START UP: Start from the Center

In this series, we follow the journey of Jesus as he begins his ministry to see what we can learn as we enter into a new chapter as a Church.

Scripture: Luke 4:16-30

Sometimes, the hardest part of the journey is getting started. With that being said, how do we get started? Last week we took a look at how Jesus began his ministry, and did so by allowing himself to be led by the Spirit. Moving on to the next couple of verses, we will see Jesus take the next steps in his ministry by pointing out the importance of starting from the center.

Very often, what we want from God doesn’t exactly line up with what we need from Him. Although a lot of the time we may want God to act in ways that only affect us at a surface level, what we really need is for Him to work within us from the center of our being. In this passage, Jesus points out how the crowd only wants him to perform miracles. Through using Old Testament examples of Gentile people like Zarephath and Naaman, Jesus pointed out how the crowd only wanted what was on the surface and failed to look any deeper. Keep in mind that Jesus was speaking to a group of Jewish people who went to the synagogue regularly, prayed regularly, and followed all of the rules. For these people, being Jewish and doing all of these things was a core part of their salvation. However, Jesus points out that instead of Jewish people finding favor, Gentiles like Zarephath and Naaman were the ones that found it. Jesus is essentially saying that these Gentiles, these outsiders who believed in God, are above any unbelieving Jewish person. A lot of the time we feel like we need to do certain things or be a certain way to be good enough for God. We can especially feel like we aren’t good enough when we’re still dealing with that sin that we said we would handle a long time ago, when we compare ourselves to others who seem to be experiencing God in a deeper way than us, or when we just feel like we have become complacent in our faith. However, that isn’t how God works, and this way of thinking is actually one of the ways in which we can keep God at the surface. Even though we may have good intentions, it is easy to keep God from changing us at the center of our being.

However, what happens when we look at things the other way around? Sometimes we find ourselves in the shoes of the crowd who, upon hearing the words of Jesus, proceeded to chase him off a cliff out of their anger. From their perspective, they weren’t just asking for favors. When we take a closer look at the examples Jesus is giving to us, he mentions how there were many widows and lepers who would have had a difficult time providing for themselves, but none of them received any help whatsoever. From the perspective of the crowd, they were doing everything correctly and still getting nothing. Many of us may relate to their situation and feel angry as well, but the important thing is what we do with that anger. Rather than following the crowd and pushing Jesus away until he’s at the edge of a cliff, we can use that anger to bring him even closer than before and show Him what really lies at the center of our being. Showing someone your anger is a form of love in that it allows another person to see who you are. In showing God your anger, what once was a cause for separation becomes a chance for deeper communication. Although anger isn’t the best way to communicate, sometimes is just is the way we communicate. Through this, our anger becomes a means for allowing God to work in us at the center of our being.

Study Questions:

1.) In what ways do you feel insufficient as a follower of God?

2.) What does looking beneath the surface of your own being look like for you?

3.) In what ways have you been keeping God from looking beneath the surface?

4.) Take some time to reflect on moments where you have felt anger towards God. Bring it to Him in prayer.