Devotion for January 25, 2022
Luke 4:22-30
All spoke well of him and were amazed at the gracious words that came from his mouth. They said, “Is not this Joseph’s son?”
He said to them, “Doubtless you will quote to me this proverb, ‘Doctor, cure yourself!’ And you will say, ‘Do here also in your hometown the things that we have heard you did at Capernaum.'”
And he said, “Truly I tell you, no prophet is accepted in the prophet’s hometown. But the truth is, there were many widows in Israel in the time of Elijah, when the heaven was shut up three years and six months, and there was a severe famine over all the land; yet Elijah was sent to none of them except to a widow at Zarephath in Sidon. There were also many lepers in Israel in the time of the prophet Elisha, and none of them was cleansed except Naaman the Syrian.”
When they heard this, all in the synagogue were filled with rage. They got up, drove him out of the town, and led him to the brow of the hill on which their town was built, so that they might hurl him off the cliff. But he passed through the midst of them and went on his way.
To go from being a guest at a wedding just a few chapters prior to inciting a murderous mob in this passage, Jesus knew how to create a stir. Common takes on this passage have been shortened to suggest that a “prophet is not welcome in their hometown.” Frankly, it is confounding why these comments sparked such rage. Were they upset that Jesus wouldn’t do miracles or parlor tricks for them? Were they upset that maybe he knew more about their character than what was comfortable, and this was him calling them out?
Regardless, Jesus offers a better way for us to understand our role in the Kingdom. We will not always have a message that is welcomed. Sometimes our calling is for a smaller crowd than we wish, but it is still our calling. Remember your call and live in the better way of Jesus where faithfulness matters more than “corporate style results.”