Who You Listen To Matters
January 30, 2022
Luke 4: 14-30
14 Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit, and news about him spread through the whole countryside. 15 He was teaching in their synagogues, and everyone praised him. 16 He went to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, and on the Sabbath day he went into the synagogue, as was his custom. He stood up to read, 17 and the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him. Unrolling it, he found the place where it is written:
18 “The Spirit of the Lord is on me,
because he has anointed me
to proclaim good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners
and recovery of sight for the blind,
to set the oppressed free,
19 to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”[f]
20 Then he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant and sat down. The eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fastened on him. 21 He began by saying to them, “Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.” 22 All spoke well of him and were amazed at the gracious words that came from his lips. “Isn’t this Joseph’s son?” they asked.
23 Jesus said to them, “Surely you will quote this proverb to me: ‘Physician, heal yourself!’ And you will tell me, ‘Do here in your hometown what we have heard that you did in Capernaum.’” 24 “Truly I tell you,” he continued, “no prophet is accepted in his hometown. 25 I assure you that there were many widows in Israel in Elijah’s time, when the sky was shut for three and a half years and there was a severe famine throughout the land. 26 Yet Elijah was not sent to any of them, but to a widow in Zarephath in the region of Sidon. 27 And there were many in Israel with leprosy[g] in the time of Elisha the prophet, yet not one of them was cleansed—only Naaman the Syrian.” 28 All the people in the synagogue were furious when they heard this. 29 They got up, drove him out of the town, and took him to the brow of the hill on which the town was built, in order to throw him off the cliff. 30 But he walked right through the crowd and went on his way.
Read Luke 4:14-17
- Jesus’ reputation seems to be growing in this account. Do a quick review of the Luke’s account up to this point. What accomplishments has Jesus done that might cause his reputation to grow?
- Jesus heads to his old hometown. Very often people who knew us “back then” aren’t quite ready to interact with who we have become. Do you have any family members or old friends who don’t seem to understand you now because they have not been an up-close part of your life journey recently? How does that play out?
Read Luke 4: 18-22
- Why is this such an important passage for Jesus to read in the synagogue?
- What claim is Jesus making in verse 21? How might you expect the people in Nazareth to respond to that claim?
- How did his listeners respond to Jesus’ claim? Why do you think they responded this way?
- Think back to your earliest days of coming to understand who Jesus was/is. What was it that led you to conclude that Jesus really is who He said He was?
Read Luke 4:23-30
- Jesus refers to an Old Testament account about Elijah (1 Kings 17) and also Elisha and Naaman (2 Kings 5). Read these accounts if you are not familiar with them.
- What is similar about these two Old Testament accounts? (Stuck for an answer: In both cases, an Israelite prophet of God performs a miracle for someone who is not from
- Why did Jesus’ listeners, who had been loving his teaching, turn on him because of what he says in these verses?
- Why might this passage have really important application for those today who follow Jesus and consider themselves to be ‘God’s people.’ What does this passage teach us about Jesus’ mission to the world ‘out there?’
- Why do so many Christians find it difficult to adopt Jesus’ mindset of finding and reaching those who need Jesus the most? Why are we so naturally drawn toward turning inward and simply ‘being disciples’ rather than answering the call to ‘go and make disciples./