5/21/2018 1995 Issue 2 - Sermon on Luke 4:14-30 - The Startling Preaching of Jesus in Nazareth - Counsel of Chalcedon

1/6

WIre ~ h t r l H l t s :jFIreadrrug

of

Jlnsus

ilt

a:mrct1r

Luke 4: 14-30

Introduction

The LuhanportmyaJ oj the

beginning

o

Jesus' public millisil),

in

Nazaretll

o

Galilee

The preaching

o

Jesus in Hi s

hometown

of

Nazareth

and

His

rejection by

His

home-folks,

comprise

one

of the most arresting

features of

the

entire Lukan portrayal

of the public ministry o Jesus.

Stonehouse. Luke

begins his account

of] esus' minisuy in

Galilee by setting

Jesus' preaching in

Nazareth

at the

very beginning of

his narrative, as

the first concrete

report of

the

message of

Jesus

and of the

impa

ct

which He

made

uponHishearers.

Stonehouse. He did

this deliberately to

set forth for his

readers

the

leading motifs

of

His

Gospel, and of the early preaching and

teaching ofJesus.

The conflict o Luhes account

witll the accounts o Matthew and

Marh 1'CgardingJesus' preaching

in Nazareth

Whereas

Luke

p

lac

es J esus'

preaching

and

rejection in Nazareth at

the beginning of his account of Jesus'

Galilean ministry, Matthew and Mark

place the Nazareth incidentat the close

of their accounts of the Galilean

minisuy, Mal. 13:54-58;

Mk. 6:

1-6.

This difference in Luke underlines the

distinctiveness of his witness to Jesus

Chlist. Luke appears very bold in

sounding this somber note at this very

early poInt, even before he bas elw

el

triumphantly upon the favo], with

which Jesus was received by many.

Moreove

r,

the message of Jesus at

Nazareth is expressed in distinctive

t

er

m

s.

He

re

surely he is 0t following

a s

te

reotyped pallem which

hac

been

Jorlll.ed by earlier evangelists. No one

will d

ispute

the

conclusi on ,

accordingly, that

Luke 4:]

6-30

provicl

esa

most Jascinaring instance of

the distinctiveness ofLul(e, and that it

has most ilTlp

ona

m hearings upon

one's understanding of the public

lnini llY as a wholc. - Stonehouse.

Does this 'inn ovation'

in Lu

ke, (of

placing the Nazareth incident at the

beginning rather than at the end of the

Galilean minisuy) betray a Jack of

hi

stOrica

l objectivity and accuracy?

Or

were there two similar inCdents at

Nazareth, one

at

the beginning and

anotherat Ule end, which some believe?

What is the solution?

Before we assum e either of the two

conclusions

of

the preced

in g

paragraph, we must. ask the question:

Did Luke intend

to

present Jesus'

preacb ingal Nazareth

as

the inangural

. sennon of

-li

s Galilean millisil)' or as

programmatic, i.e., to illustrate the

teIlor ofJesus' ministry in Galilee which

would higblightthe distinctiveness of

Lu ke's witness to Chlist?

4 THE COUNSEL

of Chalcedon

l' February , 1995

Whereas it

is possible from

co mpari

so

n of the accounts o

Matthew, Mark and Luke that ther

were wo Nazareth incidents, one

the beginning and the other at th

conclusion of Jesus' Galilee ministr

nevertheless we are

not

required o

encouraged by the texts

to

assume tw

such inCidents. Although Luke plac

this in cident

at

the beginning of h

account of Christ's Galilean ministr

his account suggests that the Nazaret

incid ent may legi timately be regarde

as having taken place considerab

afler the beginning of Jesus' Galilea

ministry.'

And Jesu

reLlIll1Cd to Galile

in

the

power oj th

Spi rit;

and

new

about

Him sprea

through all th

sUlToundingdistTic

And He

bega

teachillg in the

synagogues anaw

praised by all.

Luke 4: 14f. In th

verse Luke tells

u

of a period

preaching minist

in

Galilee, we

known to everyone, and

with

n

reference to Nazareth. It appears th

Christ's appearance

in

Nazareth, lik

His minisny in Capemaum repOlte

in

Luke 4:3lf, is presented

as a

instance, but not necessarily the fir

instance, of preaching in Galilee.

Stonehouse. Because of Luke 4:43-4

it becomes o b ~ o u s that Luke has n

intention

10

give

his readers

chronological

itinerary of Jesu

preaching mission in Galilee. T

activityin Nazareth and in Capemau

is

pr

esented as illustrative of th

preachingand healingminisuy ofjesu

asa whole. In effect, therefore, he do

not

say more

than that, in

the

course

Jesus ministry in the synagogues

Galilee,

He (Chris

t)

also preached

in

t

5/21/2018 1995 Issue 2 - Sermon on Luke 4:14-30 - The Startling Preaching of Jesus in Nazareth - Counsel of Chalcedon

2/6

synagogue

at

Nazareth. He y 110 means

says or implies that the Galilean

ministry began

at Nazareth, or that the

address there was His inaugural

proclamation.- Stonehouse.

The issue ofwhen Luke understood

the Nazareth incident

to

have taken

place seems

to

be settled with Luke

4

:23-- And

He

said

to

tJlel11,

No doubt

you will qu.ote th

is

proverb 10 Me,

Physician, heal yourself;

whal

.c1 Cr we

heard was done at Capen1Q.um,doherein

you r home town

as

well.

These wo rds

of Luke cannot be

unde

rstood unless

all along Luke has been presupposin

g

a previouspeliod ofpreachingministry

in Capemaum. "The plain implication

seems to be that Hishearers

at

Naza reth

are understood by Jesus as being

informed concerning His previous

activity

in

Capemaum," (-Stonehouse),

implying that the Nazareth incident

took place later rather than earl i.er in

the Galilean minisny ofJesus.

Therefore, to summar ize ane

conclude the issue, "the activity in

Naza re

th

is

not

described as

inaugurating the public activity, and

the address in the synagogue there

may not precisely be characterized as

the inaugural address oUesus.

All

that

may be said finnly is that it is Luke's

first detailed account ofjesus'minisny.

When one once recognizes that Luke's

aim is not to tell in exact detail how

J

es

us' minisny in Galilee began, but

only to illustra

te

its beginnin

gs,

it isno

longer possible to insist that Luke

intended

to

imply that the activity in

Nazareth preceded that in

Capemaum

."

- Stonehouse

Nevertheless, we must ask: why

die

Luke pla

ce

the Nazareth incident

first in his account of Jesus' Galilean

ministry? Was there some

po

int he

was makin

g? It

appears fTOm the

vmious examples of Jesus' preaching

in

Galilee which Luke records that

Luke chose to place the preaching at

Na

zareth first in his account "because

it co

ulc

serve to present in blie[

compass some of the most signiJicant

features

6f the claims of Christ."

Stonehouse

The prea c

hing oj

J es us in

Nazareth

as

aJulfilhllCllt oIpJ'Ol'he0

Jesus'

preach"in

g m ission in Ga lilee

was the direct

fu

lfillment of Biblical

prophe

cy. Bu

l.

Ihere

will

be

110

more

gloom Jar her

who

was in

angUish;

in

earlicr time s He treated

tile

land

oj

Zcbuhm and the land of Naphl.ali with

contempt

,

/Jul

lal.

cr

on He ,haJlmQ I

e it

glOriO US, by

the way

oj OIC

sea, on t

he

other

side

(if

Jordan,

Galilee

oj

Ihe

Gen tiles.

I11epeople whowolhin darlmess

will sec

Q

greal

Itghl.

.....

- Ismah

9:

1-2.

According to Matthew 4:12f, God

fulfilled this prophecy, when J esus

Clllist, the Son of God,

Iii

ved

ane

ministered in Capernau

ll1,

Nazareth,

and the other cities in Galile

e-

--

"Now

when

He

Oesu

s) heard' that John had

,

been taken inl.O custody, He withdrew

into

Galilce;

and leaving Nazare

th,

He

came an

d seU/ed. in CapcmQ u

J1l,

which is

by the sea,

in

the

r e l ~ o n

oj Zebulun and

Naphtali. T

his

was to Julfil1 what was

spohen through Isaiall

the

prophet,

sayi

ng,

'The

land

oj Zebulun and th e land oj

Naph/.a/ i, by

the way

oj

the

sea, beyond

the

J

ordan,

GaJiJee

oj

the

Gentiles.

Th

e

people whowere

sitting

in

dari1J)ess

saw a

great light, and. to l110se whowere

sitting

in Ihe land. and

sha

dow oj death, upon

them

a

light dawned.'

From

that time

Jesu

s

began

to preach and say,

'Repent;

Jor the

llingd0111

oJ

heaven

is

at hand.'"

The inhabitants of Gali1ee were

wa

lking in the darkness of apostasy

an

d judgment; their whole mmmer

and course of life was e arkness.

"Darkness

without and

darkn ess

\ \ ~ t h i n ignorance, distress, mis

elY

and

sin. -- Far deeper than any darkness

brought on by an invasion ...was the

inward condition of the nati.on, the

plight of sin and miselY in which

i t

carried on its

lifc -

Young, [SAlAH,

NICOT. Acco rd ing

to

Isaiah s

prophecy,

to

lhese people, walking

in

darkness, a great light would appearin

Jesus Christ. Salvation in the fullest

sense would shin e on them . Christ

wo

uld come and by Hisminisl.ll' bring

a

tOla

l reversal of their condition.

This darkness was the shadow of

death,

wh

ich could be removed only

by

the light o

mf

e.

"O

nl

y a Light

whid

l

was

able

to hring"life and immortality

to lightcoulc1 expelthise eep darkness,

an I sucha Light appeared wbenCI1115t,

...went down

to

Capernaum an d dwelt

there ."- Young.

In typical prophetic fashi on, Isaiah

prophesiesofthe futureMessianicLight

in past tense verbs, alth ough they

would not be fu lfi lled umil centuries

after Isaiah's death.

The

people

WilD

walhed

in

darkne

ss

HAVE

SE

EN

a

great

ligh I.

When Isaiah wrote these words,

the people had not yet seen this light ;

but beca

us.e

they were predestined by

God to see it in Christ, it was so

absolutely certain ane vivie to Isaiah's

mind that he described it as though it

had aheady dawned. TI,is explains

why Jesus said, 1 .must

preach the

kingdo11l 0JGod to the othercilies also

JoT

1

was

sen l.jor this

pUl[Jose.

LIe

4:43.

The celltral message

oj

Jesus

IJ1 eac hillg: the Kingdom o God

All thTee synoptiC Gospels,

(Matthew, Mark, Luke), point out the

celllral fo cus

of

Jesus

pr

eaching

minislly: the Kingdom of God.

"Fro

m thaI:

timeJesus

began

to preach

and say, 'Repent;

Jor

the Kingdom oj

heaven isat

hand, '-

lvlatthew 4: 17.

....

..Jesus come

in

to Galilee,

pTeachi

ng

the

gospel

oj

God,

and

sa

ying ,

TI

le

timels

IuJjiiJed, and th

e

Kingdom oj

God is at

hand;

Tepenl. and believe the gospel.

Mark 1:14-15

But

He Oesus)

said to

them, 'I must

preach the Kin

gdo J

oj God to the other

ci

tics

alsoJorIwas

sentJo

r this pUJl,ose.

"

Luke 4:43.

February,

1995

'I THE COUNSEL of Chalcedon 'I' 5

5/21/2018 1995 Issue 2 - Sermon on Luke 4:14-30 - The Startling Preaching of Jesus in Nazareth - Counsel of Chalcedon

3/6

In the

Gospel

of Luke THE

OMINGOFTHE

KIN

GD OMand THE

OMING

OF

HRIST are two

illlerrelated themes, w

hi

ch a

re

clearly

seen in Jesu

s'

preaching in Nazareth.

In fact Jesu s' emphasis on tbe

fulfillment

of

prophecy LOday, in

Himself must be interpret

ed

in the

lig

ht

of the perspec

ti

ve

of Jesus'

preaching

0

r the Kingdom of God

which was His theme throughout His

Galilean Ministry.

order of righteousness and blessedness

in hist

OlY

in and throughJesus Christ

in fulfillment of God's covenalll

promises, Isaiah 61; Jeremiah 33-34.

And Luke

is

emphatic that thi s

kingdom coinddes with the person

and work of Jesus Chlist. It is so

indissolubly bound up with the

ministry ofChrist, and even identified

withHis person, that the gospel comes

to

finc1

expression

in

distinctlypersonal

terms. The decisive work of salvation

come in Christ , the Kingd

om

no

proceeds to grow and develop in

th

earth, as pbmcd seed, until it a

ffe

c

every aspect of human life an

domina tes/

li

berateshuman society

this planet, Mauhew 1.3:26; Ma

: 2 1 - 3 4 ; Matthew 13:33; anel (3). TH

HARVEST

Ol'THE

SEED. The seed

the kingdom w

ill

grow anc1trium

ph

human hea rts and societies until all

liTe has been leavened by the gosp

of Christ, and the kingdom of GDd

The Scripture passage

Jesus read in the synagogue

in Nazarethwas lsaial161: H,

according to Luke 4:17-19.

111is prophecy envisions the

dawn of a

new

day through

the intervention of God in

histor

y.

This outlook finds

expression within th e Old

Testamelll in various

forlTl5

which conver

ge

in the New

Testament historica l

revelation: it is described in

Christ's presence on earth,

and

His

victory over the works of

Satan, signalize that

the

kingdom

has

actually come into human

history, and

will

continue

to

come

in

all

its saving power, until it

comes

in total perfection a t the

second coming of Christ.

perfected and harveste

at the Second Coming

Christ , Manl,ew 13:3

43; 13:33; 1Corinthia

15:24-28.

The l'url'0.le of Lul

:

16f for

Lulu s

Genti

readers

Luke, as a Genti

writing to Gemi1es, begi

his account

of Jesu

teaching ministry with Jes

readin g h om

the

O

Testament and

app

lying

erms of the coming of the

Lord , or of the coming of the Lord's

Anointed,

or

of the outpouring of the

Divine Spiiit. The language quoted by

our

Lord from Isaiah gives vivid

expression to the hope of

a

new orde)

of

right

eous

ness

o

be

established by

God and proclaimed by One who

should be qualified to proclaim it by

an anOinting of the Spilil of the Lord.

That Jesus here proclaims the arrival

of

the new order of lighteousness

prophesied by Isaiah is evident....

Stonehouse

Now the question must be asked:

what is the nature of this new order of

things, this kingdom of God revealed

in

Chr ist? How does it confront us?

What does it demat1d of us?'

WhenJesus speaks ofthe kingdom

of God which His coming to eanh

established

on ean

h and [or eternity,

He is speaking of themanifestation of

th

e sovereign rule of God in power

a

nd

grace wh icll established a new

is

Chr ist's, the action o[ the Son

of

Man who 'came to seek and

to

save

the lost' (Lk. 19:10). - Stone

hou

se.

Christ's presence on earth, and His

victory over the works of Satan,

Signalize that

u1

e kingdomhas actually

come into

human

history, and will

continue to come in all its saving

power, until

it

comes in total

perfection at the second coming

of

C

hr

ist.'

A theology of

U1e

kingdom of

ChTistcanbe builtup on His parables,

wherein Jesus makes ule o ~ n g

points using the figure

of

a seed as

representing

u1e

Kingdom:

(I )

. THE

PLANTING OF THE SEED. The

Kingdom has already begun

to

manifest its saving power in the

establishingofGod's righteous order,

Mark

1: 15,inhuman

hearts,Matthew

13:

19 , and in human SO Cieties,

Matthew

13:3 1, 38. (2).

THE

GROWTH OF THE SEED .

Ha

ving

6 . I THE COUNSEL of Chalcedon 'I February, 1995

to Himself. This ind icates to Luk

readers tha

tJ

esushad come to

ful

fill

His own life and ministry the O

Testament, indicating in a convinci

way

th

at

Christianity was

not

a ne

religion,

but

rather one

with

roots

what stood

wr

itten in the O

Testament. Although in the bir

na

rratives

the accent fa lls upo

revelation contemporaneous with t

momemousevent ofthe birth of Chri

Luke shows here, beyond the sha do

of a doubt, that tbe O.T. revelatio

[armed an integral aspect

of

the gosp

proclamation. -- The O T SClipLUr

were viewed as being themselv

divinely given and of divine authOlit

-- And thus only is jusUce done

to

th

fac t t ahe two covenants, (OT an

NT)

are ultimately considered on

and that only one religion is reveale

in

the Scriptures,

onl

y

one

way

salvation, as there is but one God wh

deals with si nners, and has declare

5/21/2018 1995 Issue 2 - Sermon on Luke 4:14-30 - The Startling Preaching of Jesus in Nazareth - Counsel of Chalcedon

4/6

and accomplished His purposes of

right.eousness and grace, in the 1d

order

as

well

as

in the new. n_

Stonehouse

Exposition

The Settingfor the

Sermon of eS S

Th

e Beginning ofJesus' Galilean

Ministl),

(Lit. 4:14-15)

Luke

4:

14:

The Bridge bet.ween

LlI.he 4:13 and

Luhe

4:15

Verse 14 is the bridge between the

baptism and temptation of jesus and

His Gali.lean ministly

in

full swing by

omitting the events that lOok place

between these eveius.

The Teaching

Ministl)'

of

Christ

in

the power

oj

the Spirit

This phrase goes back

not

only

to

Luke 4:2 bUl to Luke 3:22. God's

purpose in anOinting Jesus ",nth His

Spirit was being

completely

accomplished. As we have seen Luke

has a great interest in the work of the

Holy Spilit in the life of jesus.

TIte Gencml Reaction

of

the

Cl'Owd to Jesus' Teaching

Prior

lO

His

coming

to

Nazareth

jesus'

prea

ching

had

caused quite a

stir amongst the Galileanpeople. News

about Him spread

through

all the

surrounding

diSLlict

and

Hewaspraised

by

all,

"because of the power of His

preaching, especially when contrasted

with the

lifeless

repetitions

and

senseless

trivialities

of

ordinary

teachers."- Plummer. The Greek word

for "praised" is "DOXADZO." Luke

uses it several times

in

desClibing the

reaction o f the crowds to

jesus'

preaching. See Luke 2:20;4: l5; 5:25,

26; 7:16; 13:13; l7:15; 18:43; 23:47.

The

wordmeans

in a general sense, to

ho

ld

a high opinion of someone, to

honor, to value, to praise." At this

point no opposit ion againstJesus had

yet arisen in Galilee.

What was it about jesus' teaching

that caus

ed ev

eJybody to praise it? "It

was .. lively, authoritative,

wen-organized, practical, interesting,

true, Mat. 7:228,29; LIe 4:31,32."

Hendriksen

The Synagogue

Its Histol),

The English word, "synagogue,"

comes directly from the Greek word,

SUNAGOGE,

meaning

gathering

place

.

It was the name of the Jewish

place of worship and

instmction

in

laterjudaism in and beyond Palestine.

t has its origins in the Babylonian

El le, when devoUl jews,

fur

[TOm the

Holy Land, having no Temple, felt the

need on the Sabbath and feasts days to

gather

wi th all the I pious and

God-fearing j ews

in

Exile

to

wo rship

Jehovah and to lister ' to His Word.

TI1e

roots of the Synagogue may

be

found

in

Ezekiel 14:1 anil 20: 1 By the

time of] esus the Synagogue was one of

the most important reli.gious

institutions mong the Jews.

"The Biblical mandate for the

synagogue was found

in

Exodus 18:20:

'And thou

shalt

teach

them ordinances

and

laws,

alld shalt

sh

ow them

the way

wherein

they must

walk, and

the work

t/,at

the

y

must do.' TI1e Oligins of th.e

synagogue

were

perhaps in the

Babylonian Exile. TI1e synagogue was

not

only a place of worship bntalso

an

elementary schooL TI1e synagogue

was also regarded as a kind of adult

school; it was a place for lectures, and

also the scene of legal decisions."

Rushdoony, Institutes oj Biblical

Law,

pg.763.

Its Liturgy

The Synagogue was a place of

worship and reHgious/ethical

instruction. Devoutjewswould gather

there to offer their prayers and acts of

worship loJehovahand tobeinstrucled

in His Law. The sequence of]iturgical

elemel1ls in the synagogue service was

usually as follows: 1). Prayers of

Thanksgiving, "Blessings,"; (2). The

Confessing of th e Shema,

Deuter

onomy 6:

4-5; (3).

Prayer

with

the response of , "

Amen:

fTom the

congregation; (4). 111e Reading of a

passage

from the P

enteteuch

in

Hebrew, followed by a translation in

Aramaic; (5). The Reading

ora

passage

from the Prophets, ancllranslated into

Aramaic;

6) .

A

Sermon

or word of

exhonati.oll, usually with a Messianic

reference;

(7). The Benediction

pronounced by a priest

to

which the

congregation responded with "Amen."

(When no priest

was

available, the

Benediction was substituted Vlrith a

Closing Prayer.)

Its

Relation to

tile hurch

The Synagogue

as

the

Cmdlc oj the Church

The S)'l1Ogogu ebecame the cradle oj

the

Church. -

Edersheim. Wherever

the Jews were scattered during the

Dispersion,

they

built synagogues,

where the Law of

ehovah

was taught

and Messianic prophecy was explained.

Upon thisbasis Chl1St

and

Hisapostles

built. When jesus wou

ld

go into a

town or city,

he

wo

uld

preach

and

teach in its synagogue

as He did

in

Nazareth

in

Luke. After Christ's

Ascension, theSphi t-baptizedApostles

of Christ had the same practice of

preaching the gospel

in

the synagogues

of

the towns they

~ s i t e d until

the

incident in Ac.ts 19:8-10, when the

Jewish synagoglles deliberately

and

vicionsly hardened themselves against

and sOllght to slander the gospel of

jesus Christ.

"It was, surely, awondrously

linked

chain of ci.rcumstances, which bOllnd

the Synagogue

to

the

Church

. Such a

result could never

ha

ve been foreseen,

as

that, what

really was the

consequence ofIsrad 's dispersion,and,

therefore, indireclly the punishment

oftheirSins,

should

b

ecome

the means

of fulfilli.ng Israel's world-mission,

February, 1995 I THE COUNSEL of Chalcedon l' 7

5/21/2018 1995 Issue 2 - Sermon on Luke 4:14-30 - The Startling Preaching of Jesus in Nazareth - Counsel of Chalcedon

5/6

(Gen. 12:3). Another in5tan

ce

olthis,

of how Divine judgme l1l always bears

in its bosom larger mercy;

aTlm

her

illustration, how the dying of Israel is

eve r life to th e wo rld; an(lth er

manifestation of that supernal ural'

Rllle

of

Go

d , in which a

ll

is rule, that is , law

a

nd

ord er , and all

su

pernatural,

brin

ging

to

pass,

in

th e orderly

succession of events, whatal the

OUlSfl

wo

uld

have seemed, a

nd

really is,

miraculous. --

Wit

hout it, (th e

syn agogue), as indeed ~ l o u Israel's

d isp

ers

ion, the Ch

ur

ch

Universal wonld, humanly

"TIl e training of such mature men

is the function of the ch urch . The

purpose of the church should

no

t be

to hring men into suhjection to the

church, but rather to train them into

a royal priesthood capable of bringing

the world illlo subjection to

Ch

rist the

I

5/21/2018 1995 Issue 2 - Sermon on Luke 4:14-30 - The Startling Preaching of Jesus in Nazareth - Counsel of Chalcedon

6/6

endowed, 3:22; 4:1; (2).

t

waswide1y

publicized;

(3 ) . t

was synagogue

cemered; (4) . It was popular, 4:22a,

32: 5:1,

elC. jesus'

preaching was so

popu l

ar

beca use it was "li

vely,

authoritative, well

-

organized,

practical, inter

esting

and true.

-

Hendriksen.

Luke begins his

account ofJesus'

Galile

an

Minisny

with

his visit 10

and

rejection at Nazareth because of the

distinctive plan and pU l)ose of his

Gospel: to presemjesus Chlist

as

the

Divine-human Savior of the world,

Who

came

to

fulfill Old Testamel1l

prophecy and

to

bringsalvation notonly

to the jews, but also to all and an)' who

believe in Him regardless ofethnicOligin.

TIle

Sabbath

Luk

e adds

in

verse 16,

that

when

Jesus reLUmed to His hometown

of

Nazareth,

as was His custom, He

entered

the synagogue on the Sabbath, and stood

up

to read.

This conldmean that jesus

always

went

to

the

synagogue every

Sabbath

from His youngest childhood

to worsh

ip

God;

or,

more likel

y,

that it

wasJesus' custom durtng His Galilean

ministry on the sabbath to preach

in

the synagogue's

in

the towns

he

visited,

vs. 14-15. See Mat. 4:23; 9:35; 12:9;

13:54; Mk. 1:21,39; 6:2; Lk. 4: 15, 16 ,

44; 6:6; 1

3:

10;

In.

6:59; 18:20.

lBoth

Ma

tthew and Mark suggest that

the Nazareth incident took place near the

conclusion of Christ's Ga lilean ministry.

Mark says nothing of such a visit until his

account of

it

in c h p t e 6. Matthew

indicates that Capernaul11

was

the cent

er

of Christ's early activity , but he also

mentions a visil

to

Nazaretb before Chlis t

went to Capernaum, without tell ing us

anything that happened there,

Mal. 4:

13r.

ome

excellent books

on

the kingdom

of God in Ch rist are: 0). Greg L. Bahnsen

and Kenneth L. Gentry,Jr.,HouseDivided,

(Tyler, Texas, Insti

tute

of Christian

Economics, 1989: (2). Gehardus Vos,

Biblical Theo ogy, pgs. 372f (Grand Rapids,

Michigan, William

B.

Eerdm ansPublishing

Co., 1948);

3).

Hennan Ridderbos, TIIC

Coming

oj

TI C Kingdom, (Nut ley , N.J.,

PresbYLerian

and

Reformed Publishing

Co

mpan) ] 962).

Jf{den:ncts to the kingd

m in Luke s

Gospel: 1:33; 4:43; 6:20; 7:28: 8:1,10;

9:2,11,27,60,62:

10:9,11: ]] :2, 17,20:

12:31,32; 13:18, 20,28,29:

H:15; 16:

16;

17: 20,2 1: 18: 16. 17,24,25,29: 19:1][:

21:31 : 22:16 : 22:18, 29f; 3 : ~ ; 23 :51.

' Luke 4: H

through Y:5

describe

J

es

usministry in Gal ilee. contents of

Lu

ke

6:20-8:4 do not occur at

all

in MarIe.

nlhcoth er

hand, Lukl: omits f .vt:lything

described in Mark 6:45-8:26,n

Messages

by

Greg Bahnsen

Ken

Gentry

Rushdoony

ary

eMar

I

Walter

Bowie

Morton

Smith

Paul Jehle

Febl'Uary, 1995 I THE COUNSEL of Chalc

edo

n

l'

9