When you tell people what they don’t want to hear, they will be offended. The message may be true and helpful, but if it is not what they are thinking, they are likely to reject it and you.


Here in the synagogue Jesus teaches from Isaiah 61. They know well that Jesus claims to be the Messiah, the Anointed One, but they’re shocked. “How can this mere carpenter be the Messiah? He’s just one of us, nothing better.” Jesus’ own hometown welcomed Him as a prophet, a “local boy made good,” yet they couldn’t accept that He was something more. They were offended. They rejected Him.


If Jesus was rejected when He preached the Gospel to His friends and neighbors, it should come as no surprise when the same happens to us. Not every person Jesus met became an instant triumph of His grace. Some remained doubtful, hardened, suspicious, and unbelieving. He faced the same pride in people that we’ve seen, a pride that stands in the way of receiving the Good News. Share Jesus anyway; the Holy Spirit will do His work in His time.