Jesus began speaking in the synagogue, saying:
“Today this Scripture passage is fulfilled in your hearing.”
And all spoke highly of him
and were amazed at the gracious words that came from his mouth.
They also asked, “Isn’t this the son of Joseph?”
He said to them, “Surely you will quote me this proverb,
‘Physician, cure yourself,’ and say,
‘Do here in your native place
the things that we heard were done in Capernaum.’”
And he said, “Amen, I say to you,
no prophet is accepted in his own native place.
Indeed, I tell you,
there were many widows in Israel in the days of Elijah
when the sky was closed for three and a half years
and a severe famine spread over the entire land.
It was to none of these that Elijah was sent,
but only to a widow in Zarephath in the land of Sidon.
Again, there were many lepers in Israel
during the time of Elisha the prophet;
yet not one of them was cleansed, but only Naaman the Syrian.”
When the people in the synagogue heard this,
they were all filled with fury.
They rose up, drove him out of the town,
and led him to the brow of the hill
on which their town had been built,
to hurl him down headlong.
But Jesus passed through the midst of them and went away.
Are you bold enough to be a prophet in your own town? A prophet in your own sphere of influence? A prophet in your own home? Especially when we are coming from a history of broken habits and sin, it can be hard to "reinvent" yourself as new thanks be to God, but we are indeed worthy to be saved and worthy to live a new way of life sharing the gospel with others. The funny thing about being a prophet is that we have to live it in a way that is not necessarily for self profit or even self gratification, but rather as a person who simply has a message. A message so powerful that we absolutely must share it. It may take a while for us to embrace the message of hope ourselves, but if we pursue the perfection of faith, we can touch it at times and it only takes a few moments in the sweet spot for us to then be bold enough to share it. There is great hope in the Lord and we must strive to be a prophet for those around us. Who else will bring the message of hope?
