Gospel: Jesus is Rejected at Nazareth

Today marks the Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time and the Gospel reading will be lifted from the narrative of St Luke (click here for the Mass readings from USCCB).

This Sunday we read from the Gospel of St Luke, continuing immediately from last week's Gospel. Recall that in last Sunday's Gospel, Jesus read from the Prophet Isaiah and announced that this Scripture was now fulfilled. In today's Gospel, we learn that the people of Nazareth are impressed by Jesus' words, and yet they seem surprised. They still think of Jesus as merely St Joseph's son. They do not expect such words from someone they believe they know.

This Gospel is about who Jesus is and who people believe him to be. The story of Jesus' preaching and rejection at Nazareth is found in each of the Synoptic Gospels. In St Luke's Gospel, this incident is told in a way that foretells Jesus' passion and death and helps explain the inclusion of Gentiles in the promise of salvation. In St Luke's account, this incident appears at the beginning of Jesus' ministry; in St Matthew and St Mark, this event is placed considerably later, after Jesus has preached and taught elsewhere. Only St Luke identifies the content of Jesus' teaching in any detail, telling us that Jesus read from the book of the prophet Isaiah in the synagogue. In St Mark and St Matthew's Gospels, Jesus teaches in the synagogue in Nazareth, and the townpeople take offense because Jesus is only the son of a carpenter. They reject his authority to teach them. It is only after Jesus is rejected that he observes times when Israel has rejected prophets.

In St Luke's Gospel, the people are surprised but not immediately offended by Jesus' words in the synagogue. It is the words that follow his reading from the prophet Isaiah that seem to offend them. Jesus challenges and provokes the people of Nazareth by referring to examples in which Israel rejected the prophets. He also challenges them to respond to his message, the message of the prophet, in a way that is different from their ancestors. This calls for a new response leads to his rejection.

It is helpful to consider the historical context of St Luke's Gospel narrative. St Luke has witnessed the acceptance of the Gospel message among many Gentiles. He endeavors to explain why the Good News of Jesus has not been as well-received by his Jewish contemporaries. St Luke's report interprets the cause of Jesus' rejection at Nazarerh in the context of this later in Christian history. Just as the people at Nazareth did not welcome the Good News that Jesus announced, so too many among the people of Israel will not accept the preaching of the Gospel.

After Jesus' words of challenge, St Luke reports that there was a movement to kill Jesus by throwing him over a cliff. This differs from the reports of St Mark and St Matthew, where Jesus is said to be unable to perform miracles in Nazareth because of the people's lack of faith. St Luke says that Jesus walks away from the crowd that intended to kill him; it is not yet his time. The animosity of the people of Nazareth prefigures and prepares the reader of St Luke's Gospel for the cross. St Luke wants all to understand that it is through his death on the cross that Jesus offers God's salvation to all.

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