Not Accepted in His Hometown

The Holy Spirit was with Jesus.

When he came to the village of Nazareth, his boyhood home, he went as usual to the synagogue on the Sabbath and stood up to read the Scriptures. The scroll of Isaiah the prophet was handed to him. He unrolled the scroll and found the place where this was written: "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, and that the time of the LORD's favor has come." He rolled up the scroll, handed it back to the attendant, and sat down. All eyes in the synagogue looked at him intently. Then he began to speak to them. "The Scripture you've just heard has been fulfilled this very day!" Everyone spoke well of him and was amazed by the gracious words that came from his lips. "How can this be?" they asked. "Isn't this Joseph's son?" Then he said, "You will undoubtedly quote me this proverb: 'Physician, heal yourself'—meaning, 'Do miracles here in your hometown like those you did in Capernaum.' But I tell you the truth, no prophet is accepted in his own hometown. Certainly there were many needy widows in Israel in Elijah's time, when the heavens were closed for three and a half years, and a severe famine devastated the land. Yet Elijah was not sent to any of them. He was sent instead to a foreigner—a widow of Zarephath in the land of Sidon. And there were many lepers in Israel in the time of the prophet Elisha, but the only one healed was Naaman, a Syrian." When they heard this, the people in the synagogue were furious. Jumping up, they mobbed him and forced him to the edge of the hill on which the town was built. They intended to push him over the cliff, but he passed right through the crowd and went on his way. Luke 4:16-30

 Meditate. Consider acceptance.

 

Everyone wants to be accepted, loved, admired, and respected. Here, Jesus was in His hometown of Nazareth and going about His usual routine, but His teaching wasn’t accepted. Instead, the people in the synagogue were furious. They were very angry—filled with rage—with Jesus. He compared His situation—being in His hometown—to the prophets Elijah and Elisha. There was probably someone in the synagogue who did expect Jesus to heal, like He had at Capernaum, but they still saw Him as the carpenter’s son. But He was the Son of God—He was God—and no one recognized Him for who He was. They were insulted by His comparison and wanted to destroy Him. It just wasn’t going to happen. Satan would have liked to have Him eliminated, but there wasn’t a “push Him off the cliff” incident in His future. He disappeared from that scene.

What do we learn about Jesus from this scripture passage? The Holy Spirit was on Jesus. He wasn’t ready to die yet! He wasn’t accepted in His hometown—and we can assume that there were other places, even at this point early in His ministry, that He wasn’t accepted, respected, or appreciated. He has power over those who would like to take His life. 

 

Prayer – Lord Jesus-You are accepted in my home! The scripture You read at the synagogue in Nazareth was actually amazing. You knew…but they didn’t. You were sent by the Father God for just that purpose. To bring Good News to the poor, to proclaim that captives will be released, that the blind will see, and that the oppressed will be set free. Yes! And those were just the things that You declared to the disciples of John the Baptist. [Then he told John's disciples, "Go back to John and tell him what you have seen and heard—the blind see, the lame walk, the lepers are cured, the deaf hear, the dead are raised to life, and the Good News is being preached to the poor." Luke 7:22] Thank You for Your obedience.

 

Verse of Salvation ~ And then he told them, "Go into all the world and preach the Good News to everyone. Anyone who believes and is baptized will be saved. But anyone who refuses to believe will be condemned." Mark 16:15-16

 

© 2026 Text, photos, and illustrations by Mickey M. Hunacek. All rights reserved. 

All scripture quoted from the New Living Translation (NLT) unless otherwise noted. 

New Living Translation copyright © 1996, 2004, 2007 by Tyndale House Foundation. 

Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Biblical search from Blue Letter Bible - http://v3.blueletterbible.org/search.cfm. 

 

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