But he passing through the midst of them, went his way.
αυτος δε διελθων δια μεσου αυτων επορευετο
12 Church Fathers comment on this verse · 14 commentaries
Herein He shews both His human nature and His divine. To stand in the midst of those who were plotting against Him, and not be seized, betokened the loftiness of His divinity; but His departure declared the mystery of the dispensation, i. e. His incarnation.
He moved through the crowd and left, not as if He were escaping from suffering, but because He had a designated time to fulfill. He came to endure suffering on our behalf; and at this early stage of His ministry, He was not meant to surrender Himself to death just yet. It was only when He had imparted sufficient teaching that He would depart. This indicates that His crucifixion was not an act against His desire; rather, He voluntarily gave Himself over to death.
He convicted them of their evil intentions, and therefore they are enraged, and hence what follows, And all they in the synagogue when they heard these things were filled with wrath. Because He had said, This day is this prophecy fulfilled, they thought that He compared Himself to the prophets, and are therefore enraged, and expel Him out of their city, as it follows, And they rose up, and cast him out.
It is particularly astounding that He, being the Son of God, willingly endured affliction. Had He not desired it, suffering would have been impossible for Him. If He had not intended to be born, He would not have come into existence. Moreover, had He chosen only to be born without facing suffering, He could have done so at His discretion, for He is the omnipotent Son of the omnipotent Father. Let us substantiate this with examples. Indeed, when they sought to seize Him, He withdrew. The Gospel states, “And when they wanted to throw Him down from the top of the mountain, He withdrew from them unharmed” (cf. Luke 4:29-30).
And when they came to arrest Him, having already been betrayed by Judas, who believed he could hand over his Master and Lord, the Lord made it clear that He embraced suffering by His own choice rather than by necessity. For when the Jews sought to capture Him, He asked them, “Whom do you seek?” They answered, “Jesus of Nazareth.” He responded, “I am He.” When they heard this declaration, they drew back and fell (John 18:4-6).
In accordance with their intentions, they brought Him low; yet, by virtue of His divinity, He remained unshaken. When their desire sought to bring Him down, the very air aided Him with its wings in submission. He did not succumb, serving as a lesson to skeptics to embrace faith. Perhaps this explains why the evangelist remarks: ‘They received .... Him ... Galileans’ (John 4:45). Upon witnessing His works among them, no one dared to oppose Him. This initial miracle showcased His power, yet His right hand was rendered weak through the disbelief of the Jews.
Consequently, the people of Nazareth became envious of Him, influenced by the ‘prince of Shuya,’ who resented the miraculous restoration of that right hand, which is offered or withheld in sacred traditions according to the Divine's will for various needs. Furthermore, He permitted Himself to be cast down, as Satan presumed that the Lord refrained from casting Himself from the temple's pinnacle out of fear (Matt. 4:5-6). However, although the Lord was thrown down, He did not fall, resulting in Satan's loss of authority. Likewise, He chose not to turn stones into bread, as He would not fulfill the cravings of the sinful (Matthew 4:3-4), despite having performed similar acts in the wilderness with loaves and in Cana of Galilee with wine.
It can not be wondered at that they lost their salvation who cast the Saviour out of their city. But the Lord who taught His Apostles by the example of Himself to be all things to all men, neither repels the willing, nor chooses the unwilling; neither struggles against those who cast Him out, nor refuses to hear those who supplicate Him. But that conduct was the result of no slight enmity, which, forgetful of the feelings of fellow citizens, converts the causes of love into the bitterest hatred. For when the Lord Himself was extending His blessings among the people, they began to inflict injuries upon Him, as it follows, And they led him unto the brow of the hill, that they might cast him down.
At the same time we must understand that this bodily endurance was not necessary, but voluntary. When He wills, He is taken, when He wills, He escapes. For how could He be held by a few who was not held by a whole people? But He would not have the impiety to be the deed of the many, in order that by a few indeed He might be afflicted, but might die for the whole world. Moreover, He had still rather heal the Jews than destroy them, that by the fruitless issue of their rage they might be dissuaded from wishing what they could not accomplish.
Protected by the Divine Nature that is unified with Him.
Worse are the Jewish disciples than their master the Devil. For he says, Cast thyself down; they actually attempt to cast Him down. But Jesus having suddenly changed His mind, or seized with astonishment, went away, since He still reserves for them a place of repentance. Hence it follows, He passing through the midst of them went his way.
The hour of His Passion had not yet come, which was to be on the preparation of the Passover, nor had He yet come to the place of His Passion, which not at Nazareth, but at Jerusalem, was prefigured by the blood of the victims; nor had He chosen this kind of death, of whom it was prophesied that He should be crucified by the world.
In the earlier discussion on temptation, we noted that Jesus Christ refrained from using His divine power to shield Himself from pain and adversity, as doing so would hinder His role as our exemplar. Furthermore, while there were occasions when He intentionally steered clear of peril, He did not invoke His divine authority or the overwhelming forces of creation at His command; instead, He relied solely on the strength of His spirit and His profound insight into the hearts of humanity. For instance, when the Pharisees prepared to stone Him, He gazed at them with gentleness and inquired, "I have shown you many good works from My Father; for which of them do you want to stone Me?" (John 10:32).
The wrathful Pharisees could not withstand His gaze; their hands, raised in anger, fell to their sides, and the stones they held slipped from their grasp. The outbursts of fury were replaced with an oppressive silence, allowing Christ to leave unharmed. Even at the moment when they aimed to cast Him into destruction, He regarded His executioners with the same gentle, loving, forgiving, and deeply penetrating look that left them defenseless. Their consciences stirred within them, igniting feelings of shame and reflection; the chaos of their cries was abruptly silenced, and as Christ made His departure, they parted in silence to allow Him to pass. Hardly anyone had the courage to meet His gaze as He walked through their midst and went away.
Yet they were rescued from this wrongdoing through the Saviour Himself. The time had not arrived for Him to endure death on behalf of humanity’s transgressions, and thus, ‘passing through the midst’ of those who were blinded by their fury, ‘He departed.’ He left them forever; His voice was never again heard in the synagogue of Nazareth. Some believe that Christ returned to preach once more in the Nazareth synagogue, a notion suggested in Matthew 13:54-58 and Mark 6:1-5. However, substantial evidence for this view is lacking, and the accounts of the first two evangelists seemingly refer to the same incident. This perspective is supported by Le Camus and others, while Farrar holds an opposing view, providing ample justification for his stance.
Capernaum, situated on the banks of Lake Genesaret, served as the economic and intellectual hub of the region. As a result, the Saviour's ministry, which for a significant period was centered in this city—designated ‘His own city’ in place of Nazareth—could effortlessly reach out to nearby towns and villages, as well as to more distant places like Damascus, Tyre, and Sidon. These cities were connected to Capernaum by well-traveled routes. Consequently, as these paths were regularly bustling, Christ could engage in preaching and draw increasing numbers of followers, even during His journey from Nazareth to Capernaum.
As He moved through the crowd, His appointed time had not yet arrived, and He had only just begun the monumental task of His ministry. Consequently, their spite could not lead Him to His demise at that moment. The divine authority He wielded protected Him from harm, allowing Him to withdraw from those filled with rage and pass through their midst without suffering any injury.
He began to proclaim, ‘Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.’ Although the Evangelist does not provide a detailed account of the Lord's message, its impact was so profound that everyone was in agreement with Him, captivated by the gracious words flowing from His lips. Nonetheless, those who listened were not among the willing believers; they acknowledged the arrival of the Messiah as indicated by the teachings of John the Baptist and Christ Himself. However, they struggled to recognize Jesus as the Messiah due to His humble existence amongst them for many years. They were astonished by His gracious words yet questioned, ‘Is this not the son of Joseph?’ This perception presented a formidable barrier to their faith.
The Lord, discerning their hearts, understood that they sought miracles merely to gratify their curiosity rather than to foster belief. He illustrated this point by citing the examples of the ancient prophets Elijah and Elisha, highlighting the challenge prophets often face in gaining acceptance from their own people, and that the demonstration of God's power occurs only where faith is embraced. They would challenge Him to perform a miracle in His own hometown, expecting, ‘Physician, heal Yourself; what we have heard done in Capernaum, do here also.’ Truly, He stated, ‘No prophet is accepted in his own country.’ Yet, He continued, ‘Many widows existed in Israel during the time of Elijah, when the skies were shut for three and a half years, resulting in a great famine throughout the land. Yet, Elijah was sent to none of them but to a widow in Sarepta of Sidon. Similarly, during the ministry of Elisha, many lepers were in Israel, yet none were cleansed except Naaman the Syrian.’ This reference to the Gentiles, who were granted God’s favor separate from the Israelites, revealed to the people of Nazareth their own moral shortcomings compared to their ancestors who had dismissed the prophets. They found it impossible to accept that Jesus Christ would equate Himself with esteemed prophets like Elijah and Elisha. This filled them with fury; they rose from their seats and surrounded Jesus in a frenzied mob, driving Him out of the city and bringing Him to the edge of the hill upon which the city stood, intending to hurl Him into the chasm. However, His time had not yet arrived, and thus the malice of men could not harm Him. He moved through the angry crowd unharmed and departed from the borders of His hometown.
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THEOSIS