This is a simplified version of the Bible story found in Luke 4:16-30, written for children to understand. For the original version, please refer to the Bible passage.
Jesus went back to the town where He grew up, Nazareth. On the Sabbath day, He went to the synagogue. While He was there, they gave Him a scroll with the words of the prophet Isaiah on it. Jesus unrolled the scroll and found the place where He wanted to read.
It says, “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”
After reading, Jesus rolled up the scroll and gave it back to the attendant. Everyone was looking at Him. He told them that what they just heard was fulfilled in their hearing that day.
People were amazed at His words and spoke well of Him. But then, they started to say, “Isn’t this Joseph’s son?”
Jesus knew what they were thinking, and He told them, “I know you’ll probably say this saying, ‘Physician, heal yourself.’ You want me to do the miracles here in my hometown that you heard I did in Capernaum. But let me tell you, no prophet is accepted in his own hometown. Even in the past, when the prophet Elijah was around, there were many widows in Israel who needed help during a famine, but Elijah was only sent to one widow in Zarephath, who was from another country. And during the time of the prophet Elisha, there were many lepers in Israel who needed to be healed, but only Naaman, who was also from another country, was healed.”
When the people heard these things, they became very angry. They even wanted to throw Jesus off a cliff! But Jesus was able to walk away from them without getting hurt.
Biblical Lessons
- Jesus is the fulfillment of God’s promises, and His mission is to bring good news to the world.
- Jesus faced opposition and rejection during His ministry, but He remained faithful to God’s plan and continued to spread the message of salvation.
- It’s important to have an open mind and heart to what God is doing, even if it goes against our own expectations or ideas.
- Jesus’ teachings and miracles reveal who He is and what His mission is all about. We can trust in Him and follow His example of love and compassion towards others.