He came to Nazareth

He came to Nazareth

So He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up. And as His custom was, He went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and stood up to read. And He was handed the book of the prophet Isaiah. And when He had opened the book, He found the place where it was written: “The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me / Because He has anointed Me / To preach the gospel to the poor / He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted / To proclaim liberty to the captives / And recovery of sight to the blind / To set at liberty those who are oppressed / To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord.” Then He closed the book, and gave it back to the attendant and sat down. And the eyes of all who were in the synagogue were fixed on Him. (Luke 4:16-20)

I am always amazed when I read the words, “So He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up.” Nazareth, the place which Nathaniel doubted any good could come out of, was the town where the Son of God, who occupied Eternity, grew up. He was never ashamed of His title, Jesus of Nazareth. This name was the one He was known by during His ministry. It was the name written upon His cross. And, as Paul recalls in Acts 22:8, it was the name He used in resurrection glory when He spoke to Saul on the road to Damascus.

In Nazareth Jesus read from Isaiah about the beautiful aspects of His brief three-year ministry in Israel. This ministry proved who Jesus was. And its pathway of healing led to Calvary and His death as the Saviour of the world. It touched my heart some years ago to realise that the sufferings the Lord Jesus released people from during His ministry are poignant reminders of His sufferings for my salvation.

To preach the gospel to the poor – He became poor. “For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, that you through His poverty might become rich” (2 Corinthians 8:9).

To heal the broken-hearted – He was broken-hearted. “Reproach has broken my heart / And I am full of heaviness / I looked for someone to take pity, but there was none / And for comforters, but I found none” (Psalm 69:20).

To set people free from disaster, the devil, disease and death – He was bound. “And when they had bound Him, they led Him away and delivered Him to Pontius Pilate, the governor” (Matthew 27:2).

To give sight to blind – He was blindfolded. “And having blindfolded Him, they struck Him on the face and asked Him, saying, ‘Prophesy! Who is the one who struck You?’” (Luke 22:64).

To relieve the oppressed – He was oppressed. “He was oppressed and He was afflicted” (Isaiah 53:7).

To proclaim acceptance – He was rejected.

“He is despised and rejected by men, A Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. And we hid, as it were, our faces from Him; He was despised, and we did not esteem Him” (Isaiah 53:3).

When the Lord had finished reading from Isaiah, everyone in the synagogue was looking steadfastly at Jesus. At the beginning of this new week may our eyes be fixed on Jesus.

“For it is the God who commanded light to shine out of darkness, who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ” (2 Corinthians 4:6).