October 19
October 19
Because Jesus makes his identity and mission clear, we should not question who he is or what he came to do.
The scene we are about to consider occurred early in Jesus’s earthly ministry, right after his forty-day temptation in the wilderness.
And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up. And as was his custom, he went to the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and he stood up to read. And the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to him. He unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written,
“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,
because he has anointed me
to proclaim good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives
and recovering of sight to the blind,
to set at liberty those who are oppressed,
to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”
And he rolled up the scroll and gave it back to the attendant and sat down. And the eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on him. And he began to say to them, “Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.” And all spoke well of him and marveled at the gracious words that were coming from his mouth. (Luke 4:16–22)
There was nothing remarkable about a man’s standing up to read from a scroll in the synagogue. People would have seen scenes like this in the synagogue Sabbath after Sabbath. But what happened next was one of the most significant moments in the life and ministry of Jesus—indeed, in all of redemptive history. The people in the synagogue watched Jesus roll up the scroll, hand it back to the synagogue attendant, and sit down. Then they heard him say shocking and unexpected words that no one there ever thought he or she would hear: “Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.”
At first the crowd seemed to accept his words, but soon they were filled with questions. Wasn’t this Joseph’s son? Jesus then compared their doubt of his messiahship to their forefathers’ rejection of the prophets Elijah and Elisha. At this point the crowd became angry and plotted to kill Jesus by throwing him off a cliff (4:22–30).
This moment in Jesus’s life teaches us that it takes grace to be able to recognize, surrender to, worship, and celebrate the Messiah of grace. Apart from the grace that opens the eyes of our hearts, the story of God’s coming in the flesh seems like ridiculous religious nonsense. If you have believed, it’s because you have been given the grace to believe. Faith is a precious gift from a compassionate heavenly Father. If faith in him has captured your heart and directed your life, do not boast—unless you are boasting in the grace of his coming, suffering, death, and resurrection.