Good News to One is not Good News to All



 “Jesus went to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, and on the Sabbath day he went into the synagogue, as was his custom. And he stood up to read. ¹⁷ The scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him. Unrolling it, he found the place where it is written:

"The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed, ¹⁹ to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor."

Then he rolled up the scroll, . .sat down . . . and he began by  . . "Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing." All spoke well of him and were amazed at the gracious words that came from his lips.

 But others asked, "Isn't this Joseph's son?" Jesus said to them, ". . . there were many in Israel with leprosy in the time of Elisha the prophet, yet not one of them was cleansed--only Naaman the Syrian."

The people in the synagogue were furious when they heard Jesus (affirming the non Jewish Naaman over his own people) ²⁹ They got up, drove him out of the town, and took him to the brow of the hill on which the town was built, in order to throw him down the cliff. ³⁰ But he walked right through the crowd and went on his way.                                         Luke 4:16-30  

 

What is good news to one is often not good news to another.   To those who were poor, or were prisoners or blind or oppressed, Jesus’ coming was great news.   To those who had something to lose, Jesus’ coming was bad news.  

In the Nazareth Synagogue the community leaders rightly noticed that when they tried to put him in his place Jesus came back at them comparing them to the “too proud for God” Israelites in Elijah’s day who were too hard hearted for God do any good work in them.  So they tried to get rid of him.   But they couldn’t.  

Throughout history there have always been Christians who have tried to free themselves from the Jesus of the Bible in order to preserve their own status quo in life.   How long did it take for Jesus to be heard on the issue of slavery?  

In what area of life are you and I prone to “push aside” the Jesus of the Bible in favor of maintaining a life that doesn’t want to be changed?

Lord, it must have been quite a scene.  All the religious leaders loving Jesus words of comfort for the poor, but hating his words of challenge to the comfortable.   Lord it seems you have come to comfort the afflicted and afflict the comfortable.    Yet both are expressions of your love.  Amen”