Rēad to Read …Again
Daily Reading: Luke 4-5
Luke 4:30
But he passing through the midst of them went his way,
Not today boys! No, those words are not recorded in Scripture, but they sure do paint a picture. And, yes, there are other perhaps greater theological truths that could be written about from Luke chapter four. But for all those who love the drama of a strong man facing down the mob of would-be killers, consider the Lord’s actions on that far away hillside in Galilee.
The horde of blood thirsty ne’er-do-wells wanted to cast Jesus off the brow of the hill headlong. This would most definitely have resulted in the Messiah’s death. His head would hit the rocks as his body hurled down that steep place. Why? Why did they want to kill Him? Because He told them inconvenient truths that challenged their status. What was the truth that Jesus related? He reminded them of the time wherein God withheld rain in Israel for three and a half years causing a great famine. In that time God, through Elijah, was only sent to one widow to save her. She was a heathen in a heathen (Gentile) city. Also, with all the lepers in Israel in the days of Elisha only one was healed of the leprosy, a Gentile called Naaman.
This they could not tolerate. They had to eliminate Him from their presence for such nonsense could not be spoken. After all, they were Hebrews, Jewish, God’s chosen people. How could one of their own from Galilee speak of such horrendous things. So, they led him up to the precipice to cast him down headlong.
But He said, in essence, “Not today boys” and passed through them and went on His way. What the mob couldn’t see, what they didn’t know, what they never thought about was that it was not His time to die. That would come later. But that was not the day. He ultimately had to go to Jerusalem, be betrayed, beaten, tried, and crucified. If they were successful in killing the Lord on that day by casting Him off that brow of the hill the entire Bible would be destroyed. He would not be arrested in Jerusalem, betrayed by a friend, examined by the priest, nor would any of the other prophecies about His death have been fulfilled. His being stabbed by the spear, the gall to drink, the casting of lots for His clothing, none of this. Yet, all that had to happen to fulfill the Scriptures.
Even later in this fourth chapter of Luke He said to them in verse 43: …I must preach the kingdom of God to other cities also: for therefore am I sent. If they had been successful in killing Him by throwing Him off the mountain, the Word of God would be shattered, ended. This could not happen. So, Jesus just passed by them and continued on His path to Glory via the cross.
No doubt, that eternal enemy of Christ was at work that day, working through the mob, in an attempt to ruin all that God planned for His Son. But it was not to be; Not today boys!
Dr. William T. Howe
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