Jesus’ first speech

One of the best trips I ever took was a Holy Land tour of Israel. Although I often travel to explore historical sites, Israel tops my list for destinations that bring history to life. With Bible in hand, our tour guide walked us through the geography of the Biblical stories, highlighting subtle details in the text that became clear once physically present.

We visited many sites that were allegedly historical in which great churches were built. But there were also several sites that served as authentic pictures of the First Century AD. Two sites were particularly meaningful to me—the ancient ruins of Capernaum and the synagogue in Nazareth. It was in the synagogue in Nazareth that Jesus gave the first recorded speech of his public ministry. And it was a bombshell.

First, Jesus read the prophecy from Isaiah 61:1: “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 recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor” (Luke 4:18-19). Then Jesus said, “Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing” (Luke 4:21). Essentially, Jesus was saying that he is the miracle-working Messiah predicted by Isaiah several hundred years earlier who would perform certain miraculous healings.

The types of miracles Jesus performed, the way each miracle pointed to God’s larger story, and the fulfillment of prophecy were all important pieces of evidence in my conversion story.

Mercy and Grace

The parable of the prodigal son (Luke 15:11-32) is a wonderful example of God’s mercy and grace. In the parable, Jesus described a son that had sinned against his father in the worst way—by essentially wishing his father was dead. He didn’t want his father in his life anymore, he just wanted his money. After leaving his father, he squandered his inheritance on immoral living, ultimately hitting rock bottom before deciding to return to his father’s house.

Upon his homecoming, the father could’ve given him justice by sending him away or allowing the boy to be beaten or killed. The father could’ve done something corrupt or sinister (injustice). Or he could’ve expressed his mercy by forgiving the son and letting him work as a hired hand as the son requested. But instead, the father expressed his mercy by forgiving the son, and then lavishly extended his grace by dressing the boy in luxurious clothes, slaughtering the fatted calf, throwing him a big party, and adopting him back as his son. That is the example Jesus gives of both God’s mercy (forgiveness) and his grace (blessing).

The Pursuit of Happiness

Perhaps the greatest deception we face each day is that our personal happiness is the purpose of life. It’s a false assumption to think God’s foremost goal is your happiness in this life. We’re not God’s pampered little pets. Instead, Christianity believes the knowledge of God is our goal; to glorify him is our chief end. These commandments are for our benefit, not his. He doesn’t need our worship, our money, or our time. God wants us to be a blessing to others. Only these things can bring true and eternal fulfillment.

Meanwhile, suffering can give us a deeper understanding of God. It can deepen our relationship with him. Suffering can get our attention away from the temptations of this world as we turn to God for strength. Paul compares the suffering in this world to the glory that will be bestowed on us in heaven and says they can’t be compared. This is how Job can say God is good even in the midst of terrible suffering.

As C.S. Lewis once said, “God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks in our conscience, but shouts in our pains: it is his megaphone to rouse a deaf world.”[1] God wants us to wake up, to put down our trivial distractions, and realize that we get our sense of worth from him. In a world where no one experiences pain, there would be no one to help, no opportunity for humility, or giving, or to meaningfully show love to one another. Spoiled people don’t tend to appreciate things. “We appreciate things only by contrast,” explains philosopher Peter Kreeft. “If we never died, we wouldn’t appreciate life.”[2]

[1] C. S. Lewis, The Problem of Pain (New York: Simon & Schuster, 1996), 83.

[2] Metaxas quoting Peter Kreeft, Socrates in the City, 58.

Where do we come from?

Several years ago, my dad became fascinated with genealogy and created a remarkable history of our family tree dating back six generations. His research led him to a cousin, a professor at the University of Chicago, who had traced our family roots all the way back to Charlemagne—the great emperor of Western Europe who died in 814 AD. For many years, I took pride knowing I was a descendent of the famous king. On one occasion, I was recounting my illustrious lineage to Art, when he remarked, “Yeah, I’m probably a descendent of Charlemagne too. In fact, I bet half of the people you know are too!” He had a point but my feelings of prominence were crushed. Still, the thought of all those generations of family heritage says something about who I am.

Where do we come from? Do you feel the weight of that question? If you do, it’s because it has to do with our identity. People throughout history have pondered their identity and origins. The pursuit of origins is a fundamental question of life with significant ramifications. One science textbook bluntly stated the problem as follows: “If man is nothing more than a highly evolved animal, then he is to be congratulated for his struggle upward and is to be excused whenever he acts like an animal.”[1] But if humanity is God’s special creation, molded in his own image, then each life has worth, significance, and a purpose.

The path of Jesus allows us to truly love and accept all people, even with those who cling to opposing worldviews. Since God created everyone in his image, everyone is bestowed with dignity and worth. And that makes everyone worthy of our unconditional love. This is Jesus’ model of game-changing love. It’s a difficult model to emulate, but it gives us the freedom to love one another and accept them for who they are even if we don’t approve of their actions. While sometimes we may need to “agree to disagree” with others, we must do so with “gentleness and respect” as Peter commands.

[1] Science: Matter & Motion (Pensacola FL: A Beka Book Publications, 1981), 493.