June 17, 2011

Luke 4.22-30

There was a general stir of admiration; they were surprized that words of such grace should fall from his lips. "Is this not Joseph's son?" they asked.

Then Jesus said, "No doubt you will quote the proverb to me, "Physician, heal thyself!", and say, "We have heard of all your doings at Capernaum; do the same here in your own home town.

"I tell you this," he went on. "No prophet is recognized in his own country. There were many widows in Israel, you may be sure, in Elijah's time, when for three years and six months the skies never opened, and famine lay hard over the whole country; yet it was not to none of those that Elijah was sent, but to a widow at Sarepta in the territory of Sidon.

"Again, in the time of the prophet Elish there were many lepers in Israel, and not one of them was healed, but only Naaman, the Syrian."

At these words the whole congregation were infuriated. They leapt up, threw him out of the town, and took him to the brow of the hill on which it was built, meaning to hurl him over the edge.

But he walked straight through them all, and went away.

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