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Galilee: in the footsteps of Jesus · Stop 3 · Day 1
Synagogue Church, Nazareth
In the Bible
In Nazareth, where He had been brought up, Jesus stood up in the synagogue on the Sabbath, read from the scroll of Isaiah and said: “Today this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.”
Luke 4:16–22
Then Jesus came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up. As was His custom, He entered the synagogue on the Sabbath. And when He stood up to read, the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to Him. Unrolling it, He found the place where it was written: “The Spirit of the Lord is on Me, because He has anointed Me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent Me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to release the oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.” Then He rolled up the scroll, returned it to the attendant, and sat down. The eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fixed on Him, and He began by saying, “Today this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.” All spoke well of Him and marveled at the gracious words that came from His lips. “Isn’t this the son of Joseph?” they asked.Tradition
By a tradition dating from the Crusades, this vaulted hall stands on the site of the synagogue where Jesus read; the synagogue of His day has not been found.
Here today
A small vaulted hall in the old market, kept by the Melkite Greek Catholic church beside it.
Through the eyes of old pilgrims
Nazareth is wonderfully interesting because the town has an air about it of being precisely as Jesus left it, and one finds himself saying, all the time, “The boy Jesus has stood in this doorway—has played in that street—has touched these stones with his hands—has rambled over these chalky hills.”Mark Twain, The Innocents Abroad, 1869
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Land outlines: Natural Earth (public domain).