18: First Rejection at Nazareth
We often think of rejection as a “one-time thing”—a public personality does or says “one thing,” resulting in their “cancelation.” This “cancellation” phenomenon is a very late modern idea, primarily after the advent of social media and high-speed communications. In the ancient world, “the street” could be fickle for years, sometimes supporting a public figure and sometimes tearing them down.
It should not be surprising, then, that everyone in Israel does not immediately reject Jesus at all times, nor that his support would be tempered on whether he is attacking or supporting some other popular institution.
As we see Luke 4:16–28, when Jesus presses “the crowds,” they reject him just as quickly as the Jewish leadership.
And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up. And as was his custom, he went to the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and he stood up to read.
Luke 4:16
In Jesus’ time, the order of Synagogue service was well established within each region. In Nazareth, as part of Palestine, the service would include:[1]
- The singing of a Psalm
- A prayer from “The Eighteen Benedictions”
- Recitation of the Shema
- A prayer from “The Eighteen Benedictions”
- Seven members of the congregation would read at least three passages from a selection in the Torah (the Law); they were not allowed to omit anything from their reading
- A scroll from among the Prophets was selected and laid on the table
- A member of the congregation who had studied the selection, or a visiting Rabbi, would read a portion of the Prophet
- The reader of the Prophets would expound on the passage they read
- Closing readings and prayers (depending on whether a priest was present, etc.)
At each point, the Hebrew of the original Scriptures was translated into Aramaic.
Our general impression of the ancient world, specifically Israel, is that people were largely uneducated. There might have been a few, such as tax collectors, who could read and write a form of shorthand. Others, such as religious leaders, could read the Scriptures. Our general impression is that the average Jew in Galilee was uneducated, particularly in the Scriptures.
The whole of the Scriptures and Jewish culture refute this view. During the Second Temple period, Jewish men would gather in groups late at night called the Haberim to study the Scriptures. Relying on memorized passages and possibly granted access to a synagogue’s scrolls, men would discuss the meaning of passages and consider the coming Messiah.[2]
Jesus didn’t need to be known as “Rabbi” to gain an invitation to read—he simply needed to attend synagogue regularly and be known to the congregation as one who studied the Scriptures. Since Jesus grew up in this area, he was probably known for his knowledge of the Scriptures.
Hence, he was given the scroll this particular Saturday and asked to read. Jesus chose to read parts of three passages, as shown below.
There are two puzzling points about Jesus’ selection:
- Jesus seems to draw from various points in the Scriptures rather than a single point
- Jesus leaves out the second part of Isaiah 61:2
While the congregation would not accept selecting different parts of the Torah this way, selecting different parts of the Prophets and even leaving intervening passages out was accepted practice.
Jesus explicitly leaves out one part of Isaiah 61:2, “and the day of the vengeance of the Lord.” This omission sets the parameters of the ministry of Christ—Jesus’s ministry will be about proclaiming “good news” rather than executing vengeance. This omission alerted his listeners—and readers these thousands of years later—that prophecies can be fulfilled in parts over long stretches of time.
Aside: Has the second part of this prophecy been fulfilled? Gathering all the available data about the “Day of the Lord,” no apparent point in recorded history appears to fulfill its description. The “Day of the Lord” can be spiritualized, as many theologians have done through the ages. Still, we should avoid changing events the Scriptures describe as literal into spiritual events.
Jesus also includes a single part of Isaiah 58. This inclusion is interesting; the setting, or purpose, of Isaiah 58 is far different than that of Isaiah 61. While Isaiah 61 proclaims the freedom resulting from the Servant’s commission completion, Isaiah 58 describes people abusing their freedom. The first dark overtone is included in this passage. Jesus has come to set those who have faith in him free—but what will they do with that freedom?
Much has been made of Jesus’ statement that he has come “to proclaim good news to the poor.” In our modern economically focused world, this is often taken to mean that Jesus came to solve economic injustice—but the two examples Jesus uses of “the poor” as he continues speaking counter this economic focus.
. . . there were many widows in Israel in the days of Elijah, when the heavens were shut up three years and six months, and a great famine came over all the land, and Elijah was sent to none of them but only to Zarephath, in the land of Sidon, to a woman who was a widow. And there were many lepers in Israel in the time of the prophet Elisha, and none of them was cleansed, but only Naaman the Syrian.
Luke 4:25–27
Zarephath was poor, but Naaman was not. Jesus’ statement, then, is not about being financially poor. It is about Israel’s rejection of Jesus just as they rejected Elijah and Elisha (and every other prophet of God). Israel is spiritually poor, unwilling to listen to or heed the words of God.
At first glance, the congregation’s reaction appears to be somewhat positive.
And all spoke well of him and marveled at the gracious words that were coming from his mouth. And they said, “Is not this Joseph’s son?”
Luke 4:22
However, “well of” is added by the English translation. The crowd “spoke of him” and “wondered at his words about grace.” Isn’t this the “son of Joseph,” a man of no special social or religious standing? His lack of understanding is evident in their minds—the “Day of the Lord” must come before the Servant sets Israel free. Wasn’t he “one of them?” Having grown up in Nazareth, didn’t Jesus “owe them signs and miracles?”
And what of this intermingling of the Prophet’s warning about their use of freedom? Are the people of Nazareth among “the poor” who would reject Elijah and Elisha? Things escalate quickly once Jesus drives the point home that they are, in fact, among the spiritually poor.
When they heard these things, all in the synagogue were filled with wrath. And they rose up and drove him out of the town and brought him to the brow of the hill on which their town was built, so that they could throw him down the cliff. But passing through their midst, he went away.
Luke 4:28–30
Jesus, facing his first rejection, escapes through the crowd. This rejection at Nazareth is only the beginning of rejection. There will be many more in the future, culminating in a rejection that alters his relationship with the generation of Israel living during his incarnation.
[1] David J. MacLeod, “The Year of Public Favor, Part 1: Jesus’ Inaugural Sermon,” Emmaus Journal 11, no. 1 (2002): 1–39.
[2] Kenneth E. Bailey, Jesus through Middle Eastern Eyes: Cultural Studies in the Gospels (Downers Grove, IL: IVP Academic, 2008), 147.