耶穌傳講並帶來神的國度. 祂呼召上帝的子民悔改，並行了許多神蹟奇事. 雖然耶穌行了許多異能, 他可以在他的家鄉做許多偉大的事. But why couldn’t Jesus do many mighty works in Nazareth? Was it because of their unbelief?
Jesus in the synagogue in Nazareth
And when He was come into His own country, He taught them in their synagogue, insomuch that they were astonished, 並說, Whence hath this man this wisdom, and these mighty works? Is not this the carpenter’s son? is not his mother called Mary? and His brethren, 詹姆斯, and Joses, and Simon, and Judas? And His sisters, are they not all with us? Whence then hath this Man all these things? And they were offended in Him. But Jesus said unto them, A prophet is not without honour, save in his own country, and in his own house. And He did not many mighty works there because of their unbelief (墊 13:54-58)
And He went out from thence, and came into His own country; and His disciples follow Him. And when the sabbath day was come, He began to teach in the synagogue: and many hearing him were astonished, 說, From whence hath this man these things? and what wisdom is this which is given unto him, that even such mighty works are wrought by his hands? Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary, the brother of James, and Joses, and of Juda, and Simon? and are not his sisters here with us? And they were offended at him. But Jesus said unto them, A prophet is not without honour, but in his own country, and among his own kin, and in his own house. And He could there do no mighty work, save that He laid his hands upon a few sick folk, 並治癒了他們. And He marvelled because of their unbelief. And He went round about the villages, 教學 (3月 6:1-6)
And He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up: 和, as His custom was, He went into the synagogue on the sabbath day, and stood up for to read. And there was delivered unto Him the book of the prophet Esaias.
當他打開這本書時, 他找到了寫這句話的地方, 主的精神在我身上, 因為他膏了我向窮人傳授福音; 他送我治癒了傷心的人, 向俘虜講道, 並回到盲人, 設定有瘀傷的自由, 宣講可接受的耶和華. And he closed the book, and he gave it again to the minister, and sat down.
And the eyes of all them that were in the synagogue were fastened on Him. And He began to say unto them, This day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears. And all bare him witness, and wondered at the gracious words which proceeded out of His mouth.
他們說, Is not this Joseph’s son? 他對他們說, Ye will surely say unto Me this proverb, 醫師, heal thyself: 無論我們在迦百農聽到什麼, do also here in thy country. 他說, 我實在告訴你, No prophet is accepted in his own country. 但我告訴你一個事實, many widows were in Israel in the days of Elias, 當天堂被關閉三年零六個月時, 當大饑荒遍及全國時; 但以利亞沒有被派去拜訪他們中的任何一個人, 保存到撒勒法, 西頓市, 給一個寡婦. 在先知以利修斯的時代，以色列有許多麻風病人; 他們都沒有被潔淨, 拯救敘利亞人乃縵.
And all they in the synagogue, 當他們聽到這些事情時, 充滿了憤怒, 並站了起來, and thrust Him out of the city, 帶他到他們的城市所在的山麓, 以便他們把他推倒. 但他卻從他們中間穿過，走了他的路 (陸 4 16-30)
拿撒勒人的耶穌, 基督, the Savior of the world
When Jesus returned to His hometown, He went to the synagogue on the Sabbat and taught the people from the Book of Isaiah. The people were astonished at His wisdom and His mighty works and wondered what the source of His wisdom and miracles was.
They knew Jesus as (son of) the carpenter and son of Maria. They knew His brothers and sisters.
Therefore they didn’t see Him as the Son of God, as the Christ, the Savior of the world, as Jesus read from the book of Isaiah. They saw Him as the son of Joseph and Maria.
Maybe they knew Him, from when He was young and their children played with Him and saw Him grow up into adolescence as a carpenter, which made it hard for them to see Him as Son of God, 先知, and Savior.
Instead of being happy and joyful about the fact that the scriptures were fulfilled and that God had sent His Messiah to the earth and that the Son of God was in their midst, they became angry and were filled with wrath and were offended at Him. They saw in Him that of which they disapproved and that which hindered them from acknowledging His authority.
Jesus cast out the synagogue and His hometown
那些, who needed help didn’t go to this carpenter. They didn’t go to Him for healing, nor did they bring to Him those, who needed healing and deliverance from evil spirits.
不, instead that they believed and were joyful, they were filled with a rage, which boiled over in a sudden and angry outburst upon hearing these things. Their anger led them to kill Jesus.
Therefore they stood up and cast Jesus not only out of the synagogue but also out of His hometown.
They led Jesus to an out-jutting cliff of the mountain upon which their city was built so that they might hurl Him headlong down the precipice. But since it wasn’t Jesus’ time yet, Jesus passed through the midst of them and proceeded on His way.
Why Jesus couldn’t do many mighty works
Was Jesus not able to do many mighty works, due to the unbelief of the people that caused the power of Jesus to be blocked? 換句話說, did their lack of faith limited the power of Jesus and therefore was their unbelief stronger than His power? 答案是不!
Jesus had all authority and all the power, He needed to help the people and make them whole, despite the faith or unbelief of the people.
然而, it was the people, who didn’t believe in Him, but saw His natural identity and therefore they didn’t go to Him for help. That was the unbelief, Jesus was referring to.
It had nothing to do with the fact that their lack of faith created a wrong atmosphere and limited the power of God, so that the power of God could not manifest.
It had everything to do with the fact that they didn’t go to Him for help, but were offended at Him, because they saw Him as a normal human being, a carpenter.
The few sick people, Jesus healed in His hometown
Their unbelief didn’t limit the authority of Jesus and the power of the Holy Spirit. Before they were offended at Jesus and threw Him out of the synagogue and the city, Jesus had already healed a few sick people, 透過按手.
自從, they were astonished in the synagogue about His miraculous power, 透過按手. How else could they be astonished at His miraculous power if nothing had taken place? 確切地!
顯然, before Jesus taught the people, these sick people came to Him for healing, before Jesus’ natural identity was revealed and the rumor about Jezus of Nazareth and who He was had spread in the synagogue. But Jesus had healed and made them whole by the laying on of hands, despite the other people’s unbelief.
Jesus knew in Who sent Him, 他是誰, what He possessed, 和 whose Name 他代表. He knew His authority and His power and walked in it. Nothing could limit and stop His authority and His power, even not the unbelief of people.
The unbelief of the people only withheld themselves from their redemption, since they did not believe in Jesus Christ as the Son of God and Saviour. Therefore they didn’t turn to Him for redemption, 治癒, and deliverance but instead rejected Him.
‘成為地球之鹽’
