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| Modern-day Nazareth, Israel in 2008 |
16 So He came to Nazareth, [[e]that Nazareth] where He had been brought up, and He entered the synagogue, as was His custom on the Sabbath day. And He stood up to read.17 And there was handed to Him [the roll of] the book of the prophet Isaiah. He opened (unrolled) the book and found the place where it was written,18 The Spirit of the Lord [is] upon Me, because He has anointed Me [the Anointed One, the Messiah] to preach the good news (the Gospel) to the poor; He has sent Me to announce release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to send forth as delivered those who are oppressed [who are downtrodden, bruised, crushed, and broken down by calamity],19 To proclaim the accepted and acceptable year of the Lord [the day [f]when salvation and the free favors of God profusely abound].20 Then He rolled up the book and gave it back to the attendant and sat down; and the eyes of all in the synagogue were gazing [attentively] at Him.21 And He began to speak to them: Today this Scripture has been fulfilled [g]while you are present and hearing.22 And all spoke well of Him and marveled at the words of grace that came forth from His mouth; and they said, Is not this Joseph’s [h]Son?23 So He said to them, You will doubtless quote to Me this proverb: Physician, heal Yourself! What we have learned by hearsay that You did in Capernaum, do here also in Your [own] town.24 Then He said, Solemnly I say to you, no prophet is acceptable and welcome in his [own] town (country).25 But in truth I tell you, there were many widows in Israel in the days of Elijah, when the heavens were closed up for three years and six months, so that there came a great famine over all the land;26 And yet Elijah was not sent to a single one of them, but only to Zarephath in the country of Sidon, to a woman who was a widow.27 And there were many lepers in Israel in the time of Elisha the prophet, and yet not one of them was cleansed [by being healed]—but only Naaman the Syrian.28 When they heard these things, all the people in the synagogue were filled with rage.29 And rising up, they pushed and drove Him out of the town, and [laying hold of Him] they led Him to the [projecting] upper part of the hill on which their town was built, that they might hurl Him headlong down [over the cliff].30 But passing through their midst, He went on His way.
Luke 4:11-30 (Amplified Bible)
Imagine Jesus standing up today in a church building after reading the scriptures and said "Today these things are fulfilled in your hearing. The atheists, buddhists, muslims, jews... all of them have inherited the kingdom of heaven." Will the church-going christians get mad and try to push Jesus off the cliff for saying such blasphemy? Or will they rejoice with the good news?
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