Single lesson
Jesus Reads in the Nazareth Synagogue
Luke 4:16–30
Jesus reads from Isaiah in the synagogue at Nazareth and then explains that the Scripture is fulfilled in their hearing. The crowd’s response changes sharply, and this helps children trace the account and think about how people respond to Jesus.
Before you teach
In this passage, Jesus comes to Nazareth, where he had been brought up. On the Sabbath he enters the synagogue, stands to read, and is handed the book of Isaiah. He reads words about good news, freedom, healing and the Lord’s favour, then speaks about what the listeners have heard. The account then records the crowd’s changing reaction.
Students will be able to put Luke 4:16–30 in order, describe the crowd’s changing responses, and name one truth this passage says about Jesus’ message.
Welcome: Notice where Jesus is and what he does
5 minBriefly introduce Nazareth as the place where Jesus had been brought up. Explain that a synagogue is the place named in the passage where people gathered, and that Jesus went in on the Sabbath and stood up to read. Ask children to listen for what Jesus reads and how the people respond.
Luke 4:16
Read and explain: Jesus reads about good news and freedom
8 minRead verses 16–21 aloud. Point out the order: Jesus is handed the book of the prophet Isaiah, finds the place, reads the words, closes the book, and then says, “Today, this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.” Explain simple terms from the reading: good news, captives, blind, crushed, and acceptable year of the Lord.
Luke 4:17, Luke 4:18, Luke 4:19, Luke 4:20, Luke 4:21
Discuss: The crowd changes from wonder to anger
7 minHelp the group trace the crowd’s response. At first they testify about him and wonder at his gracious words, yet they also say, “Isn’t this Joseph’s son?” Then Jesus speaks about a prophet not being accepted in his hometown and gives two examples involving Elijah, a widow in Sidon, and Elisha and Naaman the Syrian. After hearing this, the people are filled with wrath.
Luke 4:22, Luke 4:23, Luke 4:24, Luke 4:25, Luke 4:26, Luke 4:27, Luke 4:28
Make and respond: Put the account in order
6 minGive children simple cards or slips with key moments from the passage written on them. In pairs, they place the events in order: Jesus enters the synagogue, reads from Isaiah, says the Scripture is fulfilled, the people wonder, Jesus speaks about Elijah and Elisha, the crowd becomes angry, and Jesus goes his way. As they work, ask which moments show Jesus’ words and which show the people’s choices.
Luke 4:16, Luke 4:18, Luke 4:21, Luke 4:22, Luke 4:24, Luke 4:26, Luke 4:27, Luke 4:28, Luke 4:30
Closing: End with the passage’s final outcome
4 minRead the final verses again. State clearly that the crowd threw Jesus out of the city and led him to the hill, but the passage says he passed through the middle of them and went his way. Finish by reviewing the lesson goal: what Jesus read, what he said about it, and how the crowd responded.
Luke 4:29, Luke 4:30
Questions to explore
What did Jesus say after he finished reading, and why is that an important turning point in the account?
Look at the sentence in Luke 4:21 and connect it to the words Jesus had just read from the book of Isaiah.
Luke 4:18, Luke 4:19, Luke 4:21
How did the people respond at first, and how did their response change later?
Compare the words “wondered” in Luke 4:22 with “filled with wrath” in Luke 4:28.
Luke 4:22, Luke 4:28
Which two examples did Jesus give from earlier prophets, and what do they show in this passage?
Name the widow in Sidon and Naaman the Syrian from Jesus’ examples, then notice that the listeners became angry when they heard these things.
Luke 4:26, Luke 4:27, Luke 4:28
Make, think or respond
Nazareth Story Sequence Cards
What you’ll need
- Plain paper or card
- Pencils or markers
- Scissors
- Bible
Try it together
- Write or draw 7 key moments from Luke 4:16–30 on separate cards.
- Mix the cards and have children work in pairs to place them in the correct order.
- Ask each pair to read their ordered cards aloud and match each card to a verse.
- Finish by choosing one card that shows what Jesus said and one card that shows how people responded.
This activity helps children sequence the account carefully and notice the difference between Jesus’ words and the crowd’s choices in Luke 4:16–30.
Adapt for your group
- For younger children, prepare the cards in advance with simple pictures and read each verse aloud before they place the card.
- For older children, ask them to add the exact verse reference to each card and explain why the crowd’s response changed using the words of the passage.
An optional closing prayer
“Lord Jesus, thank you for your words. Please help us listen carefully to what you say and respond rightly. Amen.”
Read the Bible passage World English Bible Classic
Luke 4
16 He came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up. He entered, as was his custom, into the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and stood up to read.
17 The book of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him. He opened the book, and found the place where it was written,
18 “The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to heal the broken hearted, to proclaim release to the captives, recovering of sight to the blind, to deliver those who are crushed,
19 and to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord.”
20 He closed the book, gave it back to the attendant, and sat down. The eyes of all in the synagogue were fastened on him.
21 He began to tell them, “Today, this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.”
22 All testified about him and wondered at the gracious words which proceeded out of his mouth; and they said, “Isn’t this Joseph’s son?”
23 He said to them, “Doubtless you will tell me this proverb, ‘Physician, heal yourself! Whatever we have heard done at Capernaum, do also here in your hometown.’ ”
24 He said, “Most certainly I tell you, no prophet is acceptable in his hometown.
25 But truly I tell you, there were many widows in Israel in the days of Elijah, when the sky was shut up three years and six months, when a great famine came over all the land.
26 Elijah was sent to none of them, except to Zarephath, in the land of Sidon, to a woman who was a widow.
27 There were many lepers in Israel in the time of Elisha the prophet, yet not one of them was cleansed, except Naaman, the Syrian.”
28 They were all filled with wrath in the synagogue as they heard these things.
29 They rose up, threw him out of the city, and led him to the brow of the hill that their city was built on, that they might throw him off the cliff.
30 But he, passing through the middle of them, went his way.
World English Bible Classic. Public domain.