And he went out from thence, and came into his own country; and his disciples follow him.
This was a later visit, when He left the place where He had been and came into His own country, into Nazareth His native town, and His disciples followed Him. That arrival set the scene for what followed on the Sabbath, when He taught in the synagogue with a wisdom and mighty works that astonished those who heard Him. Yet the hearers stumbled over His familiar lowliness, that He was the carpenter, the son of Mary, whose brothers and sisters were known among them, and they took offense at Him; as His own neighbors they remained unwilling to receive Him, refusing to accept Him as the Messiah and to hear Him as a prophet of God. In response to that rejection He stated the principle that a prophet has no honor in his own country and among his own kin and in his own house.
Because of their unbelief He could do no mighty work there, except to lay His hands upon a few sick folk and heal them, showing that even He met places where He could not work. After this rejection He left and did not return. That limited healing shows that Christ's healing power is hindered by unbelief and is given where faith is exercised through simple fervent prayer united with treatments for the sick. It points sufferers to the compassionate Saviour whose power forgives and heals, to their Advocate in the heavenly courts, who by gracious providence restores and reveals Himself in sanitariums to save those who submit to Him, unite in prayer, confess sin, receive pardon, repent, and cease transgressing the laws of God. His experience of a place where He could not work instructs gospel workers to use judgment in deciding where to spend their time and labor.
This was a later visit, when He left the place where He had been and came into His own country, into Nazareth His native town, and His disciples followed Him. That arrival set the scene for what followed on the Sabbath, when He taught in the synagogue with a wisdom and mighty works that astonished those who heard Him. Yet the hearers stumbled over His familiar lowliness, that He was the carpenter, the son of Mary, whose brothers and sisters were known among them, and they took offense at Him; as His own neighbors they remained unwilling to receive Him, refusing to accept Him as the Messiah and to hear Him as a prophet of God. In response to that rejection He stated the principle that a prophet has no honor in his own country and among his own kin and in his own house.
Because of their unbelief He could do no mighty work there, except to lay His hands upon a few sick folk and heal them, showing that even He met places where He could not work. After this rejection He left and did not return. That limited healing shows that Christ's healing power is hindered by unbelief and is given where faith is exercised through simple fervent prayer united with treatments for the sick. It points sufferers to the compassionate Saviour whose power forgives and heals, to their Advocate in the heavenly courts, who by gracious providence restores and reveals Himself in sanitariums to save those who submit to Him, unite in prayer, confess sin, receive pardon, repent, and cease transgressing the laws of God. His experience of a place where He could not work instructs gospel workers to use judgment in deciding where to spend their time and labor.