Jesus at Nazareth

Mat_4:13-16; Luk_4:16-30
Our Lord proceeded from Cana to Nazareth, where
He had been brought up, and from which He had
been so long away. His townsmen had heard much
of Him during his absence, especially concerning the
recent miracle of healing at Capernaum, and they
were anxious, or more properly curious, to see and
hear the carpenters son, in his new character.
The next Sabbath afforded the opportunity they
desired.
As had been his custom, Jesus went to the synagogue
on that day, and stood up to read. It may seem
strange to some that, seeing He was not a priest or
Levite, He should be allowed, not only to read the
Scriptures, but to expound them in the synagogue. It
must be understood, that to every synagogue there
was attached an officer, whose business it was to
provide for the orderly services of the synagogue. He
offered up the public prayers, and exhorted, when
there was no one else to perform these services. It
was not considered any part of his duty to read the
Scriptures appointed for the day; but the members of
his synagogue being generally well known to him, he
called out, for this purpose, such as he knew to be
qualified for the task, or such as, by some sign or
movement, expressed their desire or willingness to
read. No one could, however, in any case, discharge
this office until the ruler of the synagogue had
signified his consent. As Jesus was a member of this
synagogue, we must suppose either that he was
called upon or presented himself to read, as He had
no doubt often done before in the same place. We
suppose the former to have been the case, as it was
usual to lay this honor upon one who had been any
considerable time absent, as it served to reintroduce
him to the congregation with which he had been
wont to worship. The readings for the day were
divided into seven sections, each of which was read
by a different person, so that there were seven
readers to be provided. The proper, but not
indispensable arrangement, was considered to be,
that the first section should be read by a priest, the
second by a Levite, and the other five by any
competent Israelites, but preferably by members of
the synagogue; and there was generally much
readiness to hear those, whether strangers or
members, who set up for religious teachers, or
leaders of sects, in order that the people might have
an opportunity of estimating their claims and
judging their pretensions.
Thus we see that, on various grounds, it was
perfectly natural that Jesus should stand up to read
in the synagogue of Nazareth; and it will also be seen
that the passage He read, strikingly appropriate as it
was, was not chosen by himself, but was that portion
of the Scripture-reading of the day, which in due
course fell to him.
It was the custom to read the Scripture standing; it
was improper even to lean. The only exception was,
when the readings were from the book of Esther,
when the reader was at liberty to sit if he thought
proper. Hence it was that our Savior stood up to
read.
There was then delivered to him by the Chazan, or
minister, or servant of the synagoguewho had
charge of the sacred books, and whose function,
among others, it was to take them from the chest,
hand them to the reader, and receive them back
againthe roll containing the book of Isaiah, in
which the prophetical reading for the day was to be
found. The passage which it devolved on Him to read
was short, being merely one long verse of Isaiah,
Note: The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me;
because the Lord hath anointed me to preach good
tidings unto the meek: He hath sent me to bind up
the broken-hearted, to proclaim liberty to the
captives, and the opening of the prison to them that
are boundIsa_61:1. in which the prophet sets
forth the offices of the Messiah. Having read it, Jesus
sat down, instead of returning to the spot He had
left; and this was a sign that He intended to make
some remarks on what He had read, for it was the
custom of those who exhorted to sit down; and when
Jesus did so, the eyes of every one there were fixed
eagerly upon Him to hear what He would say. He
began by telling them that the Scripture He had
read, was that day fulfilled; and we may gather from
this, that He proceeded to declare that the long-
predicted year of the prophetic jubilee was come,
and that He claimed to be the one sent to open the
blind eyes, and to offer liberty to the captives of sin
and Satan. His words made an impression; but it
was only upon the surface, for the audience were
unconscious of their spiritual bondage, and felt no
longings for deliverance.
Their astonishment that one, whom they had known
from childhood, should speak with so much
authority and power, soon gave way to doubts; and
the congregation, who, as is still the bad custom of
the Jews, indulged in strange conversational
freedom at their religious meetings, began to nod to
one another and say, Is not this the carpenter, the
son of Mary the brother of James, and Judas, and
Simon? Are not his sisters also here with us?
Questions which virtually ask, how it was possible
that such a man could speak in this tone, and do
those deeds which rumor ascribed to Him. Incapable
of appreciating, as the Samaritans had done, the
value of the heavenly gifts which Jesus offered, they
required (whether avowedly or not) that He should
execute such miracles as He was reported to have
done in other places, before they could recognize his
claims.
Now, one of the fundamental principles on which
Christ acted, forbade Him to accept any challenge of
this sort, which He received more than once. He
would do nothing for those who insisted on seeing in
order to believe; but He could do much for them
He could let them see convincing sights, who did not
make seeing the condition of their belief. Jesus knew
very well all that they thought, and all they
whispered to each other; and, accurately measuring
their state of feeling, He was well aware that, while
they remained in that state, nothing he could do
would convincingly satisfy them. He therefore spoke
to their thoughts and murmurs, defining the real
nature of their demand, and refusing to comply with
it. He showed, by various examples, that the grace of
God acted freely, and gave it to be understood that
miracles were not to be extorted from Him, to satisfy
unreasonable demands, or to meet ungrounded
misbelief.
On thus learning that their curiosity after miracles
was not to be satisfied, and that no special favors
were to be bestowed upon them, the congregation
became exasperated to madness; and they rushed
out of the synagogue, hurrying Jesus along with
them, intending to thrust Him over one of the high
cliffs of the hill, on which the city stood. But his hour
was not yet come, and by the way He escaped from
their handswhether by miracle or by the exercise of
natural providence, aided by the presence of his
disciples, is not recorded.
Thus our Lord verified his own proverb; which He
had used before with reference to Galilee in general,
and which He had cited in the synagogue with
reference to Nazareth in particularA prophet hath
no honor (or is not accepted) in his own country,
and, as he added on another occasion, among his
own kindred and acquaintances. This is indeed, as
stated, a matter of general experienceas wide as
life; and parallel expressions have been abundantly
cited from pagan writers, and may be found among
the choice sayings of every country. In all ages,
distinguished men have been least esteemed by
those who have been witnesses of their entire
history, in which the human has been necessarily
more conspicuously visible than the mental or the
spiritual. Jesus also, in regard to his human nature,
had developed himself according to the general laws
of mans life; and it thus became difficult for his
townsmen to recognize his Divine highness in his
human lowness.