Jesus lived in Nazareth with his parents for around 27 years. Selection of Nazareth, which was not at all popular and not mentioned in the Old Testament, was another sign of the humility of Jesus. When Philip introduced Jesus of Nazareth to Nathaniel, he asked Philip, “Can anything good come from Nazareth?” (Jn 1:46). The only good that came out of Nazareth was that Jesus was known as Jesus of Nazareth or the Nazarene. The inscription that Pilate placed on the cross of Jesus read: “Jesus the Nazorean, the King of the Jews” (Jn 19:19).
Before coming to his hometown Nazareth, Jesus preached for a year in Galilee that included Nazareth. But he did not enter there because he knew his own compatriots would reject him. Instead, he moved to Capernaum and returned later in the synagogue of Nazareth where the Jews rejected him. The outraged people tried to kill him by throwing him off a hill (Lk 4:29).
REFLECTION
Like the rejection Jesus experienced from his own neighbors in Nazareth, those involved in the church’s ministry might face similar situations. They should not be disappointed by it because Jesus had warned his disciples, “Whoever listens to you listens to me. Whoever rejects you rejects me. And whoever rejects me rejects the one who sent me” (Lk 10:16). Let us not be part of those who oppose the representatives of Jesus.