Hurl Him Off The Cliff
When he came to Nazareth, where he had
been brought up, he went to the synagogue on the Sabbath day, as was his
custom. He stood up to read, and the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to
him. He unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written: “The
Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring good news to
the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of
sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, to proclaim the year of the
Lord’s favor.” And he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant, and
sat down. The eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on him. Then he began to
say to them, “Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.” All
spoke well of him and were amazed at the gracious words that came from his
mouth. They said, “Is not this Joseph’s son?” He said to them, “Doubtless you
will quote to me this proverb, ‘Doctor, cure yourself!’ And you will say, ‘Do
here also in your hometown the things that we have heard you did at
Capernaum.’” And he said, “Truly I tell you, no prophet is accepted in the
prophet’s hometown. But the truth is, there were many widows in Israel in the
time of Elijah, when the heaven was shut up three years and six months, and
there was a severe famine over all the land; yet Elijah was sent to none of
them except to a widow at Zarephath in Sidon. There were also many lepers in Israel in the time of
the prophet Elisha, and none of them was cleansed
except Naaman the Syrian.” When they heard this, all
in the synagogue were filled with rage. They got up, drove him out of the town,
and led him to the brow of the hill on which their town was built, so that they
might hurl him off the cliff. But he passed through the midst of them and went
on his way.
Sometimes we know the right thing to
do and the right thing to say, but we don’t do either. Jesus did both. He told
people the truth, even though they did not want to hear it, and He ultimately
paid the price for our sins. He died for us on the cross, so that we could be
saved.
The next time you are about to be
hurled off a cliff, think about what Jesus went through. Be a witness for Him,
and do the right thing. Stand up for Jesus, and let the chips fall where they may.