Wednesday, 13 March Luke 4:14-44
Written by Dr Graham Leo. ©2019.
Well! With today’s reading, it has all started in earnest now. Do you notice what is happening?
Up till now, Luke has been taking us through all of these marvellous events, all predicted in old prophecies. There have been visits from angels, strange portents in the sky, a priest struck dumb for not believing, old words written on scrolls being remembered… There have been strange encounters in the temple, old men and women who muttered strange words and laughed with sheer joy over the new baby.
As one who loves to read old stories, I recognise the signs. This is like (but much better than!) the old pagan myths. There we find signs and wonders, too; gods who die and rise again, like Adonis, the source of life, who died and rose again after three days; stories like that of the Norse God Odin, who hung on the Tree of Life, the World Tree, for nine days, ‘sacrificing himself to himself’, whose side was pierced with a spear and who emerged from that ordeal with the revelation of the runic words of wisdom.
But those myths and stories were not the real thing. Not like the Jewish prophecies, the words of the One, the true God. Those ancient stories were like the winds from a world beyond this world, bringing a whisper of truth to come, as C. S. Lewis wrote in a letter that I read this very morning, while thinking about today’s reflection.
Luke has gathered for us all, the threads from the old Jewish story, has run them through the sieve of his scholarship and what remained has been this birth. This Divine Word. His birth was challenged on every side. His mission was challenged by the highest power of rebellious evil. There were words spoken against him, antilogia on every side.
Now all that introductory material is over. Luke has shown his careful scholarship in his research of the beginnings of this Man, this God, this God-Man. Now, he says, Let the Games begin!
So this section – it should be in a chapter all of its own, not tucked away at the end of another story – is all about how, now that this child has become a man, the work of God is beginning. As you read this passage, hear the trumpets high on the ramparts, pennants fluttering from their golden shafts, sounding the blast of the Royal Approach.
Jesus comes to his home town – he comes home for this great moment. He goes to the synagogue and is given the scroll to read (vv17-19). In formal Anglican terms, he is asked to bring the Reading of the Lesson for today. The reading is Isaiah. He turns to Chapter 61 and reads the first two verses. But he stops before he gets to the end of the second verse. (Of course, there weren't verses in those days – they’re a medieval invention.)
Thus Jesus announces his mission. That which was prophesied by Isaiah is being fulfilled. In v21, he makes the most momentous announcement of all time.
Forget all about, “It is my melancholy duty to tell you that this nation is at war with Germany”. Forget all about, “Four score and seven years ago…”. Forget all about “We shall fight them on the beaches”. …
Jesus says: “The spirit of the Lord is upon me…” – and nothing has ever been the same again. That which was promised has at last come. The curse of the thorns and weeds will be lifted. The pain of bearing children will be assuaged. The bone-aching grief of death will be transformed into a cry of good cheer, of hope and of celebration.
Surely we must read this short passage with a sense of quickening excitement. It’s like the whispered message, delivered with shining eyes, “Aslan is on the move!”
It’s like the crowds dancing in the streets after the Great Proclamation: “The tyrant is dead! The war is over! It's Peace! Peace! Peace, at last!”.
And then, Luke rushes on to show us just how this will be accomplished.
First there is another of the promised antilogia, the words spoken against him. His home crowd don't believe him. They try to kill him. Never expect to be treated well by those with whom you have lived a long time. The home crowd will always turn on you.
But after the antilogion, which he escapes with ease – as though they could kill him now! – after that, comes the routing of the enemy forces. Luke tells one event in detail, just for an example (vv33-5) but then he tells us of the wholesale rout that is to come in vv36-7.
But not only is Jesus tossing out the rebels and the traitors. He is also sharing his words of wisdom, learned at the throne of God himself. People are amazed at his teaching. It had authority.
And then, after routing the rebellious hordes, and teaching the people in sweet words of life, he starts the ministry for which he is renowned. He heals the sick.
Oh, I know we still live with sickness today! I know that well. I care for my wife who has suffered with multiple myeloma, a presently-incurable cancer, for seven years; we live in the shadow of chemotherapy and pain every single day. But the healing of the sick accompanied the announcement of the kingdom. It was the Royal Gift, given out liberally in promise of what is to come when the Kingdom is fulfilled. It’s still occasionally handed out, today, where the kingdom breaks in anew, but not universally, Not Yet.
In the last few verses of this chapter, Luke introduces the rest of the story. The people want Jesus to stay with them, but he goes on, from place to place, bringing the good news (the Gospel) of the kingdom with him.
And all the signs of that kingdom – healing, casting out of evil spirits, teaching of wisdom – they will occur everywhere that this Divine Man will travel. Luke will take us with him, right up to the day that this God-Man will hang on the cross, sacrificing himself to himself within the mysteries of the Incarnation and the Trinity, and rise again from the dead.
Prayer: Lord Jesus Christ, I bow my head and accept your Lordship. I hear your words, as you announce your mission, and I recognise you as the Lord, the Messiah who was promised and who was to come. I, too, will follow you all the days of my life. I, too, will listen to your words of wisdom, and obey them. I, too, will work to clear away the voices of the rebels, the wicked ones, who try to deny you and your miraculous story. Grant me the grace to be faithful to the end. In your power and grace, Amen.
