A Practical Commentary on Holy Scripture/XVII. Jesus preaches at Nazareth

by Friedrich Justus Knecht

Chapter XVII.

JESUS PREACHES AT NAZARETH.

[John 4, 43 — 45. Luke 4, 16 — 30. Mark 6, 1—6. Mat. 13, 54.]

FROM Sichar Jesus returned to Nazareth, in His own country^[1], and preached the word of life^[2], as He went. Now in Nazareth He entered the synagogue^[3], on the Sabbath-day, and stood up^[4] to read. They^[5] gave Him the book of Isaias^[6] the prophet. He unfolded ^[7] the book and found ^[8] the place where it was written ^[9]: “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me; wherefore He hath anointed^[10] me to preach the gospel to the poor. He hath sent me to heal^[11] the contrite of heart, to preach deliverance^[12] to the captives^[13] and sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, to preach the acceptable year^[14] of the Lord and the day of reward.”^[15]

When He had closed the book, He returned it to the minister and sat down^[16]. But the eyes of all the synagogue were fixed upon Him. He then told them: “This day is fulfilled ^[17] this scripture in your ears.”

As He thus continued His discourse, all wondered^[18] at the words of grace that fell from His lips. Still they did not believe in Him; for they said one to another: “Is not this the son of Joseph?” ^[19]

But He, answering them, said: “Amen, I say to you that no prophet is accepted^[20] in his own country^[21]. There were many widows in the days of Elias in Israel, when heaven was shut three years and six months, when there was a great famine throughout all the land. Yet to none of them was Elias sent but to a widow at Sarepta of Sidon. There were also many lepers in Israel in the time of Eliseus the prophet; yet none of them was cleansed but Xaaman the Syrian.” ^[22]

Now all those who heard these things in the synagogue were filled with anger^[23]. And rising up, they drove Him out of the city, and took Him to the brow of a mountain to cast Him down headlong. But He, striking them with a sudden terror, passed through their midst^[24] and went His way.

COMMENTARY.

Jesus is the Messias. He proclaimed Himself to be such, when He said: “What the prophet says about the Messias is fulfilled in and by Me.”

Jesus is God. He proved this by the miracle He wrought at Nazareth, passing through the crowd of the furious Nazarenes, who were thirsting for His Blood, without any one among them being able to withstand Him.

Resistance of Grace. In the last chapter we saw how salvation comes to those who correspond with grace. In this chapter we have a terrible example of how salvation is forfeited by resisting grace. The Nazarenes were impressed by the discourse of Jesus, but they did not obey the call of grace which was knocking at their hearts. They resisted it, and would not believe.

Causes of unbelief. The Nazarenes had heard of the great miracle which Jesus had worked close to them at Cana. They had also been to Jerusalem for the Pasch and had witnessed the miracles He worked there (chapter XV); and now He came to them and revealed Himself to be the Messias. Still they did not believe in Him, but tried to kill Him. What was the cause of their unbelief? Firstly, their carnal-mindedness. They expected an earthly Messias, who would be a great prince, and would drive away the Romans and make Israel great in the eyes of the world. The lowliness and poverty of Jesus, therefore, offended them. They wanted their Redeemer to bring them great worldly advantages; they did not care for truth, grace and salvation. Secondly, they despised Jesus, because they had known Him from His childhood; for, as a rule, men do not respect those with whom they are very familiar. Thirdly, a feeling of envy probably arose in them: “Is this man, who is poorer than any of us, to be greater than we are!” The same causes, antipathy to the supernatural, pride &c. &c., are in the present time at the root of much unbelief.

The Sanctification of the Sabbath by frequenting divine services and hearing the word of God. Jesus was in the habit, from His youth up, of going to the synagogue every Sabbath.

Labour honourable. Jesus has sanctified and raised labour and all handicraft to a position of dignity, because, until He began His public life, He followed the trade of a carpenter.

The Sufferings of Jesus. It wounded our Lord's Sacred Heart to be ignored and rejected by His own townsfolk. The Samaritans believed, but the Nazarenes would not believe, and even maltreated Him. Jesus left Nazareth and wandered about without a home, among the very people whom He had come down from heaven to save.

Anger, a capital sin. It was anger which made the Nazarenes attempt to kill Jesus.

Holy Scripture. Jesus, by His reading and subsequent discourse, testified that the prophecies of Isaias were inspired by God. Also, by citing the cases of Elias and Eliseus, He attested that these holy men were indeed sent by God, and that they really worked the miracles which are related of them in Holy Scripture.

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Application. You have been accustomed from your childhood to the Presence of Jesus in the most holy Sacrament of the Altar, and to the holy Sacrifice of the Mass. Take care that you do not think lightly of them! “If this most holy Sacrament were only in one place, and consecrated by only one priest in the world, how great a desire would men have to go to that place and to such a priest of God, that they might see the divine mysteries celebrated” (Imit. of Christ 4, 1). Should your reverence and devotion be less, because Jesus of His infinite love is present on so many altars, and is daily offered up? Would not this be a shameful want of gratitude?

1. His own country. Galilee was called thus, because Jesus had hitherto lived there with His foster-father.
2. Word of life. The good new's that the reign of the Messias, of redemption and of grace had begun.
3. The synagogue. This was the name given to the house of prayer in every town, in which the Jews assembled in order to pray together and to read the Old Testament Scriptures.
4. Stood up. As a sign that He too wished to read out of the sacred books. The reading was preceded by prayers in which the speedy coming of the Messias was urgently asked for. The holy Scriptures were read standing as an outward token of respect for the word of God.
5. They. i. e. the servers of the synagogue.
6. Isaias. It being the turn for this book.
7. Unfolded. The books of the ancients were written, not printed, and were rolled up, something like a school-map, instead of being laid flat and bound up.
8. Found. Not accidentally, but with a wise purpose.
9. Written. The passage which Jesus read was taken from Isaias 61, I 2. It was acknowledged by all the Jews to relate to the Messias, who is himself uttering the words quoted.
10. Anointed. The Lord hath made me God and man; therefore am I His anointed. His Christ.
11. To heal. From their sins.
12. Deliverance. Spiritual.
13. The captives. Of sin and the devil.
14. Year. The jubilee or year of restoration.
15. Reward. Or of judgment.
16. Sat down. As a sign that He wished to expound what He had read, such explanatory discourses being made sitting.
17. Fulfilled. The Messias who is foretold in this passage sits now before you. Thus Jesus explicitly declared that He was the Messias, who had brought grace and truth to all men.
18. All wondered. The words of Jesus were so full of grace, so persuasive and moving, and they flowed from His mouth so easily and sweetly that they made a great impression on His hearers and astounded them. The impression, however, was only a passing one. Soon the doubt occurred to them: Is not this the carpenter’s son, whom we have known from his youth? He is of poor parents and is a carpenter (Mark 6,3); how can this be the Messias? They were offended at His poverty and lowliness, despised His honourable trade, and would not, therefore, believe in Him. Jesus saw with pain the scepticism of His own fellowcitizens and said to them with solemn earnestness: Amen, I say to you &c.
19. Joseph. As if they wished to say that He was of poor parents, and that He had not received a liberal education.
20. Accepted. Well received.
21. His own country. It is with me as it was with the prophets, who found no hearing among their fellow-countrymen, to whom they were sent. Then our Lord quoted the examples of the two prophets, Elias and Eliseus, who worked such great miracles, and who yet found less belief among the Israelites than among the heathen (Old Test. LXII).
22. The Syrian. No Israelite had as much faith as the pagan Naaman (Old Test. LXV).
23. With anger. They felt the severity of our Lord’s reproof. The truth, however, irritated them instead of converting them. As they could not refute His words, they tried to kill Him, for falsely (as they said) setting Himself up to be the Messias.
24. Their midst. To the edge of the mountain, where there were several precipices which can still be seen. He allowed them to force Him thither; but once there, He turned round and passed with calm majesty through the crowd of persecutors, who, subdued by a supernatural force, stood there helpless and, as it were, paralysed.