12 “NOW WHEN He heard that John was delivered up, He
13 withdrew into Galilee; and leaving Nazareth, He came and
14 dwelt in Capernaum, which is by the sea, in the borders of
15 Zebulun and Naphtali; that it might be fulfilled which was
spoken by Isaiah the prophet, saying,
15 The land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali,
Toward the sea, beyond Jordan,
16 Galilee of the Gentiles,
16 The people which sat in darkness
17 Saw a great light,
And to them which sat in the region and shadow of death,
To them did light spring up.
17 “From that time began Jesus to preach, and to say, Repent
ye; for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”
14 “And Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit into Galilee;
15 and a fame went out concerning Him through all the re-
16 gion round about. And He taught in their synagogues, being
glorified of all.
16 “And He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought
17 up; and He entered, as His custom was, into the synagogue on
18 the Sabbath day, and stood up to read. And there was deliv-
19 ered unto Him the book of the prophet Isaiah. And He
20 opened the book, and found the place where it was written,
21 The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me,
Because He anointed Me to preach good tidings to the
poor;
He hath sent Me to proclaim release to the captives,
And recovering of sight to the blind,
To set at liberty them that are bruised,
19 To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord.
20 And He closed the book, and gave it back to the attendant,
21 and sat down; and the eyes of all in the synagogue were
22 fastened on Him. And He began to say unto them, To-day
hath this scripture been fulfilled in your ears. And all bare
Him witness, and wondered at the words of grace which pro-
ceeded out of His mouth; and they said, Is not this Joseph’s
23 son? And He said unto them, Doubtless ye will say unto Me
this parable, Physician, heal Thyself; whatsoever we have
heard done at Capernaum, do also here in Thine own country.
24 And He said, Verily I say unto you, No prophet is acceptable
25 in his own country. But of a truth I say unto you, There
were many widows in Israel in the days of Elijah, when the
heaven was shut up three years and six months, when there
26 came a great famine over all the land; and unto none of them
was Elijah sent, but only to Zarephath, in the land of Sidon,
27 unto a woman that was a widow. And there were many
lepers in Israel in the time of Elisha the prophet; and none of
28 them was cleansed, but only Naaman the Syrian. And they
29 were all filled with wrath in the synagogue, as they heard these
things; and they rose up, and cast Him forth out of the city,
30 and led Him unto the brow of the hill whereon their city was
built, that they might throw Him down headlong. But He
passing through the midst of them went His way.
31 “And He came down to Capernaum, a city of Galilee. And
32 He was teaching them on the Sabbath day; and they were
astonished at His teaching; for His word was with authority.”
NOTE.—The texts inclosed in marks of parentheses, while not essential to the lesson study, will be found to throw much light upon the lesson, and are suggested for those who wish to study further.
SUGGESTIVE QUESTIONS.
What befell John the Baptist shortly after the events studied in the last lesson? Matt. 4:12. See note 1. (Luke 3:19, 20.)
Upon hearing of this, where did Jesus go? See note 2. (Luke 4:14.)
From that time, what message did Jesus emphatically proclaim? Verse 17. (Luke 4:43.)
How did His doctrine affect the people? Why? Luke 4:32.
Side Lights.—“Desire of Ages,” pp. 52, 214-235, 253.
NOTES.
1. OUR last lesson left the Saviour in Jerusalem, where the Jews were seeking to kill Him. John 5:18. The place of John’s imprisonment, according to Josephus, was in the strong fortress of Machærus, nearly northeast of Jerusalem, on the frontiers of Arabia. Later, at the time of the Baptist’s death, Herod had his court in a mansion adjoining the prison.
2. IT is difficult to determine how long after Christ’s baptism this tour of Galilee began. We know, however, that a great part of that interval was spent in Judea. The purpose of this is easily perceived. It seemed necessary to spend much time at first in the vicinity of Jerusalem, in order to give the leading Jews an opportunity to decide concerning His Messiahship. John having been rejected and cast into prison, Jesus proceeded to Galilee, there to call the twelve disciples, and to enter more fully upon His ministry. There is no record of His being much in Judea after this, except at the annual feasts, where He appeared, in harmony with the requirements of the Levitical law.
3. AT the scene of His childhood, youth, and young manhood,—at the very point where He was best known,—He gave His personal acquaintances the same opportunity that had been afforded the people of Judea.
4. “CAPERNAUM” means the village of Nahum. It was on the west shore of the Sea of Galilee, near its head, or northern end, and was the boundary town between the territory of Philip and Antipas, hence contained a custom-house and garrison. Luke 5:27; 7:2.
