I really enjoyed "seeing" and sharing this message years ago, I can still "see" it. Of course we don't know if this is the actual way things happened, but I think we can be assured that Jesus' boyhood friends and neighbors were pretty surprised at Him, and we know from our passage in Luke that they didn't take kindly to the One who had been, after all, "Such a nice boy."
I hope there is something here for you.
Love Bob
And he was such a nice boy
Luke 4:14 – 30. January 2001.
Robert Withers, Becket, MA
Our
passage this morning takes place within the province of Galilee, north of
Jerusalem. This is a region known for
its insurrection, its rebellious ways; a region watched closely by the Roman
authorities. It would not have been
improbable that after the disturbance recorded in our passage…that an
investigating committee might have arrived to look into the matter…concerned
that it might represent the seeds of yet another Jewish rebellion. With that as our background…………………….
FIRST PERSON NARRATIVE
“Oh, hi. You finally got here from Caesarea Phillip,
did you? It took you long enough. I didn’t realize they’d send so many…so many
to investigate our little local disturbance.
After all, it’s not like we actually killed him…and since when does an
attempted execution warrant such an investigation?
“Yes, that’s right, I said
execution, not attempted murder, after all, he really deserved to die…or at
least let’s say he pushed the envelope.
“And to think, he was such a good
boy…I wonder whatever happened to him to cause him to act like this?
“Do I know him? Well, I thought I knew him pretty well. After all, we grew up together, played
together, worked together.
“Yes, yes…there have always been
rumors surrounding him…they’ve come and gone and come again. The circumstances surrounding his birth are
mentioned in hushed whispers from time to time…you know he wasn’t born here at
home in Nazareth…born in his ancestral city of Bethlehem, south of Jerusalem. It was census time. After the birth the family was back here for
a few months, but not for long…now that whole episode was peculiar.
“Of all things they left Nazareth
and traveled to Egypt and lived there for a couple of years…Egypt of all
places. Why would anyone in his right
mind go to Egypt? Too many Romans there,
too many Greeks…we think we’ve got it bad…why even our fellow Jews in Egypt
have so gone off the deep end that they speak Greek more often than they speak
Aramaic and Hebrew. And why would they
go to Egypt? Why would Joseph leave his
carpentry business? Leave his
customers? Why would they leave their
house?
“And what did they do in Egypt? How did they live? Did Joseph work? Did Mary work? None of us have ever gotten anything out of
them about that trip, try as we might.
“And of course, there’s the whole
story of those strangers arriving in Nazareth shortly after the family returned
from Bethlehem…talk about bizarre…that was bizarre. What would a group of strange looking dudes
from the East want with a Jewish family here in Nazareth? It was only days after those strange people
left that Joseph, Mary and Jesus left for Egypt. Who knows?
Maybe the strangers were going to come back and do something harmful to
the family…maybe that’s why Joseph took his family to Egypt. There again, neither Joseph nor Mary has ever
opened up about those strange dudes, and if Jesus knows anything about it from
his parents he ain’t talking.
“That was about the time that the
cruel king Herod went nuts and had all those baby boys killed around Bethlehem
and Jerusalem. Am I glad I was born up
here north of Jerusalem in Nazareth…or I probably wouldn’t be talking with you
right now! My parents told me that king
Herod had his cavalry riding around these northern towns asking questions…at
least they kept their swords in their sheaths up here.
“Yes…Jesus and I worked construction
alongside our fathers. What kind of work
did he do? You mean quality? Oh man, that guy was never out of plumb or
out of square in anything he did. What
an eye he had for precision! I used to
joke with him that he only used a plumb line and a square to make the rest of
us feel good. You see, I had this funny
sense that he really didn’t need that stuff but that he could eyeball anything
to perfection, can’t explain it…just had this feeling.
“I’ve never worked with anyone so
upbeat, who had so much fun and enjoyed what he was doing. You could hear his laugh all over the
job-site. The guy enjoyed work.
“Then
there was that strange day…it was about four months ago… lunchtime…and Ehud the
man with the snack pack camel had pulled onto the job-site…Jesus and I
purchased some fruit off Ehud…and Ehud happened to mention that he’d been over
to the Jordan river a couple of days before.
There was a wild man preaching to people out there in the wilderness
surrounding the Jordan…John is his name…they are calling him John the Baptist
because he is calling on people to be immersed in the Jordan river as a sign of
turning away from their evil ways and a sign of their commitment to God. Ehud said that great crowds were coming to
see John…that even Pharisees (those religious folk) and priests from Jerusalem
were coming to hear John…and…believe it or not…some Roman soldiers had even
been baptized!!!
“I asked Ehud what John was
preaching…and he replied that in addition to talking about living for God and
turning from our self-centered lives…that John was preaching that someone else
was on his way…that someone was coming after him…that even though this someone
was coming after him that he was before him (now there’s a riddle to figure
out), and that this person would also baptize…but not with water…but with the
Holy Spirit and fire…and that he would judge.
“How are the people reacting? I asked Ehud.
He replied that it was a mind blower.
Apparently a lot of these people had thought that John the Baptist was
the Messiah, the Christ, the One promised by God from the beginning to redeem
Israel. So this idea that someone
greater than John is on his way knocked people flat…it caused a lot of
questions.
“I noticed, as Ehud and I were
talking…that Jesus didn’t say anything…he just listened. He listened so intently that he didn’t eat,
not the lunch he’d brought from home or the fruit he’d purchased from Ehud. Then there were his eyes, the eyes of
Jesus…one minute they’d been bright and glistening with laughter as we
approached Ehud and his camel…but as the conversation unfolded…it was as if I
was looking into a well without a bottom when I looked into the eyes of
Jesus…it was as if…well…as if I was peering into eternity.
“We went back to work after
lunch…and while Jesus did his usual excellent work…I could tell there was
something different…there was laughter…but not quite the same…it was as if he
was preoccupied.
“I recall kidding him, Hey friend,
what’s on your mind? You’re not thinking
about going out to the Jordan to see that crazy man are you? I got all the religion I want right here in
Nazareth, that’s what synagogues are for…what’s with these crazy people that
are looking for something more? Every
year since I was a boy I’ve heard people talk about Messiah coming…that’s for
people who need a crutch…people who are weak…people who are messed up.
“But he just looked at me, smiled
and said, ‘Simeon, God loves you and He has a purpose for your life.’”
“That next week was something else,
the job we were on was supposed to take another three weeks, but Jesus…who
could outwork any man on the job to begin with…man…I didn’t know that even he
could work like he did that week. He got
to work early, left late, and hardly ever took a break. When I asked him what was going on he told me
that he needed to finish the job because he had another one to do…and he
couldn’t wait three weeks to get going on the next job. He wouldn’t leave our job until the work was
done…he never left any job undone…and so he was working extra.
“Well, where’s the next job? I
asked. This was the first time I’d heard
about a new job…and it wasn’t like him not to tell me when he found
work…because we usually all worked together as a team…so I was kind of hurt
that he hadn’t told me before then.
“Jesus told me that I’d have to wait
and see. That’s all he would say about
it, that I’d have to wait and see.
“That next Monday when I stopped to
pick him up so that we could head out to wherever this new job was…he wasn’t
home. Mary and Joseph were there, his
brothers and sisters were there…but no Jesus.
There was a box Jesus had left for me…within it were some of his
tools…his plumb line and square…and a note for me…it read, ‘Simeon, my friend,
allow God’s Word to be your plumb line and square. And remember, God loves you and has a plan
for your life. I love you, my
friend. Jesus.’
to be continued...
Posts
