Confrontation in Nazareth (8)

 

 

“And He was teaching in their synagogues and was praised by all” (Luke 4:15).

 

Why did Jesus return to Nazareth when He was being so well received by the rest of Galilee? Having returned, why did He choose a passage and an interpretation of that passage that was certain to elicit backlash? Having returned, why didn’t Jesus modify His message?

 

Why didn’t Jesus simply build on (what we would term) His momentum and bypass Nazareth, at least for the moment?

 

We can ask a similar question when we consider Mark 1:35 – 38 (also at the beginning of His ministry). In this instance “everyone was looking for Jesus” but Jesus replies, “Let us go somewhere else…for that is what I came for.” Again, why didn’t Jesus remain in Capernaum and build on His momentum?

 

Jesus obviously was not reading church growth literature, nor was He reading the latest in leadership material, nor was He aware of how important financial support was and growing a budget, nor did He understand the importance of securing a solid homebase of operations. Nor was Jesus aware of how important it is to win your audience over to you.

 

Having shocked the congregation with Isaiah 61, why push them over the edge by bringing into His message the widow of Zarephath and Naaman the Syrian?

 

The only response I have to these questions is: Man builds on success; God builds on obedience.

 

“Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of Himself, unless it is something He sees the Father doing; for whatever the Father does, these things the Son also does in like manner” (John 5:18 – 19).

 

Perhaps we should recall Paul’s words to the Galatians, “For am I now seeking the favor of men, or of God? Or am I striving to please men? If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a bondservant of Christ” (Galatians 1:10).

 

“As was His custom” (Luke 4:16)

 

Throughout His ministry Jesus visited synagogues and the Temple in Jerusalem, visits which resulted in clashes between the Spirit and the flesh, grace and the Law, man’s tradition and God’s Word, the self-righteousness of man and the holy righteousness of God. In the passage before us, the congregation attempted to murder Him. In Mark 3:1 – 6 (again, early in His ministry), healing in a synagogue resulted in the Pharisees and Herodians plotting how to murder Him.

 

Jesus’ visits to Judea and Jerusalem entailed the risk of death (John 5:16; 7:32; 8:59; 10:31; 11:53, 80), and of course finally led to His betrayal and crucifixion – as well as His resurrection!

 

Jesus may have entered the synagogue in Nazareth as was His custom, but He did not enter that synagogue, nor any synagogue, to do what was customary. The same is true for His visits to the Temple in Jerusalem.

 

I suppose we could say that Jesus was not very well behaved in that He did not conform to the old wineskins, but rather spoke the Word of His Father; comforting the afflicted and afflicting the comfortable.

 

As we ponder these things, perhaps we ought not to be too hard on the synagogue folks, after all, how do we respond when Jesus comes into the synagogue of our own heart to speak the Word of His Father? When I read of Jesus cleansing the Tempe, both in John 2:13 (at the beginning of His ministry) and in Matthew 21:12 (at the conclusion of His earthly ministry), I picture Him in the temple of my soul, my heart, my mind…casting out those things which ought not to be there, overturning the tables in my own life.

 

What is my response to Jesus when He comes into my temple? Do I submit to Him or do I try to kill Him? Jesus begins in me with cleansing, He continues in me with cleansing, and now, toward the conclusion of my pilgrimage, He continues to cleanse, to overturn tables – to get my attention.

 

I suppose I could say that the Lord Jesus continues to interrupt my “order of service.” How impolite, yet how merciful.

 

Malachi writes, “The Lord, whom you seek, will suddenly come to His temple.” We see this in the Gospels, we see this on the Day of Pentecost, and we see this in our own lives (if we will receive Him) and (more rarely perhaps) in the lives of our congregations.

 

What book of Scripture is Jesus opening today in our temple? What is He saying in our individual lives, our marriages, our families, our congregations? We can be pretty certain that whatever Jesus is saying will challenge our customs, our ways of doing things – because you just can’t put new wine into new wineskins (Matthew 9:17).

 

We can also trust that He will be teaching us from things “both old and new” (Matthew 13:52).

 

And may I add, that Jesus is patient with us – while He is impatient with evil and unrighteousness and oppression – He is patient with us, He has come that we might have life and have it abundantly. We see His patience with Peter, not just in the Gospels, but also in Acts and in Galatians (Chapter Two). This gives me hope…great hope for myself in Christ.

 

I hope I am not presuming to much when I suggest that when Jesus overturns the furniture in our temples, that He will dispose of the mess and bring the glorious furniture of the Holy Temple into our hearts, that He will furnish us with the Presence of the Trinity, with the Bread and the Light and the Altar and Oil and Living Water…O my…who can understand these things. Well, we may not understand them, but in Jesus we can most certainly experience them.

 

Most importantly, we can trust Jesus to teach us how to love God with all that we have and all that we are, and to lay down our lives for others…it is always about Jesus, always about Him.