Confrontation in Nazareth (11)

 

 

In order to capture, or rather be captured by, Luke’s portrayal of Jesus in the synagogue of Nazareth in 4:16 – 30 we need to read the passage again, and again, and again; ponder the passage, see ourselves in the passage, consider Jesus, consider the people (who he had grown up with), and think about the content of His message. It may be helpful to read different translations or paraphrases to refresh our minds, sometimes a different word or another way of expressing the same thought or sense of a passage can jar our minds with new beams of light. We want to assimilate this passage to the point that we could reenact it on stage if given the opportunity.

 

Why does the congregation react so violently to Jesus?

 

There are two elements to their reaction. The more obvious is that they think, “Who does He think He is?” The other is, “Who does He think we are?”

 

We tend to think that “Who does He think He is?” is focused on His claim to be the fulfillment of Isaiah 61:1 – 2, but I think that is only part of what it means. It is better expressed, “Who does He think He is by telling us who He thinks we are?”

 

There is a similar passage to this in the Gospel of John which takes place in Jerusalem toward the conclusion of Jesus’ ministry, it is John 8:30 – 59. Due to space limitations I will not quote it in full, but I will refer to it and compare it with Luke 4:16 – 30.

The first thing to see about John 8:30 – 59 is the way it begins and the way it ends. “As He spoke these things, many came to believe in Him…Therefore they (these same people!) picked up stones to throw at Him, but Jesus hid Himself and went out of the temple” (John 8:30 and 59).

 

In Luke 4 the hometown folks gave Him the book of Isaiah to read, no doubt with welcoming expectation, but the passage concludes with them being “filled with rage” and attempting to murder Him. “But passing through their midst, He went His way” (Luke 4:30).

 

What incites both groups, one in Nazareth and one in Jerusalem, to go from welcoming Jesus to attempted murder?

 

In both instances the people refused to acknowledge their need for God, but rested in their religious, national, and racial/ethnic identity. In John they tell Jesus, “We are Abraham’s descendants and have never yet been enslaved to anyone; how is it that You say, ‘You will become free’?” (Jn. 8:33).

 

In Luke, the congregation rejects the notion that they are the poor, the captives, the blind, and the oppressed of Isaiah 61. In other words, they not only reject the idea that Jesus is the Anointed One of Isaiah 61, but that they are the ones to whom He is sent.

 

I realize that many of us think the reason Jesus breaks off His public reading of Isaiah 61:2 in mid verse is that “The day of vengeance of our God” has not yet come, but I don’t think that is the case. I have two reasons for this.

 

The first is that to evoke a portion of a passage is to evoke the entire passage. To call up one verse is to call up the context of the verse, the flow of the passage in which the verse is embedded.  For example, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?” evokes the entirely of Psalm 22, the narrative of abandonment, suffering, mockery, death, resurrection, a grain of wheat falling into the ground and dying and bringing forth much fruit, of God completing and perfecting His work.

 

In Isaiah 61, “The day of vengeance” is in the context of the theme of comfort, salvation, and restoration, what begins in 61:1 – 2a continues in 61:3 – 7. That is, 61:2b is not an abrupt stop in the passage, if anything it is an interjection that during the time of salvation and restoration that there is concurrently judgment.

 

As Jesus reads Isaiah 61 in the synagogue, He is offering His hearers salvation and restoration, if they will not accept this offer, they will face judgment, Isaiah 61:2b is implied in Jesus’ reading, just as is Isaiah 61:3 – 7. The people of His hometown synagogue can either choose to see themselves as the poor, the captive, the prisoners, the blind, or in rejecting Jesus they can experience the day of judgment and vengeance.

 

We see this in John 9:39, “For judgment I came into this world, so that those who do not see may see, and that those who see may become blind.” Also, “If you were blind, you would have no sin; but since you say, ‘We see,’ your sin remains” (John 9:41).

 

In John Chapter 9, while the man born blind sees Jesus, both through physical healing and spiritual healing; the religious leaders who claim to see continue in both their blindness and in the judgment of God, “For judgment I came into this world.” That is, the “day of vengeance” of Isaiah 61:2b is not held in abeyance but rather played out in Messiah’s ministry on earth. For sure, all of Isaiah 61 has an “already -not yet” dimension, it is fulfilled, it is being fulfilled, and it will be fulfilled in greater fulness.

 

As we read Luke 4, John 8, and John 9, can we see that the Cross brings us to the end of ourselves? Jesus will not allow us to trust in our self-righteousness, He will destroy all elements of self-reliance and self-righteousness, He will leave nothing for us to boast in, other than in Him and His Cross (1 Cor. 1:30 – 31; Gal. 6:14).

 

We get angry and want to murder when the basis for our identity and righteousness is attacked, when it is suggested that our religious or ethnic or national identity is as filthy rags before our holy God. When it is suggested that we are blind and enslaved and poor and that we need healing and deliverance and to be set free from our prisons, we want to attack and hurt others and defend ourselves – why we even want to kill Jesus…will we admit this?

 

Let us make no mistake, not only will Jesus not let our attitudes slide, He will bring them to front and center, hence He reminds His hearers of the widow of Zarephath and Naaman the Syrian (Luke 4:25 – 27). Why couldn’t He leave well enough alone? Why pour gasoline on a fire already burning hot? He knew it would cause a violent explosion – yet He purposely threw accelerate on His message.

 

O dear friends, I hope you will ponder Luke 4:14 – 30 and John 8:30 – 59, considering the dynamics, both 2,000 years ago and in our own time and lives. John Chapter 9 also has a role to play in our reflections.

 

Had I been in the congregation in Nazareth (Luke 4) or in the crowd in Jerusalem (John 8), or in the synagogue of the blind man (John 9), how would I have responded to Jesus?

 

How am I responding to Him today?

 

We will return to these passages in the next post in this series, the Lord willing.