When the ministry of Jesus started to grow he went back to his hometown and visited the synagogue. Returning back home carries with it a lot of expectations. In Luke 4:14-30, we see that it’s no different for Jesus. They’ve known him his whole life, and they’ve heard the stories about his work in Capernaum. The talk about him has started to spread. I imagine that on this day, the attendees expected to hear something to make it all make sense. Jesus did just that, but it wasn’t what they were expecting. It wasn’t what they wanted to hear.
It’s tempting to focus on the fact that Jesus is rejected by his hometown. These people knew him growing up and they’re having trouble seeing him as anything other than the carpenter’s son. This is a relatable experience. Many of us surpassed the expectations people had for us. Focusing on this part of the story is valid, but it’s low hanging fruit. Surpassed expectations don’t cause a whole group of people to suddenly become so enraged that they try to throw one of their own off a cliff. There’s more to it than just that.
Jesus edits out vengeance
Jesus challenges their understanding of how God will deal with their enemies. We can see this in the text he chose and where he stops reading. The text he read continues on to say, “and the day of vengeance of our God.” Jesus, who was led by the Holy Spirit, stops reading mid-sentence before the text talks about God’s vengeance. This edit is an interesting commentary by itself. Not only were the scriptures full of vengeance against enemies, but the crowd Jesus is speaking to also had real enemies who were causing pain and suffering. People likely consoled themselves with the parts of Scripture that talk about vengeance. The way Jesus intentionally left this part out probably felt like a personal correction.
As people start to murmur and the conversation heats up, Jesus cuts to the point. He talks about events in their history when God helped people of other nations over their own. He mentions the healing of Naaman, a military official who had invaded Israel and took one of their women as his own wife. Elisha healed this man instead of one of the many lepers in Israel. The underlying idea here is that God responds to everyone and is welcoming of everyone who calls out to God. People of all times and places have tried to gatekeep God’s acceptance, who can speak about God, or what those messages are supposed to say. Jesus uses their own history to illustrate the fact that God does not acknowledge their gatekeeping. God will do what God will do.
Jesus and the gatekeepers
Jesus tells them his mission through his choice of Scripture. He reads a description of the messiah and what the messiah will do—prioritize the marginalized people. Marginalized people were not part of the hierarchical structure and they were not important. Some saw their marginalization as an indicator of sin. That would mean their situation is really their own fault.
This crowd, probably every religious person at this time, had beliefs about who the messiah would be and what he would do. They probably assumed they knew who would be rewarded for their faith (them). Jesus claims to be the messiah and tells them who he is called to minister to (the poor and marginalized). Jesus is crushing beliefs that this crowd holds dear. This is where the energy to throw him off a cliff is coming from.
The gatekeepers have the power and influence to decide who’s in or out. You don’t need much power. Jesus isn’t talking to members of the Roman government here, this is just a group of men in his hometown. In that context, they were the people with power. The poor and the marginalized don’t have the power to change their place in society. They’re at the mercy of those in power. Jesus is called to minister to the marginalized, to the outsider, this is his priority. Structural power is diluted without helpless and voiceless people.
Led by the Holy Spirit
This passage tells us that Jesus was led by the Holy Spirit. We have access to this same leading, guiding, counseling spirit as we go about our life and ministry. We don’t know if Jesus in his incarnational humanity needed the Spirit to connect him to God’s guidance, or whether he chose to connect to God for guidance to model this for us. Either way, we see hope and instruction here. Hope because there were gatekeepers that tried to keep Jesus confined to their expectations. There’s instruction for us here as well. Jesus received his call to ministry when he received the holy spirit. We also need to maintain our relationship to God and the Spirit so that we have ears to hear God’s call in our lives, whether or not that call is within a paid ministry job.
We also see here that God didn’t consult or abide by the gatekeeper’s rules. There might be gatekeepers who tell you your ministry isn’t valid even though you’re sure God has called you. Keep on cultivating that relationship with God and don’t let the gatekeepers deter you.
Who are the gatekeepers in your life?
How do they wield their power and how does this affect you?
Photo credit: by Kevin Lofthouse on Unsplash
Thanks.