Luke 4:21-30

Luke 4:21-30 Like Elijah and Elisha, Jesus was not sent only to the Jews.Copyrighted material that appears in this article is included under the provisions of the Fair Use Clause of the National Copyright Act, which allows limited reproduction of copyrighted materials for educational and religious use when no financial charge is made for viewing. Catholic Lectionary. (2009). Bellingham, WA: Logos Bible Software.

21 He said to them, Today this scripture passage is fulfilled in your hearing. 22 And all spoke highly of him and were amazed at the gracious words that came from his mouth. They also asked, Isnt this the son of Joseph?23 He said to them, Surely you will quote me this proverb, Physician, cure yourself, and say, Do here in your native place the things that we heard were done in Capernaum. 24 And he said, Amen, I say to you, no prophet is accepted in his own native place.25 Indeed, I tell you, there were many widows in Israel in the days of Elijah when the sky was closed for three and a half years and a severe famine spread over the entire land.

26 It was to none of these that Elijah was sent, but only to a widow in Zarephath in the land of Sidon.27 Again, there were many lepers in Israel during the time of Elisha the prophet; yet not one of them was cleansed, but only Naaman the Syrian.28 When the people in the synagogue heard this, they were all filled with fury.29 They rose up, drove him out of the town, and led him to the brow of the hill on which their town had been built, to hurl him down headlong.30 But he passed through the midst of them and went away.

In the preceding verses we see Jesus teaching at the Sabbath service in Nazareth.These verses tell us of the reactions of the people to his teachings.First they were filled with wonder, but quickly turn to doubt based upon the

fact they knew him to be a local boy the son of Joseph the carpenter.Then they ask for him to verify for them that he is truly the Messiah by performing a miracle.The same attitude was present when he was hanging on the cross.He saved others; he cannot save himself. 32 Let the Christ, the King of Israel, come down now from the cross, that we may see and believe. (Mk 15:31). In both cases it was an attempt to control Jesus actions.

Had he performed a miracle at their bidding they could claim to have authority and control over the Messiah (cf. Mk. 6:1-6).24 And he said, Truly, I say to you, no prophet is acceptable in his own country. Jesus then goes on to rub it in.Elijah was sent to the widow in Zarephath in Sidon, a Gentile country and performed miracles.Elisha didnt cure the lepers of Israel but the Gentile general Naaman.Jesus is really saying that God is not the God only of the Jews but the Gentiles as well.That was against their traditions and it angered them so much that they were willing to commit murder by throwing him off a cliff.

But Jesus shows them who is in control and its not them.30 But passing through the midst of them he went away. He walked right through an angry crowd and no one laid a hand on him, if Jesus were not in control of the

situation they would have killed him at that very moment, but that would not complete his mission.The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring glad tidings to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free,(Lk 4:18). The anger that they displayed then is still present now in our culture.People feel threatened by the lack of knowledge or control and as a result become aggressive.

Aggressiveness might lead them to refuse to face the truth as did Jesus listeners.People who are obsessed with protecting their own opinions and are fearful of change, are dangers to be avoided, their attitudes are the real enemies.