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, (Luke 4:18, NLT) As the Jews sit smugly in their synagogue, they feel the warm glow of pride for their hometown boy. Jesus has been making a name for himself, so they think, and He is in the house today! They all whisper to themselves, in so many words, “Isn’t he amazing? Who would have thought He came from Mary and Joseph’s household!”
But Jesus knows their hearts, and he sees their unbelief. Sure, they will confess He is the Messiah, just as long as He does the same miracles He has done in other places. Jesus, knowing this, says to them as they patiently wait for the healing to start, And he said to them, “Doubtless you will quote to me this proverb, ‘ “Physician, heal yourself.” What we have heard you did at Capernaum, do here in your hometown as well.’ ” And he said, “Truly, I say to you, no prophet is acceptable in his hometown. (Luke 4:23–24, ESV)
Jesus, instead of healing, preaches a sermon that convicts the hometown crowd for their unbelief. He begins reminding them that God showed mercy to the Gentiles by sustaining a widow during the famine in Elijah’s day. In contrast, many Jewish widows suffered during that time. He also healed Naaman’s leprosy, while many in Israel suffered from this disease during Elisha’s day (Luke 4:25–27). With this, Jesus’ hometown crowd showed their true colors; they were only speaking well of Jesus because they expected Him to do miracles among them, but Jesus refused. With that, they pushed Him to a cliff to try to kill him, but His time had not yet come (Luke 4:28–30).
What a revealing picture of unbelief. Some are impressed with Jesus, but it is not relationship-based; it is a whats-in-it-for-me perspective. In other words, Jesus is not really their Saviour and Lord. It reminds me of those spoken of in Matthew 7: Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’ (Matthew 7:22–23, NKJV) Let us ask ourselves this question, “Why do we follow Jesus?”
Thank you for joining me as I read and journal chronologically through the Bible! This devotional reflection comes from Matthew 4; Luke 4-5:39; John 1:15-51.