Luke 4:14-31 - SCRIPTURE FULFILLED

Luke 4:14-31

SCRIPTURE FULFILLED

Jesus read a Messianic prophecy from the book of Isaiah and then announced to His home-town synagogue that it had been fulfilled as they were listening. We know the rest of the story how they went from amazed to attempting to throw Him off a cliff! Before we judge the crowd too harshly, let’s imagine ourselves in their shoes.

These were people who had watched Jesus grow up in Nazareth—His parents’ friends and His boyhood companions. They had seen Him learning the carpentry trade from His dad, Joseph. Perhaps he had helped make a bench or a door frame for their house. His mother, Mary, had brought food when one of them was sick. He was, to them, an ordinary man who had grown up in their town. Now, He was living as an itinerant teacher with no house and followed by a rag-tag group of fishermen instead of starting a family. He had gained some fame as a teacher and healer, some might even call Him a “miracle worker.” However, Jesus was still the son of Joseph and Mary, an ordinary man from a humble home. Now, He was clearly claiming to be the Messiah, the Son of the Living God!

It’s hard for us to imagine, this side of the cross. However, how would you react if one of your high school buddies showed up at your place of worship, read a prophetic scripture passage, and declared he was the one that fulfilled it?!

Let’s bring it a little closer to home. How do you react when you read, “And my God will supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus” Philippians 4:19 (NASB)? Do you believe it? Do you stand on it? Or do you fail to believe that Jesus is who He claimed to be—God incarnate?

We did not hear Jesus with our own ears, but we have the written account of the words He spoke and the deeds He did. We need to live our lives trusting Him each day, or we are like those ‘friends’ of His in Nazareth who just couldn’t grasp the truth. Let your actions reflect what you profess to believe.