Reflective Bible Study

While we often time read this passage and focus in on the parable that it includes, we can learn a valuable truth from what is shared immediately before the parable is told.

In the conversation leading up to the parable, Jesus is told about a group of Galileans who were killed in a certain way. The implied question is whether they were worse sinners than others who had died. Jesus draws the question out into the open and then compares it to another accidental event where a tower fell and killed a number of people.

The big idea that I want to bring out from this passage comes from looking at these two death events. The first event was a “government” slaughter – the ruler chose to kill a group of people for whatever reason. The second event was a “natural” disaster – a tower fell down and killed a group of people.

What stands out to me in both these cases is that we don’t choose when we will die. Even those who have chosen to commit suicide don’t always “succeed”. Both these cases are situations where the people who died did not die from some act they chose to do. Instead, these deaths were thrust upon them from an outside source.

Which brings us to the big idea that is a theme running through these first few verses: Life is short, and we don’t choose when we’ll die. The bad that happens around us is a reminder to live a life that continually leans on God. That is the only way to ensure we’ll be saved for the life to come.

Something I find amazing about Jesus is that He seemed to switch between teaching, healing, and helping people to challenging them and practically pushing them away. This is probably most visible in an event that happens at the beginning of Jesus’ ministry.

While coming home to Nazareth, Jesus comes to the synagogue on Sabbath, and He is invited to speak. So Jesus pulls a prophecy from Isaiah and shares how it is being fulfilled in their midst.

The people in this synagogue were amazed and impressed by Jesus. “Everyone said good things about him. They were amazed at the gracious words they heard from his lips. ‘Isn’t this Joseph’s son?’ they asked.” (v. 22)

However, right at the moment when Jesus is receiving the most praise does the switch flip and He moves to challenging those present. Jesus continued by saying, “‘Here is a saying you will certainly apply to me. “Doctor, heal yourself!” And you will tell me this. “Do the things here in your hometown that we heard you did in Capernaum.” What I’m about to tell you is true,’ he continued. ‘A prophet is not accepted in his hometown.’” (v. 23-24)

Jesus begins by drawing them towards a truth about who He is. But when they miss the relevance that He is talking about Himself and not simply sharing a typical message like they had heard during other weeks from other teachers, He shifts to challenging them regarding the core idea: These people like Jesus, but they don’t think He is special or significant.

Perhaps the truth that we read about here speaks to our own human nature. The closer we get to someone, or the longer we have known an individual, the less impressed we are with them. While there may be moments of triumph, we will remember the past and both the ups and the downs.

These members of the Nazareth synagogue had watched Jesus grow up. They were among the closest to Jesus that a group of people could have been. But in their response, we see a key phrase that points us to what they really thought of Jesus: “Isn’t this Joseph’s son?” they comment among themselves.

This tells us that even though they may have heard rumors about Jesus’ virgin birth, most of them didn’t believe it. To this group of people, Jesus was simply the carpenter’s son and nothing more. He may have shared a great message, and there may be some amazing rumors circulating around about Him, but He is just a carpenter’s apprentice to them – not the Messiah, God’s Son.

Right at the moment that Jesus was receiving the greatest praise from men, He pushes them regarding who He truly is. Jesus starts with a compliment, but He ends with a challenging truth – and this challenge is one that you and I must answer for ourselves: Is Jesus God’s Son and promised Messiah or is He simply a carpenter’s apprentice and nothing more?

One of the amazing things Jesus always seemed to do is turn regular life events into powerful teaching moments. Whether it is from a question that someone in the crowd asks Him, or a challenge that a Pharisee or religious leader throws at Him, or even from something Jesus sees happening among His disciples, Jesus always has a perfect illustration for the occasion.

It is no different with the event that we’re looking at in this journal entry. Whether Jesus had this illustration waiting for an opportunity to share, or whether God inspired Him in the moment with a powerful truth for those listening, Jesus turns a simple message into a powerful teaching moment.

The crowd was extra thick on that day, and Jesus’ family came because they wanted to speak with Him. The Bible doesn’t tell us what Jesus’ family wanted to share with Him, because that is less relevant than the key idea Jesus shares about God wanting to draw people into His family, and that obedience is one key to being a member.

While Jesus could have asked the crowd to make a path for Jesus’ family to come through, or made His way out to see them, He instead uses this opportunity to draw our attention onto God’s adoptive family – which we can all be a part of – as a powerful, relevant, and amazing truth that perfectly fit the moment.

This helps to teach me and push me towards the importance of looking for teachable moments in life. Jesus turns every possible opportunity into teaching moments for those following Him and this is because experience is often the best teacher. While this event seems to be spontaneous, I believe the Holy Spirit pulled the events together to help turn this unprompted event into a powerful lesson that people would remember.

There were numerous times that Jesus tried to warn the disciples about His upcoming death, but in this passage, we see a very interesting insight that other gospels don’t include: “The disciples did not understand any of this. Its meaning was hidden from them, and they did not know what he was talking about.” (v. 34)

Luke’s gospel notes that Jesus’ closest followers miss the plain words Jesus was trying to share with them. This is sad, because had they understood – or at the very least asked some clarifying questions –, the crucifixion weekend would have gone a whole lot differently. In a strange sort of way, this open admission of all the gospel writers that none of the disciples understood Jesus’ plain words is a strong evidence that this is history writing and not fiction: If you are creating a rumor about someone that you want to last beyond your death, you would probably want to paint yourself as the “lone” hero – as the only one who stuck by Jesus when everyone else runs away.

Perhaps this is why Luke included this line. He wanted to emphasize Jesus’ warning and honesty with the disciples and their blindness/deafness to what Jesus was trying to tell them. There are two reasons the disciples may have missed understanding this:

1. They were so caught up in their preconceived ideas about what the Messiah would do when He arrived that they chose (perhaps subconsciously) to ignore anything Jesus said that was contrary to this idea.

2. God hid the meaning of this from them. Hiding the meaning would humble the prideful and arrogant disciples when the events actually do happen, and hiding the meaning would emphasize the significance of their need for Jesus and the Holy Spirit after Jesus had been raised back to life.

In my mind, both of these reasons could be equally valid – which leads us into our big idea for this entry:

Am I missing a truth God wants to share with me because I am choosing to be blind/deaf to something new?

The best way to answer this question is through prayer and reading the Bible. By humbly praying and reading, we are drawn closer to God, and when we are close to God, we are able to hear and understand Him better than when we are further away.