no one is self-sufficient
I need sustaining grace because I am not self-sufficient. No one is self-sufficient. I cannot find a similar or corroborating interpretation of Luke 4 by any scholar, pastor, blogger or biblical commentary anywhere in print or on the internet. Jesus quotes the saying, ‘Physician, heal yourself!’ I think I have an original thought. What do you think?
One day I was working my way through the gospel according to Luke.
Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit, and news about him spread through the whole countryside. He was teaching in their synagogues, and everyone praised him. At the very beginning of Jesus’ public ministry, he gets great word of mouth! His fame is growing. Hustling up and down the countryside, he visits neighboring towns. His strategy is to use the faith communities to get the word out.
He went to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, and on the Sabbath day he went into the synagogue, as was his custom. Back to his roots, Jesus, more experienced now and getting a taste of success, goes to his hometown synagogue and delivers the same message.
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. But this time is different. Initially, his family, friends, and neighbors are amazed. “What a nice and idealistic message!” Then like turning up of the heat, the atmosphere changes. The attendees know Jesus as Joseph’s son, the carpenter’s son. They’ve watched Jesus grow up right before their own eyes, and a few literally watched Jesus when he was a boy. “Wait, what? I was this kid’s babysitter!” Whatever new message Jesus came to bring, was rejected there because his hometown could not accept the messenger.
What are Jesus’ two main points about how humanity is built?
Jesus said to them, “Surely you will quote this proverb to me: ‘Physician, heal yourself!’ This is like saying to a heart surgeon, “operate on yourself.” Jesus is pointing out that no man or woman is self-sufficient. I once asked my dentist if he did his own dental work, and got an earful about how crazy that would be. Doctors can’t even write prescriptions for themselves. They need to go outside themselves to find what they are looking for. Doctors need to other doctors when they need treatment; therapists see other therapists for their problems; pastors go to other pastors for counsel. It is a fact that we as human beings cannot sustain ourselves; we need other people to live and function. If doctors, the healers of the world, are not self-sufficient, then neither am I.
Jesus then goes on to address the corporate entity. And you will tell me, ‘Do here in your hometown what we have heard that you did in Capernaum’. The townspeople may have grasped and agreed with this concept that no one person is self-sufficient, but the idea of the society, the hometown, they do believe is self-sufficient. “Doctors can’t heal themselves, but we have two physicians in this town! Ha!” A society can sustain itself. The townspeople understood the meaning of physician’s proverb. They concede. And then rebut, “But I’m part of a family and we’re organized into whole societies. I have everything I need in my hometown. We are a completely self-sufficient system. Among ourselves, we produce food, shelter, clothing, and the other essentials of life to thrive and prosper.”
“Not so fast,” replies Jesus. “I tell you the truth,” he continued, “no prophet is accepted in his hometown.” Not even the hometown is self-sufficient because a prophet carries a new message from God. No matter how great or truthful the spiritual teaching is, the messenger is rejected by his hometown. The people of Capernaum experienced revival and healing because they accepted the messenger and the message. They received life. Nazareth could not receive a new message and missed out. Ultimately, Jesus’ world at large, the great hometown of humanity, rejected him because almost everyone saw a human messenger.
The two lessons are:
Humans are not self-sufficient
Societies are not self-sufficient
No individual, locality, or nation can heal or sustain itself. Self cannot drive out self. Society’s ailments cannot be solved by society. The system was not, is not, and will never be self-sufficient. Things continue to run to an extent, but the fault lines are everywhere.
Someone from the outside needs to get inside. The illustration Jesus uses is the widow of Zarephath. 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. It hasn’t rained for 42 months. There is famine - everywhere! The system broke down, so how will life continue?
Yet Elijah was not sent to any of them, but to a widow in Zarephath in the region of Sidon. The traditional interpretation draws out racial tensions. But Elijah is first a prophet, carrying a new message from God. What is the new message for today’s world? Sustaining grace.
Observation - Does the order of events surprise you?
Understanding - Are you acknowledging a sustaining power in your life?
Application - What is one thing that God would have me do today?