Last week, in our Gospel reading from Luke, we read how very early in His ministry, the Lord Jesus returned to His hometown of Nazareth, the village where He was raised, and where He spent part of His adulthood before He started His ministry. The first Sabbath after Jesus had arrived, He attended Sabbath services in the local synagogue. While at the synagogue, Jesus asked for the scroll containing the Book of Isaiah, and He proceeded to read aloud some Scripture. When He was finished, Jesus then stated some astonishing words, saying that this Scripture was being fulfilled right then, in their hearing. That is where we left off a week ago. Today’s Scripture contains the rest of the story. Let’s jump right in.
Many of us might think that we would be welcomed if we came back to the village we grew up in, and at first it seemed that Jesus’ former neighbors and villagers did welcome Him back home. At first they thought He preached well, and was a good speaker. However, as He proceeded to bring His message that first Sabbath day, they quickly changed their attitude. Some of them spoke among themselves, saying “Isn’t this Joseph, the carpenter’s son?” (vs. 22). This sort of implied the thought of “Who does this guy think He is, telling us these things? He’s just a common carpenter, the son of a carpenter, not some learned scribe in Jerusalem! Does He think He’s better than us?”
Jesus, being divine, knew their thoughts and attitude towards Him. With hearts that were cold and hostile against Him, Jesus would not be able to accomplish much there. He then reminded the people of a proverb, how prophets are not usually welcomed in their hometowns (vs. 24). Jesus proceeded to remind them of some people in the Bible, namely Elijah and Elisha, and how God sent them to “outsiders” to perform some of their great miracles (vs. 25-27). That really angered the people of Nazareth. They felt that they, rather than any “outsider”, certainly deserved miracles, and that Jesus, just the local carpenter’s boy, certainly wasn’t a man of God. They were so furious, that some of them even wanted to kill Jesus by hurling Him off of a cliff outside of town (vs. 28-30). However, since it was neither the time nor the way that Jesus should die, He walked away from the angry, murderous mob.
Jesus left the village He had grown up in and had spent so many years in. As far as is recorded in the Gospels, that was the only time Jesus went to Nazareth during His years of ministry. Because of the hardness of their hearts and unbelief, He did no mighty works, and only healed a few sick folks (Mark 6:5). Jesus and His disciples then traveled about 30 miles away to the village of Capernaum, which became something like His unofficial Galilean headquarters.
As our Scripture passage continues, we read of two miracles that Jesus performed while in Capernaum this time. Let’s take a look at both of these. When the Sabbath came around, Jesus attended Sabbath services at Capernaum’s synagogue. Again, He gave a message, and here the people were much more welcoming, and had open hearts and minds (vs. 31-32). While there, a man possessed with a demon came and started shouting at Jesus. Immediately He rebuked the demon, which obeyed and came out (vs. 33-37).
This was not a person that most people would want to associate with or be around. The demoniac was being very disruptive, making an ugly scene. He might have been dirty and smelly. His words were offensive. This was not the type of sick person who tugs at our heartstrings, like a frail, sick child. But he did tug at Jesus’ heartstrings. Jesus came to his rescue. When we are not loveable, Jesus still loves us. Jesus is Love itself, and loves the unlovable.
Later that day Jesus was at the home of Simon Peter. In one of the bedrooms, Peter’s mother-in-law was sick with a high fever, which Jesus brought healing to (vs. 38-39). In both of these healings we read that Jesus rebuked something. He rebuked the demon to come out, and with Peter’s mother-in-law, He rebuked the fever. The Greek word used here for “rebuke” is “epitimao”. That is a very strong verb, meaning to reprove, censure, and admonish severely. It was as if Jesus was shouting, “Stop it! That’s enough!” He was not going to let the demon destroy that man’s life any longer, nor was He going to let the high fever continue to ravage her body.
There was a difference between Nazareth and Capernaum. Where Jesus was welcomed with open hearts He was able to minister His love, healing, and bring salvation. That would bring others and then more others to come to Him. However, where the hearts were hard, cold, and resentful, Jesus could not bring His message and ministry. Which one are you? Don’t be like Nazareth, cold and hard against the Savior. Jesus never returned there. Instead, be more like Capernaum, which welcomed the Savior.
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