Luke 4:28
On hearing this, all the people in the synagogue were enraged.
On hearing this
This phrase refers to the reaction of the people in the synagogue to Jesus' words. In the preceding verses, Jesus had been reading from the scroll of Isaiah and proclaiming the fulfillment of the prophecy in their hearing. The Greek word for "hearing" is "ἀκούω" (akouo), which implies not just the act of hearing but also understanding and processing the message. The people were not just passively listening; they were actively engaging with Jesus' radical declaration that He was the Messiah, which challenged their expectations and beliefs.

all the people in the synagogue
The synagogue was the center of Jewish religious life, a place of teaching, prayer, and community gathering. The phrase "all the people" indicates a collective response, suggesting that Jesus' message was so provocative that it stirred a unanimous reaction. Historically, synagogues were places where the Jewish community would gather to hear the Torah and discuss its implications. The fact that the entire assembly was moved to anger highlights the deep-seated resistance to Jesus' message, which threatened the established religious and social order.

were filled with rage
The Greek word for "rage" is "θυμός" (thumos), which conveys a sense of intense, passionate anger. This is not a mild irritation but a vehement, explosive reaction. The people’s rage was fueled by Jesus' implication that God's favor extended beyond Israel to the Gentiles, as He referenced the widow of Zarephath and Naaman the Syrian. This was a radical and offensive notion to His Jewish audience, who prided themselves on being God's chosen people. The historical context of Jewish-Gentile relations was fraught with tension, and Jesus' message challenged the exclusivity of their religious identity. This rage can be seen as a reflection of the broader human resistance to divine truth that challenges personal and cultural preconceptions.

Persons / Places / Events
1. Jesus
The central figure in this passage, Jesus is in the synagogue in Nazareth, His hometown, delivering a message that challenges the expectations of His audience.

2. The People in the Synagogue
These are the Jewish attendees of the synagogue in Nazareth who become enraged at Jesus' words. Their reaction is pivotal to understanding the passage.

3. Nazareth
A town in Galilee where Jesus grew up. It is significant as the setting for this event, highlighting the rejection Jesus faced from those who knew Him from His youth.

4. The Synagogue
A place of Jewish worship and teaching, serving as the setting for Jesus' proclamation and the subsequent reaction of the people.

5. The Event of Rejection
This event marks a turning point where Jesus is rejected by His own townspeople, foreshadowing the broader rejection He would face.
Teaching Points
Understanding Rejection
Jesus' experience in Nazareth teaches us that rejection is often part of the Christian journey. We should not be discouraged when facing opposition for our faith.

Expectations vs. Reality
The people of Nazareth had preconceived notions of the Messiah. We must align our expectations with God's Word, not our own desires or cultural assumptions.

The Danger of Familiarity
Familiarity can breed contempt. Just as the people of Nazareth could not see beyond Jesus' human origins, we must be careful not to let our familiarity with Scripture or church life blind us to God's work.

Responding to Conviction
The people's rage was a response to conviction. We should examine our hearts and respond to God's Word with humility and repentance, not anger.

The Universality of the Gospel
Jesus' message in Nazareth hinted at the inclusion of Gentiles, a theme that would unfold throughout His ministry. We are called to embrace the global mission of the Gospel.
Bible Study Questions
1. How does the reaction of the people in the synagogue reflect common human responses to challenging truths? Can you think of a time when you reacted similarly?

2. In what ways do our expectations of Jesus sometimes conflict with His true mission and message? How can we align our expectations with Scripture?

3. How does the rejection Jesus faced in Nazareth prepare us for the challenges we might face in sharing the Gospel today?

4. What are some practical steps we can take to ensure that our familiarity with Jesus and the Bible does not lead to complacency or contempt?

5. How can we actively participate in the universality of the Gospel, ensuring that we are inclusive in our outreach and ministry efforts?
Connections to Other Scriptures
Isaiah 61:1-2
Jesus reads from this passage earlier in Luke 4, declaring His mission. The reaction in verse 28 is partly due to the people's misunderstanding of this prophecy.

John 1:11
This verse speaks of Jesus coming to His own, and His own not receiving Him, directly connecting to the rejection He faces in Nazareth.

Acts 13:45-46
Paul and Barnabas face a similar rejection from the Jews, illustrating a recurring theme of resistance to the message of salvation.
Christ's Sermon in NazarethR.M. Edgar Luke 4:14-30
Blindness of PrejudiceBaxendale's AnecdotesLuke 4:28-31
CapernaumDr. Geikie., L. Oliphant., E. Stapfer, D. D.Luke 4:28-31
Cause of the Nazarenes' WrathJ. Baring. Gould, M. A.Luke 4:28-31
Men Seldom See the Great in What is About ThemT. T. Munger.Luke 4:28-31
Nazareth; Or, Jesus Rejected by His FriendsC. H. Spurgeon.Luke 4:28-31
Overawed by the SpiritBate's Influence of Mind on Mind.Luke 4:28-31
Remarkable Change in the Conduct of a MobDr. Adam Clarke.Luke 4:28-31
People
Elias, Elijah, Eliseus, Elisha, Esaias, Isaiah, Jesus, Joseph, Naaman, Simon
Places
Capernaum, Galilee, Jerusalem, Jordan River, Judea, Nazareth, Sidon, Wilderness of Judea, Zarephath
Topics
Angry, Filled, Furious, Fury, Hearing, Listening, Rage, Synagogue, Wrath
Dictionary of Bible Themes
Luke 4:28

     8739   evil, examples of

Luke 4:14-30

     8836   unbelief, response

Luke 4:15-33

     7456   synagogue

Luke 4:16-30

     8712   denial of Christ

Luke 4:23-30

     5481   proverb

Luke 4:24-30

     2545   Christ, opposition to

Luke 4:28-29

     2545   Christ, opposition to
     5828   danger
     5879   humiliation
     5964   temper
     6231   rejection of God

Luke 4:28-30

     2012   Christ, authority
     2369   Christ, responses to
     5901   loneliness
     5936   riots

Library
Preaching at Nazareth
'And He began to say unto them, This day is this scripture fulfilled In your ears.'--LUKE iv. 21. This first appearance of our Lord, in His public work at Nazareth, the home of His childhood, was preceded, as we learn from John's Gospel, by a somewhat extended ministry in Jerusalem. In the course of it, He cast the money-changers out of the Temple, did many miracles, had His conversation with Nicodemus, and on His return towards Galilee met the woman of Samaria at the well. The report of these things,
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions Of Holy Scripture

The Temptation
4 And Jesus, being full of the Holy Ghost, returned from Jordan, and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, 2. Being forty days tempted of the devil. And in those days He did eat nothing: and when they were ended, He afterward hungered. 3. And the devil said unto Him, If Thou be the Son of God, command this stone that it be made bread, 4. And Jesus answered him, saying, It is written, That man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God. 5. And the devil, taking Him up into an high
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions Of Holy Scripture

The Temptation of Christ
Matthew 4:1-11 -- "Then was Jesus led up of the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil. And when he had fasted forty days and forty nights, he was afterward an hungered. And when the tempter came to him, he said, If thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread. But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God. Then the devil taketh him up into the holy city, and setteth him on a
George Whitefield—Selected Sermons of George Whitefield

Private Prayer, and Public Worship.
"And, as His custom was, He went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day."--ST. LUKE iv. 16. "He went out, and departed into a solitary place, and there He prayed."--ST. MARK i. 35. These two texts set before us our Saviour's habit in regard to public and private spiritual exercise; and they suggest to us the question, What have we, on our part, to say of these two elements in our own life? These texts, we bear in mind, represent not something casual or intermittent in the life of our Lord. They
John Percival—Sermons at Rugby

Salvation by Faith
"By grace are ye saved through faith." Eph. 2:8. 1. All the blessings which God hath bestowed upon man are of his mere grace, bounty, or favour; his free, undeserved favour; favour altogether undeserved; man having no claim to the least of his mercies. It was free grace that "formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into him a living soul," and stamped on that soul the image of God, and "put all things under his feet." The same free grace continues to us, at this day, life, and breath,
John Wesley—Sermons on Several Occasions

Massillon -- the Small Number of the Elect
Jean Baptiste Massillon was born in 1663, at Hyères, in Provence, France. He first attracted notice as a pulpit orator by his funeral sermons as the Archbishop of Vienne, which led to his preferment from his class of theology at Meaux to the presidency of the Seminary of Magloire at Paris. His conferences at Paris showed remarkable spiritual insight and knowledge of the human heart. He was a favorite preacher of Louis XIV and Louis XV, and after being appointed bishop of Clermont in 1719 he
Grenville Kleiser—The world's great sermons, Volume 3

Jesus Sets Out from Judæa for Galilee.
Subdivision C. Arrival in Galilee. ^C Luke IV. 14; ^D John IV. 43-45. ^d 43 And after the two days [the two days spent among the Samaritans at Sychar] he went forth from thence [from Samaria] into Galilee. ^c 14 And Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit into Galilee [Power of the Spirit here means its manifest use to perform miracles, rather than its presence, influence or direction. Jesus was always under the influence and direction of the Spirit, but did not previously perform miracles]: ^d
J. W. McGarvey—The Four-Fold Gospel

Divine Healing.
The thirty-fifth chapter of Isaiah is a prophecy beautifully extolling the glories and virtues of Christ's redemptive works. "The desert shall rejoice and blossom as the rose." "It shall blossom abundantly, and rejoice even with joy and singing: the glory of Lebanon shall be given unto it, the excellency of Carmel and Sharon, they shall see the glory of the Lord, and the excellency of our God.... Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped. Then shall the
Charles Ebert Orr—The Gospel Day

The Synagogue at Nazareth - Synagogue-Worship and Arrangements.
The stay in Cana, though we have no means of determining its length, was probably of only short duration. Perhaps the Sabbath of the same week already found Jesus in the Synagogue of Nazareth. We will not seek irreverently to lift the veil of sacred silence, which here, as elsewhere, the Gospel-narratives have laid over the Sanctuary of His inner Life. That silence is itself theopneustic, of Divine breathing and inspiration; it is more eloquent than any eloquence, a guarantee of the truthfulness
Alfred Edersheim—The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah

His Training.
WITH the exception of these few but significant hints, the youth of Jesus, and the preparation for his public ministry, are enshrined in mysterious silence. But we know the outward condition and circumstances under which he grew up; and these furnish no explanation for the astounding results, without the admission of the supernatural and divine element in his life. He grew up among a people seldom and only contemptuously named by the ancient classics, and subjected at the time to the yoke of a foreign
Philip Schaff—The Person of Christ

Standing with the People
We have found two simple and axiomatic social principles in the fundamental convictions of Jesus: The sacredness of life and personality, and the spiritual solidarity of men. Now confront a mind mastered by these convictions with the actual conditions of society, with the contempt for life and the denial of social obligation existing, and how will he react? How will he see the duty of the strong, and his own duty? DAILY READINGS First Day: The Social Platform of Jesus And he came to Nazareth, where
Walter Rauschenbusch—The Social Principles of Jesus

Christ the Deliverer.
"And he [Jesus] came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up; and he entered, as his custom was, into the synagogue on the sabbath day, and stood up to read. And there was delivered unto him the book of the prophet Isaiah. And he opened the book, and found the place where it was written, The spirit of the Lord is upon me, Because he anointed me to preach good tidings to the poor: He hath sent me to proclaim release to the captives, And recovering of sight to the blind, To set at liberty them that
Frank G. Allen—Autobiography of Frank G. Allen, Minister of the Gospel

Quotations from the Old Testament in the New.
1. As it respects inspiration, and consequent infallible authority, the quotations of the New Testament stand on a level with the rest of the apostolic writings. The Saviour's promise was: "When he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth;" literally, "into all the truth," that is, as immediately explained, all the truth pertaining to the Redeemer's person and work. When, therefore, after the fulfilment of this promise, Peter and the other apostles expounded to their brethren
E. P. Barrows—Companion to the Bible

From his Commission to Reside Abroad in 1820 to his Removal to Germany in 1822
In 1822 John Yeardley went to reside in Germany. As his residence abroad constituted one of the most remarkable turns in his life, and exercised a powerful influence on the rest of his career, we shall develop as fully as we are able the motives by which he was induced to leave his native country. By means of his Diary we can trace the early appearance and growth, if not the origin, of the strong Christian sympathy he ever afterwards manifested with seeking souls in the nations on the continent of
John Yeardley—Memoir and Diary of John Yeardley, Minister of the Gospel

Whether in Christ There were the Gifts?
Objection 1: It would seem that the gifts were not in Christ. For, as is commonly said, the gifts are given to help the virtues. But what is perfect in itself does not need an exterior help. Therefore, since the virtues of Christ were perfect, it seems there were no gifts in Him. Objection 2: Further, to give and to receive gifts would not seem to belong to the same; since to give pertains to one who has, and to receive pertains to one who has not. But it belongs to Christ to give gifts according
Saint Thomas Aquinas—Summa Theologica

It is the Final Court of Appeal.
It is not a question of what I think, or of what any one else thinks--it is, What saith the Scriptures? It is not a matter of what any church or creed teaches--it is, What teaches the Bible? God has spoken, and that ends the matter: "Forever, O Lord, Thy Word is settled in heaven." Therefore, it is for me to bow to His authority, to submit to His Word, to cease all quibbling and cry, "Speak, Lord, for Thy servant heareth." Because the Bible is God's Word, it is the final court of appeal in all things
Arthur W. Pink—The Divine Inspiration of the Bible

Epistle xiii. To Serenus, Bishop of Massilia (Marseilles) .
To Serenus, Bishop of Massilia (Marseilles) [128] . Gregory to Serenus, &c. The beginning of thy letter so showed thee to have in thee the good will that befits a priest as to cause us increased joy in thy Fraternity. But its conclusion was so at variance with its commencement that such an epistle might be attributed, not to one, but to different, minds. Nay, from thy very doubts about the epistle which we sent to thee it appears how inconsiderate thou art. For, hadst thou paid diligent attention
Saint Gregory the Great—the Epistles of Saint Gregory the Great

Book x. On Numbers
In truth, we interpret, however briefly, these numbers of perfect names. The mystical account of these examples makes them more honored among the blessed. I. This number refers to the unity of the divinity; in the Pentatuch: hear, O Israel, the Lord your God is one. [Deut. 6:4] II. [This number refers] to the two testaments; in Kings: and He made in Dabir two cherubim in the measure of 10 cubits. [III(I) Kings 6:23] III. [This number refers] to the Trinity; in the epistle of John: three are those
St. Eucherius of Lyons—The Formulae of St. Eucherius of Lyons

The Doctrine of the Scriptures.
I. NAMES AND TITLES. 1. THE BIBLE. 2. THE TESTAMENTS. 3. THE SCRIPTURES. 4. THE WORD OF GOD. II. INSPIRATION. 1. DEFINITION. 2. DISTINCTIONS. a) Revelation. b) Illumination. c) Reporting. 3. VIEWS: a) Natural Inspiration. b) Christian Illumination. c) Dynamic Theory. d) Concept Theory. e) Verbal Inspiration. f) Partial Inspiration. g) Plenary Inspiration. 4. THE CLAIMS OF THE SCRIPTURES THEMSELVES: a) The Old Testament. b) The New Testament. 5. THE CHARACTER (OR DEGREES) OF INSPIRATION. a) Actual
Rev. William Evans—The Great Doctrines of the Bible

The Cornish Tinners
Saturday, September 3.--I rode to the Three-cornered Down (so called), nine or ten miles east of St. Ives, where we found two or three hundred tinners, who had been some time waiting for us. They all appeared quite pleased and unconcerned; and many of them ran after us to Gwennap (two miles east), where their number was quickly increased to four or five hundred. I had much comfort here in applying these words, "He hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor" [Luke 4:18]. One who lived near
John Wesley—The Journal of John Wesley

Wesley Begins Field-Preaching
1739. March 15.--During my stay [in London] I was fully employed, between our own society in Fetter Lane and many others where I was continually desired to expound; I had no thought of leaving London, when I received, after several others, a letter from Mr. Whitefield and another from Mr. Seward entreating me, in the most pressing manner, to come to Bristol without delay. This I was not at all forward to do. Wednesday, 28.--My journey was proposed to our society in Fetter Lane. But my brother Charles
John Wesley—The Journal of John Wesley

The Redeemer's Return is Necessitated by the Present Exaltation of Satan.
One of the greatest mysteries in all God's creation is the Devil. For any reliable information concerning him we are shut up to the Holy Scriptures. It is in God's Word alone that we can learn anything about his origin, his personality, his fall, his sphere of operations, and his approaching doom. One thing which is there taught us about the great Adversary of God and man, and which observation and experience fully confirms, is, that he is a being possessing mighty power. It would appear, from a
Arthur W. Pink—The Redeemer's Return

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