Never Going Home?

We're still trying to follow Jesus through the Gospels, just reaching the point where he enters Galilee. Whether this is in his first or second year of ministry is kind of debatable, as most things that far back in history would be. It's the differences in the stories that make it so hard to imagine they were made up.

When Jesus is rejected in his home town, my immigrant self almost smiles. We change. The world changes behind us. And we really can't go home because that home we remember no longer exists. But Jesus points toward a home that won't change, where we will be changed through him to make us welcome.

(13) On To Galilee

Jesus is heading North through Samaria with a few disciples – probably John, Philip and Bartholomew (Nathaniel); maybe Andrew and Simon. His ministry, as described in the gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke, is just about to begin. (Some say the second year of his ministry, following a “year of obscurity” in southern Judea, is about to begin).

1.       Read John 4:27. What kind of people Jesus will minister to? What kind of  people are we willing to minister to?

2.       Read John 4:28-30,39-42. What kind kind of people will hear and believe? What made you hear and believe?

3.       Read John 4:31-33. What kind of followers Jesus does choose? What kind of follower are you?

4.       Read John 4:34-38. You probably remember Jesus talking about fields ripe for harvest. Did you remember at what point in his ministry the story occurred. Why do you think John includes it here?

5.       How does John 4:38 apply to our “labor”?

The road through Samaria from Jerusalem to Galilee would take Jesus to many small towns close to Cana and past Nazareth. Read John 4:43-44, Luke 4:14-16,24

1.       Matthew and Mark don’t mention what happened in Nazareth. Why do you suppose Luke might be the only one telling the story? (Which disciples and/or family members do you think are there to witness it?)

2.       What might be described as Jesus’ “own country” now? Does either of these passages refer to national boundaries? To faith boundaries? To denominational boundaries?

3.       In what sense might Jesus be being rejected in his own country today?

Jesus’ ministry in Nazareth starts well enough but goes badly. How do we feel when things start out well, as if we’re really doing God’s work, then end badly? Does it help to know Jesus must have felt the same?

1.       Read Luke 4:17-21, Isaiah 61:1-2. If we did not know who Jesus was, how would his statement that “this is being fulfilled” sound to us? To what extent should his reputation and miracles have persuaded them? Do signs and wonders convince us when other denominations display them?

2.       We’ve already heard that Jesus performed miracles in Jerusalem, in Cana, and in Galilee (Some readers assume he’s already started work in Galilee; others that he’s on his way there, and this counts as on the edge of Galilee, though Luke will suggest he’s already been to Capernaum in verse 23). What might people be expecting of Jesus when he arrives in the synagogue in his home town? What do we expect of Jesus?

3.       Read Luke 4:22 How do we react if we don’t get what we expect from God? How do we respond to unanswered prayer, to events that seem unfair, to our broken world?

4.       Read Luke 4:23-27. How do you imagine the scene? (Physician heal yourself was a fairly well-known proverb—probably particularly well-known to Luke.)

a.       What has Jesus done or not done to provoke the people?

b.      Which widow did Elijah help? (Read 1 Kings 17:7-9,14-17,22) Was she an Israelite? What might this tell us about who Jesus helps?

c.       Which leper was healed? (Read 2 Kings 5:1,15) What might this tell us?

5.       Read Luke 4:28-30. Nazareth really does stand at the top of a steep hillside.

a.       Why are the people angry?

b.      Have you ever felt angry with God? How did God resolve it?

At this point Jesus goes to Capernaum (Read Luke 4:31, Mark 1:21, Matthew 4:12-13) and begins to preach and heal.