Scripture
28When they heard this, the people in the synagogue were furious. 29Jumping up, they mobbed him and forced him to the edge of the hill on which the town was built. They intended to push him over the cliff, 30but he passed right through the crowd and went on his way. Luke 4:28-30
Observation
"Where does this guy get off telling us He’s the fulfillment of Isaiah’s prophetic description of the Messiah? Isn’t this Joseph’s son? I’ve known him for years. He helped his dad make some furniture for me. He scraped his knee when running by my shop with some of his friends a few years ago. What do you mean you won’t do any miracles here? You owe us. We practically raised you. Prove that what you say is true." Sadly, the only miracle Nazareth saw that day was Jesus disappearing in a crowd that was trying to throw Him off a cliff. The first sermon in His home town and Jesus clearly wasn’t reading the book “How To Win Friends And Influence People.” He wasn’t seeking approval from his hometown, He was making plain His mission. Jesus was there for those who actually knew they needed a Savior such as the poor, the brokenhearted, the captives, the blind, the oppressed. What happened here happened over and over again in the earthly ministry of Jesus. The only ones who actually saw Jesus as Savior were those who knew they needed one. The many who missed the Messiah standing right in front of them were those who were familiar with Him, those who felt they knew better than Him, those who were content to save themselves.
Application
Sadly, the phrase “familiarity breeds contempt” might explain why Jesus has disappeared from so many churches. How many times do we find ourselves in the middle of a crowded Christian gathering and Jesus is no where to be seen? Have we even noticed? We, like the folks in Nazareth, who have grown up in church around Jesus, have read the Bible through and through, can sing the worship songs without looking at the words can often look at Jesus as if we already know everything about Him. When we first came to the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ we couldn’t get enough of Him. We prayed all the time, we read the Bible with a voracious appetite, we went to every worship service we could find. Why? We were in love with the One who loved us unconditionally and died and rose to restore relationship with us! So, what happened? Did we fall out of love? Did we become familiar with our Savior? How is this possible when the depths of His love are without end? I read in Psychology Today: "In loving relationships that embrace emotional support and respect, familiarity produces a wonderful life. What we become accustomed to should become the focus of our attention. In relationships, the problem is not with familiarity, but more about that to which we're acclimating. For example, disrespectful, dishonoring, and negative energy all too often becomes familiar territory in relationships. These are the elements that cause contempt. Perhaps we'd be better off saying mediocrity or unhappiness breed contempt.” It’s well worn scenario of the married couple that stops dating and pursuing each other and just become two ship passing in the night, or rather, two people sharing the same the house. Is Jesus still our primary pursuit or have we chosen others? If Jesus has disappeared it’s not because He has stopped loving us, but rather we have stopped loving Him. Paul prays for the church in Ephesus, “18And may you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love is. 19May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God. (Ephesians 3:18-19) The Christians in Ephesus had started out in a passionate pursuit of Jesus, but by the time the Apostle John writes God’s message to that church in Revelation it’s clear Jesus has all but disappeared. Why? Jesus was no longer their first love. 4 “But I have this complaint against you. You don’t love me or each other as you did at first! 5Look how far you have fallen! Turn back to me and do the works you did at first. If you don’t repent, I will come and remove your lampstand from its place among the churches.” (Rev. 2:4-5)
Prayer
I repent Lord for where I have been working for You, but not working with You. Forgive me for the places where I have have pursued the work of the ministry instead of ministering to You and inviting You to minister to me. Everything I have to give flows from my relationship with You. I remember spending hours on my face, praying in my prayer language, just lingering in Your presence. I don’t want the only miracle that I see to be that somehow I can keep doing ministry without seeing You at all. I don’t want a form of godliness that denies the power. I don’t want to please the crowd or find followers instead of pleasing You and following Your lead. Forgive me allowing familiarity to turn into mediocrity in my relationship with You. I want my every day to be a new way I am plumbing the depths of Your endless love for me and those around me. Let me never get to a place where I forget how much I need You as My Savior.
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