Tuesday, June 26, 2012

Not Joseph's Son

Luke 4:22-27 (ESV)
And all spoke well of him and marveled at the gracious words that were coming from his mouth. And they said, "Is not this Joseph's son?" [23] And he said to them, "Doubtless you will quote to me this proverb, 'Physician, heal yourself.' What we have heard you did at Capernaum, do here in your hometown as well." [24] And he said, "Truly, I say to you, no prophet is acceptable in his hometown. [25] But in truth, I tell you, there were many widows in Israel in the days of Elijah, when the heavens were shut up three years and six months, and a great famine came over all the land, [26] and Elijah was sent to none of them but only to Zarephath, in the land of Sidon, to a woman who was a widow. [27] And there were many lepers in Israel in the time of the prophet Elisha, and none of them was cleansed, but only Naaman the Syrian."

This passage never loses its punch for me. The people are praising Jesus, and Jesus tunrs to intentionally torque them. The question is why? Because the people are politely denying everything he has to say. “Is not this Joseph’s Son?) they don’t get it, they won’t get it. They refuse to hear that the reading has been fulfilled in their hearing. They refuse to believe that he is the messiah. But they want to see the miracles. He won’t do them. He refuses them the signs, because they refuse to believe. In short he is ready to go to others, there are others who will believe, but not those from his hometown. Others because of their belief get the signs. But if you refuse to listen to Jesus, well then you refuse to listen.

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