Luke 4:43 - Other Towns

Jesus began His ministry in Nazareth, His home town. But His neighbors and acquaintances thought He was more than their "favorite son." They figured that He owed them a command performance. 

He tried to explain:

“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, 
for he has anointed me to bring Good News to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim that captives will be released,
that the blind will see,
that the oppressed will be set free,
and that the time of the Lord’s favor has come.”
(Luke 4:18–19, New Living Translation, 2015)

By contrast, the people of Nazareth wanted miracles--but only as simple magic tricks as entertainment. When He refused, they tried to kill him. (Luke 4:29)

Jesus went on to heal people in nearby Capernaum, starting with two people who were too demonized or too sick to even ask for healing.  (vv.31-39) In Capernaum, Jesus was acting exactly according to His stated purpose: bringing good news, healing and freedom to people in need. The difference was is that the people of Capernaum knew they needed Jesus' intervention in their lives, and sought Him out. They tried to keep Him from leaving. With that kind of success and popularity, one would think that Jesus would have stayed longer in Capernaum. (Luke 4:40-42)

Instead, His response was,

“I must preach the Good News of the Kingdom of God in other towns, too, because that is why I was sent.” (Luke 4:43, NLT)

Jesus was God in the flesh. As such, He couldn't be everywhere at the same time. So He didn't plan His day according to what people expected, or by how much they hated Him or liked Him. Instead, followed where God led Him one day at a time.

Father,
You know our limitations better than we do. We have only so much time and energy in our waking hours. Direct our priorities: not by others' agendas, not by our own agenda, but by what You want us to do today. Amen.