Good News in Nazareth

“The Spirit of the Lord is on Me, because He has anointed Me to preach good news to the poor.” — Luke 4:18

Jesus came back to Nazareth, the town where He had grown up. Everyone knew Him there. They had watched Him grow up in the carpenter’s family.

On the Sabbath day, He went to the synagogue, the meeting place where people gathered to worship God and hear His Word, just as He always did. He stood up to read, and they handed Him the scroll of the prophet Isaiah.

Jesus unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written:

“The Spirit of the Lord is on Me, because He has anointed Me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent Me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners, and sight for the blind, to set free those who are crushed, and to announce the year of the Lord’s favour.”

Then Jesus rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant, and sat down. Everyone in the synagogue was staring at Him.

And Jesus said, “Today this Scripture has come true while you were listening.”

At first, everyone spoke well of Him. They were amazed at the gracious words He spoke. “Isn’t this Joseph’s son?” they said.

But Jesus knew what they were thinking. They had heard about the miracles He had done in other towns, and they wanted Him to do miracles for them too. They thought that because He had grown up there, He belonged to them.

“I tell you the truth,” Jesus said, “no prophet is welcome in his own home town.” And He reminded them of two old stories. “There were many widows in Israel in Elijah’s time, when there was no rain for three and a half years. But Elijah was sent to none of them, only to a widow in Zarephath, in Sidon. And there were many people with leprosy in Israel in Elisha’s time, but none of them were healed, only Naaman the Syrian.”

Do you remember those stories? Both the widow and Naaman were foreigners, not Israelites at all. Jesus was saying that God’s good news isn’t just for one town or one people. It is for the whole world, for anyone who will trust Him.

When the people heard that, they were furious. They got up, drove Jesus out of the town, and took Him to the edge of the cliff on the hill where the town was built. They wanted to throw Him off!

But Jesus walked right through the middle of the crowd and went on His way. It wasn’t yet the time for Him to die. He had work to do.

The promise kept: Jesus read the words of Isaiah (Isaiah 61:1–2) and said, “Today this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing” (Luke 4:21). He is the one the Spirit of the Lord rests on, sent to bring good news, freedom and sight.

Read it in your Bible: Luke 4:14–30

Dear Jesus, thank you that you came to bring good news to the poor, freedom to people who are trapped, and sight to the blind. Thank you that your good news is for everyone. Amen.