I've read this story so many times and thought, Jesus it was going so well. Why did you mess it up?????
Before the verses I quoted above the chapter talks about Jesus starting His public ministry. He was going all over teaching. And people loved what they heard.
And He began teaching in their synagogues and was praised by all. Luke 4:15
Then, Jesus goes to His hometown, Nazareth and the same thing happens.
And all were speaking well of Him, and wondering at the gracious words which were falling from His lips; and they were saying, 'Is this not Joseph's son?' Luke 4:22
If it had been me I would have let that praise go on. I would have said to myself, I'm doing what God told me to do. I'm teaching. I'm going where He told me to go. And they love me.....
Wrong attitude!
Jesus (we too) wasn't there to be a celebrity. The people in Nazareth were taking ownership of Him. They were seeing Him as theirs, the one they watched grow up.They were impressed with how well He spoke but didn't let anything He said penetrate their hearts. He had to get through their pride, their self-satisfied smugness. He had to get through to their hearts.
And when He did they wanted to kill Him. After that whenever He's in Nazareth, instead of calling Him Joseph's son they call Him illegitimate (since Mary was pregnant before she and Joseph married).
Names and put-downs are ways to neutralize the effect of truth. If we can objectify the person who God is speaking through we can ignore the message. Oh Boy, this is a bad practice! For the very one we don't want to listen to might be the very one God is speaking through to us.