Sermon at Nazareth

Jesus evidently did not return immediately to Nazareth. Matthew 4:12 seems to indicate that he returned to Galilee after John had been imprisoned, and John 3:23-24 implies that some time elapsed between Jesus' baptism and John's imprisonment. During this time, Jesus may have had time to minister in Judea. He also seems to have visited other towns in Galilee before returning to Nazareth. His ministry was extensive enough that news about him spread around the countryside before he returned to Nazareth.

This account of rejection at Nazareth, presented at the beginning of Jesus' ministry, highlights certain critical characteristics of his ministry: (1) the response of wonder at his teachings coupled with persistent unbelief and rejection (Luke 4:22, 28), (2) his ministry as the fulfillment of Scripture (Luke 4:21), (3) his concern for the poor and oppressed (Luke 4:8-19), and (4) his ultimate aim of including Gentiles in the people of God (Luke 4:26-27). See WLC 42.

First, it appears the people accepted Jesus' teaching (Luke 4:22), but turned against him very quickly (Luke 4:22-30). Jesus says, "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" (Luke 4:23). Here as elsewhere (Luke 5:22; 6:8; 7:40; 9:47; 11:17) Jesus demonstrated his unique awareness of others' thoughts. Hughes comments upon the passage saying:

Jesus said exactly what the pious worshipers, the good people of Nazareth, were thinking. "If he's a prophet, I'm Isaiah! How about a few tricks? Its not to much to ask of a real prophet. Blind? Poor? Prisoners? Oppressed? Who does he think he is?"

The fact is, they already had enough evidence to believe in him - the objective evidence of the miracles in Capernaum Jesus had alluded to. All Galilee, which was only twenty-five by forty miles, was talking about what had happened. Their difficulty in accepting him did not come from the lack of objective evidence. As David Gooding writes:

It was an irrational - or at least non-rational-instinctive, emotional bias. It would be difficult for them to overcome this emotional bias; but the difficulty was on their side not on his. They would have to recognize its existence, and overcome it, if ever they were going to be fair to the evidence.

But the debate over evidence aside, Jesus went right to the heart of the matter, which was their spiritual self-sufficiency and pride. To make his point, he cited two famous Old Testament examples.

Jesus illustrates his point first from 1 Kings 17:7-16. The starving widow obeyed Elijah's strange words. The good news was because she believed for as long as the famine endured, she had flour and oil (1 Kings 17:15-16). She was not like those at Nazareth. She did not demand to see a miracle first. Without any evidence (1 Kings 17:13-15), this Gentile woman gave her last meal to him. Why? Very simply, she realized her absolute poverty and fatal lack of resources.

However, Jesus was not finished. Now he illustrates his point yet again - a double witness (Deut. 19:15) - using Elisha and Naaman. Hughes' says:

If the people were insulted by the widow's story, the next example brought even greater anger. Jesus continued, "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" (Luke 4:27). Naaman was the commander of the Syrian army and was sent by the king of Syria to be cured of leprosy. The Israelite king thought Syria was simply creating a pretext for war. But Elisha calmed him, directing that Naaman be sent to the prophet. Upon Naaman's arrival, Elisha sent a messenger instructing him to go wash seven times in the Jordan and he would be cleansed.

Naaman went away angry and said, "I thought that he would surely come out to me and stand and call on the name of the LORD his God, wave his hand over the spot and cure me of my leprosy. Are not Abana and Pharpar, the rivers of Damascus, better than any of the waters of Israel? Couldn't I wash in them and be cleansed?" So he turned and went off in a rage. (2 Kings 5:11-12).

Why, then, did Naaman change his mind? Because his servants convinced him to, arguing that if he had been asked to do a great thing, something he could have been proud of, he would have done it. So why not do the humiliating thing and be cured?

The fine citizens of Nazareth had heard enough. It was bad enough to be told that they were poor and blind and captive and oppressed, but now to be told they were less spiritual and less wise than the Gentiles, both Naaman and the widow, was just too much! In fact, they did not even sit through the rest of the synagogue service - the Aaronic benediction and the Amens. Rather, "All the people in the synagogue were furious when they heard this. 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" (Luke 4:28, 29).

However, it was not yet the Lord's time. "But he walked right through the crowd and went on his way" (Luke 4:30).