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Since His return to Galilee from Jerusalem, He had met with great success. He had taught in their Synagogues to the extent that He had gained, for Himself, a great reputation.
Just a few facts about the Synagogue:
When Jesus went into the city of Nazareth, He attended the Synagogue, as was His practice. They had, in the Synagogue, seven readers every Sabbath. A priest, a Levite and five members of the congregation, layman of pure Jewish extraction. Jesus preached in many Synagogues but never read in any of them accept in this one of which He had been a member for many years.
The Book of the Prophet Isaiah (Esaias) was given to Him. This was the second lesson for that day. Notice the reader did not choose his own text, nor did he know ahead of time what it was going to be. Jesus was appointed to read Isaiah the 24th. chapter, the 11th. verse. This was plainly the hand of the Lord working for in this text a full account is given of the mission of The Christ.
Notice what Isaiah had to say about The Christ:
Jesus took the book and read the text, then He gave it back to the attendant and set down to speak. Al eyes were upon Him. Now, as was the custom, He began His dissertation on the text that He had just read. He amazed them all by saying, "This day, this scripture is fulfilled." That is all we have recorded of what must have been a gracious and enlightening sermon. They were held spellbound until someone said, "Isn't this Joseph's son?"
Some took occasion to admire Him all the more because of His humble beginning, others concluded that there could not be anything good come from that beginning. Christ was aware of the thoughts that were passing through their minds. He knew that they were expecting Him to work miracles among them as He had in other places. Most of His miracles up to this point had to do with healing, why shouldn't the sick of His own city be healed? Why shouldn't the disease of "unbelief" be healed?
Notice He answered by plain and positive reasoning, an accepted truth, "No Prophet is accepted in his own country." It was obvious to Jesus that it would not make much difference what He did, He would still be simply the son of Joseph. Jesus attempted to show them that this truth was nothing new, He sights several examples that were well know to them.
The first concerned Elijah. Remember, there was a famine in the land at the time of Elijah. Many people had died. For some reason, more men that women died leaving many widows in the land. Elijah, a man of some means, supported a widow outside the Commonwealth of Israel in the Providence of Phoenicia in the town of Sidon, because God could not find any widows in the land of Israel who had faith enough to accept Elijah as a Prophet.
The second reference concerned the Prophet Elisha. There were many lepers in the country of Israel at the time of Elisha, but none of them had faith enough in Elisha to be healed. But Naaman, the Syrian Commander, a Gentile, had faith enough to travel many miles to speak to Elisha and to humble himself by ducking 7 times in the muddy waters of the Jordan, simply because Elisha told him to, and was healed.
Notice how angry they become when Jesus points out that even many years before God found faith among Gentiles greater than theirs. They became so angry that they led Him to the brink of a cliff and were going to throw Him headlong down to what would surly have been His death, but, His hour had not yet come and He passed through the midst of them, unhurt.
Those whom He knew best and longest, those whom He had grown up with, whom He loved, those whom He would have gathered to Himself, threw Him out. So He went on His way.
This completes His early ministry. We continue the study of His ministry , putting it in chronological order to the best of our ability, picking up the accounts in Matthew, Mark and Luke of His ministry here in Galilee but with headquarters in the city of Capernaum.
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