Life presents all kinds of challenges that disrupt our calm and peace. This year we have already discussed the assaults of uncertainties and unforeseen circumstances, loss and sudden changes, mistakes and regret – and how we overcome anxiety as tests and trials come into our lives. Maintaining peace, calm, and joy on earth, while we are enlisted soldiers in a war against the powers of darkness, requires our concentration, dedication and determination. We are always facing conflict whether it be from the philosophies and standards of our world, others in our church and earthly families, or conflicts within our own hearts and minds. Betrayal comes in many packages; those who turn their backs on us when we need them, those who leave us – finding other relationships that serve them better, those who lie to us (or to others about us) or share things we have confided in them, just to name a few.
Bailey, in her upcoming article this month, does well in addressing how both David and Joseph found peace in times of conflict and betrayal. But I would like to begin our articles this month by first considering our Lord and His ultimate and perfect example of maintaining peace throughout a lifetime defined by intense conflict, hostility, and ultimate betrayal. Our great example, and the One we choose to emulate, did not experience peace because His surroundings were calm, but because His internal anchor was tied directly to His Father. It is this peace that He leaves with us: “Peace, I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.” (John 14:27)
The determination to do the will of God was the driving force for Jesus as He left the little town of Nazareth and headed to the Jordan to commit Himself to the ministry awaiting the next just over three years of His life. I often think of what Jesus knew as He approached the Jordan, understanding He would never be received in Galilee again. His relationship with the ones He loved dearly as a child, the ones who taught Him well, the ones who protected and cared for His welfare, the ones who He played with, ate with, stayed with, would never believe His real nature. Surely, there is no conflict or betrayal in my life that compares to the opposition, conflict, and betrayal Jesus faced.
This short article will not allow me to write about all of the opposition and meanness that Jesus faced from the leaders of the nation – those who lived and thrived in Jerusalem and the surrounding Judean areas. I will simply focus on the little town of Nazareth to understand the overarching experience of Jesus’ ministry.
We read of Jesus’ return to Nazareth from Jerusalem in Luke 4. Jesus had presented Himself to the leaders; He had cleansed the temple for the first time, reasoned with Nicodemus, and converted a Samaritan town. Starting in Luke 4:16 we read, “So He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up. And as His custom was, He went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day and stood up to read.” As we continue to read the text, we see that Jesus read a passage in Isaiah concerning Himself:
“Then He closed the book, and gave it back to the attendant and sat down. And the eyes of all who were in the synagogue were fixed on Him. And He began to say to them, ’Today this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.’ So all bore witness to Him, and marveled at the gracious words which proceeded out of His mouth. And they said, ’Is this not Joseph’s son?’” (Luke 4:20-22).
Alfred Edersheim says of this passage, “It was indeed, Divine ‘wisdom’ – ‘the Spirit of the Lord’ upon Him, which directed Jesus in the choice of the text for His first Messianic Sermon. It struck the key-note to the whole of His Galilean ministry.
There was not a word of that which common Jewish expectancy would have connected with, nay, chiefly accentuated in an announcement of the Messianic redemption; not a word to raise carnal hopes, or flatter Jewish pride. Truly, it was the most un-Jewish discourse for a Jewish Messiah of those days, with which to open His Ministry.”
I can only imagine the anticipation on that day – to hear Jesus, who had at this point done many signs and wonders in the presence of many of the ones assembled. And while this was always a wonderful time in the week, today Jesus had returned, and been asked by the officiator to read. Jesus, the son of Joseph, who perhaps some may be inclined to think might be a prophet or exceptional teacher at this point, would be given the honor to both read and give a commentary (sermon) on the selected passage.
But it is His presence and His light, mixed with His humble birth and raising that would lead to the holy indignation of the hometown folks. For the gospel would not be sufficient if it came from this carpenter’s son. It would not be great enough if it did not come with the fanfare of the earth and the wisdoms and traditions of men. The betrayal, rejection, and conflict must have left Jesus brokenhearted. For, it was these people in His hometown who He had loved so dearly. It was these relationships, which under normal circumstances, would remain throughout a lifetime of joys, sorrows, achievements, and events. Do we somehow think Jesus different? Would this not have been so with our Lord in the flesh as well as all the others raised in Nazareth in His generation? These listening today were His family, His friends, His people.
He read words that depicted the Messiah not as a worldly ruler, but a Minister to the sick and weak, the afflicted – a Teacher to the neglected, a Savior and a Comforter to the oppressed. And the passage was at once a reply to the false, worldly notions of His hearers as to what the Messiah was to be and to do. And then, He identified Himself and the reason for their rejection of Him - He was simply not what they wanted, He was not good enough, He was not glorious enough, He was not sophisticated enough, He was not enough.
The text that follows tells of the swirling mob about Him. His hometown teachers hated Him, His words, His miracles, and His mission. He faced the total rejection of the ones He loved most. This experience would define His next three years. For, He too lived in a world ruled by darkness, falsehood, selfishness, weakness, and misunderstanding.
Jesus lived with a realistic view of a broken world, which kept Him from being emotionally destroyed when conflict arrived. He explicitly warned His disciples that a life of faith does not exempt someone from severe trials: "I have told you these things, so that in Me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world." (John 16:33) And Isaiah 9:6 tells us, “For unto us a Child is born, Unto us a Son is given; And the government will be upon His shoulder. And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.” Jesus would live His entire life fighting spiritual and physical battles. He came to this earth willingly, knowing His life would be wrought with conflict, disappointment, and betrayal. Having no expectation of a conflict-free life, Jeus anchored His peace in His Father, not the absence of trouble.
And so, we see the entire ministry of Jesus filled with conflict and betrayal, from beginning to end. The ultimate test of Christ's peace occurred in the Garden of Gethsemane, when He was betrayed by Judas Iscariot, who had been called to be His Ambassador and had been one of His closest companions. Against His human nature, Jesus provided us with an example of perfect peace on that horrible night. He did not run. He did not lash out. He did not sink into bitterness. He relied on the peace that passes understanding. He trusted God’s plan more than He feared men, more than He feared heartbreak, more than He feared conflict, and more than He feared death.
The peace of Jesus is not a fragile emotion that shatters during a crisis. When we are hurt, when others reject us, when our closest family and friends turn on us, mistreat us, or ridicule us, Jesus is there. What a friend we have in Jesus, He is our rock and ultimate example when we are alone, when we are abandoned, when we face opposition and meanness, and when we encounter personal betrayal and discord. It is in Him that we find peace – not by changing our circumstances; but by seeking peace by drawing close to the One who set our example and has conquered the world.
