Just now...in this place...

Our tour guide Jimmy, speaking in the stone synagogue where Jesus grew up, and eventually proclaimed himself the messiah and was rejected.  

^{From Luke 4 (The Message)}

^16-21He came to Nazareth where he had been reared. As he always did on the Sabbath, he went to the meeting place. When he stood up to read, he was handed the scroll of the prophet Isaiah. Unrolling the scroll, he found the place where it was written, 

   God's Spirit is on me; 
      he's chosen me to preach the Message of good news to 
       the poor, 
   Sent me to announce pardon to prisoners and 
      recovery of sight to the blind, 
   To set the burdened and battered free, 
      to announce, "This is God's year to act!"
He rolled up the scroll, handed it back to the assistant, and sat down. Every eye in the place was on him, intent. Then he started in, "You've just heard Scripture make history. It came true just now in this place."

 ²²All who were there, watching and listening, were surprised at how well he spoke. But they also said, "Isn't this Joseph's son, the one we've known since he was a youngster?"

One of the most amazing things from today's sites...and this just scratches the surface of the many places we've been today...

We got to sit in the exact synagogue where this scripture reading took place.  

This was truly incredible.  

Archaeologists are 100% certain that the tiny village of Nazareth (about 150 people in Jesus' day, now 150,000) only had one synagogue.  There's no way that it would have had more than one.  

The synagogue site is well-known in Nazareth, and has been well-preserved and carefully restored.  It sits at the end of a long street market, tucked discreetly (I never would have known it was there) under an over-hang.  A tiny sign says, "synagogue," and worship still takes place there today.  

The stones are the same as in Jesus' time.  It's the same floors, walls, ceiling.  All hand-hewn rough limestone.  It is the place where Jesus returned during his ministry in Galilee and read the scroll of Isaiah 61.  It is the place where he declared himself the messiah.  It is the room we sat in today, and that is incredible.  We sang a hymn there, read this scipture and could feel the power of the Holy Spirit.