Rejected At Nazareth

What kinds of experiences do you have when you visit your hometown? Is there joy? Nostalgia? Do you want to know who your childhood friends have become?

Some of you might remember the song from years go by Cross Canadian Ragweed called You’re Are Always 17 in Your Hometown. Maybe you have a similar feeling about your hometown?

What would you expect if Jesus returned to his hometown? I suspect his reception is not too different, although hopefully, not to the same extreme.

What kind of experience did he have?

And all this leads to a different question. “Who is YOUR Jesus?

Watch and Compare

Let’s start by reading about his experience.

Luke 4:16  And he came to Nazareth, WHERE HE HAD BEEN BROUGHT UP. And as was his custom, he went to the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and he stood up to read.  

Later Luke added, (21)  And he began to say to them, “Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.”  (22)  And All Spoke Well Of Him And Marveled At The Gracious Words That Were Coming From His Mouth. AND THEY SAID, “IS NOT THIS JOSEPH’S SON?”  (23)  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.’”  (24)  And he said, “Truly, I say to you, no prophet is acceptable in his hometown.

Later he added more, “(28)  WHEN THEY HEARD THESE THINGS, ALL IN THE SYNAGOGUE WERE FILLED WITH WRATH.  (29)  And they rose up and drove him out of the town and brought him to the brow of the hill on which their town was built, so that they could throw him down the cliff.  

What was going on in Nazareth? Why did he not work any miracles there? Why were his words overlooked? And, are these things WE do today?

Did you hear the idea that he had returned to his hometown, to where he grew up?

What is it like when you return to your hometown? Are they impressed with your maturity, your acquired skills, or the wonderful mate you selected? Probably not.

Jesus was no different than us.

They were amazed at the GRACIOUS words that he used. They took joy in his WORDING, BUT THEY MISSED HIS MESSAGE.

Jesus was telling them something very important. He used the scriptures he read that he was the expected Messiah. BUT THEY MISSED IT.

Why did they miss it? Because they were saying to themselves, “That is Joseph’s boy. We knew him when he was growing up. Our kids played with him and his brothers.”  They could not get past who he WAS.

Jesus recognized what was happening. So, he told them, “And he said, “Truly, I say to you, no prophet is acceptable IN HIS HOMETOWN”.

The people back home had heard about the miracles he did at Capernaum. They wanted to see the same thing where he grew up.

The curious may have simply wanted to see a miracle. Maybe others wanted to be entertained.

Jesus realized that NO MATTER WHAT HE SAID, or any miracle he did, was not going to change the attitudes of the people back home.

Now, let’s address a difficult question together. What kind of Jesus do you have?

Is he the little boy in the manger with animals around and 3 kingly-dressed men at a shed with a bright star overhead?

Is your Jesus the one that ONLY says, “Blessed are the meek… Blessed are the merciful…. Blessed are those that mourn….?

Is your Jesus ALWAYS saying for his people be NICE, BE GENTLE, TO LOVE each other?

If that is YOUR Jesus, I need to tell you something you may not like, but because I care about you, I will tell you as kindly as I can.

Your Jesus is not the one found in Matthew, Mark, Luke, or John.

The real Jesus of Nazareth was gritty. He had “intestinal fortitude”. He wasn’t ALWAYS soft and gentle, meek and mild. This day, he made people so furious, so furious that they took him to a cliff and started to throw him off.

And this was not the only time he provoked people. But he only pushed people’s buttons when THEY had a mental block, some obstruction PREVENTING them from moving to full, active belief.

So, if your Jesus is soft, ALWAYS sweet, always GENTLE, always MILD, then YOU may have a mental obstruction PREVENTING you from a full commitment to Jesus, an active, obedient, joy-filled belief. So, please examine yourself.

Try these three exercises.

1. You describe what happened at Nazareth. (Luke 4.16-30)

2. Describe what happened when he healed the withered hand (Mark 3:1-6).

3. Tell of his experience when he used the name “Satan” to speak to Peter. (Matt 16.21-23)

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We are so glad you watched this video and we hope to visit like this again soon. Until then, goodbye for now.