Welcome, I hope you have a great 4th of July weekend. Our text for Sunday continues from last Sunday. After the two healings of Jairus’ daughter and the women who had been bleeding for 12 months Jesus leaves that place.
V1 Jesus left Capernaum and traveled to his hometown with his disciples. His hometown was Nazareth. In bringing his disciples he is coming as a rabbi not just visiting his family. Nazareth was a Jewish settlement in a Gentile area. It is not mentioned in the Old Testament as it didn’t exist back then. It is the equivalent of the Jewish settlements of today. The Jewish leaders were putting settlements in Gentile area to gain control of the land and push the Gentiles out. This is similar to what is going on today by the government of Israel putting settlements in Palestinian territory to displace the Palestinians.
V2 On the Sabbath he teaches in the local synagogue. Those who heard him would have been the people he grew up around. Many of those who heard him were astounded. We think of being astounded as being in awe but in this case they were appalled at his teaching. How can a man that grew up around them teach like this? How did he acquire all this knowledge? His background is that of a simple working man, not a teacher of great things. Who does he think he is?
V3 Is he not the local carpenter? The word carpenter was “tekton” which meant craftsman. This meant he could build anything out of any material not just wood. He is the son of Mary. This probably indicates that Joseph was dead by now as there is no reference to him and sons were usually identified by their father. (Jesus bar Joseph meaning Jesus son of Joseph.) His brothers and sisters are still among us and they are nothing special. Again, who does he think he is? This is offensive to them. It would be the same situation if someone who has attended our church their entire life came back without a seminary degree of any kind and started preaching on Sunday morning. We would think the same thing – who do they think they are and what gives them the right (authority) to preach.
V4 He admits he is a prophet. He has no honor as the people “think” they know him but actually they don’t. They are too familiar with him in his role of a lowly craftsman and won’t accept his status as a prophet and a rabbi. Kind of the old familiarity breeds contempt issue.
V5-6 He does very few deeds there as a result of their negative attitudes and he is also appalled at their unbelief in him. He has come bringing a message from God, as all prophets did, and they refuse to listen to him. Jesus leaves Nazareth and travels to other villages teaching.
V7 He gathers his twelve disciples and begins to send them out two by two to villages to heal (authority over unclean spirits) the people. Note, he doesn’t tell them to teach just to heal. This was probably because they didn’t yet understand his mission and who he fully is.
V8-9 He orders them to travel “light”. For them this was really light as they already traveled with just what they could carry. They are to take no food or money with them and only one tunic. In that day they would wear a tunic with an outer garment, a himation, over it that was used as a coat by day and a blanket by night. It seems they were to get everything from the people they visited. This would not seem very far fetched as hospitality was of utmost importance then, as now, in the Middle East. To not show hospitality is to shame ones self and family. When a person is taken into a home or tent in the Middle East it is to say “we are brothers-family” and the guests will be protected with the hosts life if need be. Enter the house and stay there, don’t move from house to house.
V11 If they are not welcomed in the house, as they leave they are to shake the dust off of their feet. This was a custom the Jewish people had upon entering the holy land after traveling in Gentile areas. The Gentiles were so despised that their soil (dust) was not even wanted in the holy land lest it defile it. Jesus instructs his disciples to treat Jewish people in this symbolic way if they don’t heed his message. They are no better then pagans.
V12-13 So they went out and taught even though Jesus hadn’t told them to do so. (v7) They proclaim that the people need to repent; which means change the thoughts and direction of their lives. The people need to start living in a new way with a new focus. The new focus is to believe that God is becoming their king and they are to join a new family (a new way of being Israel), the family of Jesus. Just as the exorcisms and healings authenticate Jesus’ message they also authenticate the disciples’ message. The disciples are able to cast out demons and cure many who are sick. Anointing the sick with oil was a form of medicine to them. They left as disciples and came back as apostles or “those sent”. (6:30) This was their first missionary journey.
What is interesting to me is how Jesus’ hometown people keep him in the same role he had before he left. Anyone who has ever attended their high school class reunion will know the feeling. When we reunite we still have the same opinions about our classmates as we did in school even though years may have passed. Why don’t we let people grow? Is it a threat to us? We think we are the only ones who have these things happen, but as we see Jesus experienced the same things. Once a craftsman, always a craftsman. One a nerd, always a nerd until Bill Gates shows up. Once an ugly duckling, always an ugly duckling until you show up as a gorgeous model and no one can recognize you so a buzz goes throughout the crowd – who is that? “ I can’t believe how they look now.” Maybe we need to let people become who they were meant to become and support them in their journey.
Peace Kim
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