Jesus returns to his hometown of Nazareth twice, and in both instances, His teaching is rejected. This reality demonstrates that despite Jesus' powerful proclamation of the gospel of the kingdom, the minds and hearts of unbelievers will remain closed unless the Holy Spirit regenerates them. Observing Jesus' persistence in preaching the gospel helps us learn how to speak the gospel truth to our friends, family, neighbors, and co-workers and persist if there is a face of rejection.

Application Questions

• Will you imitate Jesus’ example and not give up the proclamation of the good news when our family, friends, co-workers, neighbors, and unbelieving church attendees do not respond?
• Will you be faithful to proclaim the gospel as proclaimed in Scripture?
• Will you be thankful that God has graciously chosen to remove the scales of unbelief from our minds and hearts?
• Will you have compassion for the unbelievers around us who are lost in unbelief?