15th January 2021
No turning back
“He was teaching in their synagogues, and everyone praised him…All the people in the synagogue were furious when they heard this. They got up, drove him out of the town, and took him to the brow of the hill…in order to throw him off the cliff.”
Luke 4:15, 28-29 (NIVUK)
As Jesus began his public ministry teaching in the synagogues, he gained a certain notoriety and was praised for his teaching. After his first recorded sermon in the synagogue at Nazareth, ‘All spoke well of him and were amazed at the gracious words that came from his lips.’ (v. 22). Yet by the end of his teaching the people in the synagogue were angry at what they heard and wanted to kill him, but why?
Jesus had just recounted the story of Elijah and the widow of Zarephath implying that salvation is not limited to the children of Abraham, but is for the Gentiles too, for he is the Saviour of the world. When the people grasped the implication of what he was saying their admiration turned to fury and they tried to kill him.
A similar incident happened later in Jesus’s life when he entered Jerusalem on Palm Sunday, and the crowds were full of praise for him shouting, ‘Hosanna!’ ‘Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!’ (John 12:13). Yet by the end of the week the people were yelling ‘crucify him’ and he was put to death.
People at both the beginning of Jesus’s public ministry and in the final days of his life, were fickle. Their cheers soon turned to jeers, because they had only a superficial acceptance and acknowledgement of him. But how about you and me? How committed are we to Jesus?
The Christian chorus, I have decided to follow Jesus, thought to have originated in India from the last words of a man called Nokseng, as he and his family were killed for their faith, puts into song the Christian commitment:
I have decided to follow Jesus…no turning back, no turning back.
Though none go with me, I still will follow…no turning back, no turning back.
The world behind me, the cross before me…no turning back, no turning back.
How committed are we to Jesus? Do we share the same commitment as Nokseng? – No turning back!
Prayer
Father, Jesus was faithful to death, even death on a cross. May his faithfulness enable us to remain faithful and to never turn back from him.
Amen.
Study by Barry Robinson
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About the Writer:
Barry Robinson is an Elder and part of the National Ministry Team directing Grace Communion International in the UK and Ireland. He is also a pastoral worker in the South of England, particularly the Camberwell and North London congregations of Grace Communion International.
Local Congregation:
Grace Communion International Camberwell
The Salvation Army Hall
105 Lomond Grove
Camberwell
LONDON
SE5 7HN
Meeting Time:
Saturday 11 am
Local Congregational Contact:
Barry Robinson
Email: camberwell@gracecom.church