Jesus Testifies of His Mission
Rejected in Nazareth
Jesus went to Nazareth, where His family and friends lived. It was the place where He grew up. On the Sabbath day, He went to the synagogue, where the people went to study the scriptures and worship God.
At the synagogue, Jesus stood and read a scripture from the prophet Isaiah. The scripture said that one day a Savior would come. He would preach the gospel to the poor and heal broken hearts. He would help the blind and those who are hurt.
Jesus finished reading and sat down. Everyone was looking at Him. He told them that on that very day, the scripture He read was coming true. He was the Savior.
The people of Nazareth were very surprised at what Jesus said. How could Jesus be the Savior? They thought He was just Mary and Joseph’s son, not the Son of God. To them, He seemed like a regular person.
Jesus knew that the people wanted Him to do a miracle to prove that He was the Savior. He taught that miracles were for people who believe, and sometimes God did miracles for those who were not of Israel because they had more faith. Some of the people in the synagogue were angry with Jesus.
They forced him out of the city and up to the top of a hill. They wanted to throw him off the hill.
But Jesus got away from the angry people.
Because they did not want Him in Nazareth, Jesus went to another city to teach.