As we grow up, we learn how to do new things. Some common skills we pick up through life are learning how to roller skate, ride a bike, paint fingernails, throw a spiral or curve ball, drive a car, etc. After sharing that you have learned one of these new skills, someone might say, “Prove it,” or “Show me.” The one who wants you to prove it often doubts that you can do it, while the one who asks to see it trusts that you can.
The skills of a worldclass mountain climber will do you no good while standing on the shore of a vast flat sandy beach. If you as a skilled mountain climber walked up to a group of vacationers down in Galveston suntanning on the beach and began to tell them about your climbing adventures, they might be interested your stories but would not find any practical value in them. On the other hand, if you told them that the beach they were on was not real and that they were actually stuck in a deep dark pit with their only hope being you the worldclass mountain climber who could get them to safety, then they might ask you to prove it. And, if your response was, “No, you are lost in your own reality and think I am just another vacationer just like you,” then they might get angry. Of course, you could escape by climbing out and leaving them in the pit.
When Jesus went to his hometown of Nazareth, the people did not welcome him as the Savior. In our Gospel reading from Luke 4, we read that Jesus went to his hometown and on the Sabbath preached on a section from Isaiah 61 at the synagogue. The section Jesus read was a prophecy about the Messiah, and 21 He began by saying to them, “Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.” It was not what they expected to hear, and his words amazed them, but then they asked, 22 … “Isn’t this Joseph’s son?” Jesus’ amazing and gracious words were lost on the people of his hometown because they could not get past what they saw, Joseph the carpenter’s son. He may have an above average knowledge of the Scriptures, but they saw no good reason to believe he was the One the prophets had been speaking of for centuries and the hope of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and David. Aware of their unbelief, 23 Jesus said to them, “Surely you will quote this proverb to me: ‘Physician, heal yourself!’ And you will tell me, ‘Do here in your hometown what we have heard that you did in Capernaum.’” Jesus knew they wanted proof, but without faith the proof would only fuel more radical ideas about who he was.
To open the eyes of his hometown to their lack of faith, Jesus gave two history lessons from Israel’s past. First, Jesus referenced Elijah, 24 “Truly I tell you,” he continued, “no prophet is accepted in his hometown. 25 I assure you that there were many widows in Israel in Elijah’s time, when the sky was shut for three and a half years and there was a severe famine throughout the land. 26 Yet Elijah was not sent to any of them, but to a widow in Zarephath in the region of Sidon. Second, he referenced Elijah’s disciple, Elisha, 27 And there were many in Israel with leprosy in the time of Elisha the prophet, yet not one of them was cleansed—only Naaman the Syrian.” In each case, God sent one of his prophets to the Gentiles to bring healing because Israel had rejected him and his Word.
The sunbathing vacationer appeals to us more than sitting at the bottom of a cold dark pit. Healing from whatever is eating away at you is tempting. The promise of life without frustration and loss appeals to us. Reaching our goals and dreams sounds so good. Nazareth would agree, that was their idea of the Savior, a worldly healer and political conqueror. Jesus did not fit that description, but the bigger issue was their wrong idea of the Savior in the first place. And so, it is with us. Deep down, we want our Christian life to be like sunbathing on the beach. Instead, Christ opens our eyes to see that we are in a deep dark pit, and he is the expert mountain climber sent to rescue us. Our worldly sinful desire wants to turn from Jesus when we are overwhelmed by loss. When we are tired and weak, our temptation is to stop trusting in the good news of Jesus’ forgiveness and eternal life in heaven because we do not get what we want from him now.
Jesus’ response to the people of Nazareth revealed what he would do to save the world. Jesus’ preaching brought a unified response from the synagogue as we read in Luke 4, 28 All the people in the synagogue were furious when they heard this. 29 They got up, drove him out of the town, and took him to the brow of the hill on which the town was built, in order to throw him off the cliff. 30 But he walked right through the crowd and went on his way. Repentance was not the response in Nazareth to Jesus’ preaching as the people held onto their sins and rejected the Savior. But it was not time to give up his life to save them and us. Instead, by walking through them, he fulfilled what he said earlier, 23 … “Surely you will quote this proverb to me: ‘Physician, heal yourself!’ He healed himself by not falling off the cliff to his death. Plus, this was a sign and miraculous display of his power. Most of all, this provided healing for them and the world by waiting for Holy Week when he was put on trial and sentence to crucifixion by the religious and secular leaders along with the angry shouts of the mob who were also united against him for claiming to be the Messiah, the Savior, the Son of God and fulfillment of the Scriptures. And Jesus did all of this to fulfill the words he quoted in the synagogue at Nazareth from our Old Testament reading from Isaiah 61, 18 “The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free, 19 to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.” Spiritually, we were poor, captive, blind and oppressed by sin. But through Jesus we have heard the good news enriching our souls, freeing us from the pit of despair to live forever in heaven with our God, healing us to see Jesus as our Savior and releasing us from the devil’s darkness and lies. The time of the Lord’s favor will last forever.
Preaching the good news of Jesus of Nazareth has power. There are two responses to Jesus, “Do what I want you to do,” or “Thank you for doing what you promised.” When we want Jesus to prove himself and do what we want him to do, we put ourselves in place of God separating ourselves from Jesus. By God’s grace he calls us to repentance and fills us with thanks for fulfilling all he promised to do. This response of thanks and confidence in Jesus of Nazareth is found in our New Testament reading from Acts 4, 23 On their release, Peter and John went back to their own people and reported all that the chief priests and the elders had said to them. 24 When they heard this, they raised their voices together in prayer to God.…31 After they prayed, the place where they were meeting was shaken. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly. Peter and John had been arrested for healing a man and their testimony when on trial is recorded a few verses earlier in Acts 4, 10 … It is by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified but whom God raised from the dead, that this man stands before you healed. The resurrected Jesus of Nazareth was the testimony, the power and the reason the early church boldly spoke the word of God. We have the same Jesus. The struggle or tension we feel as Christians comes from holding these two truths at the same time: Jesus will not heal all our worldly wounds and Jesus has healed us at the cross and empty tomb. So, we struggle against our presumptions of what Jesus needs to do for us and giving thanks for the healing Jesus has brought. We also pray like the early church that we would be filled with the Holy Spirit’s power to bring good news to the afflicted, bind up the brokenhearted, and proclaim liberty to the captive.
As we grow up, we learn how to do new things. After sharing that you have learned one of these new skills, someone might say, “Prove it,” or “Show me.” In his hometown of Nazareth, Jesus preached that he was the fulfillment of the prophesied Messiah. After sharing, the people wanted him to prove it, but Jesus refused because of their lack of faith. In their anger, they tried to throw him off a cliff. But Jesus miraculously walked through the angry mob and remained alive until the time was right for him to be rejected, crucified and resurrected. As we grow in faith, we remain amazed at the gracious words of Jesus of Nazareth who offers healing by preaching good news. Amen.
Gunnar Ledermann, Pastor Divine Peace Church
Gunnar Ledermann
I’m passionate about Rockwall’s vibrant community and actively engage with local non-profits and community organizations, including the Rockwall Chamber of Commerce, the City of Rockwall, and the Downtown Rockwall Association. My background includes a bachelor’s degree in Classical Languages and a master’s degree in divinity. Currently serving as a pastor at Divine Peace Church in Rockwall, I also enjoy spending time with my wife, Marinda, and our three children.
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