Rejected in His Hometown

On one particular Sabbath day Jesus went into the synagogue in Nazareth. Reading from the scroll of the prophet Isaiah He proclaimed that He was the fulfillment of Isaiah’s prophecy and sent to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor. Initially, all within hearing were amazed at His gracious words and spoke well of Him. But their adulation did not last long. Jesus went on to cite two Old Testament records of God’s miraculous power and mercy – one in the life of Elijah and the other in the life of Elisha. In both accounts God sent his servants to individuals outside of Israel, namely, to a widow and a leprous military commander who were both Gentiles. If He wanted to remind them about God’s power why did He not select the enormously dramatic feat of opening the Red Sea?

What was Jesus’ intention here? Was he predicting to those of his hometown that the time had come for God’s dealings to extend beyond Israel to the Gentiles? Was He declaring Himself to be God’s vanguard messenger? Judging by the ugly reaction of this Nazareth synagogue crowd that was exactly what he communicated. Remember, Jesus grew up in Nazareth. These were people who knew Him as “Joseph’s son.”

Infuriated by His decision to recount God’s wondrous supply of bread in long ago Zarephath, Sidon and God’s miraculous healing of the Syrian Commander’s leprosy, they drove him out to the edge of town, to the brow of the town’s hill, and intended to throw Him down the cliff. Because his time to die had not yet come He walked through the crowd and went on His way. He kept walking until he reached Capernaum which was twenty miles east through The Shimron Pass and The Arbella Pass. Capernaum would be His new home and base of operations. Isaiah said this about Capernaum:

“Land of Zebulun and land of Naphtali, the way to the sea, along the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles – the people living in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of the shadow of death a light has dawned.” Matthew 4:15-16

There are reasons why He chose Capernaum from a non-prophetic point of view. Not only was it situated on the Northwest shore of the “sea” but also beside the great highway, the Via Maris, leading from the interior of Asia, the Mesopotamian Valley, to the Mediterranean Sea, and Egypt. It was strategic as a commercial center. The commercial fishing trade flourished on the Lake. Situated on the main trade route from Jerusalem to Syria and beyond, thousands of merchants and travellers passed through its gates each month. Capernaum was a bustling hub of activity. Simon and Andrew whose origin was the town of Bethsaida had set up residence in Capernaum previously.

I think the Lord had a another reason for wanting to be in Capernaum. This is totally conjecture on my part but have you noticed the picture at the top of each of my blog posts? That is the view of the Sea of Galilee from the ancient site of Capernaum! On this day, three months ago exactly, I was sitting along the shore of the Sea of Galilee. I walked where Jesus walked. I lifted my eyes to see the expanse of Yam Kineret and the sun setting behind the northern hills of Galilee. Being there has added a needed dimension to my writing. I can imagine Him standing on the same shore. Did He stand there and ponder His next move – where He would preach next, or nurture compassion for the masses that were beginning to follow Him, or prepare Himself for the inevitable pendulum swing from adulation to betrayal that would take place over the next three years? Did He envision Himself leaving Galilee for the last time and facing His inevitable fate in Jerusalem?

News about Him spread all over Syria and large crowds from Galilee, the Decapolis (Ten City States), Jerusalem, Judea and the regions across the Jordan followed him during his first tour of Galilee. People brought to him all who were ill with various diseases, those suffering severe pain, the demon-possessed, those having seizures, and the paralyzed. He healed them. He taught in their synagogues. It was said, “We saw the lame walking, the blind seeing, the crippled made well, the mute speaking, and many others healed.” People were amazed and praised the God of Israel. However, not every face in the crowd was enamored by His display of power and authority. For some His activity rattled their souls and rocked their snarky world.

The First Parable

Of the four New Testament Gospel writers Luke gives us the largest number of details regarding the birth of Jesus tracing His lineage back to Adam. Luke was a physician and the only non-Jewish writer of the four. Although not an eye witness of Jesus’ life, Luke states that his account was put to text after extensive research. He was a close friend and travel companion of Paul, the Apostle. Luke portrays Jesus as the “pursuing Savior” depicting His perfect life and perfect sacrifice through the warm, gentle understanding He showed as the “Son of Man.” The heart of Luke’s Gospel is the parables.

“Parable of New Cloth/New Wineskins”

According to the timeline of the events of Jesus’ second year of ministry, His Year of Popularity, this is the earliest recorded parable. Parallel accounts are found in Matthew and Mark’s versions. What were the preceding events? After a miraculous catch of fish orchestrated by Jesus, four fishermen left their fishing trade, nets and boats, and followed Jesus. They were Simon, called Peter, his brother, Andrew, and James and John, sons of the owner of their fishing outfit, Zebedee. Jesus then healed a man with leprosy, then healed a paralyzed man who had been lowered through the roof of the house where He was teaching. By this supernatural feat He proved His power to not only heal the body (which was “harder” to say and “harder to do”) but also to forgive sins. Next Jesus came upon a tax collector named Levi and said two words to him, “Follow me.” Levi left his tax booth, calculator, ledgers, and pens and followed Jesus.

The setting for this parable is Levi’s home in Capernaum where he has thrown a huge banquet in Jesus’ honor. A large representation of his tax collector buddies was there and, of course, Jesus and his four new disciples. People were doing what people do at a banquet – eating and drinking. Some Pharisees and teachers of the Law were hanging around and complained to Simon and the other disciples about their dinner company, “tax collectors and sinners. ” Jesus turned to answer them. Some other people pose a second question about fasting. We can conclude that the Pharisees and John the Baptist’s disciples were fasting at this time. Perhaps seeing Jesus and His disciples eating disturbed them since their stomachs were growling. Jesus’ disciples would fast in the future after He was taken from them. He told them this parable:

“No one tears a patch (unshrunk) from a new garment and sews it on an old one. If he does, he will have torn the new garment, and the patch from the new will not match the old. And no one pours new wine into old wineskins. If he does, the new wine will burst the skins, the wine will run out and the wineskins will be ruined. No, new wine must be poured into new wineskins. And no one after drinking old wine wants the new, for he says, ‘The old is better.’ ” Luke 5:36-39

Meshing new with old – it should not be done – neither in these two practical illustrations nor when it comes to the weighty oracles of the Almighty God. Primarily, the application here is referring to interfacing the order of two Covenants – the Old Covenant through Moses with the New Covenant through Messiah. The setting for this parable is, in itself, and illustration of setting precedents. Here was Jesus claiming to be God’s messenger found by the religious elite to be socializing with sinners. Prejudiced by their interpretation of religious behavioral law the Pharisees complained. The same perspective motivated some of the people to ask about the fasting issue. Jesus tells us that mixing produces disastrous results – tearing, ruined new garment, non-matching fabrics, ruined wineskins, and spoiled new wine.

God’s New Covenant was to be superior in nine ways. It brought to the human race, and to the nations, nine “better” experiences: 1) a better revelation of God; 2) a better hope; 3) a better priesthood; 4) a better covenant; 5) better promises; 6) a better sacrifice for sins; 7) better possessions; a better country; 9) a better resurrection.

Over fifteen hundred years had passed since The Law had been given to Moses on Mt. Sinai. By the first century A.D. fifteen hundred years of ceremonial and religious regulations had been sullied through man-made interpretations and applications of God’s Law. Fifteeen hundred years allowed time for a man-made religious culture, or maybe better stated, a religious society, to establish itself. The Lord God was about to change the rules. Why would any religious leader reject the new? Why would attempts be made to combine the inferior with the superior? Would resistance to change be an answer? Would losing places of religious power and status be an answer? Would losing control of the people be an answer?

One final thought on the meaning of this parable must be made. It is one of serious miscalculation and fatal incorrect evaluation. Jesus ended the parable by predicting that those who are not willing to drink the new wine will succumb to their acquired taste for the old wine. Without a comparative test they will say, “The old is better.”

“New wine must be poured into new wineskins.”

Jesus chose the theme of “Spiritual Adaptation” for His first recorded parable.

Sarah Anne Smith