#64 Jesus Rejected Again at Nazareth

#64 Jesus Rejected Again at Nazareth

Please first read: Matthew 13:54-58 & Mark 6:1-6

Our Lord of the Gospels

President J. Reuben Clark Jr.

            “Jesus returns to Nazareth and teaches in the synagogue; the people marvel at him, his preaching, his works, they refer to the fact that his mother, his brothers, and sisters are still among them; he tells them a prophet is not without honor save in his own country, but he can there do no great works; “he laid his hands upon a few sick folk, and healed them;” he marvels because of their unbelief.”

Jesus the Christ

Apostle James E. Talmage

            “It will be remembered that, in the early days of His public ministry, Jesus had been rejected by the people of Nazareth, who thrust Him out from their synagog and tried to kill Him. It appears that subsequent to the events noted in our last chapter, He returned to the town of His youth, and again raised His voice in the synagog, thus mercifully affording the people another opportunity to learn and accept the truth. The Nazarenes, as they had done before, now again openly expressed their astonishment at the words He spoke, and at the many miraculous works He had wrought; never the less they rejected Him anew, for He came not as they expected the Messiah to come; and they refused to know Him save as “the carpenter, the son of Mary, the brother of James, and Joses, and Simon;” all of whom were common folk as were also His sisters. “And they were offended at him.” Jesus reminded them of the proverb then current among the people, “A prophet is not without honor, but in his own country, and among his own kin, and in his own house.” Their unbelief was so dense as to cause Him to marvel; and because of their lack of faith He was unable to accomplish any great work except to heal a few exceptional believers upon whom He laid His hands. Leaving Nazareth, He entered upon His third tour of the Galilean towns and villages, preaching and teaching as He went.”

Doctrinal New Testament Commentary Volume 1

Apostle Bruce R. McConkie

            Mark 5 “He could there do no mighty work. According to the eternal laws which Jesus himself ordained in eternity, miracles are the fruit of faith. Where there is faith, there will be signs, miracles, and gifts of the Spirit. Where there is no faith, these things cannot occur. (Mormon Doctrine, pp. 242-248, 459-461) The Master could not and would not violate his own law, and therefore most of his own townsmen were denied the blessings of his healing ministry. On the same basis men cannot be saved in their sins; (Alma 11:37) the Lord has ordained the laws by which salvation and all good things come, and until obedience prepares the way, the promised blessings are withheld. (D & C 88:21-24; 130:20-21; 132:5) Men can no more be saved without obedience than they can be healed without faith. All things operate by law; blessings result from obedience to law and are withheld when there is no obedience.”

A Companion to Your Study of the New Testament: The Four Gospels

Daniel H. Ludlow

            Matthew 13:54 “Whence hath this man this wisdom, and these mighty works?” could have been translated, “Where did this man get this wisdom and these powerful works?”

            “By acknowledging that Jesus and his teachings and works were far beyond anything they had witnessed or imagined, the Nazarenes were witnesses against themselves when they failed to accept him as the Messiah and rejected his teachings.”

The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah, Volume 1

Alfred Edersheim

            “It almost seems, as if the departure of Jesus from Capernaum marked a crisis in the history of that town. From henceforth it ceases to be the centre of His activity, and is only occasionally, and in passing, visited. Indeed, the concentration and growing power of Pharisaic opposition, and the proximity of Herod’s residence at Tiberias would have rendered a permanent stay there impossible at this stage of our Lord’s history. Henceforth, His Life is, indeed, not purely missionary, but He has no certain dwelling-place: in the sublime pathos of His own language, ‘He hath not where to lay His Head.’

            “The circumstances of the present visit, as well as the tone of His countrymen at this time, are entirely different from what is recorded of His former sojourn at Nazareth. (Luke 4:16-3) The tenacious narrowness, and the prejudices, so characteristic of such a town, with its cliques and petty family pride, all the more self-asserting that the gradation would be almost imperceptible to an outsider, are, of course, the same as on the former visit of Jesus. Nazareth would have ceased to be Nazareth, had its people felt or spoken otherwise than nine or ten months before. That His fame had so grown in the interval, would only stimulate the conceit of the village-town to try, as it were, to construct the great Prophet out of its own building materials, with this additional gratification that He was thoroughly their own, and they possessed even better materials in their Nazareth. All this is so quite according to life, that the substantial repetition of the former scene in the Synagogue, so far from surprising us, seems only natural. What surprises us is, what He marvelled at: the unbelief of Nazareth, which lay at the foundation of its estimate and treatment of Jesus. Upon their own showing their unbelief was most unwarrantable. If ever men had the means of testing the claims of Jesus, the Nazarenes possessed them.”

The One Bible Commentary

J.R. Dummelow

Mark 6:5 Faith was lacking on the part of the people involved. Their inability was moral. “He did not there many mighty works.” Only in a very few cases did Jesus waive this requirement.

Plutarch says, “You will find that few of the most prudent and wisest of mankind have been appreciated in their own country.”

Glenn R. McGettigan

June 2019

References

“Our Lord of the Gospels.” Clark

“Jesus the Christ.” Talmage

“Doctrinal New Testament Commentary.” Volume 1. McConkie

“Your Companion Study of New Testament: The Four Gospels.”  Ludlow

“The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah.” Volume 1. Edersheim

“One Volume Bible Commentary.” Dummelow     

#30 Rejected at Nazareth

#30 Rejected at Nazareth

Please first read: Isaiah 61:1-2.; Luke 4:16-31

President J.R. Clark, Jr.:

“Jesus comes to Nazareth; he goes to the synagogue on the Sabbath day, as was his custom; he reads and expounds the scriptures; all the people are surprised at his ‘gracious words.’ He continues preaching and shows how God has blessed others than the Israelites, he charges them with expecting him to do his works there; and he shows how few have been ministered to in the past, and says no prophet is accepted in his own country; angered, they thrust him out of the synagogue and the city, then take him to the brow of a hill to cast him down headlong, but he passes through their midst and goes his way.”   

After Samaria Jesus continues to Galilee; he has been away for several months. He first goes to Cana, recognizing that the people in Nazareth will probably see him only as the carpenter … “a prophet hath no honor in his own country.” Jesus had grown up and worshiped as a youth in this very synagogue. Jesus considers they will only accept his miracles and this is not a sufficient foundation for their faith.

The Nazarenes are aware of the reported fame and miracles and doings of Jesus and will expect to see these things for themselves … they will want to test Jesus. The Galileans and those of Cana, however, gladly receive him … he is “glorified by all.”

For over seven centuries various Jewish prophets have foretold their people in detail of the events, actions, and locations regarding the coming of the Messiah. This has been a primary message of Isaiah, one of their most read and revered prophets. Many, if not all, of those attending the synagogue this day, and certainly their leaders would immediately recognize in Jesus’ words that he was announcing himself as the long-anticipated Messiah … this was blasphemy!

Synagogue worship on the Sabbath was mandatory for the faithful of these people and, as was his custom, Jesus is here to attend. In Nazareth there is probably only one synagogue. It would be simple in its appointments, features, and size, and face towards Jerusalem. Seating is segregated … women on one side, men on the other. The whole congregation will stand (including the reader) for the reading of the scripture, which for today is from Isaiah. The Jewish rule was for the audience to listen in silence and then be vocal with questions or objections, and react to their feelings after the reader gives his commentary on what he has read. Today that reaction will be one of indignation and rebellion.

A typical Sunday service presided over by the President or Minister would be something like this:

Singing a psalm

Reading of scriptures, rules, and blessings

Reading from the Torah (Law), and the Prophets … two main Bible pieces

Jesus was then handed a scroll of the prophet Isaiah with a passage of scripture probably marked for him to read. As required he stands and reads what is in our Bible as Isaiah 61:1-2, and Luke 4:18-19, 21. Jesus, as was the custom, then sits down to expound on what he has just read.

Points to Consider:

The faithful knew and understood what and who these scriptures meant. All Jewry knew this referred to the Messiah, their deliverer (verses 18-19 and 21.) This was blasphemy!  “The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me.”  “‘Anointed’ by God.”  “The acceptable year of the Lord.”  “This day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears.” Jesus knew in advance what their thoughts and reactions would be. They expected to see signs, wonders, and miracles, as they had recently been hearing about, instead they heard this. In our speaking it is as if he said, “I am here, I am your Deliverer, Messiah, your Savior.” Blasphemy! And their reactions would be as expected.

Probably as in our day, when a general authority or visiting church leader comes to visit we are excited to hear what they have to tell us. So it was in that day. Preaching was engraved in their history and the visiting authority was given free rein as to what he would say. Jesus first states what the work is that he is called to do; how he is qualified to do this work; and how he has been commissioned by God to this labor.

“Physician heal thyself,” was a well-known proverb among the Jews, and was especially used by the rabbis. A physician must heal himself of his diseases or he cannot have power to heal others. Their thoughts would be: you have performed wonderful works elsewhere but not here, and you are a native son of Nazareth … show us signs of your power and authority.

Symbolisms used by Jesus and understood by the Jews:

·         “poor” … the meek, humble

·         “broken hearted” … spiritually broken

·         “bruised and captive” … departed souls now in spirit prison

·         “blind” … spiritually, have had no chance yet to hear the gospel

·         “Acceptable year of the Lord” … the Father has said now is the time, day and place for the coming of the Messiah.  

Seeing their unfriendly reactions to his words of joy, healing and deliverance, he then turned to their long history of rejecting their prophets. He tells them because they have done this blessings have been withheld from them, the Lord’s chosen people; not only withheld but given instead to others.

Jesus picks two good examples of this: two ancient prophets dishonored by the Jews. (Elijah-Luke 4:25 Elijah, and Elisha-Luke 4: 27). They then gave great blessings upon other people … gentiles and foreigners. The implication here is that the Nazarenes are following the same pattern with Jesus. The audience upon hearing all these things was “filled with wrath” and “thrust him out of the city.”

What irony here: as Jesus slipped through the crowd and disappeared he gave them precisely the miracle/sign they were asking for. He will now use Capernaum as his home city.

Glenn R. McGettigan   

December 2014

References:

“Our Lord of the Gospels.” J.R. Clark    

“Doctrinal New Testament Commentary.” McConkie

“The Mortal Messiah.” McConkie

“The Life of Christ.” Farrar    

“Jesus the Christ.” Talmage  

“The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah.” Edersheim     

“The Gospel According to Luke, I-IX.” Fitzmyer    

 “Bethany Parallel Commentary of the New Testament.”     

“Smith’s Bible Dictionary.”    

#10 Flight to Egypt; Herod Slays Innocents; Return from Egypt

#10 Flight to Egypt; Herod Slays Innocents; Return from Egypt

Please first read: Matthew 2:1-23

JST Matthew 3:2-6, 13, 14, 19, 22

Timeline of events:

Flight to Egypt

After the Wise Men leave, an angel of the Lord comes to Joseph in a vision and tells him to flee to Egypt “until I bring thee word” for Herod will try to find and destroy the Child. Joseph promptly leaves by night for Egypt and remains there until the death of Herod, fulfilling the prophecy “out of Egypt have I called my Son.”

Babes and Children Slain

Herod realizes the Wise Men have tricked him ... he is furious and orders all children in and around the coasts (area) of Bethlehem, two years old and under, slain. Herod used the time of his seeing the Wise Men and the time the star appeared to them to reckon from.

Return from Egypt

After the death of Herod, the angel comes again in a vision to Joseph in Egypt and tells him to take Mary and Jesus “into the land of Israel” as it is now safe. Joseph does so, but then he learns that Herod's son, Archelaus, is reigning in his father's stead in Judea, (Bethlehem and Jerusalem are both in this province.) Joseph is afraid ... he receives another vision from God telling him to go into the province of Galilee instead as Archelaus has no authority there.  (There is an ancient prophecy that “He shall be called a Nazarene.”)

Nazareth to Egypt

As we reflect on the first few years of Joseph and Mary as a newly married couple, and then as a family with a child, we easily see numerous difficulties and hardships which they faced.  

When Mary returns to Nazareth from her visit to Elizabeth, she is obviously with child. The betrothal is completed in marriage, and in the next few years they travel:

·         from Nazareth to Bethlehem; Jesus is born

·         from Bethlehem to Jerusalem; to the temple

·         from Jerusalem to Nazareth

·         from Nazareth to Bethlehem

·         from Bethlehem to Egypt

·         from Egypt to Bethlehem and on to Nazareth

Considering the normal range of age (mid-teens) in which Jewish girls were betrothed into marriage, Mary would be in her late teen years when they at last settle as a family in Nazareth.   Among other things, they faced financial and logistical problems, hazards of travel, security, and, it would appear, with only a small support group. God certainly made sure that the necessary events would take place, but it must not have been easy for the young couple.

At this time Egypt was a Roman Province but outside of Herod's jurisdiction. It had been a place of refuge for Jews since the time of the house of Jacob. A million or more Jewish people lived there at this time. Joseph would have found work, friendship, and hospitality in these communities. It is unknown how long the family may have lived in Egypt, maybe weeks, or months, or possibly, up to several years.

Herod Orders the Slaying of Innocents

Herod lived in constant fear of anyone that might be a threat to him as king. The forthcoming of a Messiah, a Deliverer, had been prophesied and anticipated for many years throughout these middle-east nations. Stories of such a possible arrival had caused fear and hostility among powerful people in the past. When the wise men came to Herod asking where the newborn king was it threw him into a frenzy.

Herod was a very cruel and evil tyrant ... merciless to any family, friend, or enemy that might be a threat to his reign. He was not unlike many other tyrannical rulers of that time (and since) whose regimes existed on the lives of those slain. Infanticide was a crime dreadfully rife in the days of the Roman Empire and the ancient world. Those Herod had ordered murdered included priests, nobles, his wife Mariamne, several sons, uncles, a father-in-law, mother-in-law, and various ‘friends.’ Of Herod, Augustus Caesar said, “It is better to be Herod's pig than his son.”

Herod is now ill and near his death. When the wise men fail to return and tell him where the Child is, he orders the slaying of all male children two years old and under. This means those born in and around the area of Bethlehem within a three-year period. The total population was small in number and historians believe probably as many as 20 children were slain ... a maximum number of 40. No historical record exists outside of the Bible that tells of this event of murder.

Return from Egypt

The time arrives when Herod and others who “sought the young child's life” are dead. An angel comes to Joseph in vision and tells him it is safe to “take the young child and his mother, and go into the land of Israel.” They find that Herod's son, Archelaus, now reigns over the area of Bethlehem so for this and other reasons Joseph and Mary do not settle there. They make their home again in Nazareth.

Other Items of Interest

When the wise men visited Jesus, they may have hinted to Joseph their misgivings about Herod's inquiry as to the location of the child.

Ancient Jewish prophets had foretold of various things about the Messiah when He would come:  He would be of the line of David ... He would be born in Bethlehem ... “He shall be called a Nazarene” ... “I have called my Son out of Egypt"... “He shall be a Galilean.” There is no record of Jesus ever being challenged as to not fulfilling any of these.

                                 

Fleeing to Egypt for a period of time and then returning to a small village away from Jerusalem gave time for the excitement and opposition surrounding His birth to subside.

The rich gifts of the wise men could have helped make the trip to Egypt possible.

Glenn R. McGettigan

January 2012; Revised March 2014

References:

“Our Lord of the Gospels.” Clark

“Life and Teachings of Jesus Christ.” Brown, Holzaphel, Wayment

“Doctrinal New Testament Commentary.” McConkie

“The Mortal Messiah.” Volume 1. McConkie

“Jesus the Christ.” Talmage