Luke 4:22
And all bare him witness, and wondered at the gracious words which proceeded out of his mouth. And they said, Is not this Joseph’s son? And all bare him witness, and wondered at the gracious words which proceeded out of his mouth. And they said, Is not this Joseph’s son?
In the Nazareth synagogue on the Sabbath He read the Messianic prophecy of Isaiah and declared it fulfilled that day in their hearing, announcing good news to the poor, healing to the brokenhearted, freedom to captives, sight to the blind, and the acceptable year of the Lord. His hearers at first bore Him witness and wondered with joy and praise, for the Holy Spirit broke down prejudice and pressed upon their hearts a nearly irresistible conviction that He was the promised Messiah. They stumbled because He was known among them only as the carpenter's son raised in poverty, which they could not reconcile with a Messiah expected to come in earthly splendor to free Israel from Rome and reign on David's throne. Yielding to unbelief they lost the good impression, refused truth that exposed their condition, and turned from wonder to anger, driving Him from the synagogue and attempting to cast Him from the precipice until divine power delivered Him. The same danger remains when plain truth comes in an unwelcome way, for entertaining the first doubt quenches the Spirit and can turn offered light into final rejection.
Synagogue Setting and Message
The scene is the Sabbath service in the synagogue at Nazareth. Jesus stood before the congregation as a living expositor of the Messianic prophecy from Isaiah which He had just read. He explained it as describing the Messiah and declared it fulfilled that day in their hearing.
The gracious words were His announcement that the Spirit of the Lord was upon Him to preach good news to the poor. They proclaimed healing for the brokenhearted and afflicted, freedom for captives, liberty and release for the bruised and oppressed, and recovering of sight for the blind. They proclaimed the acceptable year of the Lord, comfort and blessing and salvation for the sorrowing and sinful, deliverance rather than leading an army to deliver Israel, and the revealing of the light of truth to the world.
His speech was gracious and wise and powerful, plain and full of meaning so that even the weakest could understand, with divinity shining through humanity. Its impressive manner and wonderful import gave a thrill of power never felt before, as the tide of divine influence broke every barrier down and, like Moses beholding the Invisible, they beheld the Invisible. It held thousands entranced with wisdom and power and authority, stirring them and awakening discernment.
First Wonder and Conviction
All bore him witness and wondered at the graciousness, authority and power of his words, thoroughly awakened and stirred with the knowledge that their Redeemer addressed them. Their wonder broke out in joy and thrill, in praise to God and fervent amens, in joyful shouts and hearty agreement at the wisdom and power with which he explained the prophecy and declared it fulfilled that day. The gracious words that moved them were his unfolding of the Messiah's work of bringing good news to the poor, freedom to captives, healing to the afflicted, and truth to the world.
That wonder was the work of God in heaven upon their hearts by the Holy Spirit, breaking down prejudice, sweeping away barriers with a tide of divine influence, awakening discernment, and bringing a thrill of power never felt before from his impressive manner and wonderful import, as when Moses beheld the Invisible. With hearts so moved they felt peace and grace and hope, and a nearly irresistible and overpowering conviction that he was the promised Messiah and the Son of God, and all that Scripture claimed, responding with hearty testimony, fervent amens and praises to the Lord. The Spirit powerfully witnessed to his claims, and those who held this saw that the hearers failed to recognize that God had been working on their hearts to produce that conviction.
For a moment they recognized God's presence in him, divinity shining through humanity, and considered his claim to be the Messiah, acknowledging the truth God impressed on their hearts.
Stumbling Over Familiar Origin
The question, is not this Joseph's son, stumbled over His lowly family origin and humble life well known to those present. They knew Him as Joseph the carpenter's son, with Mary and His brethren, having worked at His trade among the poor and lowly from childhood and youth into early manhood. Because they had seen that humble life, they could not accept Him as the Messiah, and their first joy and wonder at His gracious words gave way to doubt about His identity and authority. Satan's unbelief prompted the change, and when His claim exposed their condition their attitude turned toward rage and the attempt to kill Him. Pride and unbelief led them to doubt that one of ordinary family who had worked as a carpenter could be Israel's promised Deliverer.
Familiarity made them reluctant to honor Him as the Anointed One and to acknowledge His remarkable gifts and development. This illustrates that a prophet has no honor in his own country, since those who had known Him intimately from childhood and seen Him live unostentatiously in their midst would not recognize the wonderful development before them. The same people could become wildly excited by the claims of a stranger and adventurer while rejecting one who had grown up among them.
By contrast Galilee later received Him cordially, and after two days with the Samaritans He made no stop at Nazareth but sought more fruitful fields where ears would listen and hearts would receive His message. The way there had been opened by the miracle performed at Cana and by reports brought back from the Passover of His driving the desecrators from the temple and healing the sick and restoring sight to the blind and hearing to the deaf. Sorrow over the abuse of the temple and the arrogance of the priests, together with the judgment of the temple dignitaries against His acts, had also opened His way there. His humility, foretold in Scripture as part of His divine character and mission, with divinity shining through humanity, should have commended Him to them, but pride and unbelief turned it into an offense that led them to reject Him.
Expecting an Earthly Messiah
The first joy gave way to doubt because those who heard could not fit the carpenter's son they knew into the Redeemer they wanted, a Messiah to come with earthly power, riches, splendor, honor and glory. They looked for one who would rule from an earthly throne, set up David's throne by power of arms, defeat Israel's enemies, free Israel from Rome, and exalt their nation. His humble upbringing and ordinary family made His claim an offense to pride, so wonder and praise turned to questioning whether Joseph's son could be Israel's promised Deliverer. His humility belonged to His divine character and mission as foretold in Scripture and should have commended Him, yet pride turned it into a stumbling block.
What displeased them was the very mission He preached, deliverance, healing and sight for the poor, brokenhearted, captive, bruised, blind and oppressed, rather than leading an army to deliver Israel. Instead of trusting the evidence already given to their hearts, they demanded mighty evidence, a marked and special sign, a miracle, with prejudice blinding their judgment. At Satan's suggestion thorough awakening and thrill of joy turned to murmuring rejection and unbelief over His humble life at His trade among the poor and lowly, in marked contrast to an expected Messiah coming with honor and glory.
He answered by reminding them that God had turned from unbelieving and rebellious Israel to show favor to people in heathen lands who had not rejected heaven's light. The widow of Sarepta and Naaman the Syrian had lived up to the light they received and were counted more righteous than God's backslidden chosen people who had sacrificed principle for convenience and worldly honor. They could admire gracious words while refusing truth that exposed their own hearts, and He warned that a backslidden people guided away from obedience and God's protection by their leaders would neither recognize God's faithful messenger nor value his work.
His work remained confined to a small circumference among the Jews rather than extended to the heathen nations, because the heathen were not prepared and turning to the Gentiles would have closed the door to the Jewish nation. That one discourse so enraged strong Jewish prejudice that the mob drove Him from the synagogue, pushed Him hither and thither while quarreling how to stop His voice entirely, and would have killed Him if divine power had not saved Him until He was gone they knew not whither. They were displeased because He had not received instruction from the nation's religious teachers, yet He showed perfect knowledge of the Jewish economy as represented in the Scriptures, truth did not languish on His tongue, and still He came unto His own and His own received Him not.
From Doubt to Violent Rejection
Unbelief prompted by Satan entered through questioning identity and authority as Joseph's son, and the gracious words faded from minds. At first all witnessed and wondered at graciousness, deeply impressed with peace and grace and hope and the conviction that the promised Messiah stood among them, but doubt caused that good impression and overpowering conviction to be lost. By yielding to temptation they placed themselves in the enemy's power and rejected the Holy Spirit's influence, failing to recognize that God in heaven had been working on their hearts. That rejection prepared them to reject the message and become angry at the teaching, and began a course leading to Calvary. Even experience of the Spirit's influence did not keep them when He did not agree with their ideas, and their response is compared with rage against Him.
They could admire the words while refusing the truth that exposed spiritual apostasy, lack of piety and loyalty, and their true condition. When He rebuked pride and unbelief and recalled favor shown to those of other nations, favorable response did not last and feelings turned to anger. That unbelief was willful spiritual blindness closing eyes and ears and darkening understanding so as not to be convinced by manifestations of the Spirit of God. It is dangerous because it calls the work of the Spirit of God the work of Satan, quenches the Spirit, and turns offered light into a stumbling block leading to opposition to further evidence. In this He is presented as not only comfort but one who restores and reproves.
Wonder gave way to murmuring rejection, doubt, prejudice, anger and violent hostility, marking a turning point after discernment had been awakened to nearly irresistible conviction that He was the Son of God. They could not endure plain pointed truth exposing their spiritual condition, hardened their hearts, and unbelief displaced the Spirit's influence. They drove Him from the synagogue, pushed Him hither and thither while quarreling among themselves how to stop His voice entirely. They tried to kill Him by casting Him from the precipice and hill and height, but divine power and divine agencies and angels saved Him until He escaped their notice and was gone they knew not whither.
Though He labored to save His own people by healing the sick, feeding the hungry and comforting the sorrowful, and held thousands entranced by words of wisdom, prejudice and blindness and insane hatred and enmity kept His gracious words proclaiming salvation from reaching their hearts. He explained the prophecies about Himself plainly and meekly, yet they saw Him only as a carpenter's son and refused to listen and receive the blessing that comes through receiving Christ. He was driven away from those He came to help and driven from those He labored to save, in a life of persecution and insult, because they resolutely and stubbornly rejected the light. Their course illustrates the enmity that leads persecutors to oppose those seeking religious freedom, and their rejection of the Holy Spirit's influence began a course leading to Calvary.
Warning for Later Believers
The same moment at Nazareth repeats whenever Christ comes by His Word and in the person of His servants, and is rejected because the truth He brings is plain, so that everyone is left to take a position either for or against Jesus. Resisting truth because it comes in an unwelcome way can turn offered light into a stumbling block and lead people to oppose further evidence. The good impression made by gracious words is soon lost when unbelief enters through questioning identity and lowly origin, for the hearers fail to recognize that God in heaven has been working on their hearts, and by yielding to temptation they place themselves in the enemy's power until those ready to accept Him seek His death.
The warning is against entertaining the first doubt and turning from light to unbelief. At first there is overpowering conviction and hearty response, with peace, grace, hope, and recognition of God's presence and of the promised Messiah, but the question of origin marks the onset of unbelief. When doubt is admitted the Spirit's influence is displaced and quenched, the earlier witness to divine influence loses its weight, and hearts close to Christ. Experience of the Spirit's influence does not then keep people from rejection when what is said does not agree with their ideas, and pride and prejudice turn an opportunity to accept saving truth into caviling, anger at pointed exposure of spiritual condition, shutting out heavenly light, attributing Christ's work to Satan, and final rejection on a course leading to Calvary and to rage seeking to cast Him from the precipice.
That rejection parallels rejection of God's present message. The messengers God sends may not be the ones expected, but God chooses whom to send and His word will accomplish its purpose. People can first acknowledge truth and its gracious power and then close their hearts to Christ when He speaks through messengers or challenges the belief that they alone are favored by heaven.
His followers are to carry on the work He announced, restoring God's moral image in people as co-workers with God. Teachers must study and understand God's Word and recognize the eternal importance of its teachings, or they are not prepared to teach others. Familiarity and prejudice feeding on one's own ideas can make people resist divine light even after conviction that He is the Anointed One, and refusing a divine message while trusting one's own opinions and judgment is rejecting Christ. Admiration for Christ that depends on self-interest or self-righteousness and fails when self is challenged is not true love.