He came unto his own, and his own received him not.

Luke 4:22-30 (ESV)

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. 25  But in truth, I tell you, there were many widows in Israel in the days of Elijah, when the heavens were shut up three years and six months, and a great famine came over all the land, 26  and Elijah was sent to none of them but only to Zarephath, in the land of Sidon, to a woman who was a widow. 27  And there were many lepers in Israel in the time of the prophet Elisha, and none of them was cleansed, but only Naaman the Syrian.” 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. 30  But passing through their midst, he went away.

Matthew 13:54-58 (ESV)

54  and coming to his hometown he taught them in their synagogue, so that they were astonished, and said, “Where did this man get this wisdom and these mighty works? 55  Is not this the carpenter’s son? Is not his mother called Mary? And are not his brothers James and Joseph and Simon and Judas? 56  And are not all his sisters with us? Where then did this man get all these things?” 57  And they took offense at him. But Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honor except in his hometown and in his own household.” 58  And he did not do many mighty works there, because of their unbelief.

Mark 6:1-6 (ESV)

1  He went away from there and came to his hometown, and his disciples followed him. 2  And on the Sabbath he began to teach in the synagogue, and many who heard him were astonished, saying, “Where did this man get these things? What is the wisdom given to him? How are such mighty works done by his hands? 3  Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary and brother of James and Joses and Judas and Simon? And are not his sisters here with us?” And they took offense at him. 4  And Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honor, except in his hometown and among his relatives and in his own household.” 5  And he could do no mighty work there, except that he laid his hands on a few sick people and healed them. 6  And he marveled because of their unbelief. And he went about among the villages teaching.

2. Does this type of rejection go on today? If so, what can be done?1. Luke uses “Gracious words” but Mark and Matthew use “this wisdom and these mighty works” to describe the local’s observation. Why do you think Luke described it this way? Though the people are amazed, they rejected him. What is wrong here?

Gracious words: These words about God’s grace evoked a positive response from Jesus’ hearers and amazed them (Gr. ethaumazon). They were glad to hear these things. However they balked at Jesus’ claim to be the Messiah. They did not understand how He could be the Messiah since He had grown up with them and seemed so similar to them. CN

Several things characterize this response. First, the people respond very positively to Jesus’ claim. There were no objections, no resistance, no apparent hesitancy. They spoke well of Jesus. Second, there was no clear grasp of what His words meant. I can almost see two members of the congregation which had gathered at the synagogue on that fateful day, whispering to each other. One might have said, “Wasn’t that a glorious message?” To which the other might have responded, “My, yes, but I wonder what He meant?” Luke informs us that the people wondered what Jesus meant by what He said. The words had a gracious tone, but their meaning was obscure. Third, the warm response to Jesus’ words was the result of a distorted concept of the Messiah and His ministry. I believe that the people had grandiose thoughts of what Jesus would do for them. In my opinion, they may have looked at the fact that Jesus was a home-town boy (“the son of Joseph”), and thus expected Him to do even greater things for them than He had done elsewhere. After all, wasn’t Jesus one of their own? Jesus came home, as it were, to a ticker tape parade, and was given the “key to the city.” Now, they expected great things of Him, and He knew it. RD

I think Luke is stressing the gladness which his message is initially received whereas Matthew and Mark are highlighting the wonder of his words and the mighty miraculous works Which he had been performing in the area.

The message of Christ is offensive to the secular mind. Those who bring the Good News of Jesus Christ are viewed as judgmental, condemning, arrogant and sometimes as the enemy. All that we can do is speak the truth and allow the Holy Spirit to open their minds.

3. What do you think Jesus meant when he said “ Physician, heal yourself”?

A doctor would be expected to heal himself. A dentist would certainly have lovely teeth. One who was to bring blessings and prosperity to Israel would surely have all the earmarks of prosperity. This One who had come to them was none other than Jesus, the child who had grown up in their midst, the child of Joseph, a very humble man of meager means. If Jesus were the miracle worker that rumor indicated He was, surely He would quickly demonstrate His power, especially since He was one of their own. RD

Jesus was preempting their call for him to perform some tricks so they might believe in Him. They were a tough crowd because they had a built in skepticism against the hometown boy.

4. What does the widow in Zarephath represent? What does Naaman the Syrian represent?

Jesus did not say that Elijah and Elisha went to Gentiles because the Jews rejected them but because God sent them there. God sent them there even though there were many needy people in Israel. Nevertheless Israel then was in an apostate condition. The three and one-half years was a period of divine judgment on Israel .

The implication of these two illustrations was that God had sent Jesus to Gentiles as well as to Jews. The Nazarenes, therefore, should not expect preferential treatment. Jesus ministered to Jews first, but He also ministered to Gentiles. These examples would have encouraged Luke’s original Gentile readers since they had a similar mission.

“This remark [of Jesus’] is strong for two reasons: (a) It compares the current era to one of the least spiritual periods in Israel’s history, and (b) it suggests that Gentiles, who were intensely disliked among the Jews, were more worthy of ministry than they were.” CN

Both the widow of Zarephath (1Ki 17:8–24), a poor woman living in Sidon an area which worshipped the pagan god Baal, and Naaman the Syrian (2Ki 5), a wealthy powerful great military leader, were Gentiles. Both lived during times of widespread unbelief in Israel. Jesus’ point was that God bypassed all the widows and lepers in Israel, yet showed grace to two Gentiles. God’s concern for Gentiles and outcasts is one of the thematic threads that runs through Luke’s gospel MSBN

6. Is it hard to believe they wanted to kill Jesus? Why were they that “furious”?

The Jews looked upon gentiles as less than dogs. This was a huge insult to the Nazarenes. To suggest that God would bypass Jews and bless gentiles was infuriating. This was a form of blasphemy which was punishable by stoning or being thrown from a high place.

7. How did Jesus escape? What do you think the people thought about him getting away?

The implication is that this was a miraculous escape—the first of several similar incidents in which He escaped a premature death at the hands of a mob (cf. Jn 7:30; 8:59; 10:39). MSBN

John 7:30 (ESV)

30  So they were seeking to arrest him, but no one laid a hand on him, because his hour had not yet come.

John 8:59 (ESV)

59  So they picked up stones to throw at him, but Jesus hid himself and went out of the temple.

John 10:39 (ESV)

39  Again they sought to arrest him, but he escaped from their hands.

Luke does not explain how Jesus did this, but, since an entire mob was arrayed against him, some miraculous deliverance by the power of the Holy Spirit would seem to be the case. It was not yet Jesus’ time to die, because his “hour” had not come. ESVN

I would think this mysterious escape would make them more confused, frustrated and angry.

8. Why did Luke tell us this story early on on in the gospel?

Luke did not sit down to write a book of the bible. Luke is writing a letter to Theophilus a Greek gentile. He is announcing upfront the concept of gentile salvation, a foreign idea to the Jewish thinker.

9. What reasons do people give who reject Jesus in today’s world?

Belief in biblical truth is anti-science.

Not enough evidence to support the biblical narrative.

Christianity is just a bunch of rules which restrict personal freedom.

The bible is ancient mythology.

The resurrection of Jesus Christ is Christian zombieism.

Jesus calls us sinners and we are good people.

Metaphysical naturalism rules out miracles and all supernatural events.

References:

ESVN……………..….ESV Study Bible Notes

MSBN……………….MacArthur NASB Study   Notes

NIVSN……………….NIV Study Notes.

JVM ………………….J Vernon McGee’s Commentary

BN ……………………Barnes Notes

WBC………….…….Wycliffe Bible Commentary

CN ……….…………..Constables Notes

IC……………….…….Ironside Commentary

NET…………….…….Net Bible Study Notes.

JFB……………………Jamieson Fausset  Brown Commentary

VWS………………….Vincent Word Studies

CMM………………..Commentary on Matthew and Mark

BDB……………..….Barclay’s Daily Study Bible (NT)

Darby……………….John Darby’s Synopsis of the OT and NT

Johnson……………Johnson’s Notes on the New Testament

NTCMM…………..The New Testament Commentary:  Matthew and Mark.

EHS………………….Expositions of the Holy Scriptures

CPP…………………The Complete Pulpit Commentary

SBC…………………..Sermon Bible Commentary

K&D…………………Keil and Deilitzsch Commentary on the OT

EBC……………….…Expositors Bible Commentary

CBSC……………….Cambridge Bible for Schools and College

GC……………………Guzik Commentary

RD…………………..Robert  Deffinbaugh

NSB …………………The Nelson Study Bible

MHC…………………Matthew Henry Commentary

CSTTB………Chuck Smith Through The Bible

LESB…………….Life Essentials Study Bible.

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