“Today the Scriptures Have Been Fulfilled!” Luke 4:21  

Quite a statement isn’t it.

Today the Scriptures Have Been Fulfilled!” Jesus, standing in the synagogue in Nazareth, reading from the scroll of Isaiah, spoke the prophetic words describing the time of the awaited Messiah. It would be a time of healing, miracles and freedom from poverty and oppression.

 

Rolling up the scroll, Jesus sat down and said, “Today the Scriptures have been fulfilled in your hearing.” Amazed, those gathered marveled at his presence and grace as they began to grasp that Jesus had just said, “I am the Messiah.”

Then a skeptical, challenging question was asked, Is not this Joseph’s son?” Jesus had grown up in Nazareth and they knew Him and His family. They also knew that Jesus had performed miracles elsewhere, many for Gentiles.

 

Jesus, knowing their doubts, challenged them by saying, “No doubt you will quote to me the proverb, ‘Physician, heal yourself.’ You want me to perform miracles here. Truly, no prophet is acceptable in His hometown.” The mood of people changed dramatically and emotionally inflamed they drove Jesus out of Nazareth wanting to throw Him down the cliff. Welcome home Jesus.

 

Question: When did the Jewish people begin to build and worship in synagogues?


Answer:
Most scholars support the theory that the synagogue originated in exile in Babylonia. They surmise that it began as gatherings of Jews for Sabbaths and festivals, for communal worship and for mutual support. The synagogue owes its formation to these gatherings of the exiles and then was brought back to Judah when the Jews returned.