Rev Gav
Bombshell
Luke 4:20-21
20 He rolled up the scroll, handed it back to the attendant, and sat down. All eyes in the synagogue looked at him intently. 21 Then he began to speak to them. “The Scripture you’ve just heard has been fulfilled this very day!”
Reflect
Jesus was teaching in the synagogue and he had just read the set reading for the day from the prophet Isaiah. This was a prediction about the Messiah and what the Messiah was going to come and do, and once he had read it he did the most unexpected thing. With everyone’s eyes fixed on him, he said words that would change history forever, saying, “The prediction has come true today. Yes, it’s me!”
Can you imagine being in the congregation that day? You are expecting a traditional (and possibly boring) sermon and instead Jesus says, “Take note that today you’ve tuned-in to hear, God’s word is fulfilled right now right here!” I wonder if there was a stunned silence followed by a rising murmur as everyone started talking to each other?
We do not know if Jesus said anything else that day. Certainly, he had done lots of other teaching in synagogues across the region, and we know that people thought he was a great teacher, but with a one-sentence sermon, Jesus had just stepped over a line. He was not just saying he was a great teacher, but a whole lot more, and this would present a problem for his listeners. If he was just a teacher, then to make such a claim, he would also have to be a liar or mentally unstable, but Jesus did not come across as such, and how could someone so unhinged or devious be such a great teacher? But if he was the Messiah then it had unbelievable implications, not just for his listeners, but for the whole world, forever.
Do
Like those first listeners, you are faced with a choice that could change your life forever. Today, make the conscious decision that Jesus is not deceived or deluded, but deity.
Pray
Holy God
I believe in your Son, Jesus Christ,
that he is a teacher, prophet and king.
I believe that he holds the key to life,
in this age and in the age to come.
Help me to trust and to follow him,
this day and for ever.
Amen.
Think
Imagine you were sitting in the congregation that day. How would you have reacted to Jesus’ bombshell of an announcement?