JESUS PREACHES AT NAZARETH
[Sidenote: St. Luke 4]
AND Jesus 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 for to read. And there was delivered unto him the book of the
prophet Esaias. 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
hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to
heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and
recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are
bruised, to preach the acceptable year of the Lord. 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. And they said, Is not this Joseph's son?
And he said unto them, Ye will surely say unto me this proverb,
Physician, heal thyself: whatsoever we have heard done in Capernaum,
do also here in thy country. And he said, Verily I say unto you, No
prophet is accepted in his own country. But I tell you of a truth,
many widows were in Israel in the days of Elias, when the heaven was
shut up three years and six months, when great famine was throughout
all the land; but unto none of them was Elias sent, save unto Sarepta,
a city of Sidon, unto a woman that was a widow. And many lepers were
in Israel in the time of Eliseus the prophet; and none of them was
cleansed, saving Naaman the Syrian. And all they in the synagogue,
when they heard these things, were filled with wrath, and rose up,
and thrust him out of the city, and led him unto the brow of the hill
whereon their city was built, that they might cast him down headlong.
But he passing through the midst of them went his way.