8 May 2026 We are proceeding to study the SERMON of YESHUA on the MOUNT…
THE GOSPELS: The Ministry of Yeshua the Messiah begins – Luke 4:15-17a He teaches in the Synagogue on the Sabbath
13 June 2025
We are studying Luke 4:14-32, Mathew 4:12, Mark 1:14-15 about the beginning of the MINISTRY of YESHUA THE MESSIAH. And we are focusing today on Luke 4:15-17a.
We are mainly reading from the Complete Jewish Study Bible – insight for Jews and Christians. And use the Hebrew name of God, YHVH (Yod-Heh-Vav-Heh) where the word LORD in English is indicated in capital letters in the Scriptures, also referring to Him as Abba Father and use the Hebrew Name Yeshua the Messiah instead of the English Name Jesus Christ translated from the Greek.
We have focused for a while on Luke 4:14 about the POWER of the HOLY SPRIT in which Yeshua returned to Galilee and we further read in:
In Luke 4:15-17a: “He taught in their synagogues, and everyone respected Him. Now when He went to Nazareth, where He had been brought up, on SHABBAT (the Sabbath) He went to the synagogue as USUAL. He stood up to read, and He was given the scroll of the PROPHET ISAIAH…”
We know that Yeshua, although born from the virgin Mary who was overshadowed by the Holy Spirit, both His earthly parents Mary and Joseph came from the TRIBE of JUDAH through the lineage of David. We also know that the TWELVE TRIBES previously seen as the KINGDOM of ISRAEL, was divided into a SOUTHERN KINGDOM (consisting of the tribe of JUDAH and the smaller tribe of BENJAMIN, with their capital city in JERUSALEM, in the new TESTAMENT called the JEWS) and a NORTHERN KINGDOM (consisting of the TEN TRIBES under leadership of EFRAIM with their capital city SAMARIA), during the reign of king Solomon’s son Rehoboam (read 1 Kings chapters 11-12). The TEN TRIBES got caught up in idolatry under the leadership of their first king Jeroboam and the Northern Kingdom’s kings that succeeded him, all followed in his idolatrous ways until God gave them over into the hands of the Assyrians and they were ever since dispersed and integrated into the nations of the world (read 2 Kings 18:11) and they forgot that they are the children of the HOUSE of ISRAEL but we also know that God promised to call them back in the end of days. And interestingly Yeshua the Messiah said in Matthew 15:24 “I was sent only to the LOST SHEEP of the HOUSE of ISRAEL (meaning to the Northern Kingdom comprising of the TEN LOST TRIBES under EPHRAIM).” and in Matthew 10:6 He even told His disciples to go to the LOST SHEEP of the HOUSE of ISRAEL (the fact that He said here do not go to Samaria, which was indeed the former capital city of the Northern Tribe, was because after the Assyrians captured the Northern kingdom, known as the House of ISRAEL, the king of Ashur brought in many unbelieving nations who worshipped idols from Babylon, Kutah, Avva, Hamath and Sepharvaim and to settle into Samaria in the place of the people of ISRAEL – read 2 Kings 17:24-41).
We also know that Yeshua the Messiah will re-unite them, the HOUSE of ISREAL with the TRIBE of JUDAH and BENJAMIN (known as the HOUSE of DAVID) into ONE UNITED KNGDOM to be known as the WHOLE HOUSE OF ISRAEL who worships YHVH the GOD of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob later called ISRAEL (read the prophecies in Ezekiel chapters 36 and 37) and ONE KING, He HIMSELF will rule over them, first YESHUA in the THOUSAND YEARS of PEACE and thereafter the FATHER and the LAM as KING forever (read Revelation 11:15 as well as chapters 20-22 as well as 1 Corinthians 15:20-28).
The Southern Kingdom (Judah and Benjamin) also sinned grievously against God and went into captivity into Babylon, but God always made a way back for them and then they repented and re-aligned their lives with His TORAH (Genesis tot Deuteronomy summed up in the TEN COMMANDMENTS) as well as keeping HIS SEVEN FEASTS. One of the ways they instituted to keep doing the COMMANDMENTS of YHVH was to go to the SYNNAGOGUE on SHABBAT (the seventh day rest as ordained and blessed by GOD on the SEVENTH DAY of CREATION in Genesis 2:1-3 as well as captured into the TEN COMMANDMENTS as the 4th Commandment for God’s people to keep FOREVER as a sign that they LOVE HIM above all else and are HIS PEOPLE (read Exodus 20:10-11, Exodus 31:12-18 as well as Matthew 22:34-40). And this is what Yeshua the Messiah was also taught since childhood being raised as a JEW from the TRIBE of JUDAH. Up to today they meet on the SABBATH DAY in their synagogues (the seventh day which is Saturday on our calendar’s as Sunday is recognized in the Word as the FIRST DAY of the WEEK – read Matthew 28:1, Mark 16:1-2 & 16, John 20:1-2, Acts 20:7 and 1 Corinthians 16:1-2).
The Nelsons’ foundational Bible Dictionary explains: a SYNOGOGUE is a local assembly of Jews organized chiefly for worship. The word appears only once in the Old Testament in Psalm 74:8 but repeatedly in the New Testament. The synagogue as RELIGIOUS INSTITUTION probably arose after the Southern Kingdom (comprising of Judah and Benjamin) returned from exile in Babylon. The public reading of the TORAH by Ezra the priest after the exiles resettled in JERUSALEM may have signaled the beginning of the movement that led to the development of the SYNAGOGUE SYSTEM (read Nehemiah chapter 8). The synagogue, as distinguished from the TABERNACLE and TEMPLE with their sacrifices, was a local gathering place where Jews of all ages met for PRAYER and to STUDY THE LAW OF MOSES (also known as the TORAH, Genesis to Deuteronomy). Scores of these synagogues sprang up in JERUSALEM and surrounding cities during the 200 years or so BEFORE the NEW TESTAMENT era. They were organized wherever TEN or MORE men showed interest in preserving their JEWISH CUSTOMS and LEARNING and OBEYING the TORAH.
During the synagogue gatherings they read the TORAH each year from the end of the SEVEN FEASTS of YHVH on 22 Tishri (September/ October on our calendar) through to the beginning of the SEVEN FEASTS of YHVH on 1 Aviv on the Hebrew calendar (March/ April on our calendar) and again stating their TORAH readings from the end of the next year’s FEAST cycle. Together with the reading from the TORAH they read the HAFTARAH (meaning the conclusion, consisting of a portion from the PROPHETS or WRITINGS, including the Psalms, Proverbs, Job, Song of Songs, Ruth, Lamentations, Ecclesiastes, Esther, Daniel, Ezra, Nehemiah and 1st and 2nd Chronicles). These are indeed important parts of the WORD, as Yeshua our Messiah, after being raised from the dead, met with the two men from a village called EMMAUS and: “Starting from MOSES (that is Genesis to Deuteronomy ) and all the PROPHETS, He explained to them the things that can be found throughout the Tanakh (the OLD TESTAMENT) concerning Himself.” (Luke 24:27). And He repeated these words when he appeared to His apostles as written in Luke 24:44 saying: “This is what I meant when I was still with you and told you that EVERYTHING WRITTEN ABOUT ME in the TORAH of Moses, the PROPHETS and the PSALMS had to be FULFILLED.” And we read in verses 45-47: “Then HE OPENED THEIR MINDS, so that they could UNDERSTAND the TANAKH (the OLD TESTAMENT), telling them, “Here is what it says: the MESSIAH is to suffer and to RISE FROM THE DEAD ON THE THIRD DAY; and in HIS NAME REPENTANCE (regret, sorrow, remorse) LEADING TO FORGIVENESS OF SINS IS TO BE PROCLAIMED TO PEOPLE OF ALL NATIONS, starting with JERUALEM.
The Nelsons’ Foundational Bible Dictionary explains: Any competent member of the synagogue congregation might be asked to read the SCRIPTURES or bring the sermon. This privilege was extended to Yeshua in the synagogue at Nazareth early in His ministry.
It is therefore clear that Yeshua the Messiah, during His live on earth, and when His ministry began at 30 years of age according to Luke 3:23, attended the synagogue gatherings and read the TORAH with them, including the PROPHETS or WRITINGS as we see in Luke 4:18, He was given the scroll of the PROPHET ISAIAH to read.
We also see that the first disciples, also from JEWISH descent (from the TRIBE of JUDAH and BENJAMIN) continued worshipping on the SABBATH in the SYNAGOGUES (read Acts 13:14 and 18:4 and please note: it is after the death and resurrection and ascension of Yeshua the Messiah).
The Nelsons’ foundational Bible Dictionary further explains: Several synagogue buildings, including one at the city of Capernaum, have been uncovered by archaeologists. These were generally rectangular structures with a large central seating area, much like a modern church building. The main piece of FURNITURE in a synagogue was the ARK, where the SCROLLS with the TORAH were kept. Synagogue life, as influenced by the rabbi’s (a title given by Jews to their teachers) who attached themselves to these local Jewish centers, came to DOMINATE the RELIGIOUS THINKING of the Jewish people during New Testament times. Each local synagogue had its OWN RULING GROUP, which governed religious behavior among the Jews in that community. The apostle Paul regularly proclaimed the Messiah at synagogues on his missionary journeys as we read in Acts 13:5 and 14:1. The emphasis of the synagogue on SCRIPTURE, PRAYER and a SERMON in worship has influenced the ORDER of SERVICE used in MOST CHRISTIAN CHURCHES today.
The JEWISH STUDY BIBLE explains that Yeshua’s attendance of the SYNAGOUE and HIM teaching there, does not necessarily imply that He agreed with all the rabbinic teachings of Sabbath observance. Indeed, He tried to correct imbalances in rabbinic perspective by REMINDING the people that the SABBATH was made for mankind (that is for the benefit of all people to rest, spend time in their Creator’s presence and be refreshed/ rested/ relaxed/ restored/ revitalized/ energized/ strengthened for the next week ahead), not mankind for the SABBATH and He declared Himself as the OWNER of the SABBATH (read Mark 2:27-28 as well as Exodus 23:12 and Deuteronomy 5:14 where it is explicitly indicated that the SABBATH is a DAY of REST for BELIEVERS as WELL as their ANIMALS, their SERVANTS and FOREIGNERS to REST and to be RENEWED!). Yeshua challenged the people to remain in the TRUTH of the WORD and to enter into the TRUE REST of GOD’s HOLY SPIRIT, later also explained by the writer of Hebrews in Hebrews 3:11 to 4:1-11.
We should however also take heed of Yeshua’s WARNING, through His revelations to John, for the SEVEN MESSIANIC COMMUNITIES and specifically to the MESSIANIC COMMUNITY of SMIRNA in Revelation 2:9-11 saying “I know how you are suffering and how poor you are (though in fact you are rich!), and I know the insults of those who call themselves JEWS but aren’t – on the contrary, they are a synagogue of the Adversary (the opponent, challenger, enemy, whom we know from Revelation 12:9 is the ancient serpent, also called the dragon, the devil and Satan). Don’t be afraid of what you are about to suffer. Look, the Adversary is going to have some of you thrown into prison, IN ORDER TO PUT YOU TO THE TEST; and you will face an ordeal (torment, tribulation/ distress/ difficulty) for TEN DAYS. REMAIN FAITHFUL, even to the POINT OF DEATH; and I will give you LIFE as your crown.” And again to the MESSIANIC COMMUNITY OF PHILADELPHIA He said in Revelation 3:8-10: “…I know what you are doing. Look, I have put in front of you an open door, and no one can shut it. I know that you have but little power, yet you have OBEYED MY MESSAGE and have NOT disowned (renounced, rejected, denied) Me. Here, I will give you some from the synagogue of the Adversary, those who call themselves JEWS but aren’t – on the contrary, they are LYING – see, I will cause them to come and prostrate themselves (bow face down) at your feet, and they will know that I have LOVED you. Because you DID OBEY MY MESSAGE ABOUT PERSERVERING, I will keep you from the time of trial coming upon the WHOLE WORLD to PUT THE PEOPLE LIVING ON EARTH TO THE TEST.”
So who are these people calling themselves JEWS (therefore claiming they belong to the TRIBE of JUDAH and BENJAMIN) but are not? Paul shed some light on this issue in Romans 2:28-29 “For the real (actual, genuine) Jew (a person from the tribe of JUDAH or BENJAMIN) is not merely Jewish outwardly (in appearance); true circumcision is of THE HEART, SPIRITUAL not LITERAL (also read Deuteronomy 10:16); so that his praise comes not from other people but from GOD.”
And in Romans 9:1-8 Paul explained: “I am speaking the TRUTH – as one who BELONGS to the MESSIAH, I do not lie; and also BEARING WITNESS is my conscience, GOVERNED by the RUACH HaKODESH (the Holy Spirit): my grief (sorrow, heartache, pain) is so great, the pain in my heart is so constant, that I could wish myself actually under God’s curse and separated from the Messiah, if it would help my brothers, my own flesh and blood, THE PEOPLE OF ISRAEL (all twelve tribes)! They were made GOD’s CHILDREN, the Sh’khinah (the Divine Presence, the manifest glory of God) has been WITH THEM, the COVENANTS are theirs, likewise the GIVING of the TORAH, the TEMPLE SERVICE and the PROMISES; the PATRIARCHS are theirs; and from them, as far as HIS physical decent is concerned, came the MESSIAH, who is over all. Praised be ADONAI (YHVH) FOREVER! Amen. But the present condition of ISRAEL does not mean that the WORD of GOD has failed. FOR NOT EVERYONE FROM ISRAEL IS TRULY PART OF ISRAEL; indeed, not all the descendants are SEED of ABRAHAM, rather, what is to be called your ‘seed’ will be in Isaac. In other words, it is not the physical children who are children of God, but the children the promise refers to who are considered seed.”
Paul also explained it in Romans 4:16 saying: “The reason the PROMISE is based on TRUSTING (having faith, believe, hope) is so that it may come as God’s FREE GIFT, a PROMISE that can be relied on by ALL the seed…” Because “By God’s GRACE, without earning it, ALL are granted the status of being considered righteous before Him, through the act REDEEMING us from our enslavement to sin that was accomplished by the Messiah Yeshua.” Also read Romans 3:24.
The Jewish Study Bible explains: the synagogue of Satan is a gathering of Satan’s followers. Presumably this refers to those who claimed the national heritage of being JEWS while REJECTNG God, specifically those who opposed the Messianic Congregations.
Unfortunately, Babylonian practices were picked up during the captivity of the Southern Kingdom (Judah and Benjamin) in Babylon and human traditions and man-made rules slipped into the modern-day synagogues of the JEWS as well as the fact that they have not yet accepted Yeshua the Messiah as their savior. But we know from the prophecies in Zechariah chapters 12 and 13 that God also has a plan of redemption for them, the HOUSE of DAVID and due to their knowledge of His TORAH and HIS FEASTS they will recognize Yeshua the Messiah on His second coming. We also know it is Abba Father’s intent to re-unite the WHOLE HOUSE of ISRAEL (all TWELVE the TRIBES and everyone grafting into ISRAEL) into ONE UNITED KINGDOM that will be REIGNED by HIM (read Jeremiah 3:18, 13:11, 30:3 and 31:1-40, Ezekiel 37:11-22, Hosea 1:11, 1 Peter 2:10, Revelation 11:15, 19:16 and 20:4-6).
Paul also explains it in Romans 11 saying: “…isn’t it that God has repudiated (rejected) His people? (alluding to ISRAEL who kept disobeying and contradicting as mentioned in Romans 10:21). Heaven forbids! For I myself am a son of ISRAEL, from the SEED of Abraham, of the tribe of BENJAMIN (so here Paul acknowledges his lineage from the South Kingdom as a Jew). God has not repudiated His people, whom He chose in advance. Or don’t you know what the Tanakh (the Old Testament) says about Elijah? He pleads with God against ISRAEL, ‘YHVH, they have killed your prophets and torn down Your altars, and I’m the only one left, and now they want to kill me too!’ (This is a quotation from 1 Kings 19:10-14). But what is God’s answer to him? ‘I have kept for Myself SEVEN THOUSAND men who have not knelt down to Baal’. It’s the same way in the present age: THERE IS A REMNANT, chosen race. (Now if it is by grace, it is accordingly not based on legalistic works; if it were otherwise, grace would no longer be grace). What follows is that ISRAEL has not attained the GOAL for which she is thriving. The ones chosen have obtained it, but the rest have been made STONELIKE (hardened), just as the Tanakh (the Old Testament) says “God has given them a spirit of dullness (lifelessness) – eyes that do not see and ears that do not hear, right down to the PRESENT DAY (read Deuteronomy 29:3-4 and Isaiah 29:10). And David says: “Let their dining table become for them a snare and a trap, a pitfall and a punishment. Let their eyes be darkened, so that they can’t see, with their backs bent continually” (Psalm 69:23-24). In that case, I (Paul) say, isn’t it that they have stumbled with the result that they have permanently fallen away? Heaven forbids! Quite the contrary, it is by means of their stumbling that the deliverance has come to the Gentiles, in order to provoke them to jealousy. Moreover, if their stumbling is bringing riches to the world – that is, if ISRAEL’s being placed temporarily in a condition less favored than that of the Gentiles is bringing riches to the later – how much greater riches will ISRAEL in its fullness bring them! However, to those of you who are Gentiles I say this: since I myself am an emissary (representative, ambassador) sent to the Gentiles, I make known the importance of my work in the hope that somehow, I may provoke some of my own people to jealousy and SAVE SOME of them! For if their casting Yeshua aside means reconciliation for the world, what will their accepting Him mean? It will be LIFE form the dead! Now if the hallah (THE BREAD) offered as FIRST FRUITS is HOLY, so is the WHOLE LOAF (Paul is here referring to the FEAST of FIRST FRUITS, fulfilled by the Resurrection of Yeshua the Messiah). And if the ROOT is HOLY, so are the BRANCHES. But if some of the branches were broken off, and you – a wild olive – were GRAFTED IN among them and have become equal sharers in the rich ROOT of the OLIVE TREE, then don’t boast as if you were better than the BRANCHES! However, if you do boast, REMEMBER that you are not supporting the ROOT, the ROOT is SUPPORTING you. So, you will say, ‘BRANCHES were broken off so that I MIGHT BE GRAFTED IN.” TRUE, but so what? They were broken off because of their lack of trust (having faith, hope, belief). However, you keep your place only because of your TRUST (faith, hope, belief). So don’t be arrogant; on the contrary, be TERRIFIED! For if God did not spare the NATURAL BRANCHES, HE certainly won’t spare you! So, take a good look at God’s KINDNESS and His SEVERITY; on the one hand, SEVERITY toward those who fell off; but, on the other hand, God’s KINDNESS toward you – PROVIDED you maintain yourself in that kindness! Otherwise, you too will be cut off! Moreover, the others, if they do no persist in their lack of trust (having hope, faith, belief) WILL BE GRAFTED IN, because God IS ABLE TO GRAFT THEM BACK IN. For if you were cut out of what is by nature a WILD OLIVE TREE and GRAFTED, contrary to nature, into a CULTIVATED OLIVE TREE, how much more will these natural branches be GRAFTED back into their OWN OLIVE TREE! For brothers, I want you to understand this TRUTH which God formerly concealed but has now REVEALED, so that you won’t imagine you KNOW MORE that you actually do. It is that STONINESS (hardening), to a degree, has come upon ISRAEL, until the Gentile world enters into is fullness; and that it is in this way that ALL ISRAEL WILL BE SAVED. As the Tanakh (the OLD TESTAMENT) says in Isaiah 59:20-21 “Out of ZION will come a REDEEMER; He will turn away ungodliness from Jacob and this will be My COVENANT with them, …when I take away their sins. “With respect to the GOOD NEWS they are hated for your sake. But with respect to being CHOSEN they are LOVED for the PATRIARCH’s sake, for GOD’s FREE GIFTS and HIS CALLING are irrevocable. Just as you yourself were disobedient to God before but have received MERCY now because of ISRAEL’s disobedience; so also, ISRAEL has been disobedient now, so that by your showing them the same mercy that God has shown you, they too may now receive God’s mercy. For God has shut up AL MANKIND together in DISOBEDIENCE, in order that He might show mercy to ALL.
And also DO TAKE NOTE: The NEW CITY of JERUSALEM, described as the BRIDE, the WIFE of the LAMB, coming down out of heaven from God the Father, will have a GREAT WALL with TWELVE GATES to ENTER into the CITY inscribed with the NAMES of the TWELVE TRIBES of ISRAEL, three to the EAST, three to the NORTH, three to the SOUTH and three to the WEST. The wall of the city will be built on the TWELVE FOUNDATION-STONES and on these will be the TWELVE NAMES of the TWELF EMMIARIES (disciples) of the LAMB, Yeshua the Messiah (read Revelation 21:9-14). So, if you are not grafted into ISRAEL, where will you enter?
So, should all BELIEVERS now attend the JEWISH SYNAGOGUES on the SABBATH? No, not at all, but we should INDEED still study the TORAH, the PROPHETS and the WRITINGS because ALL of them TEACH us about our MESSIAH YESHUA and how to follow in HIS FOOTSTEPS on the NARROW WAY and be OBEDIENT to the FATHER showing our LOVE to HIM by KEEPING HIS COMMANDMETNS and LIVING a BLESSED and ABUNDANT LIFE!