seekeroftruth
Well-Known Member
Luke 4:14 Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit, and news about him spread through the whole countryside. 15 He was teaching in their synagogues, and everyone praised him.
16 He went to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, and on the Sabbath day he went into the synagogue, as was his custom. He stood up to read, 17 and the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him. Unrolling it, he found the place where it is written:
18 “The Spirit of the Lord is on me,
because he has anointed me
to proclaim good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners
and recovery of sight for the blind,
to set the oppressed free,
19 to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”
because he has anointed me
to proclaim good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners
and recovery of sight for the blind,
to set the oppressed free,
19 to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”
20 Then he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant and sat down. The eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fastened on him. 21 He began by saying to them, “Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.”
22 All spoke well of him and were amazed at the gracious words that came from his lips. “Isn’t this Joseph’s son?” they asked.
23 Jesus said to them, “Surely you will quote this proverb to me: ‘Physician, heal yourself!’ And you will tell me, ‘Do here in your hometown what we have heard that you did in Capernaum.’”
24 “Truly I tell you,” he continued, “no prophet is accepted in his hometown. 25 I assure you that there were many widows in Israel in Elijah’s time, when the sky was shut for three and a half years and there was a severe famine throughout the land. 26 Yet Elijah was not sent to any of them, but to a widow in Zarephath in the region of Sidon. 27 And there were many in Israel with leprosy in the time of Elisha the prophet, yet not one of them was cleansed—only Naaman the Syrian.”
28 All the people in the synagogue were furious when they heard this. 29 They got up, drove him out of the town, and took him to the brow of the hill on which the town was built, in order to throw him off the cliff. 30 But he walked right through the crowd and went on his way.
They were going to throw Him off the cliff!! Did you see that? It's right there in verse 29. OK Luke was a doctor, and the healing of humans was his craft. Luke's the one writing this. He said Jesus went home to Nazareth and the family just could not wrap their head around Him reading from the scroll of Isaiah. They would have been ok if He quoted "Repent" like His cousin John, but He was teaching about healing the blind and the lepers. No one does that. It just could not be done yet. The Science wasn't in place yet.
Now Jesus was talking about healing the lepers and the blind way before Dr. Luke could have dreamed of a cure. This took place in the first Century AD. According to my research, a cure for leprosy was not developed until the middle of the 1850's. Healing the blind, well that's apparently still lost to the humans. I was blinded by a doctor just last year. They still can't heal eyes apparently.
Jesus was talking "gibberish", and they thought He had truly lost His mind. He was talking about being on a Mission that no human could accomplish. No one could heal the sick and feed the poor. They were still convinced that sickness and strife were brought on by sin. There were just too many of them and science had not caught up with them. The idea of an autopsy or the use of humans in research wouldn't come along for another century. They weren't even trying to look for cures by using animals yet.
Dr. Luke was telling us the idea of curing leprosy, or curing the blind, or feeding the poor were foreign concepts to the people in the times of Jesus. It reminds me of modern times. What would happen today if Jesus were to say "come see me if you want a cure to whatever ails you. I've got the cure". The anti-vaxers and those invested in health care pills and shots would try to run Jesus out of the country, let alone running Him out of town. It's just not feasible. It's going to do more harm than good for those who turn a buck on the backs of the poor and sick.
Besides, everyone knows no one can afford to feed all the poor. It's just ludicrous to even consider. This week in Phoenix there is a major clean of a homeless encampment. It's so massive, they had to bring in trucks and big sweepers to clean it up. The homeless will return, it's just to get the trash and feces off the roads.
Jesus said He came to heal the sick and provide for those who could not provide for themselves. Dr. Luke says He was a man way ahead of His time. A cure for Leprosy was still 1800 years to come. The people thought He was insane. They wanted to put Jesus out of His insanity by throwing Him off a cliff.
They were so busy "throwing Jesus off a cliff" they didn't notice Him walking through the crowd and leaving. Can't you see them now? "Which way did He go?"
Question, if everybody else wants to throw Jesus off the cliff, would you join them?
