Joel M Bradshaw

24And [Jesus] said, “Truly, I say to you, no prophet is acceptable in his hometown. 25But in truth, I tell you, there were many widows in Israel in the days of Elijah, when the heavens were shut up three years and six months, and a great famine came over all the land, 26and Elijah was sent to none of them but only to Zarephath, in the land of Sidon, to a woman who was a widow. 27And there were many lepers in Israel in the time of the prophet Elisha, and none of them was cleansed, but only Naaman the Syrian.” 

28When they heard these things, all in the synagogue were filled with wrath. 29And they rose up and drove him out of the town and brought him to the brow of the hill on which their town was built, so that they could throw him down the cliff. 30But passing through their midst, he went away.–Luke 4

1. Jesus used examples from Elijah (1 Kings 17:7-24) and Elisha (2 Kings 5), prophets who were known to have done miracles.
2. In both examples, Gentiles received the miracle from God, not Israel.
3. The Sidonian and the Syrian in those stories showed faith in God and were willing to accept help on whatever terms God expected.
4. The Jewish neighbors of Jesus were rejecting Jesus and therefore felt the rebuke from those stories.
5. Gentiles who show faith will receive God’s salvation. Israelites who reject Jesus will not receive salvation. Salvation is thus a matter of faith and not heritage.
6. For this they attempted to throw Jesus down a cliff. Jesus performed a miracle in escaping a mob!
7. How do you receive Jesus and His message?–JMB