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The following is a list of Bible
Truths in Luke 4:16-30, the story of Jesus'
rejection at Nazareth.
- Jesus went to church on the Sabbath. Luke 4:16.
- Jesus read the Bible. Luke 4:16-17.
- As a prophet anointed by God, Jesus announced God's message of salvation
Luke 4:18-21.
- The message of salvation is meant for all people. Luke 4:18-19, 21,
24-27.
- Salvation goes to those responding in faith to Jesus' message of
salvation. Luke
4:23-27.
- The loss of spiritual blessing (and opportunity) results from not
believing the words of Jesus. Luke 4:23-27.
- A person's pride or expectations may keep that person from responding with
faith to Jesus' message of salvation. Luke 4:22-27.
The following Background
Information is helpful in understanding the
story.
 | Synagogue - A building used by Jews for
prayer, religious study, and worship of God. |
| Prophet - A person called and commanded by
God to speak God's message to the people. |
| Jewish Expectations - During New Testament
times, the Jews were hoping that God would anoint a descendent of David as
king of Israel for the purpose of restoring Israel's righteousness and
freeing Israel from foreign domination. This divinely appointed king
would be the Messiah. Thus, Jesus, who had no wealth or status but was
just the son of Joseph the carpenter, did not fit the Jewish expectation of
a Messiah. |
| Rejection of Jesus - The story does not say
why the people got mad at what Jesus said. The possibilities include.
 | Pride - The
Jews were God's chosen people who believed in God and thought they would
receive all of God's blessings. Perhaps the Jews were upset
because Jesus not only implied that the Jews were an
unbelieving people who would miss out on God's salvation, but also that
the Gentiles were more worthy than the Jews. |
| Further Pride -
Elijah and Elisha lived during a time when the nation of Israel did much
evil in the sight of the Lord. Perhaps the Jews thought Jesus
meant they were as evil as the Israelites who lived with Elijah and
Elisha. |
| Jesus was a false prophet
- Jews believed salvation came from keeping
the Mosaic Law and performing works. Jesus taught that faith
brings salvation, not obeying the Law or works. Jesus' new teaching, combined with
the facts that he did not perform miracles to confirm his authority and
that he was only the son of a carpenter, may have led some to conclude
that Jesus was a false prophet. |
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The following activities
can be used to teach the Bible story and truths.
Bible Story Activities.
| Don't Judge a Snack by its Cover.
Use this idea to teach children that choices should not be based solely on
appearances.
| Put an unopened package of beans or rice and one
cracker in a box. Wrap the box like you would a nice present. |
| Put the snack for the week in another beat up,
dirty box and leave it unwrapped. |
| Tell the children there is a snack inside both
boxes, but they can only have the snack from one of the boxes. Let
the children vote on which box to open. The vote must be
unanimous. |
| After the vote, show the children the contents
of the other box. |
| Give them the real snack for the week. |
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| Read the story from a scroll.
Use butcher paper and dowels to make a scroll. Use the Bible
to copy the story on the scroll. Let the children take turns
reading the story from the scroll. |
| Make a scroll. Each student can
make a scroll using straws and letter size paper. The children
can write the Memory Verse or Bible Truth on the scroll. |
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Life in Biblical Times
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