Those Who Rejected and Those Who Accepted

Jesus as the New and Better Adam and Prophet

Last week, we examined the genealogy of Jesus and his temptation. From Luke's perspective, these are deeply connected. Luke traces Jesus' genealogy back to Adam in reverse, drawing our attention to how Jesus, the new and better Adam—the greater Adam—faces a similar test in the wilderness. Jesus succeeds where Adam failed, resisting temptation perfectly through love for God's word.

This connects to our passage, where Jesus presents God's word. He provides Old Testament backing for his message, along with new revelation. Not only is he the new Adam, but he is also the new and better prophet. Jesus fulfills the offices of prophet, priest, and king.

Up to this point in Luke, there's been excitement about Jesus—before his ministry officially began at age 30. Now, after his temptation, we see a shift from joy to rejection. He came to his own, and his own did not receive him. Despite the anticipation for the Messiah among Jews, some respond with hostility, even trying to throw him off a cliff.

There are two types of people in this gospel: those who reject Jesus and those who accept him. The gospel message remains the same, but responses are black and white—outright rejection or outright acceptance.

The Purpose of Luke: Strengthening Faith Amid Rejection

Luke writes an orderly account to assure Theophilus and strengthen faith. Yet he includes Jewish rejection of Jesus, right after emphasizing his Jewish lineage and kingly identity. This seems counterintuitive: how does rejection confirm Jesus as Messiah?

He came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up. And as was his custom, he went to the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and he stood up to read. And the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to him. He unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written,
“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.”
And he rolled up the scroll and gave it back to the attendant and sat down. And the eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on him. And he began to say to them, “Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.”

Jesus reads Isaiah as his custom in the synagogue, then declares its fulfillment in him. This fulfills prophecy: he is the anointed one (Christ). The latter part of the passage shows his miracles, authenticating him. But why include the hostility?

1. Jesus as Prophet: Rejection Authenticates Him

Jesus is the true prophet, anointed to quote Old Testament scripture and provide new revelation of God's salvation. Initially, people marvel at his gracious words. But he rebukes them, provoking wrath.

Jesus anticipates their proverb: “Physician, heal yourself. What we have heard you did at Capernaum, do here in your hometown.” He replies:

Truly, I say to you, no prophet is acceptable in his hometown. But in truth, I tell you, there were many widows in Israel in the days of Elijah, when the heavens were shut up three years and six months, and a great famine came over all the land, and Elijah was sent to none of them but only to Zarephath, in the land of Sidon, to a woman who was a widow. And there were many lepers in Israel in the time of the prophet Elisha, and none of them was cleansed, but only Naaman the Syrian.

They rage because Jesus shows he does what true prophets did—ministering to widows and lepers—but on a grander scale. Old Testament prophets helped only one outsider amid Israel's rejection. Israel historically rejected prophets:

O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it! How often would I have gathered your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you were not willing!

Jesus, the ultimate prophet, faces the same rejection from God's people. This authenticates him: Israel's pattern confirms Jesus as Messiah. It also foreshadows judgment on Jerusalem in AD 70 for rejecting him.

2. Jesus as Preacher: The Gospel Message

Jesus preaches the gospel of Isaiah 61: good news to the poor, liberty to captives, sight to the blind, relief to the oppressed. These physical acts confirm his spiritual power. Not everyone fits these categories, but they represent the neglected. The gospel radically transforms lives—from poverty to provision, captivity to freedom, blindness to sight, oppression to relief.

Jesus demonstrates this: healing the sick, casting out demons. These signs point to spiritual salvation, as in “poor in spirit” or spiritual blindness. Those who accept the gospel thirst for total transformation—from sinful humanity to ideal humanity, liberated by the new Adam.

Yet Nazareth rejects his preached word, demanding signs over submission. They prefer spectacle to the word. Faith comes by hearing the word, not signs. Even signs don't produce belief—as with the 5,000 fed, who sought benefits over the Benefactor.

3. Jesus as Powerful: Authority Accepted in Capernaum

In Capernaum:

He went down to Capernaum, a city of Galilee, and was teaching them on the Sabbaths, and they were astonished at his teaching, for his word possessed authority... In the synagogue there was a man who had the spirit of an unclean demon, and Jesus rebuked him, saying, “Be silent and come out of him!”

They are astonished by his authoritative word, unlike Nazareth's perplexed marveling. Jesus rebukes demons and fever for them—healing all that is wrong. Demons confess him; he silences them.

Jesus departs to a desolate place, echoing Adam's paradise lost, Israel's exodus, and his own temptation. But Capernaum's people seek him there, begging him to stay. They embrace the wilderness with him, prioritizing his word over comfort. Jesus leaves to preach elsewhere.

Two Groups: Choose Acceptance

Christ is prophet, preacher, powerful. Nazareth rejects and is rebuked; Capernaum accepts his word and receives power. Do you seek Christ's benefits or Christ himself? Is salvation enough, even without changed circumstances? Do you want Jesus on your terms or his?

Those like Simeon rejoiced in his presence alone. Belong to Capernaum: astonished by his authoritative word, freed from sin.