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.
Jesus saw through their words and pressed the point so much that they drove him out of the Synagogue.
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 off the cliff.
30 But he walked right through the crowd and went on his way.
Jesus
had to be almost objectionable to get this reaction, which was the true
state of their hearts. He did not allow what we often get from people:
"nice word pastor". He pushed past this and made people face up to their
real attitudes.
However in Capernaum the situation was different.
32 They were amazed at his teaching, because his words had authority.
This positive reaction was further enhanced after he drove the demon out of the man in the Synagogue.
36
All the people were amazed and said to each other, “What words these
are! With authority and power he gives orders to impure spirits and they
come out!” 37 And the news about him spread throughout the surrounding
area.
What would happen if we were to take this
example to ourselves? If we were as bold as Jesus surely the same
results would happen, news about Him would spread.
Are
we willing to expose ourselves to this degree of vulnerability by being
so direct with people as we share the good news of Jesus without
compromise.
I hope we are, because this is the
only was people are going to be challenged to turn their lives around
and follow Jesus. Nice sounding words will never achieve this result.
Only the truth spoken with boldness with a demonstration of the power of
the Holy Spirit will achieve the purposes of God.
…
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