Rejected at Nazareth (Luke 4:14-30)

We all know that there comes a time in our lives when we have to leave home and how for some people the move means a change of location as well as a change regarding the house they will live in. Often the change is voluntary in the sense that we decide freely to do it, although sometimes it may be compulsory because those we work for decide it would be better for the company if we moved elsewhere. 

The day came in the life of Jesus when he had to move and when we read the account of it in Luke 4 we can see that it was a sudden move in that no one expected it, it was a sad move in that it brought a long-standing form of existence to an end, and it was a strategic move for Jesus because he changed his residence to a more suitable base. Above all, we could say that it was a serious move because it had eternal consequences for the people of Nazareth.

Chronologically, there is a period of almost a year between the time that Jesus was tempted by the devil and the incident described in Nazareth here by Luke. He passes over the period described by John in the first four chapters of his gospel. Probably the people would have been aware of some of those incidents as well as the more recent ones taking place in Galilee. So it is not surprising that they gathered in expectation to listen to him.

Jesus and the synagogue

Luke tells us in verse 16 that it was the regular custom for Jesus to go to the synagogue every Sabbath. There he would participate in some of its activities and one of the roles he engaged in was to read a passage of Scripture, which on that occasion was from the prophet Isaiah. When a person read a passage he did so standing, but when a passage was explained the teacher did so sitting. This method was followed by Jesus here.

It is not clear if Jesus followed the reading for the day or whether he selected his own passage. So we can view the choice of reading as providential in that it was connected to his reception of the Spirit which had taken place at his recent baptism. Or we can view the choice as deliberate, with Jesus wanting to explain to his fellow villagers what had happened to him in the period he was away from home.

In a sense, we base our Christian services on what took place in the synagogue every Sabbath. Ten adult males had to be present and men and women sat separate from one another, so if Jesus’ family was present his mother and sisters would not have sat with his brothers. In their service, there would be praise (singing of psalms), reading of Scripture, exposition of scripture, prayers and blessings (Benedictions).

We can deduce two details from what Jesus did here. First, he used the Bible to confirm who he was. In a sense, we can say that he was asking his listeners to check whether the report about him mentioned in verse 14 was according to the Scriptures. Second, he wanted to participate in the public worship of God which at that time took place in the temple in Jerusalem or in synagogues located in different places. It would have been unthinkable for Jesus not to attend a local synagogue wherever he was. As noted earlier, a prominent feature of public worship was the reading and the explanation of a passage from the Scriptures, and he was given the opportunity to do them.

Jesus and the scriptures

Obviously there is one huge difference between Jesus and other biblical teachers and that is while they share the same subject (his person and work) they do so from very different perspectives. He focuses on himself and has to present himself as central to what God is doing, which is different from others doing it from a third party viewpoint. For example, if he was teaching about creation in Genesis 1, he would know that he was describing his own activity because everything was made by him.

The passage that he chose to read is a summary of his calling as the Messiah. As we look at it, we can see some features that would become obvious in his teaching and practice. First, there is an allusion to the Trinity in verse 18, because Jesus refers to himself as the anointed one, to the Spirit as the one with which he was anointed, and to the Father as the one who anointed him. It is unlikely that the listeners in Nazareth would have made that connection at that time, but we can make it because we know what Jesus subsequently taught. One reason why he had come was to teach about God.

Second, he had come to engage in a ministry of compassion. Whatever we make of the people described as poor, captives, blind and oppressed, those terms indicate people with a variety of needs. Jesus was claiming that he would provide the remedy for their ills. Often we tend to ask how Jesus did this and assume that he must be referring to spiritual needs because we know that he did not physically deliver every individual from those needs. It is the case that poverty, enslavement, blindness and oppression describe what has happened to people in a spiritual sense because of sin.

Third, he announced that a perfect world was coming when all the consequences of sin, including physical ones, would be gone forever. Obviously, this stage has not yet happened, which means that Jesus was not describing only his ministry on earth during the following three years. Since the time he made this announcement, he has been engaged in delivering people from the consequences of sin, and we can say that at present he is also working towards the coming of the perfect world.

Fourth, Jesus stressed that he had a ministry of proclamation because the passage he cited mentions that aspect three times. While he does mention other actions, he stresses the role of proclamation. Maybe he chose this passage because people were focussing on the miracles that had been reported in connection with him. Whether that was the case or not, we can see that Jesus wanted people to listen to what he had to say.

Jesus and the spectators

We can call the audience here spectators because we are told in verse 20 that they were all looking at Jesus. As is often the case with preachers delivering a sermon in their home location, there was a measure of pride (v. 22). He was putting Nazareth on the map. Of course, Jesus knew that such a response was meaningless unless they took seriously his words. In every sermon, there has to be explanation and application. It is obvious that the audience here delighted in the explanation, but they resented the application. And that is how we can tell whether or not we are listening correctly to an accurate sermon. How do we respond to the demands of the application?

The response of the people in the synagogue when they expressed surprise at his claims and ignorance of his activities shows that Jesus had not done anything unusual during the years he lived in Nazareth. There was an apocryphal book from the second century that contained stories of alleged miracles that he did as a child, but it is clear from the response of the worshippers that they were not aware of any such activities by him.

What does Jesus say to them here? First, he challenges their priorities. They wanted him to perform in Nazareth the same kind of miracles that he had done in Capernaum. This desire suggested that they did not want to identify with him because he was providing salvation but only because he could provide a form of entertainment for them to enjoy. Moreover, their wish was also an expression of jealousy. Why should Nazareth be left out of the list of places where he would help people by his astonishing power?

Second, he challenges them about their knowledge of history when he makes the comment that ‘no prophet is acceptable in his hometown’ (v. 24). Since no one disputed what he said regarding this situation, the listeners must have recognised that what he said was true and not an exaggeration. They were challenged as to whether or not they would be different from others or whether they would fall in with how others had responded to those servants whom God had sent. It is interesting to look at the statues in Edinburgh. On George Street, we can see statues of Thomas Chalmers and Thomas Guthrie, but they are not still there because the individuals were great preachers. Instead they are applauded for other activities in which they also engaged. How about the statue of John Knox? It is hidden away, because what else can you do with a man with an uncompromising message of truth. Prophets are without honour.

Third, he challenges them about the kind of people that God chooses to help. Jesus mentions two, and neither of them were Jews. He does not say that God sent help to those Gentiles because he had rejected the Jews and was blessing them instead. After all, there were many Gentiles who were not helped. Nor were they selected because of their social level – one of them was poor and the other was a prominent general. Instead they were helped because God has sent his prophet to them.

How should the people of Nazareth have responded to this application? Surely they should have said to one another, ‘Well, God has sent his prophet to us here in Nazareth today. This is a sign that he wants to bless us and therefore we should listen carefully to what Jesus has to say.’ But they did not do that. Instead they became angry because Jesus had put them in the category of outsiders since it was to outsiders that God had sent Elijah and Elisha. The people of Nazareth did not like to be classified as outsiders because they physically belonged to the nation of Israel. But spiritually they were outsiders; they were spiritually blind, and they were in spiritual bondage to their sins. Because that was the case, they imagined that Jesus was speaking against them whereas he had actually encouraged them to observe that God has sent his Messenger to them.

Jesus and the sequel

One thing that we can say about the audience is that they did things together, even when they were rejecting the Saviour that had been sent to them that day by God. The proclamation of good news by Jesus had made them angry because they realised that he was saying that they did not deserve grace. That is a very common response to the gospel. I suppose we could say that if we do not make self-righteous people angry then we have not explained the gospel very well to them. To be placed by Jesus among the outsiders was a cause of offence to them.

There still is a steep cliff outside Nazareth and the worshippers decided it was appropriate after the sermon to throw Jesus over it. The solemn thing about their intention is that Jesus made no effort to stop them – he even let them take him to the brow of the hill from which they intended to murder the Son of God. They had said ‘no’ to Jesus, and they were left. It is striking that in verse 29 Luke refers to Nazareth as ‘their’ town – it was no longer the town of Jesus.

Obviously, Jesus performed a miracle of some kind when he moved away from the crowd as they prepared to throw him over the hillside. Since there is no mention of any disciples being present, it is likely that Jesus was there without supporters. But he did not need any human support in order to escape from an angry mob. They had no power over him and he showed who was in charge by leaving them at the edge of the cliff. He would yet face another crowd who wanted to kill him, and in Jerusalem he allowed it to happen because he would then die for the sins of his people. But that was not going to happen in Nazareth.

Preached on 7/8/2016