In his introductory Mission Statement, Jesus read from Isaiah, chapter 61, then rolled up the scroll, handed it to the teacher, and summed it up succinctly. No sermon title. No introduction. No illustrations. Just text and then application. “This day, this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.”
The result? “They marveled at his gracious words.” Then a question arose: How could a man they had known from childhood be the promised Messiah? Jesus addressed it by giving two examples in which God did miracles for “outsiders” instead of “insiders”.
Then things turned nasty. It’s one thing for a preacher to apply a verse from the Bible to himself but another thing entirely for him to zero in on an uncomfortable home truth. Their attitude was “Charity begins at Home.” But the response from Jesus was “Familiarity breeds Contempt.” The people in Nazareth saw him as merely “the carpenter’s son” they had known so well and could not see him in this new, self-introduced role as their long-promised Messiah.
Those present in the synagogue that day would have known Isaiah chapter 61 by heart. But when Jesus applied the well-known verses as being fulfilled in himself, he was bringing the future into the present — the “that day” suddenly and unexpectedly into “here and now”. The late author Alvin Toffler called this Future Shock. Jesus had brought the far-off future — suddenly and unexpectedly — into the unprepared present!
We believe that Jesus will return — maybe soon. But what if he were to return today? Oh, you might think that certain things must first fit into place before that can happen.
But what if you were right about Then but not about When? What if Jesus were to suddenly and unexpectedly arrive today? Just as he did that day in that small town synagogue, among those who knew him well, but not well enough to welcome him as the Messiah.
We need to be ready for the moment when the Future will suddenly become the Present. Suddenly for those who are unready, but for those who daily expect the unexpected. Does this describe you?