In Nazareth’s Synagogue
TRANSLATION
(14) And Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit, and news of him spread throughout the entire region. (15) And he was teaching in their synagogues, and everyone praised him. (16) And he came to Nazareth where he had been brought up, and, as was his custom, he went into the synagogue on the Sabbath and stood up to read, (17) and the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to him. He unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written, (18) “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives, recovery of sight to the blind, to set the oppressed free, (19) and to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.” (20) He then rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant, and sat down. And the eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fixed on him.
(21) And he began by telling them, “Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.” (22) And all spoke well of him and were amazed at the gracious words coming from his mouth. And they said, “Isn’t this Joseph’s son?” (23) And he said to them, “Undoubtedly you will quote this proverb to me, ‘Physician, heal yourself.’ Whatever we heard that you did in Capernaum, do the same here in your hometown.” (24) And he said, “Truly I tell you that no prophet is accepted in his hometown. (25) But surely I tell you that there were many widows in Israel in the days of Elijah when heaven was shut up for three years and six months and a great famine came over all the land, (26) and unto none of them was Elijah sent, but only to a (Gentile) widow in Zarephath in the land of Sidon. (27) And there were many lepers in Israel at the time of Elisha the prophet, and none of them was cleansed except for Naaman the Syrian.”
(28) And when they heard these things, those in the synagogue were all filled with rage, (29) and they rose up and drove him out of the town and led him to the brow of the hill on which their town had been built to throw him off the cliff. (30) However, he walked through their midst and departed.
OBSERVATIONS
Again, the message of this segment is made clear by its repetitions. “Spirit,” speaking of the third person of the Trinity, occurred twice (vss. 14 & 18). “Synagogue(s),” used four times (vss. 15, 16, 20, & 28), tells us where Jesus’ ministry of teaching and healing was focused. The threefold repetition of “scroll” (vss. 17 & 20) emphasized that Jesus read from the book of Isaiah when he identified his ministry with that which the prophet had foretold in the opening phrases of chapter 61. The threefold use of “proclaim” (vss. 18 & 19) showed that the main thrust of Jesus’ ministry was declaring the message of God’s good news to the nation.
At the heart of this segment was the radical change in attitude that took place in those who were listening to Jesus’ message (“heard/hearing” occurring three times in vss. 21, 23, & 28). At first, all thought highly of him and were captivated by his message (vs. 22). However, by the time he had finished speaking, they were filled with rage and ready to kill him (vss. 28 & 29).
OUTLINE
I. Jesus read from the Isaiah scroll and identified his ministry with the prophecy of Isaiah 61. (14-20)
II. Jesus incited his listeners to anger when he condemned their unbelief. (21-27)
III. Jesus escaped their attempt to kill him. (28-30)
IDEA STATEMENT
The response to Jesus’ teaching in his hometown of Nazareth quickly turned from welcome to wrath when his listeners really understood his claims to being God’s Messiah.
APPLICATION
What was it that made those who heard Jesus’ message in the synagogue of Nazareth so angry that they wanted to kill him? First, he condemned them for dismissing his message as the unimpressive efforts of a local lad aspiring to become a celebrity with the words, “Is this not Joseph’s son” (vs. 22)? Then he condemned their jealousy of his having performed miracles in the nearby town of Capernaum while “neglecting” his hometown of Nazareth (vss. 23 & 24).
Finally, he referred to two well-known prophets, Elijah and Elisha, whose most impressive miracles were done either on foreign soil (the widow in Sidon) or for a Gentile (Naaman, the Syrian). In citing them, he condemned those who had grown up with him in Nazareth for failing to accept him as a true prophet of God (vss. 25-27). It is no wonder that they sought to silence his message by throwing him off a cliff (vss. 28-30).