Christian Art | Jesus Preaches In Nazareth | King James Audio Bible | King James Version KJV
Luke 4: 16-30 – Week 22 Ordinary Time, Monday (King James Audio Bible KJV | Spoken Word)
16 ¶ 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.
17 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,
18 The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised,
19 To preach the acceptable year of the Lord.
20 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.
21 And he began to say unto them, This day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears.
22 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?
23 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.
24 And he said, Verily I say unto you, No prophet is accepted in his own country.
25 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;
26 But unto none of them was Elias sent, save unto Sarepta, a city of Sidon, unto a woman that was a widow.
27 And many lepers were in Israel in the time of Eliseus the prophet; and none of them was cleansed, saving Naaman the Syrian.
28 And all they in the synagogue, when they heard these things, were filled with wrath,
29 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.
30 But he passing through the midst of them went his way.
The three synoptic Gospels tell us of this episode of Jesus’ life, when he returned home to Nazareth and preached in the synagogue there. Luke’s Gospel gives us the text of Isaiah read by Jesus, in which Jesus’ announces his messianic mission – to bring the good news to the poor, to live and to identify with the poor, to heal us and set us at liberty from sin. As Jesus closes the book, he omits the following from Isaiah 61: 2: ‘…and the day of vengeance of our God.’ This is deliberate interruption. Jesus is not come to maintain old enmities. Jesus’ way is peace. It is the people of all the world who are to be blessed in Christ.
Jesus announces himself as the fulfilment of the prophecy. What follows may seem curious in Luke: ‘And all bare him witness, and wondered at the gracious words which proceeded out of his mouth.’ All speak well of Jesus. The people’s response is wonder. As they ask, ‘Is not this Joseph’s son?’ we may feel we empathize with this question, and see it as being of a piece with the wonder. Jesus’ next words might then seem very strange.
If we look to Matthew’s and Mark’s Gospels, we find slightly different accounts of this episode, which might help us to understand why Jesus speaks as he does. Matthew writes (Matthew 13):
54 And when he was come into his own country, he taught them in their synagogue, insomuch that they were astonished, and said, Whence hath this man this wisdom, and these mighty works?
55 Is not this the carpenter’s son? is not his mother called Mary? and his brethren, James, and Joses, and Simon, and Judas?
56 And his sisters, are they not all with us? Whence then hath this man all these things?
57 And they were offended in him.
We find, then, that wonder is here become astonishment, and the question, ‘Is not this Joseph’s son?’ is elaborated in order to seek to locate Jesus firmly and precisely within the known community, this very location within the known community thereby becoming a denial of Jesus and all he truly is, which utterly transcends what these people can know. This comes as a denial, on the part of the people, of the possibility of freedom, completion, redemption within the community. There is a denial of the potential for Jesus to be here, for absolute good to be realised and discovered within this community. It is as if we were to say: I know you, I know who and what you are, therefore I cannot see Jesus in you. This does not sound like a loving place we might want to be in.
Jesus speaks against those people of Nazareth now in the synagogue. He sees that the people of Nazareth will demand miracles too, this to satisfy their vanity, not to convert them and draw them closer to God. Jesus reproaches the people, speaking of the Old Testament prophets, who were sent by God not to the people of Israel but to foreigners. Jesus reminds the people of the hardness of heart so often evident in the history of the people of Israel, as they turned away from God, sinful, disobedient, hopelessly in error. The crowd now has that same hardness of heart, lacking in faith and humility, in love of God, and this in the synagogue, where they should praise God and not their own pride above all. The people’s anger is so extreme that they seek to kill Jesus. Jesus mysteriously passes through them – his time is not yet – leaving the people to their hatred and their drawing away.
Concluding Prayer
O Lord, you will not withhold
your compassion from me.
Your merciful love and your truth
will always guard me.
For I am beset with evils
too many to be counted.
My sins have fallen upon me
and my sight fails me.
They are more than the hairs of my head
and my heart sinks.
O Lord, come to my rescue,
Lord, come to my aid. (Psalm 39/40)
Mary Magdalene, out of whom seven demons were cast, has remained faithful to Jesus, providing for him through his ministry and staying with him through his death on the cross. Now, while the disciples go back to their homes, Mary remains by the tomb, weeping for Jesus. Her love and sensitivity have led her to be greatly concerned about Jesus. She longs to take care of his body [ … ]
In the Bible, a miracle is an event that is not explicable by natural or scientific laws and is therefore attributed to a divine agency. Miracles are often seen as a sign of the intervention of God in the affairs of human beings. In the Old Testament, the most famous miracles are the Ten Plagues of Egypt, in which God punished the Pharaoh for refusing to release the Israelites from slavery, and the parting of the Red Sea, in which God allowed the Israelites to escape from the pursuing Egyptians by opening a path through the sea. In the New Testament, the miracles of Jesus are a central part of his ministry and are seen as evidence of his divinity. These include healings, such as the restoration of sight to the blind and the raising of the dead, and acts of nature, such as turning water into wine and walking on water. Is There A Theological Significance To Jesus’ Miracles? In the Christian tradition, the miracles performed by Jesus are seen as a manifestation of his divinity and as proof of his authority to teach and heal. Many of these miracles are described in the Gospels of the New Testament, which are the primary source of information about the life and teachings of Jesus. The purpose of the miracles, according to the Gospels, was to demonstrate Jesus’ power over natural forces and to show that he had the authority to forgive sins and offer salvation to those who believed in him. Why Did Jesus Ask To Keep His Miracles Secret? ‘Tell No One Of This.’ In the Gospels, there are a few instances where Jesus tells people not to tell others about what he has done for them. For example, in the Gospel of Matthew, after Jesus healed a man who was possessed by demons, he told the man, ‘See that you tell no one anything, but go, show yourself to the priest and offer the gift that Moses commanded, as a proof to them’ (Matthew 8:4). In this case, it seems that Jesus was concerned that the man’s testimony might not be believed or might be misunderstood, and so he asked him to keep the experience to himself for the time being. It is difficult to say for sure why Jesus might have asked someone to keep quiet about a miracle without knowing the specific context in which the request was made. However, some possible reasons that come to mind include: To avoid drawing unnecessary attention to himself. In the Gospels, Jesus often tries to avoid drawing too much attention to himself, especially from the authorities who are hostile to him. Asking someone to keep quiet about a miracle might be one way of avoiding unwanted attention and allowing Jesus to continue his ministry without interference. To allow the person who was healed to experience the transformation for themselves. In some cases, the person who was healed might have been skeptical or unsure of what had happened to them. Asking them to keep quiet about the miracle might have given them time to reflect on the experience and come to their own understanding of it without being influenced by others. To test the person’s faith. In some cases, Jesus might have asked someone to keep quiet about a miracle as a test of their faith. If they were truly grateful for what Jesus had done for them, they would be willing to follow his instructions and trust that he had a good reason for asking them to keep quiet. These are just a few possible reasons why Jesus might have asked someone to keep quiet about a miracle. It is important to remember that the Gospels are ancient texts and that we must be careful not to impose our own interpretations on them without considering the historical and cultural context in which they were written. To avoid creating conflict or division. In the Gospels, Jesus often encounters people who are skeptical or hostile to his teachings, and he sometimes tries to avoid confrontations with them. Asking someone to keep quiet about a miracle might be one way of avoiding a confrontation or a heated debate that could disrupt his ministry. To avoid being misunderstood or misrepresented. In some cases, the person who was healed might not have understood the full significance of what Jesus had done for them, and they might have tried to explain it in a way that distorted or misrepresented the truth. Asking them to keep quiet might have given Jesus time to explain things to them more fully and help them to understand the true meaning of the miracle. To avoid becoming a spectacle. In the Gospels, there are many instances where people are amazed by the miracles that Jesus performs, and they often try to make him into a kind of celebrity or showman. Asking someone to keep quiet about a miracle might have been one way of avoiding this kind of attention and keeping the focus on the message that Jesus was trying to convey. What Is The Significance Of Miracle Of The Wedding At Cana? In the Christian tradition, the wedding at Cana is significant because it is the first of the miracles performed by Jesus that is recorded in the Gospels of the New Testament. This event is described in the Gospel of John, where it is said that Jesus, along with his mother Mary and his disciples, attended a wedding in the town of Cana. At the wedding, the host ran out of wine, and Mary asked Jesus to help. In response, Jesus turned water into wine, which is seen as a miraculous act that demonstrated his power and authority. In the Gospel of John, after Mary asks Jesus to help with the wine at the wedding in Cana, he replies, “Woman, what does this have to do with me? My hour has not yet come” (John 2:4). This statement is often seen as indicating that Jesus was aware […]
Saint Justin Martyr’s account of Christian Eucharistic worship, written around 155 AD, is one of the earliest and most significant descriptions of the liturgy outside of the New Testament. Composed as part of his First Apology—a formal defense of Christianity addressed to the Roman Emperor Antoninus Pius—this passage reveals not only the centrality of the Eucharist in the life of the early Church but also the theological, communal, and sacrificial dimensions of Christian worship as it was practised just a few generations after the apostles [ … ]
