As a missionary driven by the Abrahamic covenant, my passion lies in seeing all nations blessed through the gospel of Jesus Christ. Recently, I’ve been preparing to teach on the topic of missions, and I’ve been reflecting on the inauguration of Jesus’ ministry. What strikes me most is just how offensive Jesus’ ministry was to the Jews of his day. From the very beginning, Jesus made it known that he was the Messiah not just for the Jewish nation, as they expected, but for the whole world, including the Gentiles. This message was so radical, so contrary to their expectations, that it was, in essence, incendiary.
The Nazareth Synagogue
The story in Luke 4 illustrates this perfectly. Jesus returned to his hometown of Nazareth and, in the synagogue, read from the prophet Isaiah: “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor”. Initially, the people were receptive, marveling at the gracious words that came from his mouth. They were excited by the possibility that Jesus was the long-awaited Messiah.
However, their enthusiasm quickly turned to doubt. They questioned, “Is not this Joseph’s son?”. The familiarity they had with Jesus, knowing him since he was a child, created skepticism. They struggled to reconcile the idea of the Messiah with someone they perceived as a local boy.
Sensing their skepticism, Jesus challenged them. He alluded to an old proverb, “Physician, heal yourself,” implying their demand for proof. They wanted him to perform miracles in his hometown, just as they had heard he had done in Capernaum. In essence, they were asking, “Show us that you are the Messiah”.
Prioritizing Ministry to Gentiles
Jesus’ response was deliberately provocative. He declared, “Truly, I say to you, no prophet is acceptable in his hometown”. He then recounted stories of Elijah and Elisha, highlighting instances where these prophets ministered to Gentiles rather than Israelites. Elijah was sent to a widow in Zarephath in the land of Sidon, not to the many widows in Israel. Elisha cleansed Naaman the Syrian leper, not the many Jewish lepers.
These examples were not mere historical anecdotes; they were a direct challenge to the Jewish expectation that the Messiah would prioritize Israel. Jesus was asserting that God’s favor extended beyond the chosen people to include Gentiles.
A Message Worth Killing Over
The reaction was immediate and violent. The people in the synagogue were filled with wrath. They drove him out of the town and attempted to throw him off a cliff. This drastic shift from admiration to attempted murder reveals the depth of their rejection of Jesus’ message.
They could not tolerate the idea of a Messiah who would minister to Gentiles. Their ethnocentric worldview blinded them to the true nature of Jesus’ mission. They wanted a Messiah who would reinforce their national pride and deliver them from Roman oppression, not one who would extend God’s grace to all peoples.
The fact that they were willing to kill him over this message underscores just how incendiary it was. It challenged their core beliefs about their identity, their relationship with God, and their place in the world.
Implications for Today
This account raises important questions for us today. How would we respond if Jesus were to come in our context for the first time? Would we have preconceived notions about what he should look like or how he should act? Would we be willing to accept him if he challenged our cultural norms or political ideologies?
If Jesus were to walk among us for a couple of weeks here in our North American context, I imagine there would be a number of us who would want to crucify him at the end of two weeks as well. The ministry of Jesus is radical, and the fact that he was willing from the very beginning to stick his neck out for the peoples of all nations is something that we can give thanks for.
As PassionLife goes out into areas where abortion rates are high, we use the platform of abortion and the sanctity of human life as a place from which to proclaim the goodness and the excellencies and the reconciliation that is in Christ to God the Father for all peoples of the earth. These are wonderful practical common ways that we can find a flashoint with culture and use them as a way to proclaim the excellencies of the gospel of Jesus Christ who died to reconcile us rising again to write reconcile us to God the Father. It is a gospel-driven ministry.
A Gospel-Driven Ministry
The babies and the women and men we care deeply about. The thing that we care most deeply about is the gospel of Jesus Christ and making him known in all places by all peoples. That is something that animates us.
Just as the Jews of Jesus’ day struggled with the idea of a Messiah for all people, we too may have blind spots that prevent us from fully embracing the inclusive nature of the gospel. We must be willing to examine our own hearts and ask whether we are truly open to the radical message of Jesus, a message that transcends national, ethnic, and cultural boundaries.
Call to Action
Therefore, I invite you to join us in prayer for the nations. Pray for ta ethne, the peoples of the earth, as PassionLife is sent out into these areas where abortion rates are high. This is our ministry. Pray with us. Pray for the nations.