Luke's Gospel: Investigating the Man Who Is God

Part 16: Jesus the Prophet

Luke 4:22-30

Pastor Mark Driscoll 01hr:04mn Viewed 32,642 times in over 2 years

Jesus preaches in his hometown of Nazareth, but the people reject him. They would rather kill Jesus than kill their religion. He teaches from 1 Kings 17 (Elijah and a pagan widow) and 2 Kings 5 (Elisha and Naaman the leper) to show that even religious people are as needy as the starving widow and that their sin is as horrific as leprosy. We see in this passage at least eight ways we could be compelled to reject Jesus: theology, control, greed, selfishness, familiarity, comfort, embarrassment, and religion.

Luke 4:22-30

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.


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