126. Jesus Christ--Rejected by Home-Town

Jesus Christ--Rejected by Home-Town

Luk 4:13-32. And when the devil had ended all the temptation, he departed from him for a season. And Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit into Galilee: and there went out a fame of him through all the region round about. And he taught in their synagogues, being glorified of all. And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up: and, as his custom was, he went into the synagogue on the sabbath day, and stood up for to read. And there was delivered unto him the book of the prophet Esaias: and, when he had opened, the book, he found the place where it was written, the Spirit of the Lord is upon me, be cause, he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the broken-hearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised; to preach the acceptable year of the Lord. And he closed the book, and he gave it again to the minister, and sat down. And the eyes of all them that were in the synagogue were fastened on him. And he began to say unto them, This day is this Scripture fulfilled in your ears. And all bare him witness, and wondered at the gracious words which proceeded out of his mouth. And they said, is not this Joseph’s son? and he said unto them, Ye will surely say unto me this proverb, Physician, heal thyself: whatsoever we have heard done in Capernaum, do also here in thy country. And he said, Verily, I say unto you, No prophet is accepted in his own country. But I tell you of a truth, many widows were in Israel in the days of Elias, when the heaven was shut up three years and six months, when great famine was throughout all the land: but unto none of them was Elias sent, save unto Sarepta, a city of Sidon, unto a woman that was a widow. And many lepers were in Israel in the time of Eliseus the prophet; and none of them was cleansed, saving Naaman the Syrian. And all they in the synagogue, when they heard these things, were filled with wrath, and rose up and thrust him out of the city, and led him unto the brow of the hill, whereon their city was built, that they might cast him down headlong. But he, passing through the midst of them, went his way, and came down to Capernaum, a city of Galilee, and taught them on the Sabbath-days. And they were astonished at his doctrine; for his word was with power. When the Son of God came for the salvation of a lost world, “verily he took not on him the nature of angels; but he took on him the seed of Abraham;” he assumed not royal state, but, “the form of a servant;” his progress was marked, not by the blood of those who opposed themselves, but by the benefits which he conferred on the evil and unthankful. Subject himself to the sinless infirmities of human nature, he was experimentally taught to sympathize with the weak; “in that he himself hath suffered being tempted, he is able to succor them that are tempted.” The wilderness exhibited a wonderful display of the divine nature united to humanity, of the humiliation of the “man of sorrows and acquainted with grief” and of the majesty of the mighty God, who has all creatures at his disposal, and tinder his control. The “man was an hungered,” and exposed to temptation, and arbitrarily disposed of by an insolent foe: He was humbled to the hearing of blasphemous suggestions, and the bearing of cruel and unmerited insults.--The Divinity miraculously sustained the infirmity of nature, quenched the fiery darts of the devil, put Satan to flight, received the homage and service of angels. In all he presented an object of admiration and love, and in every display of human excellence he exhibited a pattern for imitation.

Jesus had now attained his thirtieth year. The Spirit of God and of glory rested on him; and a voice from heaven had declared, his generation. In the solemnity and solitude of a forty days’ retirement from all human converse, the order of his future procedure is settled, according to the plan of the eternal mind. Behold him then in the power of the Spirit, in the greatness of his strength, in the travail of his soul, returning from the desert into Galilee, to enter on his arduous and important undertaking. The public attention was fixed, and expectation excited by the singular circumstances attending his birth and baptism. The discerning eye of the Baptist saw in him “The great Prophet who should come into the world,” and with the finger he pointed him out as “the lamb of God which taketh away the sin of the world.” His sudden disappearance after his baptism, and after the testimony then borne to him from above, must have been an occasion of some wonder, and a subject of much conversation, for on his return, at the end of the forty days, we find his fame already spread abroad, and a general disposition to receive and to hear him manifested. And where does he begin his career, and what character does he assume, and what arms does he employ? At Rome, the seat of empire, in the triumphant state of a conqueror, with his sword died in the blood of his enemies? No, in Galilee, the proverbially reproachful residence of almost his whole life, in the humble character of a teacher of religion, and employing only the sword of the Spirit which is the word of God. In this we behold him teaching us a generous superiority to the little invidious distinctions, of country and kindred, a noble contempt of the glory of this world, an ardent zeal for the glory of God, a benevolent concern for the happiness of men, and a just discernment of the means best adapted to the attainment of these ends.

What a silent instructer had his childhood and youth been of subjection to parental authority, of contentment with a poor and mean condition, of holiness in all manner of conversation? What an interesting object was presented to the eye in a form so fair, mated by a mind so pure and exalted!--With what delight must the ear have hung upon those lips which wisdom inspired, and into which grace was poured! How commanding, how attractive that goodness which was incessantly aiming at communicating good to others! Is it any wonder that when He became the public and active instructor of his countrymen, he should be “glorified of all?” It was probably about this period, that “the beginning of his miracles” he performed at Cana of Galilee, “and manifested forth his glory,” by turning water into wine, at the marriage solemnity of one of his relations or friends. By this he approved himself the affectionate, condescending, brother of mankind, and, at the same time, the great Lord of nature, to whom all elements are subject; and whereby he reproves the unbending pride of affected wisdom, the uncomplying preciseness which refuses to partake of the harmless intercourse and enjoyments of human life, and the coldness and indifference with which selfishness endeavors to stifle the voice of blood, of friendship, and of natural affection. How greatly must his public ministrations have been enhanced and endeared by the meekness and gentleness of his private deportment? What force must divine truth, delivered in the synagogue, have derived from the utterance of that tongue which in domestic and social communication was governed by “the law of kindness.” In the mere human teacher, the professional appearance must frequently be at variance with the personal; a heart torn with a thousand anxieties, must try to conceal its bitterness under a serene forehead, and calmness of speech; and the unhappy man may be administering to others that consolation to which he himself is a stranger, or, what is infinitely worse, may be called by public duty to declare that truth which is his secret reproach and condemnation. But O how delightful the entertainment, when the hand which dispenses to others can with holy confidence take its own appropriated share! How dignified is the character which, in the closet, in the parlor, in the market place, in the synagogue, in the pulpit, presents but one and the same person, the servant of God, the friend of man; the respectable and amiable member of society, the kind relation, the agreeable neighbor, the gentle master, the patriotic citizen, the faithful pastor! What a model, in all these respects, is presented to the Christian minister, in the person, the character, and the conduct of his divine Master! What must have been the ineffable charm of that divine eloquence which captivated every ear, every heart; which commanded universal admiration and applause; and which, alas, such is the enmity of the carnal mind, so soon roused the vilest and worst of human passions in the breast of his neighbors and acquaintance, envy, and jealousy, and malice, and hatred! O how pleasant it is to accompany, in thought, the blessed Jesus from house to house; from devotional retirement, to useful and necessary employment; from honorable employment to social endearment: from the pure and innocent delights of virtuous friendship, to the solemn and sublime exercises of public worship; and to observe in all the changing scenes, the same lovely simplicity, the same unassuming dignity, the same unvarying charity and good-will! But the evangelist leads us from general to particular ideas; and gives vivacity and effect to our meditations, by bringing them to one point of time, of place, and of expression. Behold him then at Nazareth, where he had been brought up, in the synagogue, on the sabbath-day, according to his usual custom, standing up to read, unfolding the prophecy, the prophecy of Isaias, a remarkable prediction, and himself the subject of it; then closing the book, delivering it again to the minister, sitting down to explain and apply what he had read; and how pleasant it is to mark the emotion which every word, every action produced in an astonished and delighted audience! Everyone of these circumstances seems to merit a few moments’ meditation.

He came to Nazareth. Having visited other parts of Galilee, and taught in their synagogues, and received the cheerful homage which heartfelt gratitude pays to real worth; having performed the duties of a benevolent neighbor and kind relation at Cana, rejoicing with them that rejoiced, and putting respect on the ordinance of God, the idea of home suggests itself, the kind affections become concentrated, the calls of nature are felt and obeyed. At Nazareth his mother dwelt; he was well aware of her maternal tenderness and solicitude: his forty days absence about his “Father’s business” must have filled her with pain inexpressible; her soul was about to be pierced through with many a sword, whose keen point could not be averted; but filial affection will not suffer her to feel the stroke before the time; and what moments of ecstasy to a mother those must have been which passed at Nazareth, in the house and in the synagogue, during this blessed interval! And what delight must it have been to that Son to minister to the consolation of his mother!

He came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up. The scenes in which early life was passed, are painted in lively colors on the imagination. Memory frequently recalls, and the heart fondly cherishes them. They are blended with the ideas of gaiety, and want of care and innocence. I think with rapture on the tree from which my childish hand plucked the golden fruit; on the cooling stream which refreshed the tongue, parched with juvenile exercise; on the flower-enameled turf whereon I cast my weary limbs; on the ascent to the house of God along which my yet unconfirmed footsteps accompanied my venerable grandsire at the hour of prayer; the note of the summoning bell is even now in mine ears. The feeling is natural, it is harmless, perhaps it may be virtuous. And is it a degradation of our subject to say that we see in the history before us, the ingenuous, generous Nazarene, thinking with complacency on the particular spots consecrated by the recollections of early piety, of friendship, and of enjoyment; thinking with affection, such as only the Son of God could feel, on the associates of tender years; on the relations which the hand of nature, on those which the wisdom of Providence had formed; striving in the maturity of thirty, to communicate to grown men that wisdom and happiness, which the unsuspecting, unenvious generosity of twelve delights to convey to its equal. The Savior of the world is here held up in the honorable, engaging, and attractive character of a liberal and generous townsman; rejoicing in the exertion of his ripened talents, his improved powers, his enlarged abilities, for the information, improvement, and comfort of the friends of his youth.

Attend to the place which he chose for this purpose--the place of public assembly, devoted to the service of God, to the conveyance of useful knowledge, and to the devout association of kindred spirits, the synagogue. There is indeed no real difference of place, in respect of sanctity. Wherever God is worshipped “in spirit and in truth,” there is holy ground. But man, swallowed up as he is of sense, must have the devout affections raised by an appeal to the lower faculties of his nature: and the form and situation of the spot where he worships, must be called in to assist the mind, to promote the love of his fellow-worshippers, to give energy to kind affections, and to elevate the soul to the Creator; on the wings of love to the creature whom he has formed after his own image. To thee, blessed Jesus! the city and the wilderness, the mountain and the seashore, the temple and the upper chamber were one and the same thing; but it pleased thee to be a pattern of “decency and order,” to exemplify submission to the ordinance of God, to walk before thy kindred and acquaintance in “things which are lovely and of good report.” The service of the synagogue was not at that time perfectly pure; many corruptions both in doctrine and practice had been introduced, but still God was worshipped there, and Scripture still flowed pure and uncontaminated; and he will not seem to pour contempt on what savored of human imperfection, lest that which was genuine and divine should fall into disrepute. A virtuous state of society, and a pure Church are highly desirable; but in order to enjoy such a happy order of things, a man “must needs go out of the world.” All that wisdom and piety united can achieve, is gradually and temperately to ameliorate the public morals, and to rectify disorders which may have crept into the Church. No vigilance nor sagacity can prevent the enemy from sowing tares among the wheat; but though they may be ever so distinguishable, they are not rudely and prematurely to be rooted up, “lest, while ye gather up the tares, ye root up also the wheat with them.” They must “both grow together until the harvest.” The holy Jesus derived no taint from a disorderly synagogue and a profaned temple; but he restored the order of the synagogue, and the sanctity of the temple. He could contract no impurity by sitting down to meat with publicans and sinners; and learn no hypocrisy by communication with Pharisees; but by the wisdom and purity of his conversation publicans and sinners were reproved, instructed and reformed, and hypocrisy stood detected. There is a mean, dishonorable, and criminal “becoming all things to all men,” for the sordid purposes of self-interest, or the gratification of a vainglorious spirit; but there is likewise an honorable, manly, and praiseworthy accommodation to the wants and wishes of our fellow-creatures, which disinterestedly aims at their good. This lesson “Paul, the servant of Jesus Christ,” and the most independent in spirit of all mankind, had been taught in the school of his divine Master. “For though,” says he, “I be free from all men, yet have I made myself servant to all, that I might gain the more. And unto the Jews I became as a Jew, that I might gain the Jews; to them that are under the law, as under the law, that I might gain them that are under the law; to them that are without law, as without law (being not without law to God, but under the law to Christ) that I might gain them that are without law. To the weak became I as weak, that I might gain the weak: I am made all things to all men, that I might by all means save some. And this I do for the Gospel’s sake, that I might be partaker thereof with you.”

Time permits not at present to proceed on the consideration of the other particular circumstances attending this sacred Lecture of the great Teacher; such as the time when it was delivered--the Sabbath-day; the uniformity and constancy of the practice, as his custom was; the attitude and exercise, he stood up for to read; the subject, a prediction concerning himself from the book of the prophet Esaias; his commentary upon it, this day is this Scripture fulfilled in your ears; and finally, the effect produced on his audience, the eyes of all them that were inthe synagogue were fastened on him; and all bare him witness, and wondered at the gracious words which proceeded out of his mouth. These particulars, therefore, will constitute the subject of our next exercise of this kind. We conclude the present with a few practical reflections.

1. Meditate on the venerability of the Sabbath, the day of sacred rest. It is the ordinance of God himself, who is represented in Scripture, not only as the Author of the institution, but as setting the example of its devout observance. “On the seventh day God ended his work which he had made; and he rested on the seventh day from all his, work which he had made.” He made it a season of solemn contemplation: “God saw everything that he had made, and behold it was very good.” He pronounced a benediction upon it, and set it apart to holy purposes: “And God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it: because that in it he had rested from all his work which God created and made.” It is one of the natural measurements of time, though modern infidelity has made an attempt to efface it. It wears a benevolent and merciful aspect toward man and beast. It is intimately and indissolubly connected with religion. The violation of the sabbath was considered, under the Mosaic dispensation, as a flagrant contempt of the divine authority, and subjected the offender to the punishment of death. To the regular and spiritual observance of it; on the other hand, were annexed many and gracious promises. I quote only the following: “If thou turn away thy foot from the sabbath, from doing thy pleasure on my holy day: and call the sabbath a delight, the holy of the Lord, honorable; and shalt honor him, not doing thine own ways, nor finding thine own pleasure, nor speaking thine own words: then shalt thou delight thyself in the Lord; and I will cause thee to ride upon the high places of the earth, and feed thee with the heritage of Jacob thy father: for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it.” The substitution of the first, in place of the seventh day of the week, under the evangelical dispensation, binds more closely, not relaxes the obligation; and the honor which God has been pleased to put upon it is a sufficient recommendation, independent of the authority of human laws. As, on the contrary, the character of the persons who live in the open and habitual neglect or profanation of it, is the reverse of a recommendation to every man of sense, decency, and virtue. But,

2. Take care not to sink the spirit in the letter of the ordinance. It is a day of rest, but idleness and rest are very different things. The mental composure and repose of the man infinitely transcend the listless inaction of the brute. The body of the man indeed rests from the painful toil of the week, and his mind from its perplexing cares. But this is perfectly consistent with vigorous bodily exertion, and with intenseness of mental application, The feet, the hands, the eye, the tongue, may all be actively employed in rendering; unto God a “reasonable service.” The superior powers of the soul may be in an ascending motion, up to “the Father of lights;” and in a progressive motion, toward the “rest which remaineth to the people of God.” The lips of the wise and good may be devoted to the diffusion of useful knowledge, and the ear of the willing and obedient may drink in the doctrines of truth, and the obligations of duty. This mutual interchange of kind offices will produce an interchange of kind affections. Good-will among men will be preserved and promoted. The bands of Nature will be strengthened by those of religion. To worship in one temple will become a bond of union among brethren, and will extinguish the coal of animosity; and thus “godliness will be found profitable unto all things,” and will exert a happy influence over “the life which now is,” while it embraces “the promise of that which is to come.”

3. Conformity in things of inferior or of no moment, is a duty which we owe both to ourselves and to others; to ourselves, because it is the mark of a gracious and condescending character; to others, because every man has a title to deference and respect, in matters where another man’s conscience is not concerned. Sourness and incompliance are no part of the Spirit of Christ. Nevertheless, many who bear that name discover a tenaciousness of trifles, a bigotry of self-opinion, inconsistent not only with the Christian temper, but with good sense and good manners. This moroseness of disposition levels all distinctions, and affixes the same idea of criminality to an enormous offence and adherence to a harmless form of ceremony. With a man of this description, “He that killeth an ox, is as if he slew a man: he that sacrificeth a lamb, as if he cutoff a dog’s neck; he that offereth an oblation, as if he offered swine’s blood; he that burneth incense, as if he blessed an idol.” Difference of opinion among men is part of the plan of a wise Providence. It affords exercise to human faculties; it expands a field for the display of mutual forbearance; it is a striking manifestation of the variety of the works of God. He who will yield no point, however insignificant, has no reason to expect that his punctilio should be regarded. Were the whole world of this ungainly, untractable, uncomplying nature, society would present a perpetual and universal strife of contradictory feelings, humors and interests. The rule ofthe Gospel is in this case, as in every other, absolute: “All things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them: for this is the law and the prophets.” Indeed the great prophet carries the spirit of his religion much farther: “I say unto you, that ye resist not evil; but whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also. And if any man will sue thee at the law, and take away thy coat, let him have thy cloak also. And whosoever shall compel thee to go a mile, go with him twain. Give to him that asketh thee and from him that would borrow of thee turn not thou away.”

4. Watch and seize every promising opportunity of doing good; and such occur every day that we live. Have we not the poor always with us? Might not the crumbs which fall from that table be given to feed many starving mouths? Do we not live in contact with ignorance and vice, with misery and disease? And is it in our power to grant no relief, not so much as “a cup of cold water?” It is truly humbling to reflect how means and occasions of being useful to the bodies and to the souls of men, and of promoting our own highest interests, have been carelessly neglected, or deliberately abused. Judgment to come; however, sets the matter in a very serious light: “I was an hungered, and ye gave me no meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me not in: naked, and ye clothed me not: sick, and in prison, and ye visited me not.” “Verily, I say unto you, inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me.” But this direction too must be accompanied with a caution. “Let not your good be evil spoken of.” “Give not that which is holy unto the dogs, neither cast ye your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn again and rend you.” There is an officiousness of perhaps well-meaning goodness, which sometimes disdains to weigh the circumstances of times, places, and persons; which will introduce certain topics out of, as well as in season, to the grief of the more prudently serious, the disgust of the lukewarm, and the mirth of the profane. “A word spoken in due season, how good is it!” “A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in pictures of silver. As an earring of gold, and an ornament of fine gold, so is a wise reprover upon an obedient ear.” Finally,

5. Bring forth “things new and old,” from the inexhaustible stores of Scripture. From this sacred repository our blessed Lord derived arguments to silence and confound the adversary, and a subject of instruction for the men of Nazareth. From the same precious treasury, from those “wells of salvation,” the faithful of every age have drawn the waters of consolation, to support and refresh them under every pressure of distress, to counteract the bitterness of death, and to enjoy a foretaste of the “pure river of water of life, proceeding out of the throne of God, and of the Lamb.” “Jesus answered and said,” to the woman of Samaria, at Jacob’s well, “Whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again: but whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life;” and “all Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness; that the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works.” Therefore, “search the Scriptures;” as Christ hath commanded, “for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me.” Ye “have Moses and the prophets;” ye have Christ and his apostles; hear them. If men reject their testimony, “neither will they be persuaded, though one rose from the dead.”