Jesus’ rejection at Nazareth is discussed in both Luke 4:16-30 and Mark 6:1-6. According to the Gospel of Luke, this story took place on the sabbath near the beginning of his Galilean ministry. Mark, on the other hand, positions this event in a way to express that Jesus is expanding his ministry beyond Galilee.

Being that Luke pulled from Mark, Q, and L, his Gospel is modified to all three. He has used these other sources to expand on Mark’s story, resulting in his depiction of the proclaimed messiah/reflection of the Holy Spirit. Added was the reading from the scroll of the prophet Isaiah. This is a significant addition because in the teaching from the scroll, Jesus claims his identity as the anointed Lord, prophet, and deliverer of the Spirit for all men. 

The reaction of the crowd in Mark compared to Luke is significantly different. In Mark, the crowd is first astounded at Jesus’ knowledge and wisdom. It is stated that they soon became simply offended by him and rejected his ministry. In Luke, the crowd was also amazed at his words in the beginning. Although, once He proclaimed His ministry for all of man, including the Gentiles, the crowd was described as “filled with rage” as they proceed to drive him out of town. This reaction was not due to his claims of power, it was because he was offering his grace to the Gentiles as well.

Luke understands Jesus on more of the God end of the spectrum than the human end. In Luke 4:24-27, Jesus compares himself to prophets Elijah and Elisha in order to proclaim that he has the power to save the souls of all, heal all, and offer the Holy Spirit to all. It is clear that including the Gentiles in this offering is very offensive and rejected among the people of Nazareth, yet Jesus holds to his ministry. When the crowd reacted in rage, Luke once again hints at His prophetic power as he tells of Jesus passing through the midst of the now angry crowd and moving on. In contrast, Mark describes Jesus’ reaction as a bit more humanistic. He said that Jesus was amazed at their disbelief even after their witnessing of his power to heal. Here, he dwelled more on the emotion and realization instead of disappearing into the midst like a god.

Keeping in mind that Luke glorifies the power of Jesus, it becomes clear that the story of the rejection at Nazareth is placed at the beginning of his Galilean ministry to preface that his ministry will continue and not end with his hometown rejection. Instead of defeat, Luke emphasizes His inhuman power, love, calling, and understanding of the future. When it is all broken down, Luke’s goal is to prove Jesus’s prophecy as being the savior and healer of ALL.

The gospel of Luke is crafted strategically from Mark’s gospel, L material, and Q material. Luke weaves Q material throughout his narrative and the Markan narrative to create a distinctive view of Jesus as the messiah for all people. The rejection at Nazareth, found in Mark 6:1-6 and Luke 4:16-30, is positioned in Luke at the beginning of Jesus ministry in Galilee, as Jesus’ first public teaching. Mark has the rejection at Nazareth at the end of Jesus’s ministry in Galilee as a transition to the ministry beyond Galilee. Luke puts it at the beginning of Jesus ministry in Galilee as a way to set the stage for Jesus’ ministry for the Gentiles.

Luke’s portrayal of the rejection at Nazareth is a mini sermon by Jesus that is over twice as long as Mark’s story, and removes the idea found in Mark of the secret messiah. Jesus’ sermon in Luke includes a chiasmus of Jesus reading from the scrolls of Isaiah, where then Jesus claims that he is the one prophesied about and he is the fulfillment of those prophesies as messiah and anointed one. Luke also developed Jesus’ sermon to appeal to a wider audience, as his writings are primarily addressed to a Greco-Roman world.

The reaction in the crowd of Luke is not one of immediate anger, but first of interest and wonder. The crowd is enthralled by Jesus who is the fulfillment of the prophecies of Isaiah, because he is the hope for the Jews. However, they quickly turn to anger when Jesus reveals that he is not only for the Jews and those in the synagogues, but for the Gentiles as well. The crowds are enraged when Jesus tells of two stories in 1 and 2 Kings that are an example of God healing not his own people, but those of another nation. The crowd is so angry that they try to get rid of him immediately, because of the implications that he won’t be saving those in his own town but he came to save all, including the Gentiles.

Luke understood Jesus as the light to the Gentiles, but was also emphasizing that Jesus is the prophet of the Lord for the salvation of souls. Jesus compares himself to the prophets Elijah and Elisha in his ministry, in that he has the authority to heal and make people clean. Jesus claims that he is anointed, has authority to set captives free, restore sight, and bring liberty. Jesus’ reaction to the crowds trying to hurl him off a cliff is that of a divine moment, where he was able to pass through their midst and go on his way. This image makes Jesus seem less human and more miraculous, that he has the authority and capability to not be harmed by the crowds, without explanation. Luke is portraying Jesus as the messiah on a mission to bring salvation, and that nothing will hinder Jesus that isn’t intentional in the plan of the Lord.

The early placement of the rejection at Nazareth, and Luke’s emphasis on the salvation for the Gentiles, sets the stage for the ministry of Jesus to be for everyone. The content of this passage shows that Luke saw Jesus as savior to all, the true prophet for all the nations; not only for the Jews, but for the Gentiles. Luke was certain the Jesus was not only for the Jews, and in his book he weaves his material together to emphasize this important piece of information for the people of the Greco-Roman world.