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“Fill Our Wounds with Healing”
Luke 4: 21-30
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Today, we journey to Nazareth, the hometown of Jesus, a place where familiarity bred contempt. In Luke 4:21-30, we witness a poignant moment: Jesus, the local carpenter, returns to his roots, brimming with the Spirit and a message of hope. Yet, instead of acclaim, he encounters a chilling rejection, a hometown hero cast as an enemy. This passage, filled with the sting of disappointment, offers a profound reflection on the human condition.
The Text
C.S. Lewis: The Lion and the Lamb
The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe” is the first book from the series of “The Chronicles of Narnia.”by C.S. Lewis, the beloved author. This book provides us with not only a wonderful story but also true insight into the life of faith. I am reading a passage from this book, where Aslan, the lion, is described as more than just another character; he is the Christ figure in this story.
The Pevensie siblings are in the land of Narnia, and the evil witch is out to catch them. The native Narnians, the beavers have just told these siblings that only Aslan can save them. Susan the second eldest of the siblings asks, “who is Aslan?”. And Mr. Beaver speaks of Aslan in this way:
“He’ll put all to right as it says in an old rhyme in these parts:- Wrong will be right, when Aslan comes in sight, At the sound of his roar, sorrows will be no more, When he bears his teeth, winter meets its death and when he shakes his mane, we shall have spring again.”
“Is – is he a man? Asked Lucy?
“Aslan a man! Said Mr. Beaver sternly. “Certainly not. I tell you he is the King of the wood and the son of the great Emperor-Beyond-the-Sea. Don’t you know who is the king of beasts? Aslan is a lion – the great lion.”
“Ooh!” said Susan, “I’d thought he was a man. Is he – quite safe? I shall feel rather nervous about meeting a lion.”
“That you will, dear, and no mistake,” said Mrs. Beaver, “if there’s anyone who can appear before Aslan without their knees knocking, they’re either braver than most or else just silly.”
“Then he isn’t safe?” Said Lucy, the youngest of the Pevensie siblings.
“Safe?” Said Mr. Beaver. “Don’t you hear what Mrs. Beaver tells you? Who said anything about safe? ‘Course he isn’t safe. Be he’s good. He’s the King, I tell you.”
Here we have C.S. Lewis’s description of Jesus as a lion, a lion who roars, bares his teeth at evil, and is not safe. We do not often hear Jesus described this way, but it is still an accurate and helpful portrayal. It goes along well with our gospel reading from Luke, this morning. In our reading, Jesus just sat down and announced that he was God’s chosen one to save God’s world. The people were amazed but immediately began to question and doubt. One little question in verse 22 gives them away. People asked, “Is not this Joseph’s son?”
Jesus had just proclaimed the in-breaking of the kingdom of God. But the people found it difficult to believe that this hometown boy could be the saviour of the nations. Jesus anticipated their next challenge when he countered in verse 23, “Doubtless you will quote to me this proverb, ‘Doctor, cure yourself!’ And you will say, ‘Do here also in your hometown the things that we have heard you did at Capernaum.'” Jesus saw that the people would want proof. They wanted signs and miracles.
In a lionlike manner, Jesus confronted the people with their own weak faith. He did not offer to indulge them by performing a few quick miracles. Instead, he reminded them of what God did through two of their prophets long ago.
The Challenge of Familiarity and the Invitation to Healing
Jesus spoke of the prophets Elijah and Elisha. Rejected by his own nation, the prophet Elijah was led by God to perform a miracle outside the boundaries of God’s chosen people. Even though there were many in need at home, it was a foreigner, a widow at Zarephath, who was ministered to by Elijah (1 Kings 17). We find the same sort of thing when we turn to the story of the prophet Elisha. Naaman, a leper and a foreigner, sought out Elisha to be healed (2 Kings 5:1-15). There were lepers in Israel, but this outsider had the faith to seek out Elisha.
Jesus’ reference to these two prophets was a challenge and critique of his listeners that day in the synagogue. Jesus was recognizing their weak faith for what it was. He was comparing them to the stubborn people of Elijah and Elisha’s day. He was announcing that his ministry would go outside the boundaries of God’s chosen people. Jesus’ ministry would be for Jew and Gentile alike.
The people got angry. Instead of responding in repentance and faith, the people became violent. Look at verses 28 & 29. “They got up, drove him out of town, and led him to the brow of the hill on which their town was built, so that they might hurl him off the cliff.” Jesus managed to escape this murderous crowd. Verse 30 says, “He passed through the midst of them.” Again, in a lionlike manner, Jesus would not be controlled or defeated but proved far stronger than the angry mob. The time would come when he would face suffering and death, but it would be at a time of God’s own choosing.
Jesus is More than a Conquerer
This passage shows us that, like Aslan the lion, no one is safe with Jesus. By this, I mean that Jesus is out to change us into what God meant us to be. In the synagogue that day, Jesus could have smoothed things over by performing a few quick miracles and downplaying God’s plan to bring good news to all people. This would have made his listeners feel safe. Their lives would not have to change much. Jesus would then have been fairly easy to understand and accept. People would have felt safe, but they would not have been saved. They would have still been trapped in their weak faith and their selfish goals.
Jesus was strong enough to cut through this. His ministry was to the whole world, the poor, the sick, the oppressed, and the outsider. Despite the opposition of his own hometown, he remained true to his ministry. And because he was true to his calling, his people would not be safe but they would be saved.
Luke makes this clear at the end of his gospel, when Jesus goes to the cross. This is according to God’s plan. With lionlike faith, Jesus submitted himself to the humiliation and pain of the cross even though he was an innocent man. We are not safe with Jesus. He comes to change us. He has changed us by his death and resurrection. Neither are we safe as we too stand at the foot of the cross. We come face-to-face with what our human fear and pride can do. By the cross, he has revealed our greed, our fear, and our blindness only to raise up in us repentance and new faith.
Beyond Rejection: The Healing Power of Grace
But the story doesn’t end with rejection. Jesus, the Lion, is also the Lamb, the healer of wounds. He came not just to confront our sin but to offer forgiveness and restoration. He came to bind up the brokenhearted, to set the captives free, and to proclaim liberty to the captives (Isaiah 61:1).
In Nazareth, though met with rejection, Jesus embodies the very message he proclaimed. He offers healing to the broken spirits of his hometown, inviting them to experience the transformative power of God’s grace.
Contemporary Applications
This story of Jesus’ rejection in Nazareth resonates deeply with us today. How often do we, like the people of Nazareth, resist the unfamiliar,
The story of Jesus’ rejection in Nazareth serves as a powerful reminder of the human capacity for both love and rejection. But it also offers a profound message of hope and healing. Jesus, the Lion and the Lamb, came not only to confront our sin but also to offer healing, forgiveness, and restoration. By embracing his grace and following his example, we can become instruments of healing in our own lives and in the world around us. Amen!