Reading: Luke 4:16-30
After reading the prophecy of Isaiah, about the Messiah, and affirming that that word was fulfilled in Him, these Jews of Nazareth end up rejecting Jesus, and even try to kill Him.
Why?
Because He shows them what is in their hearts. They like miracles, but they refuse to believe that the son of Joseph could do them, and much more they refuse to recognize that Jesus is the Christ.
John says: He came to his own, and his own received him not. This expression is even more true with respect to these men of Nazareth.
The great problem that the Jews will often have with the message of Jesus is that He tells them that the true children of Abraham, the children of God are those who receive the message of the Gospel on their hearts. It is not enough to be a Hebrew, it is not enough to follow the traditions.
That is why it bothers them so much when he tells them that God used a foreign widow to take care of his prophet Elijah, and healed a foreign leper.
The Gospel of Jesus is not about our pride, our status, our origin. It is about the healing of hearts that recognize themselves as hard and full of sin.
MEDITATE: Do we approach Jesus out of our need? What makes us uncomfortable about His Word? What attracts us to Him?