365 Days in the Gospels and Spirit of Prophecy
Rejected by His Hometown — February 13 [Description]
Bible discovery
16 So He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up. And as His custom was, He went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and stood up to read. 365D 44.2
17 And He was handed the book of the prophet Isaiah. And when He had opened the book, He found the place where it was written: 365D 44.3
18 “The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, Because He has anointed Me To preach the gospel to the poor; He has sent Me [i] to heal the brokenhearted, To proclaim liberty to the captives And recovery of sight to the blind, To set at liberty those who are [j] oppressed; 365D 44.4
19 To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord .” 365D 44.5
20 Then He closed the book, and gave it back to the attendant and sat down. And the eyes of all who were in the synagogue were fixed on Him. 365D 44.6
21 And He began to say to them, “Today this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.” 365D 44.7
22 So all bore witness to Him, and marveled at the gracious words which proceeded out of His mouth. And they said, “Is this not Joseph’s son?” 365D 44.8
23 He said to them, “You will surely say this proverb to Me, ‘Physician, heal yourself! Whatever we have heard done in Capernaum, [k] do also here in Your country.’ ” 365D 44.9
24 Then He said, “Assuredly, I say to you, no prophet is accepted in his own country. 365D 44.10
25 But I tell you truly, many widows were in Israel in the days of Elijah, when the heaven was shut up three years and six months, and there was a great famine throughout all the land; 365D 44.11
26 but to none of them was Elijah sent except to [l] Zarephath, in the region of Sidon, to a woman who was a widow. 365D 44.12
27 And many lepers were in Israel in the time of Elisha the prophet, and none of them was cleansed except Naaman the Syrian.” 365D 44.13
28 So all those in the synagogue, when they heard these things, were filled with [m] wrath, 365D 44.14
29 and rose up and thrust Him out of the city; and they led Him to the brow of the hill on which their city was built, that they might throw Him down over the cliff. 365D 44.15
30 Then passing through the midst of them, He went His way. 365D 44.16
Spirit of Prophecy Reading
The Desire of Ages pp.236-239: 365D 44.17
This chapter is based on Luke 4:16-30. 365D 44.18
Across the bright days of Christ's ministry in Galilee, one shadow lay. The people of Nazareth rejected Him. “Is not this the carpenter's son?” they said. 365D 44.19
During His childhood and youth, Jesus had worshiped among His brethren in the synagogue at Nazareth. Since the opening of His ministry He had been absent from them, but they had not been ignorant of what had befallen Him. As He again appeared among them, their interest and expectation were excited to the highest pitch. Here were the familiar forms and faces of those whom He had known from infancy. Here were His mother, His brothers and sisters, and all eyes were turned upon Him as He entered the synagogue upon the Sabbath day, and took His place among the worshipers. 365D 44.20
In the regular service for the day, the elder read from the prophets, and exhorted the people still to hope for the Coming One, who would bring in a glorious reign, and banish all oppression. He sought to encourage his hearers by rehearsing the evidence that the Messiah's coming was near. He described the glory of His advent, keeping prominent the thought that He would appear at the head of armies to deliver Israel. 365D 44.21
When a rabbi was present at the synagogue, he was expected to deliver the sermon, and any Israelite might give the reading from the prophets. Upon this Sabbath Jesus was requested to take part in the service. He “stood up to read. And there was delivered unto Him a roll of the prophet Isaiah.” Luke 4:16, 17, R. V., margin. The scripture which He read was one that was understood as referring to the Messiah: 365D 44.22
It was for the same reason that in Elisha's time the lepers of Israel were passed by. But Naaman, a heathen nobleman, had been faithful to his convictions of right, and had felt his great need of help. He was in a condition to receive the gifts of God's grace. He was not only cleansed from his leprosy, but blessed with a knowledge of the true God. 365D 44.23
Our standing before God depends, not upon the amount of light we have received, but upon the use we make of what we have. Thus even the heathen who choose the right as far as they can distinguish it are in a more favorable condition than are those who have had great light, and profess to serve God, but who disregard the light, and by their daily life contradict their profession. 365D 44.24
The words of Jesus to His hearers in the synagogue struck at the root of their self-righteousness, pressing home upon them the bitter truth that they had departed from God and forfeited their claim to be His people. Every word cut like a knife as their real condition was set before them. They now scorned the faith with which Jesus had at first inspired them. They would not admit that He who had sprung from poverty and lowliness was other than a common man. 365D 44.25
Their unbelief bred malice. Satan controlled them, and in wrath they cried out against the Saviour. They had turned from Him whose mission it was to heal and restore; now they manifested the attributes of the destroyer. 365D 44.26