Scripture:
Luke 4:22 All spoke well of him and were amazed at the gracious words that came from his lips. “Isn’t this Joseph’s son?” they asked.
Observation:
This happened immediately after Jesus quoted Isaiah 61:1-2 in the synagogue in his hometown of Nazareth. He had said that the prophecy therein applied directly and pointedly to Him and His life. Now this was the synagogue He no doubt grew up attending, so although some were impressed with this declaration, others tacked on the question of His origin, principally the identity of His father. It was a point of some confusion when His mother conceived to the point that Joseph needed to be told in a dream NOT to divorce Mary for unfaithfulness. The question asked by the people above shows their take on His parentage – that Joseph and Mary had engaged in pre-marital relations and, well “we all know where babies come from.” But in context, this was also to bring Jesus down to earth, to accuse Him of false testimony just immediately prior in the synagogue and to categorically deny anything special about him. This touched off a fiery set of judgmental words for Jesus Himself, showing both His intent – to heal and deliver the people He loved in perhaps even a more tender and special way than those He did not grow up with – and the impossibility of that because the people would not believe (faith being a one of the ingredients). This was sad and it was a breaking of relationship; Jesus would never be honored in Nazareth, the place of His human rearing and it was to their shame, not His.
Application:
What attacks are levied against the legitimacy of my spiritual identity? Is it a phase I went through (or got stuck in because it’s been so long)? Did it make me no more special than I used to be? Indeed, one of the marks of a believer’s life is the ordinary made extraordinary by the Spirit, but it’s the latter part that unbelievers tear down. There can be nothing special about faith because they don’t have it, have not pursued it and therefore I am both deluded and subpar compared to what I would be without the encumbrance of my faith life. Well Jesus has been the making of me, that’s just fact, and whatever vestiges of sin and the fall are still present in my life – and they are there for the observing – those are the work of the Spirit still to be done. Despite the efforts of people to compare my life with theirs, that can never be my practice. I am compared with me yesterday and me ten, twenty and thirty years ago and that is the only progress and comparison I can monitor. My rebirth into Christ was not a transaction of human origin; I was drawn by the Spirit into eternal life. That is my identity now and no one can or will take it away. I am Harold’s son but I am also an adopted son of Yahweh. This is my story, this is my song.
And what of the attacks still brought against the identity of Jesus? They haven’t changed in two thousand years. They are lame and tired, though His word still gives life and health to all who hear and believe. So who wins? JESUS, Lord of all.
Prayer:
Father, let me wrestle this to the ground every time it makes its appearance. Grant me assurance to look upon Your work with awe and certainty, for I have been brought into eternity by Your grace. I ask this in Jesus name, amen.
