No Throwing

DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL OF LUKE

NO THROWING

Luke 4:22-30

22 All spoke well of him and were amazed at the gracious words that came from his lips. "Isn't this Joseph's son?" they asked. 23 Jesus said to them, "Surely you will quote this proverb to me: 'Physician, heal yourself! Do here in your hometown what we have heard that you did in Capernaum.'"  24 "I tell you the truth," he continued, "no prophet is accepted in his hometown. 25 I assure you that there were many widows in Israel in Elijah's time, when the sky was shut for three and a half years and there was a severe famine throughout the land. 26 Yet Elijah was not sent to any of them, but to a widow in Zarephath in the region of Sidon. 27 And there were many in Israel with leprosy in the time of Elisha the prophet, yet not one of them was cleansed — only Naaman the Syrian."  28 All the people in the synagogue were furious when they heard this. 29 They got up, drove him out of the town, and took him to the brow of the hill on which the town was built, in order to throw him down the cliff. 30 But he walked right through the crowd and went on his way.

NIV

Once again we have to take a rather large amount of scripture in order to get the full picture, the full truth with which to apply as a life lesson. The first thing we are told is that all the people, not some, but all of them spoke well of him and were amazed at the gracious words that came from his lips, until of course, he slams them with truth about themselves. Here is our life lesson in a nutshell. As long as Jesus was speaking gracious words everyone liked him and spoke well of him, but as soon as he revealed what was in their hearts, they wanted to kill him. This is a double sided life lesson. First it could apply to how people act toward us, and secondly how we act toward others. People may speak well of us as long as we use gracious words. It is interesting in that the Greek word translated gracious is ‘charis’ which is defined as the divine influence upon a heart and how that is reflected in a life. Jesus was certainly all that, but then so are we if we are believers. But it can also be used as an act or manner of graciousness which might be the application here, except his words are a reflection of his manner. Yet as long as we speak graciously, people will like us and speak well of us, but let us speak too much of the truth especially that which would speak about their sins, and they may well take on an attitude of wanting to throw us off a cliff. Of course in our society that kind of action would not happen, but an ill-tempered attitude might well set in and the next thing we know, we are being shunned. Secondly all that was just said can apply to us. We might encounter someone whom we like very much because of the gracious words they speak, and perhaps even about us. But if they proceed to tell us too much truth about our sins, we might chance our attitude about them and no longer speak well of them, but shun them, even speaking against them. The point is not too many people want to hear the truth concerning the condition of their heart, which can include us, unless we learn to open our hearts to Jesus. When we hear that kind of truth and we think John or Mary really should be here to listen to it, we have closed our hearts to the truth. But if we hear this sort of truth and allow it to speak directly to us, we do well.  We should make sure no one is thrown off the cliff.