At the inauguration of Jesus’ ministry in Luke (4:14-30), Jesus confronts us – me anyway – with too much. (Detailed discussion follows. One might want to skip to the application.)
Problem
In
the typical summary of this text, Jesus, having been well received in other
synagogues, comes to his home town of Nazareth and reads the prophetic text of
that sabbath (14-21), people complement him (22), he rebukes them over a
prophet not being accepted in his home town and gentiles being blessed instead
(23-27), and the people then try unsuccessfully to kill him (28-30). So, why did Jesus tell them off?
Exegetical
Comments
The
key to me is that a rather ambiguous text of verse 22 is usually translated
with a positive spin when the context calls for a negative interpretation.
Neutral
translation:
And all were bearing witness about him and wondering at the-coming-out-of-his-mouth words of grace, and saying, “Is not this the son of Joseph?”
Sample positive translation:
All spoke well of him and were amazed at the gracious words that came from his mouth. They said, "Is not this Joseph's son?" (NRSV)
There must be a reason that prompted Jesus to tell them off right after this report of verse 22. He had just a read a messianic, end-time prophetic word to them from Isaiah 61:1-2a:
The spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me, because the LORD has anointed me; he has sent me to bring good news to the oppressed, to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and release to the prisoners; to proclaim the year of the LORD's favor ( NRSV).
Then, when all eyes were fixed on him, he said these incredible words, “Today, this scripture has been fulfilled in your ears.” Their response is in verse 22. So, let’s look at the text in context more closely.
1) “Bearing witness about X” does not necessarily mean a positive witness.
2) “Wondering/marveling'” can be in a good or bad sense.
3) “Words of grace” may be an adjectival genitive (“gracious words,” so with NRSV, NIV, NET), but objective genitive also makes sense to me here (“words about/concerning grace/favor” as in Acts 20:32).
a. Since Jesus has just read a messianic, forward-looking text from Isaiah, and with prophetic-like authority then pronounced those words as fulfilled “today” and in their presence (“their ears”) – that is, indicating himself – I think the phrase points to those words and his self-application and not to some gracious manner of speaking.
4) In Luke, Jesus’ opponents sometimes ask rhetorical questions to make a point; and, the question with ouxi (“not”) expects an affirmative response that Jesus is indeed the son of Joseph.
5) It is well recognized that in Luke and Acts that the word “today” points to something new happening in divine activity (see NET translators note at Lk 2:11).
6) Again, most importantly, Jesus has just made an outrageous self-claim of a prophetic promise being fulfilled in their midst; that is, the “words about God’s grace/favor” of Isaiah about a new divine activity in the future applied to himself!
Putting it all together, the sense of the text (v 22) is:
And they all bore witness concerning him and they demurred about the words of [self] favor that came out of his [own] mouth. And they said, "Isn't this [just] Joseph's son?"
Application:
Jesus’
self-claim was too much for them. His
home town folk of Nazareth were rejecting him and his claim rather sarcastically
in verse 22. I have been thinking about
how Jesus’ is too much: the one anointed by God’s Spirit, pronouncing
forgiveness of sin as if he were God, calming a storm, claiming to be life and
light, saying that we must abide in him, etc.
It is too much. To paraphrase
C.S. Lewis, Jesus was either an egomaniacal lunatic, or Jesus was an
authoritarian con-man, or – well, it’s too much. If it is true, my worldview must change. I must give myself over to his claims. I must submit to them, to him.
Jesus, I accept your claims. Please open
my eyes and heart to fully accept your claims and respond obediently to them just
as fully. Amen.
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