This morning we look at Jesus’ first sermon in Luke 4, and wow—it did not go over well. At first, the hometown crowd was impressed, but when Jesus challenged their assumptions and reminded them that God’s grace extends to outsiders too, things turned ugly fast. It’s a powerful reminder that Jesus’ ministry, from the start, was Spirit-filled, bold, and deeply focused on the least and the lost. And it raises some tough questions for us: Are we making space for the Spirit in our lives like Jesus did? Are we open to hearing truth—even from people we think we know too well? And do we really depend on Jesus, or just fit Him in when it’s convenient? The good news is this: when Jesus is all we have, we find He’s all we need. As we head into the weekend, let’s make time to rest, reflect, and remember where every blessing comes from.

Shameless plug: here’s a link to Method(ist) to the Madness, our

Join us for our daily reflections with Andy. In 10 short minutes, he’ll dig a little deeper into Scripture and help you better understand God’s Word.

Click here if you’d like to join our GroupMe and receive this each morning at 7:00 a.m. CST.

Click on the image above or this link to watch today’s video.

You can read today’s passage here.

You can podcast this reflection here. You can subscribe through Spotify or Apple Podcasts as well.

Or, if you’d like to read the transcript of the video, keep reading!

Good morning! It’s good to be with you on this Friday as we continue our journey through Luke’s Gospel. I hope you’re doing well as we move into the weekend. I don’t have much planned—just a short meeting tomorrow and church on Sunday—so I’m looking forward to a slower weekend. Sometimes it’s nice to have space to just rest.

A quick housekeeping note before we jump into today’s passage: Next week, everything will be on a normal schedule. But the week of the 21st, I’ll be preaching at a camp meeting in Oxford, and I don’t know what the internet situation will be like there. So, I probably won’t be able to post Rooted that week. I’ll let you know if that changes, but for now, plan on no Rooted July 21–25. We’ll be back at it on Monday the 28th. After that, I don’t have any more big trips planned, just church things around here. Thanks for your understanding!

Today’s Scripture is Luke 4:14–30. Today we’re reading about Jesus’ first recorded sermon in Luke’s Gospel, and spoiler: it didn’t go well.

“Then Jesus, filled with the power of the Spirit, returned to Galilee, and a report about him spread through all the surrounding country. He began to teach in their synagogues and was praised by everyone…” (continues through verse 30)

This sermon takes place in Nazareth, Jesus’ hometown. What I love about this passage—what jumps out immediately—is how often Luke emphasizes that Jesus is full of the Holy Spirit:

• Luke 3:21–22 – Jesus is baptized and the Spirit descends like a dove.
• Luke 4:1 – “Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit…”
• Luke 4:14 – “Jesus, filled with the power of the Spirit…”

So, we’re being told that Jesus’ ministry is deeply Spirit-led—rooted in prayer, shaped by solitude, and saturated with the presence of God.

And if Jesus—the Son of God, the second person of the Trinity, perfect and powerful—needed to be filled with the Spirit to do his ministry, how much more do we? We see an example in Jesus:

• He took prayer seriously.
• He made time for solitude.
• He valued the presence of God deeply.

If Jesus needed these rhythms, we certainly do.

Jesus goes into the synagogue, stands to read from the scroll of Isaiah, and reads this beautiful, prophetic passage:

“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”

Then he sits down and says:

“Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.”

This is a mic-drop moment. Jesus is saying: “This is me. This is what I came to do.”

• Bring good news to the poor.
• Set the captives free.
• Give sight to the blind.
• Liberate the oppressed.
• Proclaim God’s favor.

He’s not just reading Isaiah. He’s claiming Isaiah’s words for himself. And at first, the people are amazed. They marvel at his words. But then something shifts.

They say, “Wait… isn’t this Joseph’s son?”

Jesus knows what they’re thinking. He anticipates their rejection and says, “No prophet is accepted in the prophet’s hometown.” Then he reminds them of two Old Testament stories—Elijah and the widow, and Elisha and Naaman the Syrian. Both are examples of God blessing outsiders, not Israel.

That’s when things turn ugly. The crowd goes from praising him to trying to throw him off a cliff.

Because Jesus is saying: God’s love isn’t just for you. It’s for everyone. Even for the people you don’t think deserve it.

And they couldn’t handle that. They were too familiar with Jesus to take him seriously. “We know him. We watched him grow up. Who does he think he is?”

It’s a good reminder: Sometimes God wants to speak to us through people we’ve grown too familiar with. The people we ignore because we’ve heard them too many times—those may be the very voices God is using.

So… who are those people in your life? Who have you stopped listening to—maybe a spouse, a mentor, a friend, a preacher—because you’ve just gotten too used to their voice?

Don’t miss God’s word because the messenger feels “too ordinary.”

Jesus says he came to bring good news to the poor, and that phrase always hits me. Why do the poor respond so often to Jesus in the Gospels, while the rich usually walk away?

Because the poor know they need him. They don’t have a backup plan. They don’t have safety nets. They know—Jesus is all they have.

But us? We have a lot.

• Good homes
• Good jobs
• Good schools
• Good plans

So we fit Jesus in where he’s convenient. He becomes an add-on instead of the center of our lives. No wonder we don’t hear from him like others do. We don’t really think we need him.

Let’s not forget what God told Israel before they entered the Promised Land:

“When you live in houses you did not build, and drink from cisterns you did not dig, do not say to yourself, ‘It is by my strength that I have done this.’” (Deuteronomy 6:10–12 paraphrased)

All that we have is a gift. And Jesus—even when we forget it—is still the only thing we truly need.

And here’s the good news: When Jesus is all you have, you’ll find he’s all you need.

Thanks for being with us today. Take time this weekend to make space for what matters. Rest, worship, and remember where your blessings come from. We’ll pick back up Monday with Luke 4:31. Have a blessed weekend!