Holy Boldness

As the mob reached the pinnacle of the cliff, the scriptures read plainly, “But passing through their midst, He went His way.” (v.30) Jesus was under the authority of the Spirit and the word, therefore, when violent men tried to apprehend Him, He slipped through their hands just as He would eventually slip out of the hands of death. “ Death could not hold Him.” (Acts 2:24) He could not be controlled by men because He was under the authority of another. In another altercation, Jesus would tell the Pharisees, “No sign would be given but the sign of Jonah.” (Matt. 12:38) What was the sign of Jonah? Escape from death! Every person who seeks to step into his or her destiny will face opposition and challenges, maybe even death threats. In many countries of the world, a commitment to Jesus often does include a serious threat of death. At such moments, we, the people of God must be in complete agreement and faith about our personal destiny. This must become the way of a people who walk in the fear of the Lord, “passing through their midst, they went their way.” Jesus’ life must become our example. One of the great failures of the church is its tendency to be controlled by the fear of rejection and the expectations of friends and family. Jesus reveals how the fear of the Lord governed His mind so that He would not be turned from His assignment. Jesus walked right through the angry crowd and so must we! Jesus’ life demonstrates the authority of one who is totally sub mitted to the will of God. Jesus had learned through the fear of the Lord to live under the complete authority of another and therefore not to be stopped by anything or anyone else. The fear of the Lord helps establish the courage and authority to press through when everything is against us. Under whose authority are you? Many believers today are driven or hindered by people’s expectations and false obligations. Jesus shows what it means to be guided and governed by the Lord and His word. The church must follow Him through the crowd in the fear of the Lord. In this encounter in Nazareth Jesus created the platform for His ministry in three ways: 1.He declared His life mission as a fulfillment of prophetic scriptures. 2.He defended His mission in the context of His hometown without succumbing to familial pressure. 3.He established His mission by passing through the threat of death.

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