In His hometown of Nazareth, Jesus stood in the synagogue, unrolled a scroll, and read from Isaiah 61. He kicked off His ministry by proclaiming that He had come to preach good news to the poor, recover sight to the blind, and release the oppressed. Everyone spoke well of Him until Jesus pointed out their past rejection of God and questioned their privileged status as God’s chosen people. Jesus referenced two instances where God rescued Gentiles, despite the many Jewish people suffering at the same time. God sent Elijah to a pork-eating, Gentile widow and her son who lived 180 miles south in Zarephath. He then sent Elisha 220 miles north to Naaman, an uncircumcised commander of the Syrian army! (1 Kings 17 and 2 Kings 5) These references infuriated the Jewish listeners. They wanted the Messiah to come and rescue them only, no one else. In their anger, they set out to seize Jesus and throw Him off a cliff! Jesus miraculously got away. Jesus was making a clear opening statement about His ministry and life. Although He was still about fulfilling His promises to Abraham and would focus a great deal on the lost sheep of Israel, Jesus ultimately would become Savior of the world (for Jew, Greek and Gentile!).
Bible: Read Luke 4:14-30 together with your family.
Family Activity:
Teaching Time: 10 minutes
Materials: coloring sheets, box of crayons
Grab two coloring sheets. Color one using only one crayon. On the second coloring sheet, use every color in the box to fill it in.
Discuss:
- Read Revelation 7:9. Based on this verse, how many people groups will be in Heaven? Which coloring sheet more accurately represents what Heaven will be like?
- If using all the colors in the crayon box creates a more complete picture, why do you think God wants to include people from every tribe, tongue, and nation in His kingdom?
Pray:
Claim God’s promise in Psalm 86:9 and pray that all nations will come and worship before the Lord.
