The Tale of Two Cities (Luke 4:14-37)

Ok, I admit I have never read The Tale of Two Cities, by Charles Dickens, but the opening paragraph seems apropos to Luke 4:14-37. Here it is via Google Books: Click Me.

In this passage of Luke, it is indeed the tale of two cities - Nazareth and Capernaum. Coming out of the desert, Jesus begins his ministry and it looks very positive. Luke gives a summary overview statement in v14, 15:

14And Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit, and news about Him spread through all the surrounding district.

15And He began teaching in their synagogues and was praised by all.

Ironically, though Jesus was "praised by all," Luke tells us about the one place where he wasn't praised- his hometown of Nazareth. Why?

There are remarkable parallels between Jesus' encounters in Nazareth and then Capernaum. The obvious differences are the "results"- the people of Nazareth were ready to throw him off a cliff, while the people at Capernaum saw Jesus' authority and power and word of Him spread. Naturally, why the different reactions from the two cities?

In Nazareth, Jesus reads from Isaiah 61:1-2:

1The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me,
Because the LORD has anointed me
To bring good news to the afflicted;
He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,
To proclaim liberty to captives
And freedom to prisoners;
2To proclaim the favorable year of the LORD
And the day of vengeance of our God; To comfort all who mourn,

First, this passage is a Messianic prophecy that Jesus says He is its fulfillment (4:21). What it would have been like to be sitting in the synagogue and to hear Jesus' claim? Remember, this is his hometown. Perhaps some of these people knew Jesus as a little boy growing up; even friends of Mary and Joseph. Maybe some of them were his classmates or childhood friends. "He's the Messiah?!" But it appears that they reacted favorably to His pronouncement. (4:22)

But note that Jesus didn't read all of Isaiah 61:2, but only the 1st phrase of that verse. (He left out the red part above.) If you read the rest of Isaiah 61, you will find see that the Israelites would have been looking forward to the fulfillment of the rest of the prophecy in addition to the arrival of the Messiah. Notably, Isaiah 61:4, 5-

4Then they will rebuild the ancient ruins,
They will raise up the former devastations;
And they will repair the ruined cities,
The desolations of many generations.
5Strangers will stand and pasture your flocks,
And foreigners will be your farmers and your vinedressers.

To a people who are under Roman occupation, this is their hope! Why didn't Jesus read the rest of the chapter?!!!!!

For Jesus was not here to fulfill the rest of the chapter, at least not yet. If you've read the rest of the gospels, you know Jesus did not bring vengeance on this time.

Now, the people seem to have responded favorably to Him, even if He didn't read the "good parts" of Isaiah 61. And then Jesus seemingly, intentionally, turns the people against Him. Why would He do that?

In Luke 4:23 Jesus said, "No doubt you will quote this proverb to Me, 'Physician, heal yourself! Whatever we heard was done at Capernaum, do here in your hometown as well.'" It appears that Jesus was likely ministering around Galilee already and had already been to Capernaum before, even though He goes there after Nazareth as told in Luke 4. From Jesus' statement, we infer that the people at Nazareth had heard of His teaching and healings are Capernaum and now wanted to see them firsthand; i.e. "show me what we've heard you can do." If we look back at 4:22, it appears the people were amazed at His words because they were coming from a carpenter's son they had watched grow up, "Is this not Joseph's son?"

Jesus exacerbates the situation in Luke 4:24-27-

24And He said, "Truly I say to you, no prophet is welcome in his hometown.

25"But I say to you in truth, there were many widows in Israel in the days of Elijah, when the sky was shut up for three years and six months, when a great famine came over all the land;

26and yet Elijah was sent to none of them, but only to Zarephath, in the land of Sidon, to a woman who was a widow.

27"And there were many lepers in Israel in the time of Elisha the prophet; and none of them was cleansed, but only Naaman the Syrian."

If they were pleasantly surprised before, albeit in a backhanded way; now they are piping mad. Elijah and Elisha were probably the most famous prophets in the history of the nation of Israel (i.e. post-King Saul). Yet, they served the Lord at a time when Israel was at its lowest point. And worse, Jesus points out that while there were many widows and lepers in Israel, God sent them to minister to Gentiles (unclean unclean!)! Ouch. Time for the lynch mob... "Run Jesus Run" (i.e. Forrest Gump) Literally, it is a miracle that Jesus passed through their midst and went His way.

Now, contrast the city of Capernaum in Luke 4:31-37. It starts off in a similar fashion- Jesus teaching in the synagogue, though it doesn't say what was the Scripture.
I think there's a hint at why Jesus was received differently in the two cities if we compare 4:22 and 4:32. In Nazareth, they spoke well of Him and wondered at His gracious words. Whereas in Capernaum, they were amazed at His teaching for it was with authority. Here, Jesus preaches in two places and gets two different reactions. I liken this to same pastor, same sermon but two types of listeners. The Nazareth listeners will walk out of a service and say, "Gee, that was nice sermon the pastor gave today. He's a pretty good speaker." While the Capernaum listeners will respond to the same preacher but say, "Wow. Pastor's sermon today was as if God were directly speaking to me through His Word!"

Another similarity between the two cities was the healing Jesus did or did not perform! In Nazareth, Jesus did not perform a healing, though He referenced Elijah and Elisha going to heal Gentiles, but not Israelites. While in Capernaum, Jesus heals a man possessed by an unclean spirit.

Note that Jesus didn't do anything magical (special chant, ritual) to cast out the unclean spirit, but by the power of His word it was done. Also note that the unclean spirit recognizes that Jesus is the Son of God (4:34)! Ironically, Jesus' hometown rejects the Son of God, while the unclean spirit recognizes Him. We also learn something about the gospel of salvation from the unclean spirit. Even the evil spirits and Satan recognize that Jesus is the Son of God, i.e. they believe that Jesus is God. But do they believe in Him? (John 3:16)

So- what kind of listener are you? Nazareth or Capernaum?