GOD’S WORD FOR YOU
LUKE 4:22
22 They all spoke well of him and were amazed by the words of grace that came from his mouth. And they kept saying, “Isn’t this Joseph’s son?”
At first, the synagogue congregation began to speak well of Jesus. I must disagree with Pastor Wenzel, who calls this a durative imperfect “of continued witness bearing” (p. 285). The rest of the passage argues against this interpretation, most especially their actions on the hilltop. Therefore it would be better to take this as an inceptive imperfect, which means that the verb expresses the beginning of an action and not necessarily its continuation. The amazement of the group would continue, but they would stop feeling like speaking well of him soon enough.
Their question by the end of the verse (“Isn’t this Joseph’s son?”) was the text of the unspoken thought: “How could this local boy have found such wisdom?” Jesus was a carpenter, the son of the local carpenter (Mark 6:3). Their logic was utterly flawed. They would be willing to accept an outsider—almost any outsider—as the Messiah, but not a local man. Can’t a carpenter consider the word of God as he planes the block? Couldn’t a carpenter muse over Moses’ prophecy about the cross as he drove nails, “Anyone who is hung on a tree is under God’s curse” (Deuteronomy 21:23)? Might not a carpenter understand the thrill of constructing a thing to God’s glory, the way Noah made his ark, the way Aaron and Moses built the tabernacle, or the way Bezalel and Oholiab furnished the tent of meeting (Exodus 36:2)? It’s the privilege of any working man or woman to ponder the mysteries of God as they work.
Jesus’ sermon is described as “words of grace” (τοῖς λόγοις τῆς χάριτος). What does that mean? To answer this we need to look at some possible uses of the Greek genitive case. There are dozens of uses of this part of speech, but only a few might concern us here:
A ) Genitive of quality: “his gracious words.”
B ) Genitive of contents: “his words made of grace.”
C ) Genitive of object (objective genitive): “his words about grace.”
Of these, the third is the one that fits the circumstances and the context best. Not that his sermon was about graceful things, but it was about the one key factor in Scripture: grace, the grace of God. The grace of God was the driving, motivating force behind the sending of the Son of God into the world.
These words about the grace of God hit Nazareth like a breeze to a becalmed ship. They knew the law, they knew the teaching of the Pharisees, but here came Jesus proclaiming the gospel of God’s grace. This became known as “a new teaching” (Mark 1:27), but it was no different than the true message of the grace of God that runs throughout the Old Testament.
The grace of God was the Lord looking with favor on Abel (Genesis 4:4). Why? Was it because Abel obeyed God’s law about sacrifices? Not at all. There was no law about sacrifices yet. Abel’s sacrifice was acceptable only because of Abel’s attitude of faith, by God’s grace.
The grace of God is shown even to the wicked, but if they reject that grace it isn’t because forgiveness and favor have never been held out to them: “Though grace is shown to the wicked, they do not learn righteousness. Even in a land of uprightness they go on doing evil and have no regard for the majesty of God” (Isaiah 26:10).
The grace of God is given without any regard for who we are, but comes simply because God has compassion on us: “He (the Lord) mocks proud mockers but gives grace to the humble” (Proverbs 3:34).
The grace of God is held up by the prophets as the Lord’s most remarkable contact with man: “Return to the LORD your God, for he is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in love” (Joel 2:13).
The grace of God was the object brought to earth by Christ, and it has come to us through the act of the crucifixion, for our eternal good. Even though the act was wicked, it brought us forgiveness, by his grace and mercy: “I will pour out on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and supplication. They will look on me, the one they have pierced, and they will mourn for him as one mourns for an only child” (Zechariah 12:10).
This message was central to everything Jesus taught, and it must remain central in our worship, now and always. Thank God for his grace, the love we did not deserve, but which came anyway.
Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good.
His love endures forever. Amen.
In Christ,
Pastor Timothy Smith
Archives by Wisconsin Lutheran Chapel: http://www.wlchapel.org/worship/daily-devotion/
Pastor Smith serves St. Paul’s Lutheran Church, New Ulm, Minnesota