Harmony of the Gospels
-AD 27-
Samaria
(12) Return to Galilee
Mark 1:15, Luke 4:15, John 4:43-45
-Mark-
And saying, The time is fulfilled, and the Kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the Gospel. (Mark 1:15)
“Repent ye, and believe the Gospel.” At this time, the message of Jesus is the same as what John the Baptist preached, “ Repent ye: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” (Matthew 3:2 and 4:7) I believe that today the message is really turned around; that is, we put faith before repentance. However, when you turn in faith to Jesus Christ, you turn away from something. When you turn to Christ, you turn from sin. When you turn from your sin there will be changes in your life, which will be evidence of your faith. There is no contradiction, because both faith and repentance are involved in salvation. The important thing is for people to believe the Gospel.
-Luke-
And he taught in their synagogues, being glorified of all. (Luke 4:15)
Jesus is now in Galilee and He has been teaching in the synagogues. He taught as no man ever taught before. He was uneducated, but He taught like a man with authority. The religious leaders did not intimidate him and He did not need the approval of any man. Along with His teaching there were the miracles. He was becoming well known, and the people glorified Him. He was praised and complimented, but it would be short lived. Remember, the same crowd that sang “Hosanna” and wanted to crown Him, the next day joined the mob to crucify Him. Today, there are those who praise Him, but still reject Him. It is possible to sing the doxology, and turn down His claims.
-John-
Now after two days he departed thence, and went into Galilee. For Jesus himself testified, that a prophet hath no honor in his own country. Then when he was come into Galilee, the Galilaeans received him, having seen all the things that he did at Jerusalem at the feast: for they also went unto the feast. (John 4:43-35)
“That a prophet hath no honor in his own country.” Jesus was raised in Nazareth, which was a town in Galilee. He was known by many from His childhood and because He worked there as a carpenter until He was thirty years old. He probably went to synagogue with some of these people. In Galilee, He was Joseph and Mary’s son and He was the carpenter, so His comment about not being received with honor is understood. It is not that there was anything “shady” in His past, it is just that they did not think of Him as a prophet or the Messiah. At this point, even His family did not believe in Him. On a personal note, I can tell you that the most difficult group to witness to is your family, because to them you are son, daughter, father, mother, brother or sister and they know all about you. I thank God that He allowed me to give the Gospel to my children and to my father and that they received it gladly.
Many of the Galileans went to Jerusalem, for the Feast of Passover. There, they had seen the miracles and heard Him speak, and they believed on Him. Jesus is on His way to the city of Cana, because there is a certain nobleman there, who has a son way down in Capernaum, and the boy is sick.