Several years ago I was standing in line at a coffee shop in an airport terminal in New York. The guy standing in front of me ordered his drink and paid, and then went to the end of the counter to wait for it to be made. After I purchased my coffee, I waited next to him for a minute or two. The barista handed him his drink and he turned to leave. The line was crowded and so I had to back up a bit to give him room. He smiled at me and said, “Thank you. Have a nice day!”
Friendly guy, which is unusual for NY. But I never gave it another thought. A minute later the barista handed me my coffee and leaned over the counter with a smile and whispered, “That guy who was standing in front of you – he’s a famous movie star. His name is David Strathairn.”
I had no clue! And I had seen several of his movies. If I had only known!
That makes me think about what happened in Nazareth.
Jesus stood up in the synagogue and read from Isaiah. Then He looked at the people and said:
“Today, this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.” (Luke 4:21)
I don’t know which would be more astonishing: to actually witness the fulfillment of biblical prophecy – or to be standing in the presence of the One who was fulfilling it and not realize that He was reading the very words that He Himself actually spoke to Isaiah 700 years earlier…
Words about Himself.
But that’s exactly what happened in Nazareth.
They knew Jesus. They knew His family. They knew where He grew up. They had probably seen Him around town for years.
But they didn’t really know who He was. That’s the tragedy of it.
They had the Scriptures, the prophecies. They had been waiting for the Messiah to come and yet when He stood right before them, they failed to recognize Him. And not because God had failed to reveal Himself, but because they had failed to see what God had already revealed.
And that makes me wonder about me.
If Jesus physically walked into my church this Sunday and stood behind the pulpit, would I recognize Him? If He were walking alongside the road and I stopped and gave Him a ride – would I recognize His voice as we made conversation? Would the things He talked about light a fire in my heart like it did for the two disciples on the road to Emmaus?
Because I’ve heard about Jesus. I read the Bible and know the stories about Jesus. But that’s not the same as knowing Jesus. Maybe it’s foolish of me, but I think about these things sometimes. I just don’t want to make the same mistake the people in Jesus’ hometown made.
Do you sometimes feel like you should know Him better too?
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