Luke 4:30

But he passing through the midst of them,....

JESUS had spent several years in retirement in the house of His reputed father at Nazareth. He must have been well known—the excellency of His Character and conduct must have attracted notice. In due time He left Nazareth, was baptized by John in Jordan, and began at once His work of preaching and working wonders. The inhabitants of Nazareth, no doubt, often said to one another, "He will be sure to come home and see His parents. When He comes we will all go to hear what the carpenter's son has to say."

passing through the midst, &c.--evidently in a miraculous way, though perhaps quite noiselessly, leading them to wonder afterwards what spell could have come over them, that they allowed Him to escape. (Similar escapes, however, in times of persecution, are not unexampled.)

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Three great lessons stand out on the face of this passage. Each deserves the close attention of all who desire spiritual wisdom. We learn for one thing — how apt men are to despise the highest privileges, when they are familiar with them. We see it in the conduct of the men of Nazareth, when they had heard the Lord Jesus preach. They could find no fault in His sermon. They could point to no inconsistency in His past life. But because the preacher had dwelt among them thirty years, and His face, and voice, and appearance were familiar to them — they would not receive His doctrine. They said to one another, "Is not this Joseph's son?" Is it possible that one so well-known as this man, can be the Christ? And they drew from our Lord's lips the solemn saying, "No prophet is accepted in his own country." We shall do well to remember this lesson, in the matter of ordinances and means of grace. We are always in danger of undervaluing them — when we have them in abundance. We are apt to think lightly of the privilege of an open Bible, a preached Gospel, and the liberty of meeting together for public worship. We grow up in the midst of these things, and are accustomed to have them without trouble. And the consequence is that we often hold them very cheap, and underrate the extent of our mercies. Let us take heed to our own heart, in the use of sacred things . As often as we may read the Bible — let us never read it without deep reverence. As often as we hear the name of Christ — let us never forget that He is the One Mediator, in whom is life. Even the manna that came down from Heaven was at length scorned by Israel, as "worthless food." (Numbers 21:5.) It is an evil day with our souls, when Christ is in the midst of us — and yet, because of our familiarity with His name, is lightly esteemed.

JESUS had spent several years in retirement in the house of His reputed father at Nazareth. He must have been well known—the excellency of His Character and conduct must have attracted notice. In due time He left Nazareth, was baptized by John in Jordan, and began at once His work of preaching and working wonders. The inhabitants of Nazareth, no doubt, often said to one another, "He will be sure to come home and see His parents. When He comes we will all go to hear what the carpenter's son has to say." There is always an interest in hearing one of the lads of the village when he becomes a preacher, and this interest was heightened by the hope of seeing wonders such as Jesus had worked at Capernaum. Curiosity was excited—everybody hoped and trusted that He would make Nazareth famous among the cities of the tribes. Perhaps He would settle down there and attract a crowd of customers to their shops by becoming the great Physician of Nazareth, the great Wonderworker of the district. By-and-by, when it so pleased Him, the famous Prophet came to His own city, and, when the Sunday drew near, the interest grew very intense as men asked the question, "What do you think, will He be at the synagogue tomorrow? If He shall be there, He must, by some means, be induced to speak." The ruler of the synagogue, sharing in the common opinion, at the proper point of the service, when he saw Jesus present, took up the roll of the Prophet and passed it to Him, that He might read a passage, and then speak according to His own mind upon it. All eyes were opened. No sleepy people were in the synagogue that morning when He took the roll, unfolded it like one who was well accustomed to the Book, opened it at a passage most pertinent and applicable to Himself, read it, standing, thus paying respect to the Word by His posture.

Three great lessons stand out on the face of this passage. Each deserves the close attention of all who desire spiritual wisdom. We learn for one thing — how apt men are to despise the highest privileges, when they are familiar with them. We see it in the conduct of the men of Nazareth, when they had heard the Lord Jesus preach. They could find no fault in His sermon. They could point to no inconsistency in His past life.

Passing through the midst of them - Either he shut their eyes so that they could not see him; or he so overawed them by his power as to leave them no strength to perform their murderous purpose. The man Christ Jesus was immortal till his time came; and all his messengers are immortal till their work is done.

Passing through the midst of, them, went his way - This escape was very remarkable. It is remarkable that he should escape out of their hands when their very object was to destroy him, and that he should escape in so peaceful a manner, without violence or conflict. A similar case is recorded in Joh 8:59. There are but two ways of accounting for this: 1. That “other Nazarenes,” who had not been present in the synagogue, heard what was doing and came to rescue him, and in the contest that rose between the two parties Jesus silently escaped. 2. More probably that Jesus by divine power, by the force of a word or look, stilled their passions, arrested their purposes, and passed silently through them. That he “had” such a power over the spirits of people we learn from the occurrence in Gethsemane, when he said, “I am he; and they went backward and fell to the ground,” Joh 18:6.