SCRIPTURE: The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor. Luke 4:18-19 NIV
THOUGHT: As his first official act of ministry in his hometown, Jesus is asked to preach. He doesn’t get to choose the text — in those days there were specific texts chosen in advance, and this particular Sabbath, Isaiah 61:1-2 is the appointed text. Jesus reads it, then begins his sermon with a simple truth, “Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing (v. 21).”
At first, they are mesmerized by the carpenter-turned-preacher, but turns out he not only quotes prophesy, he speaks prophetically, and begins to tell them how they will treat him in days to come. How they will want his miracles but not his truth-telling. The adulation turns to aggravation, and they run him out of town and try to push him off a cliff.
That is the tragedy of truth-telling. You may have the greatest promises in the world: good news for the spiritually poor, freedom for the spiritual captive, restored vision for the spiritually blind, bondage-breaking for those trapped in spiritual legalism, and God’s favor for all who will come – but it doesn’t matter because when you start getting close to the uncomfortable truth for people who don’t want it, you will soon be in trouble.
SONG: More Than Anything https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B-8EL-ZvIO8
PRAYER: I’m grateful you didn’t come with people-pleasing, honey-dripping words, Jesus. I’ve had enough of those. Yes, the truth about me, and life, and God is sometimes hard, a lot harder than if you’d just give me the miracles I ask for, but I still want the truth because it will set me free.
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Blogger Amy Clemens is the author of Walking When You’d Rather Fly: Meditations on Faith After the Fall. In it she explores childhood sexual abuse and how it impacted her faith (or lack thereof) for four decades. You’ll find not only her story, but better yet, the Big Story of God.
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Amen…hard to say that to these words, but, amen.
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Agreed, Jerry. 😦
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