No Favourites

Growing up in Aotearoa-New Zealand, I have always loved my country. When I was very young, I naturally wanted us to be the biggest, most important country in the world. I remember being crushed when I found out we were actually a relatively small, unimportant country, tucked away in the bottom corner of the map. In fact, we are often left off the map entirely! I think it's why we celebrate every time we make international news somewhere else.

In this sense, Nazareth was like the New Zealand of first-century Galilee. Outside of the Bible, there is no mention of it in historical documents before Jesus. When Jesus returned to Nazareth after starting His ministry, there was so much anticipation. The people gathered in the synagogue and Jesus delivered. He announced himself to be everything they had been waiting for, the promised Messiah, the one who would bring freedom to Israel.

The people of Nazareth were in awe. Jesus was putting Nazareth on the map. If He was coming to restore the kingdom to Israel, imagine the special honour and blessing they, as fellow Nazarenes, would receive in the new kingdom.

But, as Jesus continued the atmosphere immediately went cold. Using two stories from the period of the kings of Israel, Jesus showed that God's redemptive plans were not just for Israel but for people of all nations. In essence, Jesus was saying that there would be no special treatment for Israel, let alone Nazareth. It would have felt like a betrayal. How could the Messiah betray his own people? How could He deny them the special place they had desired for so long?

But this is exactly what makes the Church, as the representation of God's kingdom in this current age, so irresistible. There are no favourites, there is no special place of honour; we all come to Jesus as equals. We are all equally broken, equally empty, and equally in need of redemption.

The saddest part of the story is that because the people of Nazareth were so eager to have their own special place they ended up missing out on all the good news that Jesus was offering to them. In God's kingdom, there is no place for entitlement. This story is a reminder that each one of us received salvation as a free gift of grace, not because we deserved it, but simply because God loves us.

Thought Point

Do you expect special treatment for the role you play in God's kingdom? How might this reveal itself?

Prayer Point

Humble yourself before God. Thank Him for the freedom He has offered you, not because of anything you are but because of everything He is.