Life of Christ 35
Today's post finds Jesus
in the first full bloom of His ministry. In Judea, He had been baptized by John
the Baptist, tested with 40 days of fasting, tempted personally by the devil,
and gotten His first few disciples from John. Coming home to Galilee He attends
a wedding in Cana, helps out with their wine problem, and then returned to
Judea to attend Passover in Jerusalem. There He drove the moneychangers out of
the Temple, witnessed to Nicodemus, and stayed in Judea for a while doing
miracles and preaching. After a short period He returned to Galilee, and along
the way went through Samaria and won the woman at the well outside of Sychar.
Upon arriving in Galilee He heals a nobleman's son from Cana, and this begins
many months of ministry in that region.
Did you ever stop to
think what it must have been like for Jesus to sit, Sabbath after Sabbath, for
decades, in His local synagogue, not saying a word? To hear the Scripture read
and commented upon, often in an ignorant fashion, and just to sit there,
respectful and quiet? His hometown synagogue obviously had no clue that He was
the world's greatest preacher (literally). After all, He was just the guy around
the corner who built really good picnic tables. How in the world does this guy
suddenly become a pulpiteer of the first order? He's just Joseph's oldest boy,
right? No wonder they marveled!
In His message Jesus
publicly and plainly claims to be Israel's messiah, saying, 'This day is this
scripture fulfilled in your ears' (Luke 4.21). This was obviously hard for many
of them to accept easily for they had watched Him grow up from a very young
age. At the same time, they had also heard reports that a few miraculous events
had happened in His presence, and they pressed Him to furnish proof of His
claims by doing a miracle right there in front of them. Jesus refused, and gave
as His reason that in prior days of miracles those miracles had not been done
everywhere. He did not come to be a genie, popping out of a lamp to happily
grant the bearer three wishes. No, Jesus came looking for belief.
Both of the miracles He
had done so far in Galilee had been prompted by people exercising belief in
Him. Now Nazareth was demanding a miracle out of unbelief. Later, on His last
visit to Nazareth, Scripture would say, 'And he did not many mighty works there
because of their unbelief' (Matthew 13.58). It wasn't that He couldn't, for God
is not dependent upon us to exercise His own power, but rather that He
wouldn't. Belief is that important to Him, and you will hear much more in
reference to this as this blog series progresses.
In telling His lifelong
friends and neighbors that He would not do a miracle from them for these reasons
He was essentially telling them that they were included in unbelieving,
apostate Israel. Think about that for a moment…
"A young man has
lived near me in Nazareth all of His life. He is a quiet but capable
fellow, one that perhaps needs to get a wife and settle down, but a good guy
nonetheless. He is faithful in attendance at synagogue, and really, nobody has
any call for complaint about Him whatsoever. He is stable, dependable,
responsible, teachable, kind, and rather unremarkable. Yes, His mother seems to
think the sun rises and sets on Him, but what mother doesn't? Suddenly, and for
no good reason that I know of, He vanishes for a couple of months and comes
back trailing a handful of men, like a posse or something, with apparent
pretensions of being a rabbi. Well, when did this happen? When did He decide
this? With whom did He train? Whispers are that perhaps He even was baptized by
that weird guy out in the wilderness, John. Clearly, He must have had some
emotional experience or something, but it looks like He is taking it a bit too
far. I hope this won't ruin His skill for He really does make the best picnic
tables around. Next thing I knew there were wild rumors rumors going around, something
about a wedding over in Cana and a whole bunch of wine, but He isn't around to
ask because He went down to Jerusalem for Passover like any sensible young Jew
should do. Then, what tale should make the rounds but that there was some
kerfuffle with Him and the moneychangers in the Temple. What was all that
about? And He actually traveled through Samaria on the way back? Horrors! What
has gotten into the guy? And what's this about supposedly healing some high
muckety-muck's kid from Cana? I mean, c'mon, the kid wasn't even in Cana; he
was 25 miles away in Capernaum. I'll tell you one thing, the next time Jesus
shows up here I'm going to ask Him a question or two, for sure. What's that?
He's in town and He says He'll be at synagogue service Saturday? You bet I'm
going. Maybe He'll make fire fall out of the sky or something. Yeah, right,
lol.
"Why is He reading
that passage in Isaiah; that isn't on the rotation, is it? Whoa… listen to this
guy preach. He sure is better than our rabbi. Where in the world did He learn
to do that? That's the same kid, isn't it, or do my eyes deceive me? Yep,
that's Joseph's oldest, all right. Wait a minute. What's this now? Is He saying
what I think He's saying? That He's the Messiah? Really? Of all the nerve! I've
known Him all my life. He built my picnic table. Messiah, my clavicle, that's
just Jesus. Hey, let's ask Him to do one of those miracle thingies. After all,
if He is He shouldn't have any problem producing on demand. Oh, and He says He
won't. Thought so. What's this? Is He really saying that this is our fault? Of
all the unmitigated gall! I'm not an apostate! I've been sitting in the same
pew in this synagogue since He was in diapers. Who does He think He is! Why,
I've got half a mind to teach this young whippersnapper some manners. Who here
is with me? You guys in on this? Really, this is just appalling. It is
completely unacceptable and I'm just furious right now. How dare He? He's going
to get it!"
'And all they in the
synagogue, when they heard these things, were filled with wrath, And rose up,
and thrust him out of the city, and led him unto the brow of the hill whereon
their city was built, that they might cast him down headlong' (Luke 4.28-29).
Of course, He did not die, for it was not His time to die, and the manner of
death was not that prophesied, but the larger point is that they wanted to kill
Him. This is the first corporate rejection of Jesus' claims to be the Christ,
and it happens in His own hometown. It happens in the synagogue He had attended
all of His life, amongst His friends and neighbors. It is heartbreaking to me
when I think about it. All He had ever done was everything exactly right for 30
years in that town, and they repaid Him with a public assassination attempt.
What a great sadness
there is in the display of a synagogue full of wrath.
If you would like to hear the audio version of this blog you may find it here on our church website. Just press 'launch media player' and choose We Preach Christ 16, 'A Synagogue Full of Wrath'.
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