03.10. The synagogue at Nazareth

The synagogue at Nazareth As long as human societies have existed, people of note have often received recognition everywhere except in the localities where they are best known. Or as the proverb says, a prophet is honoured everywhere except in his own town. Jesus experienced this when hereturned to his home town of Nazareth and preached in the synagogue. The people could not believe that this one, who they knew only as the carpenter’s son, could preach so well.¹ But Jesus was not concerned with impressing people. On the contrary, he challenged people by reading Scriptures that he boldly applied to himself as the Saviour-Messiah.² He knew the people would demand that he perform miracles to support his claim, but he refused to do so. Rejection by his hometown people was but a foretaste of the wider rejection he would suffer from the nation as awhole.³ The professed worshippers of God are not always as open-hearted as they should be. Instead of being glad when God’s mercy is extended to those who do not share their religious heritage, social status, or racial origins, they become resentful, jealous, and at times violent. Jesus gave two illustrations to show how, in Israel’s history, God’s messengers were sometimes more appreciated by foreigners than by Israelites. In the first illustration, Elijah was unpopular in Israel but welcomed in Lebanon. In the second, Elisha was rejected by Israelites but sought by a Syrian.⁴

Though brief and simple, the two illustrations were enough to stir up that nationalistic prejudice that inhabits most human beings. The congregation of normally well-behaved worshippers now tried to kill him. People would not tolerate such unorthodoxy, especially if Jesus was suggesting that God would accept Lebanese and Syrians ahead of them.⁵ 1. Luke 4:16; Luke 4:22; Luke 4:24

2. Luke 4:17-21 3. Luke 4:23; cf. John 1:9-11

4. Luke 4:25-27

5. Luke 4:28-30

Interior of a synagogue