A
harmony of the Gospels reveals that there is a lot of “water under the bridge”
between Luke 4:13 and 4:14-15. To
understand Luke’s account we feel it is helpful to briefly give an account of
the time after Jesus was tempted until He was rejected in Nazareth. What occurred at that time was recorded by
John.
·
John 1:19-51: After the
40 days in the desert John’s ministry continued even as Jesus met some of
His
first disciples (Andrew, Peter, Philip, Nathaniel).
·
John 2:1-11: Jesus left the Jordan for Galilee
where He performed His first miracle (water to wine) in Cana, just over the
hill from Nazareth.
·
John 2:12-3:21: After a brief visit to Capernaum
by Jesus’ family (2:12) He went to Jerusalem for the first Passover of His
ministry years. This included the first
cleansing of the temple (2:13-22) and His conversation with Nicodemus
(2:23-3:21).
·
John 3:22-36: Jesus ministry was on the rise
while John’s was diminishing.
·
John 4:1-42: As Jesus returned to Galilee (this
is what Luke 4:14-15 speaks of) He went through Samaria and had a conversation
with a woman by a well.
·
John 4:43-54: Jesus performs His second miracle,
healing the son of a nobleman from Capernaum, a miracle Jesus performed in
Cana, about fifteen miles away.
When Luke tells us that Jesus continued to be in the power of the Spirit as He
returned to Galilee and that there was news
of Him being spread around, the above account tells us what Luke
meant.
Luke also tells us the
nature of Jesus’ ministry. He taught in their synagogues. Every community, large or small, had a
synagogue, each similar in design and function.
Entrances into a
synagogue in Galilee was on the South, the side facing Jerusalem. The room had seating on three sides (as in
the above photo of a tour group in the synagogue at Nazareth Village). As you entered your attention would be drawn
to the decorative “Ark” (such as the one shown with the boy at
his Bar Mitzvah) which contained the Torah (the Law) and the “book of the
Prophets” which were on a table on the open side.Chairs in front of the table were for the leaders
who had their backs to the Ark. Further out into the room was the “bema”,
a raised platform with a flat lectern.
There was a special seat for the ruler
of the synagogue (like the one in this photo taken at Chorazin).
The lead Rabbi for
the service would read from the Torah, offering many prayers and
blessings. The book of the Prophets
would then be taken to the lectern, to be read by the appointed one. This is where Jesus, and later Paul who also
began ministry at the synagogue in the cities where he evangelized, would have
the opportunity to address the people.
As in the case of Luke 4 at the synagogue in Nazareth, that person would
read from the scroll and then make instructive comments (a homily or sermon).
Synagogues became a
fixed part of Jewish life in the times of
the Gentiles, the era that began with the destruction of Jerusalem and the
temple by the Babylonians. Without a
temple as a central location for Jewish identity the synagogue became the place
of assembly wherever the Jews had been dispersed.
Synagogues at Chorazin,
Migdal and Capernaum are some of the synagogues around the Sea of Galilee in
which Jesus would have taught. On the
right, the dark rock under the white rock of the Byzantine synagogue at Capernaum
dates back to the time of Christ. The
one was built on top of the other.
It was in the synagogue at Nazareth that Jesus
clearly stated His purpose for coming to earth.
It was there that He first experienced rejection. Jesus met people where they were. And He met them in the power of the Holy
Spirit. As the passage from Isaiah 61:1-2
indicates, the presence and power of the Holy Spirit is characteristic of the
Messiah. Jesus, God’s Anointed lived
each day in the power of the Spirit. He
lived by the same power that is available to us today.
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