By Jared Warner
Willow Creek Friends Church
February 2, 2025
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Luke 4:21–30 (ESV)
21 And he began to say to them, “Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.” 22 And all spoke well of him and marveled at the gracious words that were coming from his mouth. And they said, “Is not this Joseph’s son?” 23 And he said to them, “Doubtless you will quote to me this proverb, ‘ “Physician, heal yourself.” What we have heard you did at Capernaum, do here in your hometown as well.’ ” 24 And he said, “Truly, I say to you, no prophet is acceptable in his hometown. 25 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, 26 and Elijah was sent to none of them but only to Zarephath, in the land of Sidon, to a woman who was a widow. 27 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.” 28 When they heard these things, all in the synagogue were filled with wrath. 29 And they rose up and drove him out of the town and brought him to the brow of the hill on which their town was built, so that they could throw him down the cliff. 30 But passing through their midst, he went away.
“And all spoke of him and marveled at the gracious words coming out of his mouth.”
Today we continue with the narrative of Jesus’s visit to his hometown at the beginning of his ministry. There is something wonderful about going home. I grew up in the middle of nowhere, and there are times where living in the city causes me to get a bit claustrophobic. I do not mean to make light of that condition because it is very real to many people. But when I spend to long in the city, I can get anxious. I get nervous and irritable. I begin listening to country music, and I really dislike country music. I apologize if I offended you, its just the style and my lack of hearing seems to clash in my brain. When I get to feeling homesick I gravitate to that and I do not know why.
Then I go home. Things seem simpler, slower, easier. The only thing that changed was the location, who I am around, and the fact that I know I am accepted without any conditions. Its good to go home.
There is a problem with going home though. People know you. You have a reputation. People know your family and they know everything about you.
“And all spoke of him and marveled at the gracious words coming out of his mouth. And they said, ‘is not this Joseph’s son?’”
Jesus went home. He had been out ministering in Galilee, and people had heard about it. Jesus made it his custom to teach and worship in their synagogues, and his teaching was glorified by all that had listened to him. But when he comes home things are a bit different. They marveled at the gracious words that were coming from his mouth. They marveled. This word is the word describes a reaction. But there is a problem with this word, it is a bit vague. We do not know what the sense of the word is. Were they amazed, shocked, in awe? Was this marvel positive or negative? I ask these things of this word because I have had reactions to events around me. I might say I marveled at something and the reaction is utter shock, in the negative sense of shock. And then there is the complete opposite I am so amazed by beauty I am speechless in marvel.
I remember once about twenty-two years ago, I worked for a lawn care company. It was not my favorite job, mainly because during the summer we worked long hours, and during the winter most within our company had to file for seasonal unemployment. This is common in seasonal jobs that are in the weather. I was one of the lucky people that year, and I was chosen to continue working through the winter months. Those of us that were kept on active employment had a major responsibility. Every truck and pump on the truck had to be refurbished, all the hoses had to be inspected, and this had to be done in less than two months, because the first lawn treatments needed to be applied before the grass emerged out of dormancy.
One day I while I was working on one of the pumps I had an incident. I was using a sledge hammer to remove a bearing, and to do so you would have to hold a punch while you swung. That particular bearing was not cooperating so I was required to apply greater force. I pounded on this, and everyone could hear the clanging of metal on metal repeating. But then my swing was not true and instead of the high pitched ping, everyone heard the muffled sound of a hammer hitting my thumb. I looked down at my thumb, and marveled. This was a negative form of that word. I could not believe I had missed the mark, but I could see that my thumb was injured so like the farm kid I was, I calmly laid down the hammer and began to walk toward the sink to wash out the injury.
Everyone in the shop, marveled as well. I took maybe four steps toward the sink before six of my coworkers and two managers came running over to me. They were also marveling but theirs was different than mine. They came running because they heard the change in pitch, and immediately knew that a thumb had been hit, but the one that hit their thumb did not let out a string us cursing. This immediately attracted their attention, so they came to see what was going on. Was I in shock? Was this so serious that I could not speak. Their marvel was confusion. And when I spoke to them in response to their concern, their marvel turned to wonder, because none of them could believe that someone could hit their thumb that hard without a soliloquy of what our televisions would call adult language.
Just so you know my thumb was hurt, but it did not require medical attention. But this is the thing with the word marvel, it can be used for a wide range of emotional responses. It can be negative, confused, or positive, like the beauty of a sunset. We do not know exactly what the people in Nazareth were feeling when they marveled at the gracious words of Jesus.
Were they filled with spiritual awe? Were they speechless in disgust? Were they confused? This is where context is important. Jesus had just told them that the year, or the era, of the Lord’s favor was upon them that very day.
This is something to marvel. Every eye was fixed on Jesus as he sat there. Everyone had questions thinly veiled behind their eyes. Everyone had some reaction. But consider the words they said in response. “is not this Joseph’s son?”
Think about this response, but I want you to consider it in your own context. You have just said something profound, and the people around you respond by saying isn’t this Virl’s son, or Carl’s daughter, Jared’s son? I would list everyone’s parent’s off but I think we get the point. Is this positive or negative? Are they amazed, disgusted, shocked? Are these people amazed that Jesus, the carpenter’s son, is speaking so eloquently in synagogue, or are they annoyed that this mere carpenter’s is acting as if he is better than everyone else?
If we were to stop at the twenty-second verse, we might be left in some confusion. We might even leave misinformed.
Jesus responds to their murmuring by saying, “Doubtless you will quote me this proverb, ‘Physician, heal yourself.’ What we have heard you did at Capernaum, do here in your hometown as well.’” I found this statement to be interesting, so I began to look a bit deeper. I found it interesting because there is no indication that Jesus was in need of any healing. But the word translated as yourself, is a bit tricky. Some of the translators of this passage have considered that a more accurate translation would be “Physician heal your kin.” When I read that I marveled.
Physician heal your kin. Take care of us first, we are your friends and your relatives. Hey Jesus, Nazareth first! In my opinion this changes the tone of the passage. What was once a quizzical marvel of confusion, suddenly becomes an accusation. Take care of us first. Why are you worried about the people out there when we have people right here just as bad off?
Have you heard statements like this? Have you said something similar?
I have to admit that I have.
I have been pretty open to you all about my life, because I think it is important to be honest. You all know that my oldest son was conceived before I was married, and I did not marry his mother. At the time I was troubled by this. When I first held my son, I knew that I needed to make major changes in the direction my life was going because my son needed a father. I have often said that James is the one that convinced me to repent and turn to Christ. Shortly after James was born, God got my attention and did not let go. I did change many things in my life, and I though if I made these changes maybe then I would be able to marry his mom and we could have as perfect of a life as possible.
Well the thing about relationships is that there are more than one opinion involved. I was off seeking God my way, and James’s mom was doing her own thing. And our paths were not meeting as I expected. I wanted to show her just how sincerer I was, that when the opportunity to serve on a short term mission trip to Ukraine presented itself, I responded. In my mind I was bargaining with God saying, “If I do this for you, you need to do this for me.” My intentions might not have been the most wholesome, but God did radically change my life on that trip, but not as I expected. I would call home once a week using almost all of my spending money on phone calls, yet with each call I could sense that the gap grew wider. I was heart broken and I would sit on a cliff overlooking the Black Sea in Odessa pleading with God to bring us together. Some might say that I did not pray hard enough, some might say that I gave up. Many even judged me for not pursuing things harder. But as I sat on that cliff look out at horizon along the sea, I came to realize something. God does not do our bidding, instead God asks that we live for him in this moment.
“Heal your kin!” it is unsure where Jesus obtained this proverb, because it is not in accepted scripture. And from my research it is not found in known Hebrew writings prior to Jesus’s generation. This means that it likely comes from Greek philosophy, which is interesting. Their desire was for Jesus this amazing teacher that could minister and work wonders in Capernaum, or the rest of Galilee would instead focus his attention on the needs of their own community.
Jesus continues. “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… 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.”
Let us look into the story of these prophets. When Ahab became the king of the northern kingdom of Israel, God called a prophet name Elijah, his name literally means my God is Yahweh. When Ahab took the throne God sent Elijah to the king and told him that there would be a three year drought. Israel faced this judgment from God, because they had turned their backs on him and instead worshiped before the idol of Baal.
As someone who grew up on a farm that lacked irrigation I had always drawn to this story, because it seemed like we were perpetually in either a drought or flood, rarely did we have just enough. But a drought that lasted three years, that was a drought that would send any nation into ruin. Civilization rises and falls on a nations ability to feed the people. When people cannot obtain food, revolts happen. Elijah came to Ahab and said God is going to bring your nation to its knees. Elijah gave this message and then he left to hide in the wilderness, because once the drought began to take hold the king would want to kill him. Elijah camped out by a brook, and God sent ravens to bring his prophet food until the brook finally dried out.
When the brook was turned to dust, God then sent the prophet to Sidon, which is part of Lebanon today. The famine was not limited to Israel only, all the land was under the same judgment, but God encouraged his prophet to go to stay with a widow and her son. He found this woman outside the city gathering sticks. This could mean a few things, one they might have been so poor that they did not have proper tools to chop wood, another was that her son was too young to do that type of work, or maybe she just liked to gather wood. I am guessing its is a mix between poverty and he son being too young to use an ax, and since he was young she did not have the freedom to chop wood herself. But Elijah found her there outside the city, and he asked her for a drink which she freely gave. Then he asks her for some bread. This was a more difficult request. We are told in first Kings, that she was gathering wood to bake one final loaf of bread for her and her son, and that was all they had left to their name. They were starving. Yet when Elijah came to her, she let him know their situation, but she gave. God blessed that woman who gave in her poverty.
All of Israel was in a drought. The entire region was famished. Yet God did not send Elijah to one in Israel, but to someone outside the covenant people. Heal your Kin! Israel first. This was their mentality at the time, at least that was the king’s thought process. When the rain stopped he sent his servant throughout the land to find land for his horses to graze. Not his cattle but his horses. He stole what little land was available to raise food, and he used it to satisfy his self indulgences. This is what heal your kin looks like. It is not charity, but selfishness. It is not looking to be a blessing but indulgent.
Now Elisha. Elijah was known as the father of the prophets, and his star pupil was Elisha. Elisha followed his mentor wherever he went and when the time came for God to take Elijah to heaven in the fiery chariot, Elijah had taken his coat and placed it on Elisha. This was a symbolic act that showed that God had passed the authority of Elijah to Elisha. At this time Syria was the enemy of Israel. They would send raiders into the land of promise and would kidnap individuals and force them into servitude. One of these raiders was the commander of the Syrian king’s army, and he had enslaved a daughter of Israel. But this man was afflicted with the skin disease known as leprosy.
In ancient times leprosy was a serious illness. It is still serious today, but we have treatments that were unknown in ancient times. Most afflicted with this disease were forced to live in isolation, but since Naaman was an important figure he maintained his place within society. Somehow this daughter of Israel enslaved by this foreign tyrant heard of the affliction her master faced, and she informed his wife that there was a prophet in Israel that could heal him.
Naaman was out of options, so he asked his king if he could go to this prophet in the land of their enemy. And the king must have thought highly of him because he sent him with enough gold and silver to make the richest man in America take notice. Naaman went to Israel and sought this prophet Elisha, and eventually found him. Elisha would not even go out to speak to him, but only said through the door to Naaman’s messenger that he should bath in the Jordan seven times and he would be healed. This angered Naaman yet he eventually went to the river and washed as Elisha said, and he was healed of his condition. Naaman returned to the prophet, and expressed his devotion to God asking only for soil so that he could kneel on holy ground when he prayed.
Leprosy afflicted many in ancient times. It was seen as terminal and those that were diagnosed would often attend their own funeral as they were banished to the quarantine villages. God could have healed many within the land, yet he did not. Instead he healed the commander of the enemy’s army.
Heal your kin! The proverb goes. This unknown proverb likely derived from pagan philosophy. Jesus quotes this in relation to his proclamation of the year of the Lord’s favor, and it leave me asking why? He then reminds the devout within the synagogue of stories from their history, stories of their prophetic father and his disciple, where they went outside of Israel to bless those seen as beyond the reach of God. They were foreigners, outsiders, not included in the promise of Israel. Yet both trusted in the one true most high living God.
Heal yourself, heal your kin, forget about the outside world and focus on us first. They marveled at his words because he was Joseph’s son. And no prophet is acceptable in his hometown. This seems a bit double sided on the surface. They reject him because he is the son of a mere carpenter. They condemn him because he does marvels for people outside their community. He is rejected. And in their rejection they show us something profound.
Why not here? Why are the miracles happening out there, why not here? Why do others seem to have the blessings and not us? Why do we always have to sacrifice? Where is our blessing?
We are often in the same place as they are. Why not here? Heal our kin! Give us the blessing. Do we hear what that sounds like? I stood on the top of a cliff twenty-five years ago and I yelled at God, why won’t you answer my prayers! I received an answer, shortly after. It was not something spectacular, in fact I nearly missed it. I was reminded of Paul in 2 Corinthians 12, “So to keep me from becoming conceited because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations, a thorn was given me in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to harass me, to keep me from being conceded. Three times I pleaded with the Lord about this, that is should leave me. But he said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’”
We struggle, at times we suffer. It is not because God wants us to suffer, it is only part of our inherited human condition. We are unclean people living in an unclean nation, we have exploiters, and exploited, we have sick and treatment that seems to be just out of reach. We have wealth and poverty. We cry out to God why not here? Yet Paul was told, my grace is sufficient for you.
Are we seeking a God or a blessing? Are we seeking repentance or affirmation?
Why not here? Heal your kin! Often we are seeking our will, our comfort and out desires. That is what I was seeking on the top of the cliff overlooking the sea, I wanted what I thought was right, God answered me. And it was not what I wanted, but better. “For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weakness, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.”
Israel turned from God and chased Baal, and in their suffering God sent the blessing to a foreigner. Israel faced constant struggle with an adversary and instead of letting the enemy suffer in his affliction God healed the enemy leaving Israel in their suffering. Why? Heal your kin, Israel first.
Was the widow of Sidon and the general of Syria worthy of the blessing? No, far from it. But there was a difference. They acted in faith even when it did not make sense. They responded even though they could think of countless reason not to. And they trusted in God even when they knew they faced struggle before them. The widow gave in her poverty, and the general carried the sacred into a land of darkness. We plead for blessings, but we are the blessing. We are the answers to the prayers of others.
I learned something that day in Ukraine. I learned that what I want does not really matter. Sure I still make a Christmas list and I look up new toys I would like to have. I learned that sometimes what we think is correct is not always what is truly right. We want the blessing and when we oppose the me first culture we are faced with ridicule, just like Jesus. The people of Nazareth demanded blessing, out of selfishness and jealousy, why not here its your hometown? Jesus told them why, and they rose up and drove them out of town and brought him to the brow of a hill so they could throw him down the cliff.
Jesus passing through their midst, went away. I too stood on a cliff, and just so you know I was not on the cliff to do self harm, I was on the cliff because it was the only place I was not surrounded by buildings, because I was listening to country music and feeling homesick. Jesus passed through them. He was content and nothing they held to him could change his direction and his purpose. He was who he was in his Father and that was enough. This is what we are called to as Friends of Christ. To be content with what we have available to us. Not looking at what others have and wish we had it, but to Love God, Embrace the Holy Spirit and live the love of Christ with others right here with what we have and with whoever we are with.
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Previous Messages:
Living Stones
By Jared Warner Willow Creek Friends Church May 03, 2026 Click here to Join our Meeting for Worship Click to read in Swahili Bofya kusoma kwa Kiswahili 1 Peter 2:2–10 (ESV) 2 Like newborn infants, long for the pure spiritual milk, that by it you may grow up into salvation— 3 if indeed you have…
Endure
By Jared Warner Willow Creek Friends Church April 26, 2026 Click here to join our Meeting for Worship Click to read in Swahili Bofya kusoma kwa Kiswahili Query 4 (Faith and Practice of EFC-MAYM pg 61) Do you provide for the suitable Christian education and recreation of your children and those under your care, and…
Ransomed to Love
By Jared Warner Willow Creek Friends Church April 19, 2026 Click here to join our Meeting for Worship Click to read in Swahili Bofya kusoma kwa Kiswahili 1 Peter 1:17–23 (ESV) 17 And if you call on him as Father who judges impartially according to each one’s deeds, conduct yourselves with fear throughout the time…
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