Bible Reading: Luke 4 — Joel Portman

Our God and our gracious Father, indeed we would echo the words of the hymn we have just been singing. As we consider the greatness and the loveliness of our Lord Jesus, no mortal can with Him compare among the sons of men.

Our hearts bow and worship O God, to think that he who is verily God yet became truly human. Lower than angels to die in our stead, we bow O God with wonder and worship, and again with appreciation that he is the one who gave himself for us, who accomplished the work to God's satisfaction, and who has brought eternal blessing to our souls.

Father, we're thankful this Lord's Day morning that with thy people we can gather, not only to remember him later on, but also to consider him as we open thy word together. We pray thou give help to all of our brethren, and each one of us to appreciate something more of our Lord Jesus and his passage from this beautiful gospel that presents to us the Lord Jesus.

Help us, O God, to comprehend something of the infinite perfection that is found in his words and his work. And Father, we are thankful today that again we have the entirety of the word of God that would present to us thy purposes regarding him and the place that he will one day occupy in eternity.

We offer our thanks for coming together this morning, another Lord's Day. We thank thee, O God, for the benefits of the weather and the conditions under which we gather. We give thanks for the conference.

We thank thee for the assembly of the saints here in Blue River, and we pray thy blessing upon them as we continue today and seek to learn more of thyself and of thy word. So we offer our thanks, commend ourselves to thy hand, in the precious name of the Lord Jesus Christ, amen.

Reading Luke 4:14–37

Our passage to read and to consider this morning is Luke chapter 4, brethren have selected this passage, and we'll begin reading in this chapter from verse 14, Luke chapter 4 and verse 14. And Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit into Galilee, and there went out a fame of him throughout the land, through all the region round about.

And he taught in their synagogues, being glorified of all, honored or esteemed is the idea. And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, and as his custom was, he went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day and stood up for to read.

And there was delivered unto him the book of the prophet Isaiah. And when he had opened the book, he found the place where it was written, the Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor.

He has sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, to preach the acceptable year of the Lord.

And he closed the book, and he gave it again to the minister and sat down. And the eyes of all them that were in the synagogue were fastened on him, and he began to say unto them, This day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears.

And all bear him witness, and wondered at the gracious words which proceeded out of his mouth. And they said, Is not this Joseph's son? And he said unto them, Ye will surely say unto me this proverb, Physician, heal thyself.

Whatsoever we have heard done in Capernaum, do also hear in thy country. And he said, Verily I say unto you, No prophet is accepted in his own country. But I tell you of a truth. Many widows were in Israel in the days of Elias, when the heaven was shut up three years and six months, when great famine was throughout all the land.

But unto none of them was Elias sent, save unto Sarepta, a city of Sidon, unto a woman that was a widow. And many lepers were in Israel in the time of Elias the prophet, and none of them was cleansed, saving Nahum and Assyria.

And all they in the synagogue, when they heard these things, were filled with wrath, and rose up and thrust him out of the city, and led him unto the brow of the hill, whereon their city was built, that they might cast him down headlong.

But he passing through the midst of them went his way and came down to Capernaum, a city of Galilee, and taught them on the Sabbath days. And they were astonished at his doctrine, for his word was with power.

We'll stop our reading at that point. Brethren, I've indicated that this is the passage you would like us to consider. Now, we are dependent upon the help of our brethren that are here this morning to help us to glean the maximum from this passage of the Word of God.

Now, I just want to say a few words in opening, and then leave it to the discussion that can follow. In looking at this passage of the Scripture, I'd like to break it down into four different parts. And I think we'll have sufficient time to expand and to consider the context of the chapter as it begins with the testing, the proving of the Lord Jesus in the wilderness, and to see how that leads into the commencement of his public ministry, which began here in Nazareth, the city where he had been brought up.

Resisting Temptation and the Perfection of Christ

I think it would be helpful to look at verse 13 through 15. And in that part, we need to look at the background that lies ahead of this moment when it says that he returned in the power of the Spirit into Galilee and began, it says, actually he began to teach.

He began a ministry of teaching that would continue for the three and a half years of his public ministry. And in the process of that, we find something about, I believe, a key that would help us in relation to a spiritual power that a believer can derive from resisting temptation.

Now, I know the Lord Jesus was not tempted in the way that we are. He was tested and proven. It was the Spirit of God that drove him, Mark's Gospel tells us, into the wilderness. It was for the purpose of proving his superiority.

And at the commencement of his ministry, he displayed his power over the devil. So, we have the background in relation to this section and how it fits into the Gospel we can look at for the first part of our study.

Then in verse 16 through 19, I think we should look at the way that the Lord Jesus handled the Scriptures. We can learn much that would help us in relation to how we should handle the Word of God. How it should be read, how it should be interpreted, how it should be applied.

And the Lord himself displayed perfect ability as well as wisdom in how he handled the Word of God in this particular passage. So, here we have the handling of the Word of God in verse 16 through 19. And we also see other things concerning the Lord's regular practice.

In verse 20 through 27, this is an interesting use of the Old Testament examples. And we need to try to understand why did the Lord Jesus select these two examples from this particular period of the history of Israel in the Old Testament.

Why did he select this woman in the days of Elijah? Or Naaman the Syrian in the days of Elisha? Certainly there is a reason and I believe it ties in with what he has already been saying to them. Then we have the last section which would have to do with their response, their anger, their rejection of him.

And of course, his going away and going down to Capernaum. So, let us try to learn something from not only the perfection of the Lord Jesus and to discern something of the intrinsic glory that was displayed in him, but also perhaps things that would help us in our life as well as our testimony before the world.

Now, we oftentimes say, and I think brethren would always agree with this, that the one that leads a Bible reading doesn't have all the answers. We're just here to help things move along and there are brethren here that are able to contribute very well.

We hope that they will. Not only these men that are sitting in the front row, but there are others here that can give help in this Bible reading. So, there might be the maximum profit to each one of us.

I think it's helpful for us to begin by noticing that Luke's gospel is presenting the Lord Jesus in such a way that it ties in very well with the fact that emphasis is made on the power and the work of the Holy Spirit in his life.

Maybe my brother would like to comment on that or bring in other aspects to the background of this section.

In chapter 3, we see the Holy Spirit descending upon him at his baptism, verse 22, and then we have the declaration from heaven, Thou art my beloved Son, in thee I am well pleased. And then there follows, in chapter 4, the three occurrences or the three temptations that are recorded of the Lord Jesus.

So, what I'm thinking is God knew beforehand the absolute impeccability and sinless purity of the Lord Jesus. Otherwise, that statement could not be made until after the temptation, but it comes before it.

Thou art my beloved Son, in thee I am well pleased. And then God proves that to us and gives us a view of impeccability.

Yeah, God, he safeguards the person of Christ, doesn't he? The gospel of Luke, of course, is a gospel of the perfect man. He's going to be baptized. Others were being baptized onto their mission of their sins, but the Lord Jesus wasn't, and God safeguards that by opening the heavens and descending upon him like a dove.

So, you find in the scriptures, that's a principle I think, very often God counterbalances truth so we don't get on the wrong track. And then, usually for us at least, that's when testing comes when we're baptized.

Some people that aren't born into Christian homes have enough difficulty when they're saved, but it's usually at their baptism that even the family seems to go against them. But I think you pointed out that he was full of the Holy Spirit, and then the Spirit that led him into the wilderness, he was still under control of that Spirit when he comes into the synagogue.

I think it's very good to notice the fact that this gospel traces the genealogy of the Lord Jesus back to Adam. Adam was the one that failed when it came to testing. There is a man that was instituted by God and put in a place of responsibility.

He failed to respond to that responsibility, and as a result we know what has happened in terms of the entire creation. But this one who can trace the genealogy and that side of his heritage back to Adam was the one who the Spirit of God himself led into this position, not to see if he would fall.

We need to make that very clear. It was not to determine if the Lord Jesus would overcome temptation or not. It was to prove that he could not be. He was a different order, as it were, from Adam, different altogether, and proving the fact that he was a superior man, a man of anew and a different order.

So in the records of the temptation in Matthew, it would be to show that he's competent to reign. He's the king. And then in Mark, of course, he's competent to be God's servant, and here it's showing in his manhood the perfection of his manhood.

You might ask the question, in terms of verse one, we're going back there, but does the Spirit of God ever lead a believer today into a situation like this, or is it our own? James tells us we're led away of our own lusts, and our temptation doesn't come from the Spirit of God.

It seems to indicate this is totally different than what you and I experience in our daily life. As you say, Joel, it's linked with Adam. When God brought his people into the land, it was a land flowing with milk and honey.

It wasn't to be a place where there was a wilderness, but because of the disobedience of Israel and so on, you find you're in the wilderness. And as you have hinted, that Adam was tempted under perfect conditions.

Now here you have the Lord in the wilderness. And as well as that, I have thought, tell me if I'm going too far from what you have in your own mind, but God says in Matthew, is it, out of Egypt have I called my son.

So you have the Lord sort of fulfilling the, going the same pathway as the nation of Israel, and now he's in the wilderness. Well, you know what happened to them in the wilderness, and they murmured and complained and so on, and God gave them manna.

And now we have the word of God. Man shall not live by bread alone. So verse 14, you mentioned at that point, you return, not full of the Holy Spirit here,.

But in the power of the Holy Spirit.

Is there a sense, and I'm making an application, I know, but is there a sense that a believer who resists temptation, I'm talking about a different thing perhaps than what the Lord, but we have a pattern of it here, a believer resisting temptation experiences an increase in a spiritual power.

Spiritual ability comes from a determination to do what is right before God, to be subject to his will, and to be obedient to his word. So we have a sense in which, I'm just looking at this from my own point of view, but we have a sense in which believers that seek to overcome sin, seek to resist temptation, experience an increase or more ability in a spiritual realm, ability to be used of God because of the commencement of his public service.

Yes. Yes, that's a good point. And I was just, it came to my mind that when God tempted Abraham, each testing was to increase his faith and to make him stronger. I know Abraham failed at least on a couple of occasions, but the greatest temptation wasn't the first one, but it was the last one.

But God was increasing him as he would overcome, so that when the great test came of offering up a son, he was equal to the test.

You take it, Brother Jewell, that between verses 13 and 14, you have the chapters 2 through 5 of John's gospel? I believe we do. Very possibly, yeah. Right. It's interesting then, if you notice the order of the temptations as recorded by Luke, it's different from Matthew, but you have that which is linked with bread, then you have the thought of dominion, and then cast yourself down and, as it were, defy gravity.

Chapter 6 of John, immediately following his return to Galilee after Judea, you have the feeding of the 5 ,000 linked with bread. They wanted to make him a king, but he departed. He wouldn't have it. And then the next thing is Jesus walking on the sea to meet the need of the disciples, if you will, defying gravity.

So it seems to be there's a link with the very order that you have here.

Christ’s Public Ministry Begins in Nazareth

When he returned into Galilee, there went out a fame of him. There was a repute. There was a rumor. Men were increasingly becoming aware of him. And the Spirit of God that drove him or led him into the wilderness and returning in the power of the Spirit of God is now expanding the area of that ministry, opening the areas so that there are those who are becoming aware that there is a prophet or there is one who God has raised up in the midst of his people.

And so in verse 15, he began to teach, is the idea of the tense, I believe. He not only taught once, but he was teaching or began to teach in their synagogue. And he was being honored of all. But then he came to Nazareth.

And what a contrast. The place where he should have been honored was a place where he was rejected and despised. So the gospel of Luke also is the gospel of the priest. So you have the Lord as a teaching priest.

And I think it's, as you say, it's wonderful. It comes to Nazareth, the despised place. That's where he's associated with. Can any good thing come out of Nazareth? Well, I'm glad we know. Yes. And when he came to Nazareth, it's where he was brought up.

That's usually the most difficult part to be a good testimony for God right among your own people. They know all about you, but here you're brought up. And as custom was, he went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day.

I would take it that his coming to Nazareth was done deliberately. We don't believe any movement of the Lord Jesus was ever by chance or haphazard. So he came here to Nazareth, but what for? I would take it that he came to expose the unbelief of those that above all should have believed him.

They should have seen him growing up. They should have seen the character of his life. They should have marked him out as being a unique person. But in that sphere, he comes deliberately to the place where, again, like John chapter one, he came unto his own.

This is the closest to his own, but his own received him not. Then he went down to Galilee. They that received him, as many as received him, he gave the power and so on. But here he comes to Nazareth in a deliberate movement that he might expose the unbelief that lay deep in their hearts, the refusal to receive him.

One of the things that he had done in Galilee, verse 14, causing the fame of him to go out throughout that region was the healing of the nobleman's son at Capernaum. It's interesting, verse 23, when the Lord comes to Nazareth, instead of appreciating him like you're saying for who he was, it seems that they drag that up as something of a mockery.

Whatsoever we have heard Don and Capernaum do also here in your country, and we believe you.

Is there a practical principle? I know that probably John 2 and 3 comes before this, but yet, is that where we should start our testimony? Among our own people and in our own place? Most would like to go someplace and it's easier where you're not known, maybe in some ways, but we need to begin right where we were brought up, right where we live.

Brother, I wanted to start with, he stood up for Toree. I'd like to just emphasize this one expression, as his custom was. In chapter 2, we find that his parents went up year by year to Jerusalem. That was their practice, a regular practice that had been established.

We heard about Samuel yesterday, and we see Samuel's parents, in spite of the conditions that existed at the tabernacle where Eli and his sons were officiating, his parents went up every year. Here we find that in the life of the Lord Jesus, in his perfect manhood, his custom was regularly to go to the synagogue.

Now that just wasn't a matter of habit. That was a practice that he knew was right. The practice of honoring God and recognizing the Word of God. I think it's interesting that he begins a public ministry by doing something that was his regular custom.

You come to chapter 22 at the end of public ministry, and Judas knew where he was going to be because it was his habit, it was his practice to go to the Garden of Gethsemane. So, in a sense, can we not learn that as believers there are good practices that we need to establish in our lives?

And even though conditions might not be what we'd like them to be, and perhaps we can find fault, and rightly so at times, yet there are practices to begin in early life and maintain and carry on constantly because of the fact that according to the Word of God, that right before God, they're honoring God, and they're seeking to express reverence for Him.

Even the institution of a synagogue was not something as such specified in Scripture, but it was a good practice for people to gather together for the reading of the Word of God.

It's interesting that seven times in the Gospel of Luke we find the Lord Jesus on the Sabbath day. Six times He was working, or He's preaching, or He's active on the Sabbath day. The seventh Sabbath day it says He rested.

He was in the grave. And so we have the constant activity. The Son of Man is Lord even on the Sabbath day. And He used the Sabbath day for the accomplishment of God's purposes. Now, you were just going to bring us into the passage that you read.

Yeah, well, I wanted to point out that, you to point out that He stood. I think that was a normal practice, but yet He had a reverence for the Word of God. And I think we can see in this passage not only a reverence for it, a familiarity with it.

He knew where it was.

He knew the Word. The scroll was handed to Him and the book, as it said, the scroll. It wasn't prearranged by Him that it would be from the book of Isaiah. But He had that reverence and that familiarity and knowledge.

He knew where to begin reading and He knew where to conclude His reading. I would take it that it's hard to tell whether this was just simply the passage that was regularly read. I mean, this was going to be the passage on that particular Sabbath day.

Or whether He selected this passage. If it was the regular passage, then He determined, knowing ahead of time, what Sabbath day He would be there. So that that would be the portion of Scripture to read.

He knew the appropriate time to be, to rise and read the passage. Or He selected it knowing that the time would come, the day was fulfilled, and the prophecy of Isaiah was being completed. It is coming into public ministry.

Don't we have a hint? That He selected it. He unrolled the scroll. So, Isaiah was handed to Him. That may have been what was to be on that Sabbath. But He unrolled it and He found the passage. That's the way I would think about it.

That it was a determination on His part. And it tells us the Lord Jesus knew the Scriptures. We know He knew everything perfectly. But He also knew the Scriptures because He had learned them and studied them as a boy growing up.

It tells us, brethren, that we need to seek to learn more of the continuity and the flow of Scripture. The way the Word of God fits together. The way it is designed by the Spirit of God to give us instruction.

It wasn't a haphazard reading.

It was determination. And He knew what He was doing. It's quite a thing that there was prophecy being fulfilled. It's quite a thing, too, that a man should read an article that is about himself. It's quite a thing for a spiritual man to read the Scriptures.

But in this instance, you have all those things combined. Prophecy fulfilled. He's reading about himself. He's doing it in the energy and power of the Spirit of God. Must have been quite a thing.

And in the temptation, He used the Pentateuch. Now He's using the prophets. So, you know, of course, in the temptation, He selected the readings from Deuteronomy. Because they were the ones that were applicable.

And here, of course, it would be handed the scroll. As you say, it would be Isaiah. But he was there every week, wasn't he? When he was, at least that was his custom to go into the, whatever. He knew exactly where to begin.

The prophet of Isaiah. He opened the book and he found the place where it was written. And you want to go down some of these? That's a good comment. But his use of the Scripture was perfect. Yeah. And the wilderness experience using the quotation from Deuteronomy.

That was a book that was the heart of God's people was being tested. And they had been proven. Our brother read yesterday in Deuteronomy chapter 8. This is the way the Lord led thee to try thee and to prove what was in thy heart.

And the proving only brought out the failure. But in relation to the Lord Jesus, He could take those same Scriptures. And He proved what was in His heart. And it was such a contrast with what had existed in the nation of Israel.

There's all these things mentioned in verse 18 and 19. With really the fulfillment of His public ministry. From now to Calvary. It was the introduction of this day of grace that began with His coming.

He could say this Scripture is fulfilled. I would take it it won't be totally completely fulfilled until the millennium. But perhaps you would look at it differently that it's being fulfilled at this moment.

That's kind of raising a question. Yeah. See what our brother would think about that. I would notice brother Joel that the words in Isaiah chapter 61. And the day of vengeance of our God is not recorded in the words here in the book of Luke.

He came to bring the day of salvation not the day of vengeance. That is a good point to make and it's been made often. But I think it should be emphasized in connection with the Lord's proper use of the Word of God.

He could never say that that part of the Scripture was being fulfilled. But certainly anticipating the future He stopped. Actually in the middle of a sentence. He stopped when He knew that that was not yet present.

That was still future. And the Lord's coming in His public ministry and fulfillment of the Word of God. Fulfilled the messianic promises that were anticipating His arrival. And this describes I take it the ministry of the Lord Jesus.

The Messiah’s Ministry of Grace

What did He come for? He was first of all anointed by the Spirit of God for this public work. And then He commenced the work of preaching the Gospel to the poverty stricken. The totally poor with nothing.

The Gospel in that sense was the good news to bring before them the riches of God to meet their need. And deliver them from their spiritual poverty. Then again He came to heal the broken hearted. And you can find different suggestions of that in relation to the Gospel.

He came to preach liberty or deliverance to the captives. I understand the word captives here is the word for those that have been taken in warfare. That have been subjugated because of superior power.

And then recovering of sight to the blind ones. And setting at liberty them that are crushed, bruised. They're claiming the ear of the Lord, jubilee. I was thinking about John the Baptist. He seemed to expect the Lord to quote scriptures that would bring judgment on their enemies at that time.

But you see this fits in so much with the grace of God. And these things that you have mentioned. To preach the Gospel to the poor. Think of the Lord Himself. He was rich yet for your sakes became poor.

And then you have the broken hearted. And one of the Psalms said He died with a broken heart. Not of a broken heart but with a broken heart. And to preach deliverance to the captive. He was taken from prison and from judgment.

Recovering of sight to the blind. They blindfolded Him. Prophesied who it was that touched Him. And of course when we think of the bruised we think of Isaiah 53. So it kind of should touch our hearts.

The Lord would preach these things. It shows the rich grace of God. They marvel at the gracious words that proceeded from His mouth. Is there a way brother? I think maybe you were hinting at this. That we can use the Scriptures wrongly.

Some people can get something out of any Scripture they read. And the older men they used to say use the proper Scripture. I know we can apply things. But I don't think we can apply Scripture just any way.

There are definite ways that we can apply it. It must fit in with the context and so on I think.

It's nice to see that even the Spirit of God here in control. Just leads the Lord to open up the Scripture. And He puts the Scripture, opens it up, and shows that they didn't know the Scripture. If they would have known the Scripture they would have never misinterpreted that He was the Messiah.

So it's important that you and I be led by the Spirit to the Word of God too. Because the Spirit of God never leads in contrary to the Word of God. And you see that as you follow the Lord Jesus in His movements here.

And even in His normal everyday experience. It was, has accustomed to. It wasn't the extraordinary things that He did. He just did the normal things that need to be done every day and was led by the Spirit.

That's very important to see that. Because it's important that you and I be led by the Spirit. In the normal things that we do. Not just at meeting. Not just time when we preach. Or when we speak the Word of God.

But in our everyday experience. As He was accustomed to doing it. Just the way He did it before. No stepping out of the way. Going back to your point Bill.

About applications. And you stressed correctly. That we can't make just any application. Can you give us any guidance? As to when we can make applications and when we should not. Maybe I'll help you on that.

If it's an application. It must fit with the other portions of Scripture. An application can never be contrary to what the Scripture teaches us. Context. Speaking about context. It's always good to remember to use the Scripture in its context.

If we rest the Scripture out of its context. We can make any kind of application. I've heard brethren that could read almost any passage of the Scripture. And teach whatever they wanted from it. But it had no relationship to what they were reading.

Nothing wrong with what they were teaching. But it did relate to what they were reading. And so the Lord Jesus is using the Scripture intelligently. And accurately. In accord with the intent of the Spirit of God in giving it.

And he's applying it in a way that they recognize the implications of what was being said. So it caused a reaction on their part. Brethren we need to handle the Word of God with reverence. And to do so recognizing that it's been given to us by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit.

Intended to be handled in a way that is appropriate. And expresses that. Because if we take the Scripture and use it anyway. Well even it might produce results. And there might be someone saved from it.

But on the other hand later on that individual may learn. Well that Scripture wasn't even used right. They should have used it differently. The Apostle Paul. He used Old Testament Scriptures didn't he?

And applied them. Like thou shalt not muzzle the ox that treadeth out the corn. But then he says does this refer to the ox only? And he applies that. But it's in keeping with the Old Testament Scriptures.

I say this and maybe I shouldn't. I'm not trying to be humorous. But I was at a conference where a lot of local brethren took part. And I'm not against that in any way. If they're able you know. But this young fellow got up and he had.

We were the stones in David's sling. And I'm not sure what he meant. But we end up in somebody's head. You know you just can't. It doesn't make sense. There's no way that can be a proper. And I've heard quite a few things like that.

And maybe I've done sometimes. I've done it myself. But we need to be very careful. There's a statement that's often made. There's one interpretation in many applications. I don't really believe it. Sometimes I think even there's maybe more than one interpretation.

Right. You know. But as well it's not just to take something. And just go fanciful in your own mind. And apply it. These conditions in his verses really. Should be recognized and appreciated as what the gospel has brought to us.

In a spiritual sense. I think that the people of that day. Like even today. If the Lord would have made them rich. Physically. They would have been glad to accept it. If he would have healed their broken hearts and made them all happy.

That would have been very acceptable. But when they recognized that there was something deeper to that. There was a. There was an implication that this had spiritual meaning. That by sin we are captives.

And we're crushed. And we're bruised. And broken hearted. And poverty stricken.

They weren't willing to accept that. And neither are. The lost today. So he was presented here as the answer to these problems. Even the problem of poverty. Sorrow. Bondage. Suffering. Oppression. God had sent him as the answer.

There's a.

Maybe this is an application. I hope it's a good one. But you have the message of salvation. To preach the gospel to the poor. And then you have the result of salvation. To heal the broken hearted. To preach deliverance to the captive.

Recovering of sight to the blind. So this is what we preach. In the gospel. And then you have the time of salvation. To preach the acceptable year of the Lord. This is the time. And then, of course, you have the rejection of salvation brought in.

So how long is this year?

It's referred to in verse 19.

It's in contrast, wouldn't you say, William, with what follows in the prophecy. In the prophecy. To preach the acceptable year of the Lord. And the day of vengeance of our God. Until that day. Yeah, it shows that God is dealing.

Until that day. That he's long suffering now. But when he comes in, in judgment, it will be swift judgment. So there's a prolonged period of time in which there's deliverance offered. Yes. And then the day of judgment follows.

Rejection at Nazareth and the Gentile Mission

Shortened. I think it could be helpful to give a little background or setting for the scene that follows. That is rejection. When I look at a map. A map is flat on the table before me. And you don't get any feel at all for the topography.

And I was astonished when we visited Nazareth. Twelve years ago. Because Nazareth is built on an incline. And then they led him to the brow of the hill. There's a steep slope. And had they been able to throw him over the brow of the hill, he would have been killed.