I’m struck by the speed with which the crowd in Nazareth turns on their homeboy.
21 Then he began to tell them, “Today this scripture has been fulfilled even as you heard it being read.”22 All were speaking well of him, and were amazed at the gracious words coming out of his mouth. They said, “Isn’t this Joseph’s son?”
Luke 4:21, 22
“All were speaking well…” to “Isn’t this Joseph’s son?”, which was a way of saying, how could a carpenter’s son make this declaration? Jesus recognizes the challenge in this and responds with the words “No doubt you will quote to me …”
The scene escalates even further as Jesus reminds the crowd that God’s word and healing aren’t always given to his people, but sometimes to the gentiles.
I must also confess that the vehemence of the crowd against Jesus surprises me. I can reason out why this would be once Jesus references God’s help to the gentiles, but I sense that Luke’s account is compressed enough, or relies so heavily on cultural clues that I’m not getting the full picture.
Needless to say, Jesus’ ministry goes forward in Capernaum at a rapid pace.
