Jesus returned to Galilee with the power of the Spirit. News about him spread everywhere. He taught in the Jewish meeting places, and everyone praised him.

Jesus went back to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, and as usual he went to the meeting place on the Sabbath. When he stood up to read from the Scriptures, he was given the book of Isaiah the prophet. He opened it and read,

“The Lord’s Spirit has come to me,
because he has chosen me
to tell the good news to the poor.
The Lord has sent me to announce freedom for prisoners,
to give sight to the blind, to free everyone who suffers,
and to say, ‘This is the year the Lord has chosen.’ ”

Jesus closed the book, then handed it back to the man in charge and sat down. Everyone in the meeting place looked straight at Jesus.

Then Jesus said to them, “What you have just heard me read has come true today.” (Luke 4:14-21)

Jesus lived and acted as a good Jewish man his entire life. He followed all the teachings of Moses and the prophets, because he was, himself, their fulfillment.

When Jesus finished his forty days in the wilderness being tempted by the Devil, he returned home to Nazareth, a village located in the plains between the coast of the Mediterranean and the Sea of Galilee. He regularly attended the local synagogue on the Sabbath. The idea of meeting together once a week for worship and instruction in the Bible had developed in Israel after the people had returned from exile in Babylon. God had sent them into exile for abandoning God. Therefore, when their descendents returned, they were determined to avoid a repetition of that fate. They decided that if they met together weekly to hear the Bible and Bible teaching, then they wouldn’t be tempted to abandon God again. The first Christians were Jewish, so they adapted the synagogue pattern for the early congregations of believers.

The rabbi called upon Jesus to read the passage of the Bible selected for that week. It was from the prophet Isaiah. Upon reading the passage, Jesus announced that he was the one Isaiah was speaking about.

John the Baptist had already identified Jesus as the Messiah. In his hometown, Jesus confirmed his identity to his friends and family. There’s no harder group to stand before than your own family.

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