Jesus Rejected at Nazareth
Notes
Transcript
14 Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit, and news about him spread through the whole countryside. 15 He taught in their synagogues, and everyone praised him.
16 He went to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, and on the Sabbath day he went into the synagogue, as was his custom. And he stood up to read. 17 The scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him. Unrolling it, he found the place where it is 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 proclaim freedom for the prisoners
and recovery of sight for the blind,
to release the oppressed,
19 to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”
20 Then he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant and sat down. The eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fastened on him, 21 and he began by saying to them, “Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.”
22 All spoke well of him and were amazed at the gracious words that came from his lips. “Isn’t this Joseph’s son?” they asked.
23 Jesus said to them, “Surely you will quote this proverb to me: ‘Physician, heal yourself! Do here in your hometown what we have heard that you did in Capernaum.’ ”
24 “I tell you the truth,” he continued, “no prophet is accepted in his hometown. 25 I assure you that there were many widows in Israel in Elijah’s time, when the sky was shut for three and a half years and there was a severe famine throughout the land. 26 Yet Elijah was not sent to any of them, but to a widow in Zarephath in the region of Sidon. 27 And there were many in Israel with leprosy in the time of Elisha the prophet, yet not one of them was cleansed—only Naaman the Syrian.”
28 All the people in the synagogue were furious when they heard this. 29 They got up, drove him out of the town, and took him to the brow of the hill on which the town was built, in order to throw him down the cliff. 30 But he walked right through the crowd and went on his way.
Introduction
Introduction
As Luke is recording for Most Excellent Theophilus an orderly account of the life and ministry of Jesus Christ, he now comes to that point where he will begin to describe details of Christ’s ministry itself.
Up until this point, Luke has laboured to set out the background details of both the forerunner to the Messiah and the Messiah himself. But now his focus is on Christ’s interaction with the people as he starts to minister and to proclaim that the kingdom of God is at hand.
And as we consider this starting place of Christ’s ministry this morning, at least in terms of the way in which Luke records this, we find that Jesus Christ is both deeply admired by the people, but also deeply despised by certain people as He went about teaching and preaching.
As we consider these verses, we will see how these contrasts between different responses to Christ’s ministry prepares us for the rest of his ministry in this world. Christ will consistently cause a division of opinions as he goes about his ministry.
And as we consider these responses, we will realise that even in our own day, nothing has really changed in this regard. The Gospel message will both inspire people, and lead them to a reverent awe of God, and repentance of faith and trust in Christ. But the same Gospel message will also lead people to despise it, particularly as they are confronted with their own sin, and refuse to acknowledge and accept it.
The question is, where do we stand in relation to Jesus Christ as our Lord?
As we turn our attention then to the text, notice firstly with me...
1. Amazed by Christ’s Teaching (vv.14-22)
1. Amazed by Christ’s Teaching (vv.14-22)
As Luke records the initial ministry work of Jesus Christ, he conveys for us the profound awe and respect that people had for Jesus as they both heard his teaching, and heard about his teaching and ministry.
We see firstly in this regard that there was...
1.1. Amazement Throughout the Land (vv.14-15)
1.1. Amazement Throughout the Land (vv.14-15)
In verse 14, Luke writes....
14 Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit, and news about him spread through the whole countryside.
Already we have considered that Jesus shown at this baptism to have the Holy Spirit come upon Him, and was going to minister as a man under the power of the Spirit of God. After He was baptised in the Jordan River by John, and the Spirit had descended on him in the form of a dove, He was led in the wilderness by the Spirit. The Spirit of God was powerfully upon Him. It was this great power and working of God’s Spirit that set Christ apart, and caused people to recognise that he was not merely an ordinary teacher.
Luke tells us in verse 14 that news about him spread through the whole countryside. The teaching of Jesus, together with the wonderful miracles that he performed, were being seen by everyone, and the news was spread concerning him. People couldn’t keep to themselves what they were seeing and hearing through his ministry.
Luke doesn’t record for us in these verses that Jesus had performed any miracles up until this point. But clearly (based particularly on what he is going to say in just a moment about Christ in Nazareth) he was performing miracles as well, and the people saw this. The other Gospel accounts record for us some of the early miracles that Christ performed that stunned the people that saw and heard him.
But what is so important to note concerning Christ’s ministry was that it was not merely the miracles that amazed them, but rather it was His teaching. Notice verse 15...
15 He taught in their synagogues, and everyone praised him.
As Christ was traveling through that land, he would regularly go into their synagogues in order to teach the people. He was a man that knew the Scriptures of God, and as He ministered under the power of the Holy Spirit, it was the very Spirit of God that was working to cause amazement in the hearts of the people.
12 For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.
Christ’s preaching and teaching was powerful, and it drew the people in to praise him. They were astonished at his powerful teaching. Matthew’s Gospel tells us that when Christ taught them,...
The New International Version (1984) The Wise and Foolish Builders
the crowds were amazed at his teaching, 29 because he taught as one who had authority, and not as their teachers of the law.
Dear friends, we must note that preaching that is effective to impact the souls of people is not motivational speaches that tickle the ears. Preaching that is powerful and effective is the proclamation of Scripture with deep conviction under the power of the Holy Spirit. This is the Word that pierces the hearts and lives of people as the Spirit works.
We must pray for men of conviction, that will preach under the power of the Spirit!
Notice further with me, that this amazement at Christs teaching even progressed to Galilee, to the little town called Nazareth, which was the town in which Christ grew up.
1.2. Amazement in Nazareth (vv.16-22)
1.2. Amazement in Nazareth (vv.16-22)
We read in verse 16...
16 He went to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, and on the Sabbath day he went into the synagogue, as was his custom. And he stood up to read.
Christ now returns to his home town, the place where he grew up with his parents, Mary and Joseph, and he proceeds to teach the people there.
Now we should note that Jesus has evidently been gone out of Nazareth for at least some period of time. We don’t have recorded for us precisely how long this was, but clearly it was long enough that most of the people did not recognise him at first glance.
But in Christ’s own heart, perhaps there was a sense of joy and anticipation as he came to Nazareth. Surely he hoped that these people of Nazareth would hear the Gospel and repent.
But as He comes to them, he will proceed to tell them from the Scriptures who he truly was. Not as they typically knew him, but His true nature and mission in the world.
We see his words in verses 17-19...
17 The scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him. Unrolling it, he found the place where it is 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 proclaim freedom for the prisoners
and recovery of sight for the blind,
to release the oppressed,
19 to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”
Christ was handed this papyrus scroll in which was written the prophecies of Isaiah. And he knew the Scriptures well enough to be able to go in that scroll to the place where a particular word had been said about him. Remember that there were no chapter and verse divisions for him in that day!
Turn to Isaiah 61...
But he takes the scroll and goes to what is our Isaiah 61:1, and he reads the verse for all the people.
Notice the entire context of Isaiah 61...
It was a verse that would have led their hearts to be filled with a sense of expectancy at the promised deliverance of God. How the Israelites longed for deliverance from oppression. They longed for God’s chosen messenger to come. And even as they heard these words being read, they would have had minds that were filled with the oppressive rule of the Roman authorities, and how they longed to be freed.
But we must notice the kind of person that would be redeemed. It was the one that was afflicted - poor is the word that could be used. It speaks of a person who is poor in spirit. It’s the same idea as that which is found in the sermon on the mount. Blessed are the poor in spirit. And in this context, we will find that those of Nazareth were certainly not those with a poorness of spirit.
We see something of their deep expectancy in verse 20...
20 Then he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant and sat down. The eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fastened on him,
It’s almost as though the scene unfolds in slow motion. Luke conveys this in such langauge that it is as if the people were all waiting with bated breath, not a sound around them, to hear the words proceed from him.
And so he begins to speak...
21 and he began by saying to them, “Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.”
Now we must not underestimate the sheer weight of the words that Jesus was proclaiming to them here.
The prophecy that He had read to them was from Isaiah, and was a prophecy of great deliverance. It was a prophecy that spoke of the powerful working of the Almighty God in order to bring freedom to these people that had been so earnestly longing for this in their hearts. They were a people longing for their freedom.
And Christ tells them this this very Scripture has been fulfilled in their hearing.
He was declaring to them unequivocally that He was the deliverer that had come to set them free.
What is interesting to see is the response from the people as he tells them this.
22 All spoke well of him and were amazed at the gracious words that came from his lips. “Isn’t this Joseph’s son?” they asked.
Firstly, we see the amazement, even by the people at Nazareth. They were stunned at the gracious words that came from his lips. As they heard these words being spoken by Him, they were quite startled that such profound and gracious words were flowing out of this man.
As Jesus explained and taught the Scriptures, and as he proclaimed the Gospel, there was a graciousness about him. And they were amazed, taken aback, by his teaching. Clearly he had a significant impact on them.
But there was one thing that was bothering these people of Nazareth. They were certain that they knew him. And what they knew of him was not as someone who was a great prophet, or an expounder of the Scriptures of God, but rather he was known as a mere son of Joseph. He was the son of a carpenter.
Mark records this event and the response of the people in these words...
3 Isn’t this the carpenter? Isn’t this Mary’s son and the brother of James, Joseph, Judas and Simon? Aren’t his sisters here with us?” And they took offense at him.
Because they thought they knew his family, and thus knew him, and knew of what lowly stature he was, they took offense at him, and the fact that he would come here and make such a bold claim as he had made.
But this leads us to consider a completely different side of their response to Jesus, and this leads us to our second main point...
2. Angered by Christ’s Truth (vv.23-30)
2. Angered by Christ’s Truth (vv.23-30)
Yes, there was great amazement, and all over the country-side, the people were talking about Jesus and saying what an amazing teacher he was. The news was spreading far and wide.
But there were some things that were now to be said which would turn the amazement into great offense and anger, because the people themselves took offense at his words of truth towards them.
We see firstly that Christ conveys to them that they are...
2.1. Unbelieving Israelites (v.23)
2.1. Unbelieving Israelites (v.23)
As Christ continues to address these people of Nazareth, he does so by confronting them with the truth of their own sinful skepticism about him...
23 Jesus said to them, “Surely you will quote this proverb to me: ‘Physician, heal yourself! Do here in your hometown what we have heard that you did in Capernaum.’ ”
Jesus goes to the heart of the matter by confronting them with their own unbelief in Him. He does this by referring to a Proverb that they were familiar with, and that is, “Physician, heal yourself.”
The meaning of this Proverb relates to the limited medical capabilities of that day. Their treatment of people and their ailments was not a developed science as we know it today. Treatment was often less than effective. And so, what they would say to the physician is that he must heal himself. First prove your recommendations or your course of treatment on yourself, before trying it out on me. Prove yourself!
They looked on the physicians with skepticism.
As Jesus therefore confronts these people of Nazareth, he is confronting them at their point of unebelief. They don’t believe that he is the man that he claims to be.
They knew that he was the carpenters son.
So why should they place any trust in this man based on what he says (even though what he had said had caused them to marvel).
And so, he says that they are going to ask for a sign - prove that he is who he claims to be, and that he is able to perform signs.
Clearly he had by this time already performed various miracles, particularly in Capernaum.
In Mark 1:14 and following, we read of the miracles that Jesus performed in Capernaum. As he was in the synagogue teaching there, a man with an evil spirit was present, and Jesus drove out the evil spirit in front of all the people looking on. Then in verse 28 we read...
28 News about him spread quickly over the whole region of Galilee.
Straight after this particular event, Jesus continued to heal the crowds - many people. And so the word spread quickly about him.
But instead of hearing the words of Christ, and believing him based on his testimony, they wanted signs.
This desire for more evidence is typical of the sinful heart of man that will not believe God. Consider the rich man and Lazarus the beggar in Luke 16:19-31. Particularly recall the rich man, as he’s tormented in the fires of hell. In that account, Lazarus is seen at the side of Abraham, and so the rich man asks Abraham to send Lazarus to his family in order to warn them about what’s coming after death. We read the response from Abraham in verses 29-31...
29 “Abraham replied, ‘They have Moses and the Prophets; let them listen to them.’
30 “ ‘No, father Abraham,’ he said, ‘but if someone from the dead goes to them, they will repent.’
31 “He said to him, ‘If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone rises from the dead.’ ”
The people of Nazareth don’t merely have the words of Moses and the prophets, but the very words of the Son of God. And yet, they refuse to believe.
And so at the outset of Jesus’ words to the people of Nazareth is a declaration to them that they lacked faith in Christ, in the Son of God, and thus in God Himself.
2.2. Mercy to the Gentiles (vv24-27)
2.2. Mercy to the Gentiles (vv24-27)
But Jesus takes this a step further. In verses 24-27, he then goes on to demonstrate that the lack of faith that is being demonstrated by the people at Nazareth is not something new. And he further goes on to give them this shocking message that God’s mercy and deliverance is not only for the Jewish people, but for the Gentiles.
He goes on to give two examples of how God worked in the past through his prophets to perform wonders for Gentile people rather than for His own people, the Jews.
He introduces this truth through his statement in verse 24…
24 “I tell you the truth,” he continued, “no prophet is accepted in his hometown.
And then he delves into these examples of how God would work among the Gentile people, and by implication, that the Jewish people would not accept a prophet of God - which in this case was Jesus himself.
The first example concerns the Elijah and the widow.
25 I assure you that there were many widows in Israel in Elijah’s time, when the sky was shut for three and a half years and there was a severe famine throughout the land. 26 Yet Elijah was not sent to any of them, but to a widow in Zarephath in the region of Sidon.
Turn to 1 Kings 17
You will recall the account from Elijah’s ministry. This was a time in Israel’s history when they had turned away from God, and they were worshiping the Baals. And so God spoke through Elijah, and one of the ways that God spoke to Israel was by sending a famine upon them.
1 Now Elijah the Tishbite, from Tishbe in Gilead, said to Ahab, “As the Lord, the God of Israel, lives, whom I serve, there will be neither dew nor rain in the next few years except at my word.”
And so it was that there was no food and rain for that period of time.
Initially in that time, the Lord fed Elijah by sending ravens with food, and by allowing him to drink from a brook that was still flowing with water, but after the brook dried up, God sent him to Zarepheth, and to a Gentile widow, who herself was on her last bits of supply in terms of food.
12 “As surely as the Lord your God lives,” she replied, “I don’t have any bread—only a handful of flour in a jar and a little oil in a jug. I am gathering a few sticks to take home and make a meal for myself and my son, that we may eat it—and die.”
She was literally concerned that she was about to die, because her last meal was about to be prepared, and she had absolutely no way of getting any more food or drink.
But the response of Elijah was this...
13 Elijah said to her, “Don’t be afraid. Go home and do as you have said. But first make a small cake of bread for me from what you have and bring it to me, and then make something for yourself and your son. 14 For this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘The jar of flour will not be used up and the jug of oil will not run dry until the day the Lord gives rain on the land.’ ”
As that story unfolds, we find that God miraculously provided for the woman and her son through the prophet Elijah.
Jesus’ emphasis as he mentions this story to those in Nazareth is that this was a Gentile woman. In a land that was filled with need and with hunger and severe famine, God chose to send Elijah to a Gentile woman, even though there were many widows in Israel.
The second example that Jesus gives is along similar lines. In involves Elisha and Naaman, the commander of the of the army of the king of Aram.
27 And there were many in Israel with leprosy in the time of Elisha the prophet, yet not one of them was cleansed—only Naaman the Syrian.”
The account of the healing of Naaman is found in 2 Kings 5. Although he was a great warrior, and the Lord had given him great victories (2 Kings 5:1) he was leprous. But there was a young Israelite servant girl that had been captured as they raided Israel, and she was made a servant of Naaman’s wife. And it is through this girl that Naaman hears that there is a God in Israel that can heal the man of leprousy.
And eventually Naaman comes to Elisha, and Elisha tells him to go and dip himself 7 times in the Jordan river in order to be cleansed entirely. And initially Naaman is furious with him, thinking surely they have much better and cleaner rivers to wash in. But after being advised by one of his attendants, he then goes and does as Elisha had told him, and he cleansed completely from his leprousy. In fact, it is recorded that “his flesh was restored and became clean like that of a young boy...”
What a description!
But again, Jesus’ point here is that Naaman, a Gentile officer and even opponent of Israel, was cleansed, even while there were many in the nation of Israel that had leprousy and were separated from the normal Israelite life.
What is common in these two accounts that Jesus is conveying? Well, certainly the commonality is in the fact that both accounts refer to God working for the Gentiles. That is certainly the point that Jesus is conveying.
But we must see also that it was required of these Gentiles to have faith before the power of God would work for them. In the case of the widow, she was on her last bits of food. For her to suddenly cook this food for Elijah and give it to him, at the risk that he was talking nonsense and wasn’t going to actually do anything for her, required a good measure of faith. She had to act in faith prior to seeing God perform any miracle. And she did.
The same was true in the account of Naaman. Although he was at first angry at the proposed way of healing, he cme to his senses, and eventually went to the Jordan River, and dipped himself in the river, and only thereafter did he see the work of God through cleansing him. He had to act in faith - respond in faith to the message given - and then would see God working.
The people of Nazareth first wanted to see proof. They wanted miracles. They wanted Christ to prove himself before they would listen to the message, and obey the Gospel proclamation. And Christ says that this is unbelief.
But the same requirement is given today, dear friends. People are called to respond in belief, in faith in the proclaimed message of salvation through Jesus Christ. The question is, will we believe in God without asking for a sign from Him?!
Jesus was in effect telling these people of Nazareth that they themselves would miss out on the blessing of the promised deliverer - the salvation that had come - because they refused to believe. They did not have faith in God and His promised Messiah. But he also says that others that are not of Israel will receive God’s mercy and grace.
This then leads us to see their...
2.3. Murderous Hearts (v.28-30)
2.3. Murderous Hearts (v.28-30)
While initially they had been filled with a sense of amazement and awe at the teaching of Christ, the will now turn against Christ entirely, and instead be filled with rage and anger. Verse 28 says...
28 All the people in the synagogue were furious when they heard this.
They were outraged that Jesus would dare come to them and tell them that God would overlook the Jewish nation - the chosen people of God, and would instead bring blessing - would even bring salvation - to those who were Gentiles. Furthermore, who was this carpenter to tell them that they must believe him.
Now friends, we must recognise that the Gentile world was hostile to them at this time. They had repeatedly placed Israel in some form of oppression (obviously this was due to the Covenant curses of God coming upon them when they rejected Him). But needless to say, the Gentiles were not held in high regard at all. In fact that they were not only seen as unclean, but they were seen as oppressors.
Luke, Volumes 1 & 2 An Angry Response
To understand their attitude towards outsiders, consider the inscription that was on the temple in those days: “Let no Gentile enter within the partition and barrier surrounding the Temple, and whosoever is caught shall be responsible for his subsequent death.”
For Jesus to come in and say that God is going to bring salvation to Gentiles, rather then to Jews, because the Jews have lacked faith, was an astounding statement to make to them - but a very true one.
Their response is found in verse 29...
29 They got up, drove him out of the town, and took him to the brow of the hill on which the town was built, in order to throw him down the cliff.
They wanted nothing less that to put Jesus to death. In their minds, he had blasphemed. How dare this man say what he’s saying.
I want to pause at this moment, and consider how people in general respond when they are critisized, or confronted with their own sin. How do you respond when true criticism or confrontation to your own sin is brought to you?
You see, Jesus didn’t lie to them. He didn’t say anything that was not perfectly true. He was not ungracious as a general principle in his speech. The people were in fact amazed at the gracious words that came out of his mouth.
But when he picked up on and confronted their own unbelief, and told them the consequences of this unbelief, their amazement turned to anger. They were infuriated. Simply because they were confronted with sinfulness of their own hearts.
If a person that loves us, and for the most part treats us well and shows concern and care for us, we must be very careful to be angered when those same people raise concerns about our conduct.
The book of Proverbs speaks to this.
7 “Whoever corrects a mocker invites insult;
whoever rebukes a wicked man incurs abuse.
8 Do not rebuke a mocker or he will hate you;
rebuke a wise man and he will love you.
Well, these proverbs were certainly finding application in this situation with Jesus rebuking the people of Nazareth.
They will not accept his teaching. They will not accept His words, as true as they are, because they’re offended. And instead of humbling themselves before God, their tempers rage, and the proceed to drive him to a cliff with the view to throwing him off and killing him.
I always love the way Luke records what happens next.
30 But he walked right through the crowd and went on his way.
They could not hold Him. God’s appointed time for Christ to be put to death had not yet arrived, and so he simply walked right through the crowd, with them being unable to stop him or lay a hand on him.
Just as an aside, let us not think for a moment that Christ couldn’t have done the same thing with the soldiers that came to arrest him in the Garden of Gethsemane. It would have been just as easy in that context, except that he knew that that was his appointed time, and thus surrendered himself to the hands of the soldiers.
Application / Conclusion
Application / Conclusion
By way of application, let me ask you this morning, how do you respond to Christ? How have you responded, and how do you continue to respond to Jesus Christ as Lord?
It is not sufficient to stand amazed at the words of Jesus when they sound good. It is not enough to think highly of the words that are spoken, particularly when they’re pleasing to the ear.
Recall the account of Herod and John the baptist, where Herod loved to hear John preaching (although he had put him in prison) but he failed to respond appropriately to the message.
The question is, how do you respond to Jesus?
If you have not repented of sin, and believed in Jesus as your only hope for salvation, placed your full trust in him and are submitted to Him as Lord, then you cannot think that you will stand before God in the day of judgment. It is no help to listen to the Word of God, and to be amazed / impressed, and yet fail to repent and believe.
But I must also take this a step further, and ask you, if you are a professing Christian, how you respond to being confronted by the truth of God’s word when you are in sin. When someone comes to you and confronts you with sin in your own life, do you humble yourself and confess your sinfulness, and then turn away, believing that Christ is Lord, and forgiveness and mercy are found in Him, if we will confess our sin?
I want to encourage us as Christians to live a life of deep humility before God, and in the context of the church. Humility allows us to see our sin for what it is, and instead of defending ourselves, and rationilizing our sin, to humbly acknowledge our sin before God, and seek to turn away from that sin by His grace.
The grace of God is powerful. The mercies of God abound.
9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.
10 If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word has no place in our lives.