So He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up. And as His custom was, He went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and stood up to read. And He was handed the book of the prophet Isaiah. And when He had opened the book, He found the place where it was written: "The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because He has anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed; to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord."
Then He closed the book, and gave it back to the attendant and sat down. And the eyes of all who were in the synagogue were fixed on Him. And He began to say to them, "Today this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing." So all bore witness to Him, and marveled at the gracious words which proceeded out of His mouth. And they said, "Is this not Joseph's son?"
He said to them, "You will surely say this proverb to Me, 'Physician, heal yourself! Whatever we have heard done in Capernaum, do also here in Your country.' " Then He said, "Assuredly, I say to you, no prophet is accepted in his own country. But I tell you truly, many widows were in Israel in the days of Elijah, when the heaven was shut up three years and six months, and there was a great famine throughout all the land; but to none of them was Elijah sent except to Zarephath, in the region of Sidon, to a woman who was a widow. And many lepers were in Israel in the time of Elisha the prophet, and none of them was cleansed except Naaman the Syrian."
So all those in the synagogue, when they heard these things, were filled with wrath, and rose up and thrust Him out of the city; and they led Him to the brow of the hill on which their city was built, that they might throw Him down over the cliff. Then passing through the midst of them, He went His way. (Luke 4:16-30)
Why do men and women today reject Jesus? Postmodern people reject the Gospel for the same reason that the Jewish people of Jesus' day rejected Him: Jesus is not who they want Him to be. But Jesus is not a mere moral teacher dedicated to giving them a "better life" on their terms. He is the Son of God who has come into the world to take away its sin and destroy the works of the Devil. In their prejudice, people reject the idea that they could need a Savior because mankind naturally hates the idea that we are vile sinners in need of divine grace. Humanity uses so-called reason as an excuse to reject the Gospel. But humanity cannot think clearly about this most vital matter. Men do not understand that they are in the grip of sin, in denial of their situation, are lost, and on a path to eternal destruction. But Scripture declares that Jesus died for sinners. Jesus alone can overcome this hatred and prejudice against God and His Christ, and make fallen sinners children of God. This sermon proclaims the only message of true and lasting hope: the message of the Gospel.