Luke 4:22-30

http://biblehub.com/parallelgospels/The_First_Rejection_at_Nazareth.htm

People can be very fickle in their affections.  In today’s text we see that the people start out speaking well of Jesus but they end up trying to kill Him just a few minutes later.  It seems that the reason this happens is because their expectations of Jesus were not fulfilled.  It is easy for us to get in our minds what we think that God ought to do in our lives.  These thoughts turn into expectations and hopes but many times they are not based on Scripture.  Too often we get disappointed with God and then begin to doubt Him or even become angry at Him.  It is very important that we base our hopes on the Word of God instead of on what we think is best.  God’s ways and methods are usually very different from ours.  We are called to trust God not dictate what and how He should do things.  Jesus could see the hearts of these people just like He can see ours.  Many times He sets us on a different path from the ones we would choose in order to expose our own sinfulness. 

THE PEOPLE ARE EXPECTING JESUS TO DO MIRACLES: When Jesus reads the Scriptures and claims that this message of freedom from captivity and proclaiming the Gospel is being fulfilled; the people were happy.  Some wondered at the fact that He had grown up in that area and were surprised to see someone so familiar make such a bold claim.  But the overall reaction of the crowd was still very positive.  However, Jesus knows that the reason for this popularity is not because of His message or the fact that they believe He is Messiah.  They receive Him well because they are expecting Him to do miracles.  He tells them that they will be in the crowd ridiculing Him at His crucifixion telling Him to heal Himself.  He also tells them that they were wanting Him to perform the miracles that He had done in other places.  It is a dangerous thing to come to God with expectations in our hearts.  He knows all about what we expect but He also knows exactly what we need in order to serve Him in the most effective way possible.  The people did not need to see more miracles; they needed to believe in Jesus.  His work on our behalf often becomes far more important to us than His character being built in our lives.  Jesus if far more concerned with our character than He is with our comfort.  

THE PEOPLE ARE EXPOSED BY JESUS AS FAITHLESS: Jesus sees right into their hearts and then exposes their lack of faith by comparing them with the Jews in the days of Elijah and Elisha.  Jesus reminds them that there were many widows in Israel during the days of Elijah but only a Gentile woman had the honor of hosting Elijah and seeing the miracles that He did.  He also compared them to the many lepers in Israel during the days of Elisha but only Naaman, a Gentile, was cleansed.  The Jews did not experience theses miracles because they had no faith and Gentiles were blessed instead.  The people’s lack of faith resulted in a lack of seeing miracles.  Jesus assures them that they will have the same experience because they too are completely lacking in faith.  They would never believe in Jesus as Messiah no matter how many miracles He performed so He was not about to perform miracles now just for the purpose of entertaining them for fulfilling their curiosity.  When God fails to meet our expectations our reactions often expose our lack of faith in Him.  No matter what circumstance we face in life we must remember to trust Him.  That is what faith is all about.  When we become angry, anxious or depressed when circumstances are not to our liking; God is usually at work in those situations to expose our lack of faith.

THE PEOPLE ARE EXPLODING AT JESUS WITH RAGE: When the people realize that Jesus is not only refusing to perform miracles before them but is also comparing them to the faithless people o the days of Elijah and Elisha; they become livid.  They call for His death and begin to push Him out to the cliffs near Nazareth.  They fully intend to throw Him down the side of the mountain to His death.  Jesus was not ready to die so He simply slips through the crowd in a supernatural way.  Explosions of anger are usually a means that God uses to expose our unbiblical expectations.  If we find ourselves constantly angry with God, there is a very good chance that we have “created” a god to our own liking.  As far fetched as that may sound to us; we all do exactly that far more often than we even realize.  We want God to meet our needs and make us comfortable.  God wants to make us holy and use our lives to bring Him glory from all nations of the world.  Holiness and the expansion of the Gospel will often make us uncomfortable.  If we are truly trusting Him our reaction when this happens will be joy instead of anger. 

APPLICATION: Don’t allow unbiblical expectations about God fill our hearts.  Do not be surprised when God exposes the idolatry of our hearts through His Word and difficult circumstances.  Make our holiness and His glory a greater priority than our comfort.  Learn to rejoice and trust in the Lord in any and every circumstance especially when our expectations are frustrated.