Luke 4:21-30 (NRSV)
Then he began to say to them, "Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing."
All spoke well of him and were amazed at the gracious words that came from his mouth. They said, "Is not this Joseph's son?"
He said to them, "Doubtless you will quote to me this proverb, 'Doctor, cure yourself!' And you will say, 'Do here also in your hometown the things that we have heard you did at Capernaum.'"
And he said, "Truly I tell you, no prophet is accepted in the prophet's hometown.
But the truth is, there were many widows in Israel in the time of Elijah, when the heaven was shut up three years and six months, and there was a severe famine over all the land; yet Elijah was sent to none of them except to a widow at Zarephath in Sidon.
There were also many lepers in Israel in the time of the prophet Elisha, and none of them was cleansed except Naaman the Syrian."
When they heard this, all in the synagogue were filled with rage.
They got up, drove him out of the town, and led him to the brow of the hill on which their town was built, so that they might hurl him off the cliff.
But he passed through the midst of them and went on his way.
The story of Jesus teaching in the synagogue at Nazareth starts off so hopeful: having read a passage of great hope from the prophet Isaiah to the gathered crowd, Jesus declares that the promised salvation of God is now manifest in their presence. “Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.” At first the people of Nazareth are completely in sync with what Jesus is proclaiming. They ‘re amazed at his “gracious words.” They even indulge in a bit of hometown pride: “Is not this Joseph’s son?”
But with the keen insight of a prophet, Jesus knows what’s coming next. He knows what the crowd expects of God’s Messiah. First, they expect miracles, and Jesus’ reputation precedes him in that area. They’ve already heard about the wondrous things he’s done in Capernaum. But in a tension-filled moment that will echo often throughout Jesus’ later ministry, he refuses to bend to their idea of the Messiah. Not only will he not be performing miracles on demand, he’s also not going to fulfill their other expectation—that the Messiah will destroy Israel’s enemies.
This is where the story really turns, and it’s where I believe we find real opportunity for reflection in this text today. In the stories of Elijah and Elisha, Jesus reminds the crowd that the salvation that comes with the Messiah is a gift that is not for Israel alone. This is a truth the people have forgotten, a truth that resonates all the way back to Abraham’s call:
“All the nations of the earth will be blessed because of your descendants, because you obeyed me.” (Genesis 22:18, CEB)
This is what makes the crowd angry—not that Jesus won’t perform miracles, but that he’s painting a picture of God’s kingdom work which includes Gentiles as well as Jews. That’s not what they want from “their” Messiah. They don’t want to hear how God will bless the Gentiles through the ministry of his Anointed. And so they resolve to kill Jesus. Thankfully, they fail.
As I read this text I can’t help but think of how divided the Christian church is right now—more divided than we have ever seen in our lifetime. And I think how much we can be like that crowd in Nazareth. Quite often we simply don’t want those on “the other side” to be blessed. Too often we only want them to get what we think is coming to them.
We want “our” Messiah to deal with our enemies, not bless them.
Some years after our story in Luke, the apostle Paul would speak to this issue of Gentile and Jew both finding being saved and blessed by God through Christ. In the book of Ephesians he speaks to it quite plainly:
“For he is our peace; in his flesh he has made both groups into one and has broken down the dividing wall, that is, the hostility between us. He has abolished the law with its commandments and ordinances, that he might create in himself one new humanity in place of the two, thus making peace, and might reconcile both groups to God in one body through the cross, thus putting to death that hostility through it.” (Ephesians 2:14-16, NRSV)
At times these days I am tempted to think that there is no way for God to weave his church back together into a unified body committed to his kingdom work, but then I see the miraculous way he knit together Jew and Gentile in the early church despite deep division and hatred, and I find hope. It’s a hope rooted in a supernatural work—only with the Spirit’s help can we ever see it happen.
Our world is hurting, and we have a choice. We can be like that crowd in Nazareth, committed to our own insular ways sometimes even to the point of violence, or we can embrace the unifying work of the Spirit who alone can “put to death that hostility” by calling us to fall on our knees together before Christ.
He is our Messiah. He is our sole foundation. He is our peace.
Song: “The Church’s One Foundation” by Reawaken Hymns
Lyrics: Click here
REFLECTION QUESTIONS
How have you witnessed God’s supernatural work of building the body of Christ despite our differences and sometimes our division? Spend time giving thanks to God for that grace of unity.
How do you process your own anger and frustration at people (even Christians) that you wish “would just get their act together?” What are some healthy practices God might be inviting you into as you think about them?
Spend some time praying for the unity of Christ’s church. If you’d like a musical reflection to aid you in this, here is a song based on Ephesians 2 by musician Richard Jensen: He is our peace (Ephesians 2).