The Hometown

Luke 4: 28-30

“28 All the people in the synagogue were furious when they heard this. 29 They got up, drove him out of the town, and took him to the brow of the hill on which the town was built, in order to throw him off the cliff. 30 But he walked right through the crowd and went on his way.”

Jesus encountered a lot of angry religious people during his ministry.  I have often wondered about this especially since the Hebrew scriptures are full of warnings against anger.  One that comes to mind is from Proverbs 14:29  “Whoever is patient has great understanding, but one who is quick-tempered displays folly.”

Jesus was in his hometown of Nazareth, preaching in the synagogue. The people remembered him and liked his reading of Isaiah 61:1 and the beginning of his remarks.  But what angered them was Jesus saying that during certain times described in the Hebrew Scriptures, the Gentiles had been favored by God over the Jews.

The anger of the religious when they hear something that does not fit in with their own personal beliefs or prejudices continues today.  We must realize that whenever the scriptures are used to support oppression, suppression, and ostracism it is a direct contradiction of the teachings of Christ.

The people of Nazareth tried to throw Jesus off a cliff.   Let us not be guilty of the same.

May the love of Christ be with you,

Rev. Eric Lanier (Retired)