Take a few minutes to catch up and pray that God would bless you through the reading of His word.

Read Luke 4:16-30

[14] And Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit to Galilee, and a report about him went out through all the surrounding country. [15] And he taught in their synagogues, being glorified by all.
[16] And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up. And as was his custom, he went to the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and he stood up to read. [17] And the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to him. He unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written,
    [18] “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,
        because he has anointed me
        to proclaim good news to the poor.
    He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives
        and recovering of sight to the blind,
        to set at liberty those who are oppressed,
    [19] to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor.”
    
[20] And he rolled up the scroll and gave it back to the attendant and sat down. And the eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on him. [21] And he began to say to them, “Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.” 

[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.

Observation

• How was Jesus empowered during his return to Galilee (v. 14)?
  • Where did Jesus teach in Galiilee (v. 15)?
  • How was he received (v. 15)?
• Where did Jesus go next (v. 16)? 
  • Had he been in this town before (v. 16)?
  • Where did Jesus go to teach (v. 16)?
• What part of the Bible did Jesus read (v. 17)? Whose choice was that? 
• What did the passage from Isaiah teach (v. 18-19)?
  • What was Jesus’ comment on the passage (v. 21)?
  • How did the people respond (v. 20, 22)?
• Had Jesus performed the miracles in Nazareth that he had performed elsewhere (v. 23)?
  • What explanation does he give them for this (v. 24)?
  • What OT stories does he reference in order to illuminate the situation (v. 25-27)?
  • How do the people respond (v. 28-29)?
  • How does Jesus escape (v. 30)?

Interpretation

• In the passage from Isaiah that Jesus reads (v. 18-19), how would you summarize the ministry of the person who is speaking?
  • Read Isaiah 61:1-2 (See below).*
  • What part did Jesus read? What part did he not read?
  • What was Jesus telling the people about what he came to do? 
    • What does it mean that this Scripture was being fulfilled in their hearing?
    • What was the significance of leaving part of the passage out? 
    • Don’t worry if this doesn’t seem very clear right now. We’ll come back to it (Lord willing) when we get to Luke 7, where John the Baptist is worried about the shape that Jesus’ ministry is taking. 
• The people in Nazareth were impressed by Jesus (v. 22). Why does he talk to them as if they rejected him (v. 22-24)? 
• Jesus reminds them of two stories in the OT where God sends his prophets to non-Israelites instead of Israelites (v. 25-27). 
  • What was his point?
  • Why did that make people so mad?
• How did Jesus disappear from in their midst (v. 30)?

Application

• How has Jesus fulfilled Isaiah 60:1 in your life?
• Jesus came to bless people; the judgment of Isaiah 60:2 is postponed. How does that impact the way you think about your ministry to unbelievers?
• Who in your life might seem like an unlikely candidate for God’s mercy? How should you feel about them in light of the OT stories that Jesus refers to in this passage?

Share prayer requests and pray for each other.

*Isaiah 60:1-2
[1] The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me,
because the Lord has anointed me
to bring good news to the poor;
he has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,
to proclaim liberty to the captives,
and the opening of the prison to those who are bound;
[2] to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor,
and the day of vengeance of our God;
to comfort all who mourn;