Daily Devotional For Tuesday, September 29, 2026
Good morning Southside! I am following the One Year Chronological Bible reading suggestion and any Bible verses you see highlighted in bold (ex. John 3:16), means it is a link to that verse. All you have to do is click on the reference and it will take you to the verse online. Our daily devotional reading for today comes from two stories in the Gospel of Luke. Today, we are going to look specifically at Luke 4:16-30.
Rejection! We have experienced this a time or two in our lives. Unfortunately, some more than others have stared down the face of rejection. For some it was at a job interview. For others, it was when their spouse walked out on them. For some, it was being denied admission into some club or fraternity or sorority. For some, it was when their health insurance refused to help pay for some medical procedure. Rejection comes in all forms such as from a look or a comment or an attitude.
In our story for today, Jesus is rejected by the people in his hometown of Nazareth. Not only is He rejected, they attempted to kill Him by throwing Him over a cliff. Jesus returned home and went to the synagogue. There he read from the prophet Isaiah (Isa. 61:1-2) and taught. Luke lets us know that the people in Nazareth had been marveling about the miracles He had done in the stories that were being told.
Some of these miracles were indicative that He was the Messiah, but when Jesus drew that conclusion to Himself as the Messiah, they had a meltdown. What is interesting to me is where Jesus ended the Isaiah passage. The last part of verse 2 refers to God’s judgment coming against His own people. Instead of reading that, Jesus stopped with the emphasis of grace in the Isaiah passage.
Jesus was a master at reading His audience. He knew what was in their hearts. Probably in that synagogue worship was His family: His mother, His half-brothers and half- sisters. Here in Nazareth, the people were between bewilderment and anger due to His teaching. Seeing their reaction when He states that the Isaiah passage had been fulfilled right then, Jesus quoted a cultural proverb in Luke 4:23. Up to this point, Luke says the people in that worship service were amazed at His teaching and His grace, but then that grace struck a nerve.
These people were like many people who sit in church every week. They are “good” people who come to do the church thing. They are there physically, but not emotionally or spiritually. They want something out of the worship for themselves instead of giving worship to the Lord. This is why they complain with comments like, “The sermon was too long.” Or, “Why can’t we just sing hymns.” And if the Spirit moves and people come down to the altar, they are upset because now the service is going much longer. Do you know anyone like that? Are you like that?
For these Jews in that synagogue and for many in churches today both share a common denominator: worship is predictable because praise is absent. Jesus performed miracles out of compassion and to convince people He was the Messiah. On this day, the people from His own town had a mob lynch style reaction. If Jesus was a false prophet or not the Messiah He claimed, the Old Testament allowed for this approach (Num. 15:35; Deut. 13:5).
Luke does not tell us how, but Jesus somehow escaped their attempt to kill Him. This in itself was a miracle. Luke does not tell us if His own family joined this mob or not but the Bible does tell us at one time His family was so concerned for His safety they traveled 30 miles “to seize” Him and take Him home (Mark 3:21). No one knows us better than our family. They also know what buttons to push better than anyone else. Jesus was polarizing. He made many exclusive statements that offended people in His day as well as in ours.
One reason the people of Nazareth were angry is that Jesus reminded them of how God’s grace had come also to pagans, not only Israelites. Jesus illustrated this through two stories: How God sent Elijah during a famine in Israel to provide food for a pagan widow in Zarephath, Sidon. The second story involved God using the prophet Elisha to heal some non-Israelites with leprosy in Syria. As far as those in Nazareth were concerned, God’s grace was only for and favored Israelites, not pagan Gentiles. Jesus hit a nerve and they attempted to kill Him for it.
Reflection Assignment: When you come to worship, are you really there to praise or to critique? In your heart, who do you think is really undeserving of God’s grace either because of what they have done to you or said to you or your family? Who when their name comes up, you do not feel the love for them? You only loathe them. Both attitudes are an issue of praise. The cure is to praise God no matter what is happening to you. So, what is your next step towards repentance in this area? Read the following passages to help you see our Lord’s grace (Luke 15:11-32; Matt. 20:1-16).
Scripture To Meditate On: John 1:17, “ For the Law was given through Moses; grace and truth were realized through Jesus Christ” (NASB).
Prayer To Pray: “Dear Lord, please forgive me when I am in worship for only what I can get out of it rather than giving You my all. Please help me to give grace to those who have hurt me, who are not Christians, who may even mock my faith and want to do me harm. I want to be like You Jesus. In Jesus’ name, Amen!”
I love you Southside! – Pastor Kelly