In the words of Jesus, what is the good news that Jesus Himself came to proclaim? This is not a test, but in case you can’t decide which of the many things he said was the good news tagline, here it is. The good news is that “the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”
Other than giving that message through powerful preaching and teachings and parables, one of the ways that Jesus used to proclaim and validate the good news about the coming of the Kingdom was through miraculous healings. Of course, Jesus healed many miraculously because of His genuine compassion to those who were suffering. But His miracles were actually His way of giving people a foretaste of the ultimate healing and the blessing of complete restoration that would come when He returns in glory as King of Kings. And just as John the Baptist did, Jesus instructed people to repent and be ready for the kingdom of God. This combination of teachings and miraculous healings was His master plan to get people to repent and be ready for the ultimate victory of His Kingdom.
Of course, as we read in the gospels, Jesus actually became quite popular with his healing miracles, even though popularity was not in his agenda. People came in droves bringing their sick loved ones with them to be healed, while Jesus at the same time continued to preach about repentance and the coming of the Kingdom.
And spreading the word about repentance and getting ready for the nearness of God’s kingdom was the reason why Jesus dispatched His disciples to go in pairs to other towns and cities not earlier covered by Him. But before He sent them out He warned them that they would face rejection. And this scenario is the context of today’s gospel from Luke 10:13-16.
Here, we see that the disciples have already returned from their ministry and are reporting to Jesus the results of their brief mission. There were many good reports of powerful manifestations, but as anticipated, there were also many who rejected the message. Jesus is not surprised. And so, we see Luke 10:13-16, Jesus is grieving for these cities and towns who rejected the message. Apparently people wanted healing, but they didn’t care for the restoration of their souls or the coming of the Kingdom.
Jesus grieved for these people, because by rejecting the messengers and the message of repentance, these people were rejecting not only the prophesying disciples, or Jesus the Great Healer, but God Himself.
And, no, Jesus wasn’t upset because He was losing popularity, or that His disciples failed to be convincing. In the first place, He never sought popularity; He didn’t need to be popular in order to fulfill His ultimate mission. We see that, even in those places like Capernaum where Jesus performed many many miracles, we read in today’s gospel that the people of Capernaum rejected His good news message.
Let me just point out that when Jesus was saying “Woe to you (Chorazim), woe to you (Bethsaida), woe to you (Capernaum)” Jesus was not expressing anger nor indignation. He was not cursing them, or casting a curse upon them. He was not about to hurl fire and burn them to the ground. (If you remember there was another incident in chapter 9 of Luke, when they came to a Samaritan village and the people did not welcome them there? What did John and James recommend? They suggested to Jesus to call fire down from heaven and destroy that village. And when they said that, Jesus immediately rebuked them.
Remember, Jesus came to bring peace and salvation to mankind who is already doomed to eternal damnation because of the sin of Adam. Let me restate that. Mankind’s default destination is eternal separation from God in a place we refer to as hell. Jesus did not come to punish us sinners, but to save us all, because we were already to doomed to begin with. Jesus came to offer peace, and a way out of eternal damnation. And how can people be saved? Jesus promised that people would be saved if they repented and believed in Him and followed Him. Listen closely, my friends. God offers, through Jesus, magnificent blessings in exchange for obedience and faith. I repeat, the offer of salvation through Jesus is promised to those who believe and obey; everyone else who rejects or ignores that offer is already doomed by default. People are drowning, and Jesus offers a hand to save them; if people reject His hand, then they will drown. Woe to them.
And that’s what Jesus was expressing for the people of Chorazin, Bethsaida and Capernaum who rejected the message of the disciples. He was sad for all of them, because by rejecting the message, and therefore the offer of Jesus who sent them, and they rejected the grace of God Himself. If they insisted on their disbelief, they wouldn’t receive the blessing that could have been theirs had they repented and believed. Sayang.
It’s very important to remind ourselves of this key message, my dear brothers and sisters. And to remind everyone else around us about the good news of the kingdom. Sure, it may be accompanied by signs and wonders of healing and restored relationships or relief from troubles, or it may not. Because most likely, we get relief from one trouble today, but only to face a different trouble tomorrow.
But the core message that we need to embrace, and we need to convey with or without miracles is the message of peace and salvation offered by Jesus to all those who repent and believe in Him. If people do not hear this message, or if they reject it, you and I must also grieve for them, and pray that they would some day come to a point of repentance, trusting that our God is a compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, and ready to reward the faithful and the obedient with the keys to the Kingdom. I hope and pray that this is clear to you all.
Before ending, let me point to another, more subtle lesson here that talks to each of us about what it is that we really desire when we pray for some miracle to come into our lives. Actually, most often without even our knowing it or praying for it, miracles DO happen in our lives everyday. God continues everyday to intervene in our lives, because He is sovereign, He is good, and He loves us. And, sure, life is not without problems, and we pray for help for these problems to go way or to be resolved; and for those really really tough and nearly impossible problems, we hope and pray for miracles, because we believe that nothing is impossible with God, right?
Actually, if anyone listening to this message right now is reminded of a specific miracle that you’ve been earnestly praying for, know that I join you now in Spirit in that prayer of yours. May God be your comfort and your peace, in the name of Jesus. Amen.
But the simple lesson that we can learn today is that we should not dismiss or lose focus on this offer of full restoration not only of our body but of our souls. I admit that our physical ailments and life problems can consume our minds and hearts, so much so that we forget that what Jesus wants — first and foremost — is for us to surrender our hearts, and our souls over to Him in faith and in obedience. Because that IS the good news which Jesus came to proclaim and to draw us all to. This is the shalom, this is the peace beyond all understanding that comes to those who rest at the foot of the Savior. Remember – seek ye first God’s kingdom. For Jesus, this good news was THE message worth dying for.
So, let us not grieve Jesus by rejecting that message just because we’re anxious about our illness, or we’re obsessed about all the adversities and troubles that come our way. Jesus offers salvation in His kingdom; how can it be better than that? So, let’s focus on that, let’s delight in that, and let’s honor Jesus by doing everything He tells us to do, but and by trusting Him and putting all our hope in the Kingdom that He promises. And because if we do, then we can rest assured that goodness and kindness will follow us all the days of our lives and until His Kingdom comes.
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