Blinded by Our Expectations
February 23, 2025
Luke 4:21-30
And Jesus said, “Truly I tell you,
no prophet is accepted in his hometown."
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Unfortunately, our expectations of Jesus can blind us to who Jesus is. We create an image and expectation of Jesus in our image rather than allowing him to shape us. In Luke’s Gospel, Jesus challenges his hometown by reminding them that God’s generosity extends beyond their expectations—providing for a Gentile widow and healing a Syrian leper while many Jews continued to be in need. Rather than accepting this truth, they rejected Jesus because his message conflicted with their expectations.
Jesus continues to challenge religious people today, not to provoke but to call for transformation. If he spoke to us now, would we resist his truth the way his hometown did? Would we allow him to reshape our priorities, actions, and perspectives, or would we hold onto what is comfortable?
