“I
assure you that there were many widows in Israel in Elijah’s time, …Yet Elijah
was not sent to any of them, but to a woman in Zarephath in the region of Sidon”
(Luke 4:25-26, NIV).
Jesus
taught in the synagogue at Nazareth were He had been raised. There he read an
Old Testament passage and declared to the people there that He himself was the
fulfillment of that prophecy. While the people were amazed at His gracious
words, they also had another deeper issue.
Mark 6:1-6 reveals that while they were giving assent to his words and
even admitting that He had performed miracles, their hearts were far from
believing that He was the Chosen One of God.
They
murmured “Isn’t this the carpenter? Isn’t this Mary’s son, and the brother of
James, Joseph, Judas and Simon? Aren’t his sisters here with us? And they took
offense at him.”Jesus
could not do miracles there and he was amazed “because of their unbelief.”
Jesus
strongly reprimanded 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. I tell you the truth,…”no prophet is accepted in his hometown”(Luke
4:23).
Boldly,
Jesus reproves those Jews that were rejecting Him. This was not the first time
they had denied a messenger of God. There
were many widows in Israel during Elijah’s day but none were chosen because of
their unbelief. One who lived outside the covenant and promises given to Israel
housed the prophet because she had more faith than they did.
These
were scandalous words to Jesus’ audience.
With great rage they drove Him out of town and would have thrown Him off
a cliff had he not used His power to simply walk through them. It was not time
to kill Jesus. The Jewish offence would increase until they ultimately
crucified Him. Unfortunately, only a handful of Israel would find faith in Him.
This
event looked forward to the great time when the Gentiles would convert to God
in faith while a majority of the Jews turned away.
Today
we may find ourselves in a similar condition.
Those who have long known Jesus may have grown cold only to find someone
with less background more vibrant and faith-filled than they are. Our Western
culture that has had Christianity and has largely rejected it may discover that
people of other nations may be putting us to shame in their dedication to
Christ, and also in receiving miracles because of their greater faith.
Will
we find ourselves rejecting Christ, or being commended in faith like the widow
of Elijah’s time?
