The Nazareth Rejection
Jesus was surrounded by a crowd comprised mostly of his enemies with a few followers scattered among them. In reply to their taunts, Jesus half humorously said “Yes, I am Joseph’s son. I am the carpenter, and I am not surprised that you remind me of the proverb, ‘Physician heal yourself,’ and that you dare me to do in Nazareth what you have heard I did at Capernaum. But you should know that even the scriptures say that ‘a prophet is honored everywhere except in his own country, and among his own people.’”
The crowd grew angry, and pointing at him people said “You think you are better than us in Nazareth. You moved away from us, but your brother is a common workman and your sisters still live among us. We know your mother Mary. Where are they today? We hear big things about you, but we notice that you do no wonders when you come back.”
Jesus said “I love the people who dwell in the city where I grew up and I would be happy to see you all enter the kingdom of heaven, but it is not for me to determine what God does. The transformations of grace come as the result of the living faith of those who receive it.”
Jesus could have and would have good-naturedly managed the crowd and disarmed even his violent enemies. But Simon Zelotes with the help of Nahor, who was one of the younger evangelists, rounded up a group of Jesus’ friends and then they confronted his enemies telling them to leave.
Many times Jesus had taught the apostles that a soft answer turns away wrath. But his followers were not used to seeing their Master treated with such discourtesy. It was too much for them, and they became angry yelling at the people who were making trouble. This added fuel to the fire and the mob took on a mind of its own. Those who had been hired to rough-up Jesus took the lead; they grabbed ahold of Jesus and hauled him out of the synagogue to the edge of a cliff close by so they could throw him off to his death. But just as they reached the edge Jesus stopped, turned around, faced his captors, and simply folded his arms. He said nothing, and his followers were astonished as he walked forward, the mob parting and allowing him to pass without harm.
Jesus’ disciples followed him back to camp where everyone recounted what had occurred. Then they all prepared to return to Capernaum the next morning. This harsh experience right at the end of the third preaching tour sobered the apostles. They were starting to understand the meaning behind some of Jesus’ teachings, and they were beginning to realize that the kingdom was only going to come about after much bitter disappointment. Everyone left Nazareth that Sunday morning, and after taking different routes when returning to Bethsaida they all arrived by noon on Thursday, March 10th. This time instead of coming together like some enthusiastic and all-conquering band of triumphant crusaders, they were more sober, serious, and disillusioned.
Excerpt from Son of Man: Urantia, Chapter 29, The Third Preaching Tour
Son of Man: Urantia, is a restatement of the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as presented in the Urantia revelation and in accordance with its urging to do so for today’s generation.
Full episode here: The Third Preaching Tour
https://robertakezer.substack.com/p/chap-29-the-third-preaching-tour
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Son of Man: Urantia, PDF’s (English and Spanish)
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Godspeed, everyone.
Bob
The Nazareth Rejection