When Jesus had spoken in the synagogue at his home town Nazareth, Luke records that all the people were speaking well of him and were astonished. Then, after he had spoken a bit more they were filled with rage and tried to kill him. What had Jesus said to enrage them and was this an error on his part at the start of the project to express what humanity should be like?

The first recorded comment was a response to the people who were trying to relate his words and actions to the boy they had known growing up around them, how did the man they knew carry out all those miracles elsewhere? Their thoughts were becoming selfish. They wanted Jesus to give them the benefits that he had given others. He was theirs, they wanted exclusive rights to him and what they could squeeze out of him.

Seeing the selfishness in their hearts, Jesus gives illustrations of how two of their famous ancestors were treated. In both cases, although the prophets Elijah and Elisha carried out many wonders within Israel, Jesus makes reference to the miracles they did outside the Jewish nation let alone their own town, to gentiles. He was stating that he could not be owned by the people of the town or nation but his mission was for the whole of humanity.

His examples also highlighted the peoples rejection of God and the word he had brought through Elijah and Elisha.

Elijah was bringing God’s word at the time of king Ahab who was described as doing more evil in the sight of the Lord than all who were before him. This resulted in a time of famine and Elijah goes out of the nation and meets a widow and her son preparing to die. She gives him what she has, a bit of flour and oil, and he causes it to multiply miraculously providing her and her son more than sufficient at the time of need and then subsequently raised him from the dead. There was a marked contrast in the example between the people’s sin and the woman’s faith. The miracle is echoed by Jesus when feeding five thousand with a bit of fish and bread.

Elisha followed in Elijah’s footsteps. There are similar episodes where the oil doesn’t run out and another where a son dies and is brought back to life. However, the example Jesus refers to is the miraculous healing of an army commander, the leader of the enemy.

The people were expecting a Messiah who would defeat their enemies. Jesus came to heal them.

Both were examples of salvation, the provision of sustenance for life and the washing and cleansing through baptism.

Jesus was stating that God’s favour was for all who would accept his ‘salvation’, his new way of life. It was not restricted to a privileged few who had grown up with him, or those who share his nationality, but for everyone.

It was clear that Jesus intended to cause offence. He could have readily chosen to select examples from Israel’s history where God carried out miracles that the people would have appreciated. He could have chosen examples of miracles undertaken by Elijah and Elisha. However he deliberately chose ones that were carried out outside the nation. He knew exactly what he was doing. He knew what was in their hearts and challenged it.

The word for offence is the same as scandal. Jesus offends, scandalises, provokes. Simeon prophesied this when Jesus was a child, that he would be a sign to be opposed, to the end that thoughts from many hearts may be revealed.

Jesus was the greatest in a line of prophets who spoke what God says however it was going to be received, often badly. The people did not try to kill him because he was misunderstood. It was because they did clearly understand him.

The bible uses the phrase ‘stumbling block’. Originally it was used as an offence in the law for people who caused the physically blind to trip up. However, Jesus is spoken of as a rock, a stumbling block for the spiritually blind. There is no middle ground or grey areas when it comes to spirituality, either the rock trips you up or becomes the foundation stone for building your life upon.