The People of Nazareth Turn against Jesus
(Matthew 13.53-58; Mark 6.1-6) 16Jesus went back to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, and as usual he went to the meeting place on the Sabbath. When he stood up to read from the Scriptures,
17he was given the book of Isaiah the prophet. He opened it and read,
18"The Lord's Spirit
has come to me,
because he has chosen me
to tell the good news
to the poor.
The Lord has sent me
to announce freedom
for prisoners,
to give sight to the blind,
to free everyone
who suffers,
19and to say, 'This is the year
the Lord has chosen.' "
20Jesus closed the book, then handed it back to the man in charge and sat down. Everyone in the meeting place looked straight at Jesus.
21Then Jesus said to them, "What you have just heard me read has come true today."
22All the people started talking about Jesus and were amazed at the wonderful things he said. They kept on asking, "Isn't he Joseph's son?"
23Jesus answered:
You will certainly want to tell me this saying, "Doctor, first make yourself well." You will tell me to do the same things here in my own hometown that you heard I did in Capernaum.
24But you can be sure that no prophets are liked by the people of their own hometown.
25Once during the time of Elijah there was no rain for three and a half years, and people everywhere were starving. There were many widows in Israel,
26but Elijah was sent only to a widow in the town of Zarephath near the city of Sidon.
27During the time of the prophet Elisha, many men in Israel had leprosy. But no one was healed, except Naaman who lived in Syria.
28When the people in the meeting place heard Jesus say this, they became so angry
29that they got up and threw him out of town. They dragged him to the edge of the cliff on which the town was built, because they wanted to throw him down from there.
30But Jesus slipped through the crowd and got away.
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