Student Question

Why were the men at the Nazareth synagogue upset with Jesus in Luke 4:23-30?

Quick answer:

The men at the Nazareth synagogue were upset with Jesus because he declared himself anointed by God, suggesting he was a major prophet or the Messiah, as described in Luke 4:16-22. This claim seemed presumptuous to them, as they knew him as Joseph the carpenter's son. Jesus' assertion that prophets receive no honor in their hometown further angered them, leading them to view his statements as blasphemous, resulting in their attempt to chase him out of town.

Expert Answers

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The reason why the men in the synagogue are angry at Jesus can be found before the verses that you actually cite.  Most of the reason why they are angry at him comes from Luke 4: 16 to 22.  In those verses, we are told that Jesus gets up in the synagogue and makes a certain claim.

In those verses, Jesus stands up and reads from the book of Isaiah.  There, he claims that he has been anointed by God.  He essentially says that God has chosen him to be a major prophet or even the Messiah.  This seems very presumptuous to the men of Nazareth.  As they say, this is a man that (as far as they know) is just the son of Joseph the carpenter.  They wonder why he thinks that he is the anointed of God.  Jesus basically tells them that prophets are never given proper respect in their own homes.

This means that Jesus is claiming to be a very important religious figure and is essentially rebuking them for not realizing that his claim is true.  This makes them angry as they feel he is being blasphemous.  Therefore, they chase him out of town and seem to want to kill him.

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