Daily Devotions
“Isn’t this Joseph’s son?” they asked. Luke 4:22
Jesus comes to the synagogue in His hometown of Nazareth to be honored as the Messiah. He reads the Word of God. He uses the reference from Isaiah about the coming Messiah to preach and point to Himself as the fulfillment of this prophecy. What an exciting event!
Jesus stands in your midst today waiting to be honored. He offers His life-changing Word in family devotions, personal meditation, and public worship. He comes in the waters of Baptism, daily remembered. He comes in the holy meal of His body and blood. He points to Himself crucified and risen for you. What an exciting event!
Yet the townspeople of Nazareth dishonored Jesus. He seemed too familiar. They even drove Him out of town and tried to kill Him. How rude and cold their welcome!
We often dishonor Jesus also. Often He seems all too familiar. We take Him for granted and even become antagonistic toward Him when He calls for our witness, service, and sacrificial giving. How rude and cold our welcome!
But Jesus also provides the power to honor Him in our lives. He preached Good News to the Nazareth synagogue. He came to release the captives and forgive those who dishonor Him. He acted on their behalf by living a perfect life of honor to the Father and going willingly to a dishonorable death for us.
Jesus preaches Good News to us as well, so that we can honor Him. We confess our dishonoring and receive forgiveness. We worship, commune, and live in our Baptism so that our hearts overflow with praise and we bear joyful witness to Him. By God’s grace, we honor Jesus today and always.
PRAYER: Dear Lord Jesus, help us to honor you every day. Amen.
(Devotions from “My Daily Devotion” by Dr. Stephen J. Carter, copyright 1988 CPH. All Rights Reserved. No part of this publication may be printed, reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without prior written permission of Concordia Publishing House. For ordering information, please contact CPH at 800-325-3040 or visit www.cph.org.)