Jesus
came to Galilee. He preached the Gospel
of God and said: The time has come. The Kingdom of God is at hand. Mend your ways
and believe in the message that I bring. (Mk 1, 14-15)
When
Jesus came to his home town of Nazareth, he went to the
synagogue on the Sabbath. There he read out a passage from the book of the
prophet Isaiah: The Spirit of God, the Lord, is upon me because he has chosen
me. He has sent me to preach the Good News to the poor; to say to prisoners:
you are free; and to the blind: you shall see; to the oppressed: you are
liberated; and to proclaim the time of God’s mercy.
Jesus
explained to those who were in the synagogue: The words that you have just
heard have been fulfilled today. At first they were all thrilled. But then
they began to think: Is he not the son of Joseph? Jesus replied: Amen, I say
to you, no prophet is accepted in his own country.
When
the people in the synagogue heard this they were filled with rage. They
jumped up and forced Jesus out of the city, intending to throw him down a
cliff. But they were unable to do Jesus any harm.