Sermon Text: Luke 4:22-32 (EHV)
22 They all spoke well of him and were impressed by the words of grace that came from his mouth. And they kept saying, “Isn’t this Joseph’s son?” 23 He told them, “Certainly you will quote this proverb to me, ‘Physician, heal yourself!’ Do here in your hometown everything we heard you did in Capernaum.” 24 And he said, “Amen I tell you: No prophet is accepted in his hometown. 25 But truly I tell you: There were many widows in Israel in the days of Elijah, when the sky was shut for three years and six months, while a great famine came over all the land. 26 Elijah was not sent to any of them, but to a widow of Zarephath, in Sidon. 27 And there were many lepers in Israel in the time of Elisha the prophet, yet not one of them was healed except Naaman the Syrian.”
28 All those who were in the synagogue were filled with rage when they heard these things. 29 They got up and drove him out of the town. They led him to the brow of the hill on which their town was built, in order to throw him off the cliff. 30 But he passed through the middle of them and went on his way. 31 He went down to Capernaum, a town of Galilee, and was teaching them on the Sabbath. 32 They were amazed by his teaching, because his message had authority.
Sermon Theme: “Familiarity Breeds Contempt”
- Jesus was Not Honored in His Hometown
- Why did the people of Nazareth react the way they did to Jesus’ sermon and claim that He was the Messiah?
- Is Jesus Honored Here in His “Home”?
- In what way(s) are we like the people of Jesus’ hometown of Nazareth?
Application: If we find that our “familiarity” with Jesus is breeding “contempt” in us, what is the solution? (In other words, is it possible to be “too familiar” with Jesus, or do we actually need to get more “familiar” with Him in His Word?) (See v. 31-32 and see how the people of Capernaum reacted to Jesus).