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our last study in the life of Christ, Jesus healed two blind men and
cast a demon out of a man who could not speak or hear. The Pharisees
responded by accusing Jesus once more of performing miracles by demonic
power. They must have found their accusation effective or they would
not have repeatedly used it with the crowds. It was war between them
and Jesus. In this study (Matt. 13:54-58; Mark 6:1-6), Jesus revisits
the city of Nazareth. The last time that He had visited the city (Luke
4:16-30), He had entered the synagogue, quoted Isaiah 61:1-2, declared
that He was the Messiah, and then the people attempted to murder Him
by throwing Him off of a cliff. But Jesus escaped. So why did Jesus return
to Nazareth? The answer is not found in some inner wish to die or some
fanatical campaign. The answer is found in Jesus’ heart. Come and
see! Coming To Nazareth. The account of Jesus’ second
visit to the city of Nazareth begins in Mark 6:1. Jesus went out from there and came into His hometown; and His disciples followed Him. (NASB) Mark 6:1 Jesus’ parents had fled to Egypt after they had been
warned by God that King Herod would attempt to murder Him and every child
under two years of age (Matt. 2:13-14). So they fled to Egypt in order
to save Jesus. Later the family returned from Egypt after God told them
that King Herod had died and directed them to return to Israel (Matt.
2:19-21). When the family returned, they settled in Nazareth, a city
in the northern part of Israel in a region known as Galilee. Consequently,
Nazareth became Jesus’ hometown. There He grew up from a child
into an adult and then started His ministry.
Early in Jesus’ ministry He relocated His family (apparently after
His father had died), from Nazareth to Capernaum (John 2:12-13). His
sisters remained in Nazareth, perhaps because they were already married
(Mark 6:3).
Why did Jesus return? As we have already
stated, sometime later in Jesus’ ministry, He returned to Nazareth
to tell the people that He was the Messiah. They responded by attempting
to murder Him. Later Jesus decided to return again. This study describes
this second return. Jesus did not return to Nazareth because the city
was important. In John 1:46, Nathanael reveals that the city was unimportant
when he said,
“Can any good thing come out of Nazareth?” (NASB) John 1:46 Nathanael’s comment was negative. Nazareth was nothing special.
It was a small, isolated city in the Galilean hills. Jesus did not return
because it was a large wonderful city. Dr. J. Vernon McGee makes this
comment about Jesus’ return,
There are certain men in God’s work who do not want to go to a small place to minister. I’ve actually been criticized by some ministers and Christian workers for going to certain small churches instead of going to larger ones. My feeling is that our Lord set us an example here . . . There is a story about Dr. C. I. Scofield, the man who was responsible for The Scofield Reference Bible. He had been invited to speak in a church in North Carolina. Because it was a rainy night, about twenty-five people came to the meeting. The young preacher leaned over and apologized to Dr. Scofield for the small number who had come to hear his preaching and teaching. Dr. Scofield replied, “Young man, my Lord had only twelve men in His school and in His congregation most of the time. If He had only twelve, who is C. I. Scofield to be concerned about a big crowd?[1] Jesus did not return because the crowd was large. He returned because
He was concerned about the people. He loved the people. He was concerned
that they were sinners who needed their sins forgiven. He was concerned
that they were going to miss eternal life. It is possible that He also
returned to visit His sisters.
From a human perspective, I am personally amazed that Jesus returned
to a group of people who had wanted to murder Him. They had run Him out
of town. Jesus demonstrated an important truth for us - God has not called
us to avoid conflict in the ministry. Sometimes we think that trouble
is a sign of God’s judgment or that we did something wrong. But
the Christian ministry is spiritual warfare! We have witnessed this fact
in the pages of the gospels. The religious leaders of Jesus’ day
repeatedly rejected Him. They continued to reject the apostles even after
Jesus left. They persecuted the apostle Paul, and the Roman politicians
persecuted Christians for many years after the apostles.
In our next study we will discover that conflict and ministry go
together. One who desires to serve God will suffer. We will suffer just
because we serve Jesus. We will suffer because there is a spiritual battle.
We will suffer for living a godly life. Conflict is part of the Christian
life.
If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you . . . (NASB) John 15:20
References:
 1. J. Vernon McGee. Matthew. Thru The Bible. Nelson Publishing Co.. pp. 83-184.
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