Holy Boldness

Then He defended His unwillingness to minister at home by referencing the ministries of Elijah and Elisha who both were led to minister to individuals outside of Israel. And he said, “…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, and Elijah was sent to none of them but only to Zarephath, in the land of Sidon, to a woman who was a widow. 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.” When they heard these things, all in the synagogue were filled with wrath. (Luke 4:24-28) When Jesus refused to appease local hopes, an offense arose among the people. He laid out this standard clearly, abruptly, and unmistakably. Like His temptation in the wilderness, Jesus was pressured and tempted to make a name for himself through some “sign” among His relatives. But Jesus never performed a miracle to appease the curious . Later he would declare, “An evil and adulterous generation seek after a sign.” (Matthew 16:4) He did not come into the world to prove Himself to people (this is very important to understand), but to carry out the desires of His father. The proving would be established in the doing. Jesus stayed on His course. Family expectations create powerful undercurrents. There really is no place harder to walk in one’s destiny than among family and friends. Here was an opportunity for potential compromise that Jesus’ temp tations in the wilderness anticipated. And He received a very negative response for holding His ground. In some respects, Jesus may have seemed overly harsh with His relatives. But actually it reveals how dramatic family influences can be. Jesus did not mess around with false obligations. He rebuked sternly and unquestionably. It might have seemed counterproductive to call out the hometown expectations so dramatically. But it was a decisive initiatory strike. He knew what He came to do. He would not be deterred. Some of Jesus’ strongest statements were directed to those nearest to Him who tried to deter Him from His objective. Popularity has its advantages and disadvantages. Jesus drove a stake in the ground and secured and settled His identity and purpose through the fear of the Lord.

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