praise of men," and we should be prepared for rejection, even outrage, because this is what accompanied our Lord.  As His disciples, we are told, "Love one another as I have loved you" (John 13:34-35).  Learning to follow Christ in that love is perhaps the greatest undertaking of our faith, for we are asked to love even when we can't "like" something.  To my way of thinking, this is not a question of doing things others want or desire from us, but rather finding out how love is seeking the good for others, and learning discernment in what will and will not have such desired effects -- including even where we cannot intervene or interact.  These are difficult things to learn, but that is what we are called to learn, how to love.  We can call on the mystery of the Holy Spirit to always be at work in our lives, but remember that worldly expectations are not always the answer, nor are they the purpose of the call of God.

 

 

 

 

Assuredly, I say to you, no prophet is accepted in his own country

 

Then Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit to Galilee, and news of Him went out through all the surrounding region.   And He taught in their synagogues, being glorified by all.  So He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up.  And as His custom was, He went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and stood up to read.  And He was handed the book of the prophet Isaiah.  And when He had opened the book, He found the place where it was written:

"The Spirit of the LORD is upon Me,

Because He has anointed Me

To preach the gospel to the poor;

He has sent Me to heal the broken-hearted,

To proclaim liberty to the captives

And recovery of sight to the blind,

To set at liberty those who are oppressed;

To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD."

Then He closed the book, and gave it back to the attendant and sat down.  And the eyes of all who were in the synagogue were fixed on Him.  And He began to say to them, "Today this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing."  

 

So all bore witness to Him, and marveled at the gracious words which proceeded out of His mouth.  And they said, "Is this not Joseph's son?"  He said to them, "You will surely say this proverb to Me, 'Physician, heal yourself!  Whatever we have heard done in Capernaum, do also here in Your country.'"  Then He said, "Assuredly, I say to you, no prophet is accepted in his own country.  But I tell you truly, many widows were in Israel in the days of Elijah, when the heaven was shut up three years and six months, and there was a great famine throughout all the land; but to none of them was Elijah sent except to Zarephath, in the region of Sidon, to a woman who was a widow.  And many lepers were in Israel in the time of Elisha the prophet, and none of them was cleansed except Naaman the Syrian."  So all those in the synagogue, when they heard these things, were filled with wrath, and rose up and thrust Him out of the city; and they led Him to the brow of the hill on which their city was built, that they might throw Him down over the cliff.  Then passing through the midst of them, He went His way.

 

- Luke 4:14-30 

 

Yesterday we read that, Jesus, after His baptism by John in the Jordan, being filled with the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, being tempted for forty days by the devil.  And in those days He ate nothing, and afterward, when they had ended, He was hungry.  And the devil said to Him, "If You are the Son of God, command this stone to become bread."  But Jesus answered him, saying, "It is written, 'Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God.' Then the devil, taking Him up on a high mountain, showed Him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time.  And the devil said to Him, "All this authority I will give You, and their glory; for this has been delivered to me, and I give it to whomever I wish.  Therefore, if You will worship before me, all will be Yours."  And Jesus answered and said to him, "Get behind Me, Satan!  For it is written, 'You shall worship the LORD your God, and Him only you shall serve.'" Then he brought Him to Jerusalem, set Him on the pinnacle of the temple, and said to Him, "If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down from here.  For it is written:  'He shall give His angels charge over you, to keep you,'and, 'In their hands they shall bear you up, lest you dash your foot against a stone.'" And Jesus answered and said to him, "It has been said, 'You shall not tempt the LORD your God.'"  Now when the devil had ended every temptation, he departed from Him until an opportune time. 

 

Then Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit to Galilee, and news of Him went out through all the surrounding region.   And He taught in their synagogues, being glorified by all.  Jesus' first acts in this beginning of His public ministry (after His baptism by John, and His forty day fasting and temptation period -- see above) is to go to Galilee to preach and teach in their synagogues.  Let's note that just as He was led into the wilderness for fasting and temptation by the Holy Spirit, here He returned in the power of the Spirit to Galilee, in this beginning of His ministry.    

 

So He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up.  And as His custom was, He went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and stood up to read.  And He was handed the book of the prophet Isaiah.  And when He had opened the book, He found the place where it was written:  "The Spirit of the LORD is upon Me, because He has anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the broken-hearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed; to proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD."  My study Bible comments that, as Christ is the eternal Son of God, He did not "become" the world's anointed Savior, but has always been our Savior from before the foundation of the world.  It was Christ who spoke through Isaiah, saying, "The Spirit of the LORD is upon Me" (Isaiah 6:11).  My study Bible asks us to note that He does not say, "The Spirit 'has come' upon Me."  When the Spirit of the LORD descended upon Jesus at His baptism (Luke 3:22), this was a sign which revealed an eternal, not temporal, truth to the people.  The acceptable year is the time of the Incarnation, when the Kingdom of heaven has come to earth (see 2 Corinthians 6:2).

So all bore witness to Him, and marveled at the gracious words which proceeded out of His mouth.  And they said, "Is this not Joseph's son?"  He said to them, "You will surely say this proverb to Me, 'Physician, heal yourself!  Whatever we have heard done in Capernaum, do also here in Your country.'"  Then He said, "Assuredly, I say to you, no prophet is accepted in his own country.  But I tell you truly, many widows were in Israel in the days of Elijah, when the heaven was shut up three years and six months, and there was a great famine throughout all the land; but to none of them was Elijah sent except to Zarephath, in the region of Sidon, to a woman who was a widow.  And many lepers were in Israel in the time of Elisha the prophet, and none of them was cleansed except Naaman the Syrian."  So all those in the synagogue, when they heard these things, were filled with wrath, and rose up and thrust Him out of the city; and they led Him to the brow of the hill on which their city was built, that they might throw Him down over the cliff.  Then passing through the midst of them, He went His way.  My study Bible cites this double response of marveling and rejection, which it says occurs frequently in people who encounter Christ (see Luke 11:14-16; John 9:16).  Christ's being rejected in His own country fulfills the rejection of the Old Testament prophets such as Elijah and Elisha; it's also a foreshadowing of Christ's rejection by the whole of the nation at His trial before Pilate (John 19:14-15).  Jesus accepts death according to God the Father's will, not at the will of the people.  Here, Christ's hour of His Passion has not yet come (see John 8:20).  Jesus' statement, that no prophet is accepted in his own country, is found in all four Gospels (Matthew 13:57, Mark 6:4, John 4:44).

How can we help but be struck by the people's response to Jesus, where one moment they marveled at the gracious words which proceeded out of His mouth, and seemingly in the next they are filled with wrath to the point where they take Him to the edge of the cliff on which His hometown is built, with the aim of throwing Him off?  These are zealous, fiery responses; we might call them highly passionate.  But let's examine where they come from.  In the first place, the "gracious words" which proceed from Him are something they can't quite reconcile with the status of Jesus and His family as He's known to them.  "Isn't this Joseph's son?" they say.  Those of us from closed communities, small towns, or familiar neighborhoods might not be so surprised by this response.  But perhaps what we're meant to understand is once again the power of the Holy Spirit working through the divinity of Jesus and His ministry.  We can take it for granted that until this time of public ministry, initiated by Christ's baptism, there hadn't been a time where Jesus was meant to be publicly preaching or declaring Himself.  But here in His hometown, there is a clear declaration made by Jesus, when He says, "Today this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing."  He is the "anointed one" to "preach the gospel to the poor."  He's the deliverer, and the one who has been sent in this "acceptable year of the Lord."  All of these things mean that He is declaring, in His hometown of Nazareth, that He is the Messiah; He is the fulfillment of Isaiah's prophecy.  But the people are waiting to be stunned and started and offered dazzling proofs and miraculous signs.  After all, He's the son of Joseph, isn't He?  Where did He get these gracious words?  So Jesus rebukes them, in a sense, with His recounting of the Scriptures:  that God does not visit everyone simply by virtue of their ancestry or associations with the history of Israel -- and the implication is, not even if they're the people of Christ's hometown.  Elijah was sent to Sidon, Gentile territory, to Zarephath the widow rather than a widow of Israel.  (As an aside, Jesus will refer to Zarephath also when responding to His mother at the wedding in Cana, by quoting Zarephath's words directly from the Greek Septuagint Scripture in which she questioned Elijah after the death of her son; see 1 Kings 17:18; John 2:4.)  With all the lepers who needed healing in Israel, only Naaman the Syrian was cleansed by Elisha.  Jesus is telling them, in effect, that it's not their proximity to Him that would render them witnesses to His divine power and the miraculous signs they may have heard about, done by Him in Capernaum, but rather their faith.  But they don't respond with faith or trust; they can hardly believe that this is the same Jesus they knew once upon a time, the Jesus they know as Joseph's son.  So, Jesus tells them, "Assuredly, I say to you, no prophet is accepted in his own country."  But there will be others, foreigners, who accept Him.  Of that He has confidence.  For this truth, they seek to kill Him in His hometown, and they are enraged, filled with wrath.  But Jesus goes on His way, out to preach, and toward His hour, which has not yet come.  How can Jesus' response to the people in His hometown help us when we are in difficult circumstances?  When we tell the truth to those whom we know, and they disrespect or become enraged at us?  Jesus gives us the clue, for His Father teaches Him where to go and what He must do, and has plans for Him.  For all of us, let it be a model when we, too, are rejected.   In our faith, God has a plan for us to pursue, an identity that is bigger than anything else we know, and others who will accept that identity.  Let us take guidance from His example.

 

 

To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD

 

 Then Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit to Galilee, and news of Him went out through all the surrounding region.  And He taught in their synagogues, being glorified by all. 

 

So He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up.  And as His custom was, He went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and stood up to read.  And He was handed the book of the prophet Isaiah.  And when He had opened the book, He found the place where it was written:

"The Spirit of the LORD is upon Me,

Because He has anointed Me 

To preach the gospel to the poor;

He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted,

To proclaim liberty to the captives

And recovery of sight to the blind,

To set at liberty those who are oppressed;

To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD."

 

Then He closed the book, and gave it back to the attendant and sat down.  And the eyes of all who were in the synagogue were fixed on Him.  And He began to say to them, "Today this Scripture is fulfilled in our hearing."  So all bore witness to Him, and marveled at the gracious words which proceeded out of His mouth.  And they said, "Is not this Joseph's son?"  He said to them, "You will surely say this proverb to Me, 'Physician, heal yourself!  Whatever we have heard done in Capernaum, do also here in Your country.'"  Then He said, "Assuredly, I say to you, no prophet is accepted in his own country.  But I tell you truly truly, many widows were in Israel in the days of Elijah, when the heaven was shut up three years and six months, and there was a great famine throughout all the land; but to none of them was Elijah sent except to Zarephath, in the region of Sidon, to a woman who was a widow.  And many lepers were in Israel in the time of Elisha the prophet, and none of them was cleansed except Naaman the Syrian."  So all those in the synagogue, when they heard these things, were filled with wrath, and rose up and thrust Him out of the city; and they led Him to the brow of the hill on which their city was built, that they might throw Him down over the cliff.  Then passing through the midst of them, He went His way.

 

- Luke 4:14–30 

 

On Saturday, we read about Christ's forty day period after His Baptism by John in the Jordan:  Then Jesus, being filled with the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, being tempted for forty days by the devil.  And in those days He ate nothing, and afterward, when they had ended, He was hungry.  And the devil said to Him, "If You are the Son of God, command this stone to become bread."  But Jesus answered him, saying, "It is written, 'Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God.'"  Then the devil, taking Him up on a high mountain, showed Him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time.  And the devil said to Him, "All this authority I will give You, and their glory; for this has been delivered to me, and I give it to whomever I wish.  Therefore, if You will worship before me, all will be Yours."  And Jesus answered and said to him, "Get behind Me, Satan!  For it is written,  'You shall worship the LORD your God, and Him only you shall serve."  Then he brought Him to Jerusalem, set Him on the pinnacle of the temple, and said to Him, "If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down from here.  For it is written:  'He shall give His angels charge over you, to keep you,'and, 'In their hands they shall bear you up, lest you dash your foot against a stone.'"And Jesus answered and said to him, "It has been said, "You shall not tempt the LORD your God.'"  Now when the devil had ended every temptation, he departed from Him until an opportune time. 

 Then Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit to Galilee, and news of Him went out through all the surrounding region.  And He taught in their synagogues, being glorified by all.  Jesus returns from the time of testing in the wilderness to His home region of Galilee, and His public ministry begins.  Note how His reputation grew as He taught in the synagogues, and was glorified by all.

So He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up.   Jesus' "hometown," where He had been brought up, was Nazareth in Galilee.  A source of confusion arises later on in His ministry, among those who do not know that He was born in Bethlehem of Judea, although brought up in Nazareth.

 

  And as His custom was, He went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and stood up to read.  And He was handed the book of the prophet Isaiah.  And when He had opened the book, He found the place where it was written:  "The Spirit of the LORD is upon Me, because He has anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed; to proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD."  As Christ is the eternal Son of God, He did not become the world's anointed Savior, but rather has always been our Savior from before the foundation of the world.  My study Bible explains that it was Christ who spoke through Isaiah, as Isaiah said, "The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me" (see Isaiah 61:1-2 from which Jesus reads).  My study Bible asks us to note that He does not say, "The Spirit has come upon Me."  It explains that when the Spirit of the LORD descended on Jesus at His baptism (Luke 3:22), this was a sign revealing an eternal, not temporal, truth to the people.  The acceptable year is the time of the Incarnation, when the Kingdom of heaven has come to earth (see 2 Corinthians 6:2).  

Then He closed the book, and gave it back to the attendant and sat down.  And the eyes of all who were in the synagogue were fixed on Him.  And He began to say to them, "Today this Scripture is fulfilled in our hearing."  So all bore witness to Him, and marveled at the gracious words which proceeded out of His mouth.  And they said, "Is not this Joseph's son?"  He said to them, "You will surely say this proverb to Me, 'Physician, heal yourself!  Whatever we have heard done in Capernaum, do also here in Your country.'"  Then He said, "Assuredly, I say to you, no prophet is accepted in his own country.  But I tell you truly truly, many widows were in Israel in the days of Elijah, when the heaven was shut up three years and six months, and there was a great famine throughout all the land; but to none of them was Elijah sent except to Zarephath, in the region of Sidon, to a woman who was a widow.  And many lepers were in Israel in the time of Elisha the prophet, and none of them was cleansed except Naaman the Syrian."  So all those in the synagogue, when they heard these things, were filled with wrath, and rose up and thrust Him out of the city; and they led Him to the brow of the hill on which their city was built, that they might throw Him down over the cliff.  Then passing through the midst of them, He went His way.  My study Bible comments that this double response of marveling (verse 22) and rejection (verse 29) occurs frequently in those who encounter Christ (see Luke 11:14-16; John 9:16).  Christ's saying, that no prophet is accepted in his own country, appears in all four Gospels (see also Matthew 13:57; Mark 6:4; John 4:44).

My study Bible says that this rejection fulfills the rejection of the Old Testament prophets such as Elijah and Elisha (verses 26-27), and is a foreshadowing of Christ's rejection by the whole Jewish nation at His trial before Pilate (John 19:14-15).  Here, the hour of Christ's Passion has not yet come (see John 8:20).

It's very interesting to note how outspoken Jesus is.  It's as if He has come out publicly into the world with His ministry with a commitment never to mince words, to hold nothing back.  There are times we know when He seeks to withdraw, to avoid clashing with the authorities before the time of His Passion.  There are times just after He has had a particular conflict with the religious authorities when He will seek to be out of the way for awhile.  For example, in Mark's Gospel, we're told that when He went through the Gentile territory of Tyre and Sidon, "He entered a house and did not want anyone to know it; yet he could not keep his presence secret," and so has an encounter with the Syrophoenician woman who wants His help casting a demon from her daughter (Mark 7:24-30).  Similarly, in Mark's 9th chapter, just before Christ warns the disciples for the second time that He will be killed and rise the third day, we read, "Then they departed from there and passed through Galilee, and He did not want anyone to know  it" (Mark 9:30-32).  But in this case in today's reading, when Jesus goes to His hometown of Nazareth, it's almost as it if it is time for this particular meeting, this particular objection, this response upon which my study Bible remarks of both marveling and rejection.  He boldly announces to this congregation in the place where He grew up, that the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled in their hearing on this day.  Note that He has already established Himself in Galilee with a prominent public ministry, and clearly has done great works elsewhere.  Jesus says to them, "You will surely say this proverb to Me, 'Physician, heal yourself!  Whatever we have heard done in Capernaum, do also here in Your country.'"  In this place where they know Him and His family is where the demand for proofs begin, and it is seemingly as if Jesus has anticipated this type of objection, this obstacle to belief, and the rejection that comes among "His own."  In His own hometown of Nazareth, the people are so outraged at Him when He responds that it was only foreigners who received the word of Elijah and of Elisha, that they attempt to rush Him off a cliff to His death.  His time has not yet come for His Passion and death, but many rejections will come before that also.  Jesus wastes no time mincing words, or seeking to appease, or to find something acceptable to say.  He tells the truth -- the very blunt truth that one supposes He must know they will react to in this hostile way.  After all, we can imagine they say to themselves, who does He think He is?  "Is this not Joseph's son?"  Where did He get those gracious words?  At any rate, Jesus knows the fate of prophets, saying that "no prophet is accepted in his own country."  Therefore what is bound to happen must happen, and Jesus will not change His mission and ministry, His gospel message, nor His obedience to the Father.  Whatever is going to conflict with that is simply what He will accept as He must.  What comes first is following the Father's will and acting in the Father's name -- even if that means rejection in His hometown.  So what can we ourselves learn from Christ's ministry here in His hometown of Nazareth?  There are times when we might face rejection among "our own" because of our faith, because we follow where we think God is leading us.  We might express the "wrong opinion," or perhaps we ourselves are led to develop skills and talents such as "gracious words" that spark both marveling and rejection at the same time.  After all, envy is not something confined to Christ's time, and a truthful prophet no doubt may still find the same response "in his own country."  But for the meantime, let us ponder Jesus' role.  It is not to shrink back, or fail to do His mission.  If rejection of His message will come, that does not mean He will avoid that message.  The last thing Jesus seeks is popularity; He has a job to do, a mission to fulfill, a ministry to make known, a message He must proclaim, and a certain end to fulfill.  It is "the acceptable year of the Lord," and He is the fulfillment of prophecy.  He knows what He is doing, where He is headed and what He is about, and to whom He is loyal above all.  Let us follow His example and accept what we must with His faith and His courage.  

The Spirit of the LORD is upon Me

 

 Then Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit to Galilee, and news of Him went out through all the surrounding region.  And He taught in their synagogues, being glorified by all.  

 

So He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up.  And as His custom was, He went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and stood up to read.  And He was handed the book of the prophet Isaiah.  And when He had opened the book, He found the place where it was written:

"The Spirit of the LORD is upon Me,

Because He has anointed Me 

To preach the gospel to the poor;

He has sent Me to heal the broken-hearted,

To proclaim liberty to the captives

And recovery of sight to the blind,

To set at liberty those who are oppressed;

To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD."

Then He closed the book, and gave it back to the attendant and sat down.  And the eyes of all who were in the synagogue were fixed on Him.  And He began to say to them, "Today this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing."  

 

So all bore witness to Him, and marveled at the gracious words which proceeded out of His mouth.  And they said, "Is this not Joseph's son?"  He said to them, "You will surely say this proverb to Me, 'Physician, heal yourself!  Whatever we have heard done in Capernaum, do also here in Your country.'"  Then He said to them, "Assuredly, I say to you, no prophet is accepted in his own country.  But I tell you truly, many widows were in Israel in the days of Elijah, when the heaven was shut up three years and six months, and there was a great famine throughout all the land; but to none of them was Elijah sent except to Zarephath, in the region of Sidon, to a woman who was a widow.  And many lepers were in Israel in the time of Elisha the prophet, and none of them was cleansed except Naaman the Syrian."  So all those in the synagogue, when they heard these things, were filled with wrath, and rose up and thrust Him out of the city; and they led Him to the brow of the hill on which their city was built, that they might throw Him down over the cliff.  Then passing through the midst of them, He went His way.

 

- Luke 4:14–30 

 

Yesterday we read that, after His baptism by John,  Jesus, being filled with the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, being tempted for forty days by the devil.  And in those days He ate nothing, and afterward, when they had ended, He was hungry.  And the devil said to Him, "If You are the Son of God, command this stone to become bread."  But Jesus answered him, saying, "It is written, 'Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God.'"  Then the devil, taking Him up on a high mountain, showed Him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time.  And the devil said to Him, "All this authority I will give You, and their glory; for this has been delivered to me, and I give it to whomever I wish.  Therefore, if You will worship before me, all will be Yours."  And Jesus answered and said to him, "Get behind Me, Satan!  For it is written, 'You shall worship the LORD your God, and Him only you shall serve.'"  Then he brought Him to Jerusalem, set Him on the pinnacle of the temple, and said to Him, "If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down from here.  For it is written:  'He shall give His angels charge over you, to keep you,' and, 'In their hands they shall bear you up, lest you dash your foot against a stone.'"  And Jesus answered and said to him, "It has been said, 'You shall not tempt the LORD your God.'"Now when the devil had ended every temptation, he departed from Him until an opportune time.

 

Then Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit to Galilee, and news of Him went out through all the surrounding region.  And He taught in their synagogues, being glorified by all.   Jesus begins His public ministry, again, as with His withdrawal for fasting and temptation (see yesterday's reading, above) in the power of the Spirit.  His ministry begins in Galilee, His home region where He was raised.  Note the immediate sense of the public response to His ministry; He was glorified by all.

 

 So He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up.  And as His custom was, He went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and stood up to read.  And He was handed the book of the prophet Isaiah.  And when He had opened the book, He found the place where it was written:  "The Spirit of the LORD is upon Me, because He has anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the broken-hearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed; To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD."  Then He closed the book, and gave it back to the attendant and sat down.  And the eyes of all who were in the synagogue were fixed on Him.  And He began to say to them, "Today this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing."  My study Bible explains that as Christ is the eternal Son of God, He did not become the world's anointed Savior, but has always been our Savior from before the foundation of the world.  It was Christ who spoke through Isaiah the prophet, when he declared, "The Spirit of the LORD is upon Me" (Isaiah 61:1).  He does not say, "The Spirit has come upon Me."  When the Spirit of the LORD descended on Jesus at His baptism (Luke 3:22), this was a sign which revealed an eternal, not temporal, truth to the people.  The acceptable year is understood to be the time of the Incarnation, when the Kingdom of heaven has come to earth (see 2 Corinthians 6:2).   Jesus announces here that He is the One upon whom the Holy Spirit rests and has always rested, He is the anointed one, the Messiah, who is sent to preach the gospel to the poor, . .  to heal the broken-hearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed; to proclaim that the acceptable year of the LORD is here and now.

 

 So all bore witness to Him, and marveled at the gracious words which proceeded out of His mouth.  And they said, "Is this not Joseph's son?"  He said to them, "You will surely say this proverb to Me, 'Physician, heal yourself!  Whatever we have heard done in Capernaum, do also here in Your country.'"  Then He said to them, "Assuredly, I say to you, no prophet is accepted in his own country.  But I tell you truly, many widows were in Israel in the days of Elijah, when the heaven was shut up three years and six months, and there was a great famine throughout all the land; but to none of them was Elijah sent except to Zarephath, in the region of Sidon, to a woman who was a widow.  And many lepers were in Israel in the time of Elisha the prophet, and none of them was cleansed except Naaman the Syrian."  So all those in the synagogue, when they heard these things, were filled with wrath, and rose up and thrust Him out of the city; and they led Him to the brow of the hill on which their city was built, that they might throw Him down over the cliff.  Then passing through the midst of them, He went His way.  My study Bible comments that the double response by the people of both marveling and rejection (see verses 22 and 29) is a frequent occurrence in those who encounter Christ (see Luke 11:14-16, John 9:16).  His being rejected in His own country is a fulfillment of the rejection of the Old Testament prophets before Christ, such as Elijah and Elisha.  It foreshadows His rejection by the whole Jewish nation at His trial before Pilate (John 19:14-15).  It notes that Christ accepts death according to the Father's will, not at the will of the nation.  Here, the hour of Christ's Passion has not yet come (see John 8:20).  

What does it mean to reject the Lord?  To reject Jesus in His public ministry in the world?  We all are familiar with rejection, and the fear of rejection, on some level or another.  But this usual experience of rejection is not quite the same as the rejection of Christ in His role as the One proclaimed in the words of Isaiah:  "The Spirit of the LORD is upon Me, because He has anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the broken-hearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed; To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD."   In this role for which He's been sent, Jesus is the Anointed One, the Messiah.  He speaks the words given to Him by the Father, and carries on the mission He is specifically sent for.  As Healer and Liberator, He has come to preach the gospel message to all who have need for it, to bring sight to the spiritually blind, liberty to the oppressed.  This is the acceptable year of the LORD in which He has come to the world for a saving mission.  And what is being rejected within the context of this public ministry is a rejection of all of these things.  It is not simply a rejection of Jesus in this role, but a rejection of the role itself, of Father, Son, and Spirit, of the mission.  Jesus has said, "Whoever has seen Me, has seen the Father" (John 14:9).  Therefore, it implies, a rejection of Jesus in His role as Savior is a rejection of God the Father.  This is not the kind of rejection that you or I may commonly experience in our daily lives, but if we will, we might be connected to this ministry through faith.  We might seek also to serve Him in His ministry and mission, and this is also possible through faith.  He tells each of us to carry our own cross, as He will carry the Cross, and this, too, may become a part of His ministry and mission in the world, in which we may also participate.  This participation becomes part and parcel of the power of martyrdom, the difficult lives of saints, because they, also, may participate in the mission of Christ, and in so doing suffer rejection as part of that participation.   We should attempt to make an effort to make this distinction for ourselves, and to understand what holiness is and does -- and even to understand the power of what it is we might be participating in ourselves when we join in this work of faith.  For the astonishment of the people is not the same as astonishment at worldly achievements in a commonplace sense; unless, of course, what we perceive as a worldly achievement is indeed a part of the expression of someone's faith, and helped and assisted and inspired by that faith.  This reality of Christ's mission, the Spirit of the LORD who makes it possible, the energy of the holy reality of the Kingdom, is something in which we are invited to participate, and which always remains something much greater than ourselves.  So, when we consider rejection and what that means, we must keep this context in mind, and come to understand the powerful energies and grace of God at work in this ministry, inviting us in to share in it.  We are invited to share His Cross by bearing our own in our own lives, whatever that might mean.  But when we take it up, we should remember what we are a part of, and that we don't do so entirely alone.  This is why we pray to be true to our mission, to know ourselves and the ongoing need for discipleship and spiritual growth, for with Christ's presence and His kingdom among us it is always the acceptable year of the LORD.

 

 

 

 

The Spirit of the LORD is upon Me, because He has anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor

 

 Then Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit to Galilee, and news of Him went out through all the surrounding region.  And He taught in their synagogues, being glorified by all.

So He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up.  And as His custom was, He went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and stood up to read.  And He was handed the book of the prophet Isaiah.  And when He had opened the book, He found the place where it was written:

"The Spirit of the LORD is upon Me,

Because He has anointed Me 

To preach the gospel to the poor;

He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted,

To proclaim liberty to the captives

And recovery of sight to the blind,

To set at liberty those who are oppressed;

To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD."

Then He closed the book, and gave it back to the attendant and sat down.  And the eyes of all who were in the synagogue were fixed on Him.  And He began to say to them, "Today this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing."  

 

So all bore witness to Him, and marveled at the gracious words which proceeded out of His mouth.  And they said, "Is this not Joseph's son?"  He said to them, "You will surely say this proverb to Me, 'Physician, heal yourself!  Whatever we have heard done in Capernaum, do also here in Your country.'"   Then He said, "Assuredly, I say to you, no prophet is accepted in his own country. But I tell you truly, many widows were in Israel in the days of Elijah, when the heaven was shut up three years and six months, and there was a great famine thorughout all the land; but to none of them was Elijah sent except to Zarephath, in the region of Sidon, to a woman who was a widow.  And many lepers were in Israel in the time of Elisha the prophet, and none of them was cleansed except Naaman the Syrian."  So all those in the synagogue, when they heard these things, were filled with wrath, and rose up and thrust Him out of the city; and they led Him to the brow of the hill on which their city was built, that they might throw Him down over the cliff.  Then passing through the midst of them, He went His way.

- Luke 4:14–30 

 

 Yesterday we read that Jesus, after His Baptism, being filled with the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, being tempted for forty days by the devil.  And in those days He ate nothing, and afterward, when they had ended, He was hungry.  And the devil said to Him, "If You are the Son of God, command this stone to become bread."  But Jesus answered him, saying, "It is written, 'Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God.'"  Then the devil, taking Him up on a high mountain, showed Him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time.  And the devil said to Him, "All this authority I will give You, and their glory; for this has been delivered to me, and I give it to whomever I wish.  Therefore, if You will worship before me, all will be Yours."  And Jesus answered and said to him, "Get behind Me, Satan!  For it is written, 'You shall worship the LORD your God, and Him only you shall serve.'"  Then he brought Him to Jerusalem, set Him on the pinnacle of the temple, and said to Him, "If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down from here.  For it is written:  'He shall give His angels charge over you, to keep you,'" and, 'In their hands they shall bear you up, lest you dash your foot against a stone.'"  And Jesus answered and said to him, "It has been said, 'You shall not tempt the LORD your God.'"  Now when the devil had ended every temptation, he departed from Him until an opportune time.

 

  Then Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit to Galilee, and news of Him went out through all the surrounding region.  And He taught in their synagogues, being glorified by all.  These brief verses tell us of the beginning of Christ's ministry, and how quickly news of Him spread as He taught in their synagogues, and was glorified by all.

So He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up.  And as His custom was, He went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and stood up to read.  And He was handed the book of the prophet Isaiah.    This passage (verses 16-22) is read in the Church on September 1st, which is the beginning of the Ecclesiastical New Year.  It is by tradition considered to have taken place on what is now called Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year (Leviticus 23:24, Numbers 29:1). 

And when He had opened the book, He found the place where it was written:  "The Spirit of the LORD is upon Me, because He has anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor . . ."  My study bible comments here that Christ, being the eternal Son of God, did not become the world's anointed Savior, but has always been our Savior from before the foundation of the world.   In the Church, we understand it as Christ speaking through Isaiah who said, "The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me" (Isaiah 61:1).  Note that Christ does not say, "The Spirit has come upon Me."  My study bible adds that hen the Spirit of the LORD descended on Jesus at His baptism (3:22), this was a sign which revealed an eternal, not temporal, truth to people about Christ the Son.

 

He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed; to proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD."   The acceptable year is the time of the Incarnation, when the Kingdom of heaven has come to earth (see 2 Corinthians 6:2).

 

Then He closed the book, and gave it back to the attendant and sat down.  And the eyes of all who were in the synagogue were fixed on Him.  And He began to say to them, "Today this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing."  So all bore witness to Him, and marveled at the gracious words which proceeded out of His mouth.  And they said, "Is this not Joseph's son?"  He said to them, "You will surely say this proverb to Me, 'Physician, heal yourself!  Whatever we have heard done in Capernaum, do also here in Your country.'"   Then He said, "Assuredly, I say to you, no prophet is accepted in his own country.  But I tell you truly, many widows were in Israel in the days of Elijah, when the heaven was shut up three years and six months, and there was a great famine thorughout all the land; but to none of them was Elijah sent except to Zarephath, in the region of Sidon, to a woman who was a widow.  And many lepers were in Israel in the time of Elisha the prophet, and none of them was cleansed except Naaman the Syrian."  So all those in the synagogue, when they heard these things, were filled with wrath, and rose up and thrust Him out of the city; and they led Him to the brow of the hill on which their city was built, that they might throw Him down over the cliff.  Then passing through the midst of them, He went His way.  My study bible comments on the double response of marveling and rejection.  It is one found frequently with those who encounter Christ (see 11:14-16; John 9:16).   Jesus being rejected in His own country is a fulfillment of the rejection of the Old Testament prophets such as Elijah and Elisha, who are mentioned here by Christ.  It also foreshadows Christ's rejection by the whole Jewish nation at His trial before Pilate (John 19:14-15).  My study bible adds that Christ accepts death according to the Father's will, not at the will of the religious leaders or the crowds whose passions they whip up.  Here, Christ's hour has not yet come (see John 8:20).  

Jesus' statement, "Assuredly, I say to you, no prophet is accepted in his own country," is so important in His story that it is found in all four Gospels (see also Matthew 13:57, Mark 6:4, John 4:44).  Of course, it is central to the story of Christ.  Here, by tradition at the start of the new year (a time for blowing the horn), Jesus goes to His hometown, and declares Himself.  His identity as Son is revealed at Baptism (see Tuesday's reading), but in today's reading He is essentially announcing Himself as the Christ to His hometown, as the "anointed one" which the passage from Isaiah declares.  But at this announcement, His townspeople bridle.  They envy His learning and His gracious words.  How can He be one who so rises above His station?  Isn't He Joseph's son, as they know Him?  But, in this frame of mind, He can do nothing of His great works, because those require faith.  They can't accept Him in the role revealed here.  There is witness of Him elsewhere; we're told that He is glorified by all in the surrounding regions.  But in His hometown, they need proof, and proof no one is going to get.  They already have Him pegged as the person they knew and once thought He was.  Right from the beginning, right here in His Galilean ministry, Luke introduces to us the problems of authority which Christ will have right through to the Passion week, to His Crucifixion.  How can He prove He has authority to speak and to teach?  Sometimes in life we will find that we are judged only by what others understand of us.  Yet, in the sight of God we are more than we appear to others.  It is God who knows the heart, and who understands the things of which we might be capable, in God's sight, and with God's help.  We may be capable of transcendence as was Christ, overcoming our own circumstances to find a greater meaning than is presented in a worldly sense.  We may find ways to express great love that others can't see, or compassion we didn't necessarily learn in our homes, a patience God helps us to learn with our own cross, a loyalty others have not shown to us, forbearance learned through experience and through prayer.  All of these things can be gifts of God, and fruit of the Spirit.  As Christ's real identity is from His own relationship with God the Father and the Holy Spirit, so our own deepest identity comes from our relationship with God, and especially in that deeply intimate place where God knows us better than we know ourselves.  As we pray, we not only pray to Father, Son, and Spirit, but also with all the saints and angels, those saints who have been there with us walking through life in this world and through a depth of relationship with God, the angels who help us and encourage us unseen along the way.  This is the place where we find ourselves.  Christ is who He truly is, and none of the naysayers of His hometown can change that.  But neither can He do the miraculous things He's done elsewhere, without their faith first.  There's an odd reflection of our own lives in that, as so often we are simply unable to "prove" who we truly are to those who just don't want to see it.  Christ gives us hope, for He's been there already before us.  Let us take heart from His choice to be there first, and take our direction also from Him and the faith He asks of us.   In today's reading, Jesus reads the words of Isaiah:  "The Spirit of the LORD is upon Me, because He has anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed; to proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD."    Today we must remember that these words have meaning for us right here and right now, especially when we feel poor, brokenhearted, captive, blind, or oppressed -- and right now is always the acceptable year of the LORD.

Proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD

 Then Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit to Galilee, and news of Him went out through all the surrounding region.  And He taught in their synagogues, being glorified by all.

So He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up.  And as His custom was, He went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and stood up to read.  And He was handed the book of the prophet Isaiah.  And when He had opened the book, He found the place where it was written:

"The Spirit of the LORD is upon Me,
Because He has anointed Me
To preach the gospel to the poor;
He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted,
To proclaim liberty to the captives
And recovery of sight to the blind,
To set at liberty those who are oppressed;
To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD."

Then He closed the book, and gave it back to the attendant and sat down.  And the eyes of all who were in the synagogue were fixed on Him.  And He began to say to them, "Today this Scripture is filled in your hearing."  So all bore witness to Him, and marveled at the gracious words which proceeded out of His mouth.  And they said, "Is this not Joseph's son?"  He said to them, "You will surely say this proverb to Me, 'Physician, heal yourself!  Whatever we have heard done in Capernaum, do also here in Your country.'"  Then He said, "Assuredly, I say to you, no prophet is accepted in his own country.  But I tell you truly, many widows were in Israel in the days of Elijah, when the heaven was shut up three years and six months, and there was a great famine throughout all the land; but to none of them was Elijah sent except to Zarephath, in the region of Sidon, to a woman who was a widow.  And many lepers were in Israel in the time of Elisha the prophet, and none of them was cleansed except Naaman the Syrian."  So all those in the synagogue, when they heard these things, were filled with wrath, and rose up and thrust Him out of the city; and they led Him to the brow of the hill on which their city was built, that they might throw Him down over the cliff.  Then passing through the midst of them, He went His way. 

- Luke 4:14-30

Yesterday we read that Jesus, being filled with the Holy Spirit returned from the Jordan [after His Baptism] and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, being tempted for forty days by the devil.  And in those days He ate nothing, and afterward, when they had ended, He was hungry.  And the devil said to Him, "If You are the Son of God, command this stone to become bread."  But Jesus answered him, saying, "It is written, 'Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God.'"  Then the devil, taking Him up on a high mountain, showed Him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time.  And the devil said to Him, "All this authority I will give You, and their glory; for this has been delivered to me, and I give it to whomever I wish.  Therefore, if You will worship before me, all will be Yours."  And Jesus answered and said to him, "Get behind Me, Satan!  For it is written, 'You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only you shall serve.'"  Then he brought Him to Jerusalem, set Him on the pinnacle of the temple, and said to Him, "If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down from here.  For it is written:  'He shall give His angels charge over you, to keep you,' and, 'In their hands they shall bear you up, lest you dash your foot against a stone.'"  And Jesus answered and said to him, "It has been said, 'You shall not tempt the LORD your God.'"  Now when the devil had ended every temptation, he departed from Him until an opportune time.

 Then Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit to Galilee, and news of Him went out through all the surrounding region.  And He taught in their synagogues, being glorified by all.  We're tempted to see the word glorified as simply meaning hailed or praised.  But in the Scriptural context, it's important to remember that this word implies recognizing His true value, the glory of God at work through Him.

So He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up.  And as His custom was, He went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and stood up to read.  And He was handed the book of the prophet Isaiah.  And when He had opened the book, He found the place where it was written:
"The Spirit of the LORD is upon Me, because He has anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed; To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD."  As eternal Son of God, Christ didn't become the world's anointed Savior, says my study bible, but rather has always been our Savior from before the foundation of the world.  It was Christ speaking through Isaiah who said, "The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me" (Isaiah 61:1).  Jesus' doesn't say "The Spirit has come upon Me."  Rather, when the Spirit of the LORD descended on Jesus at His baptism (see 3:22), it was a sign of revelation -- the revelation of an eternal, not temporal, truth to people about the identity of Jesus.  The acceptable year is the time of Christ's Incarnation, when the Kingdom of heaven has come into the world (see 2 Corinthians 6:2). 

Then He closed the book, and gave it back to the attendant and sat down.  And the eyes of all who were in the synagogue were fixed on Him.  And He began to say to them, "Today this Scripture is filled in your hearing."  So all bore witness to Him, and marveled at the gracious words which proceeded out of His mouth.  And they said, "Is this not Joseph's son?"  He said to them, "You will surely say this proverb to Me, 'Physician, heal yourself!  Whatever we have heard done in Capernaum, do also here in Your country.'"  Then He said, "Assuredly, I say to you, no prophet is accepted in his own country.  But I tell you truly, many widows were in Israel in the days of Elijah, when the heaven was shut up three years and six months, and there was a great famine throughout all the land; but to none of them was Elijah sent except to Zarephath, in the region of Sidon, to a woman who was a widow.  And many lepers were in Israel in the time of Elisha the prophet, and none of them was cleansed except Naaman the Syrian."  So all those in the synagogue, when they heard these things, were filled with wrath, and rose up and thrust Him out of the city; and they led Him to the brow of the hill on which their city was built, that they might throw Him down over the cliff.  Then passing through the midst of them, He went His way.  My study bible notes the double response of both marveling and rejection, which it says occurs frequently in those who encounter Christ (see 11:14-16; John 9:16).  Being rejected in His own country fulfills the rejection of the Old Testament prophets such as Elijah and Elisha (named here by Jesus), and foreshadows His rejection by the whole nation at His trial before Pilate (John 19:14-15).  Christ accepts death according to the Father's will, not that of the Jewish leadership.  But here, the hour of His Passion has not yet come (see John 8:20). 

Jesus is rejected in His hometown.  We must understand that without faith, there will be no wonders done, no miracles of the sort which these townspeople have heard Jesus has done elsewhere.  So important is the saying that no prophet is accepted in his own country that it appears in all four Gospels (see also Matthew 13:57, Mark 6:4, John 4:44).  It at once intrigues us with a law of familiarity; that those to whom we've already grown used with a certain image of impression retain for us this identity.  But a prophet's job is precisely to remind people of what they've forgotten, to tell them the truth they'd rather not be reminded of, to bring them back to faith and out of the convenience of their own thinking.  Jesus calls people not only to the identity that is truly His, but to a recognition of truth that outsiders can grasp about Him.  He reminds His own townspeople of the prophets of the Old Testament who were able to perform wonders for outsiders, foreigners (like the widow of Sidon, or Naaman the Syrian).  But He will not perform wonders in order to be "glorified."  Faith comes in a different way, and does not depend upon proofs in order to compel a response of love and acceptance.  Jesus will say, "He who has ears to hear, let him hear!" again in a reference also found in Isaiah. The lesson we can take from today's reading is about familiarity and complacence.  When we're used to things a certain way, when we have a fixed idea in our minds, it's easy to be deaf and blind to God's surprising work and presence in our lives or in the lives of others around ourselves.  We always need to be called back to the surprising "good news."  Sometimes the good news doesn't seem like good news at all.  It shakes up our world, it calls for us to change, and to change our perceptions, which in turn may wind up changing all kinds of things we're not always prepared for.  That is the nature of a truth we've forgotten, or don't want to acknowledge, something that can be like news from a doctor we'd rather not do anything about.   When Jesus suggests that His townspeople wish to say to Him, "Physician, heal yourself!" it's in reference to one who must cure his own faults before criticizing others -- in this case, a way to respond to the prophetic call for change with an accusation and facile criticism.  Prophets themselves were unusual people, to say the least, often called "out" of the society to serve God.  In such a way, then, we can see Christ in His hometown as the fullness of prophecy, the One come into the world to call us back to God, but even more -- the revelation of God Himself.  He cannot just be "Joseph's son" and whatever that means to the townspeople of Nazareth.  He is representing something much greater, a gift one must have open eyes and ears to grasp and realize and value properly.  Such will always be the nature of God at work in the world.  Let us be attentive!