Luke 23:4-5
Then Pilate said to the chief priests and the crowds, “I find no guilt in this man.” But they were urgent, saying, “He stirs up the people, teaching throughout all Judea, from Galilee even to this place.”
Luke 23:4-5
I grew up in a small town. Not so small that I was related to everyone, but small enough that I most likely knew someone related to everyone. It was the kind of town where the high school band had its own billboard out on the highway, the kind of town where churches used their signs to wish the baseball team good luck in the playoffs, the kind of town that drew more than 10,000 people to the rivalry football game.
If there had been any doubt that I lived in a small town, it was quieted on February 20, 1998. That Friday was declared “Thad Busby Appreciation Day.” Thad Busby was an All-American from our community who had made a name for himself playing quarterback at Florida State University. He was the 1997 Atlantic Coast Conference Offensive Player of the Year. In his last two years at FSU, the team record was 21-2. Thad Busby was the student every teacher was proud of and the athlete every kid wanted to emulate. So the community held a day of celebration in his honor. There’s nothing quite like being famous in a small town.
Jesus knew firsthand how it felt to be small-town-famous. He grew up in Nazareth and later made his home in Capernaum, both of which were small towns in his day. His family was well known. Recall that when Jesus taught in the synagogue in Nazareth, the people were incredulous, unable to accept that such teaching should come from the carpenter’s son (Matthew 13:55; Mark 6:3; Luke 4:22). John underscores that people not only knew Jesus’ parents and their occupation, but they also knew his paternal grandparents (John 6:42). So it is no surprise that the public ministry of Jesus spread rapidly in the wake of his baptism and spiritual testing in the wilderness. Luke writes, Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit to Galilee, and a report about him went out through all the surrounding country. And he taught in their synagogues, being glorified by all (Luke 4:14-15; see also Luke 4:37).
Jesus sought to proclaim the gospel of the kingdom of God, not popularity or fame, but in a small town those things have a way of seeking people out. For all those who were blessed by the ministry of Jesus and proud of this upcoming preacher from their region, there were those in their town who were envious of his fame and sought to use his ministry against him, first among them the chief priests.
When Pilate insisted that he found no guilt in this man, he was asserting not only that the charge did not rise to the level of deserving death, but also that he did not find any basis for the charge itself. Those jealous of Jesus’ popularity with the crowds passionately persisted in their attack on Jesus. They were determined to secure a conviction regardless of the facts. Jesus was disturbing the social order and undermining the civic and religious authority, they exclaimed. They drove their point home by insisting that the Jesus movement was spreading. His ministry extended throughout all Judea, from Galilee even to this place.
The response of the chief priests underscores the fact that one’s assessment of the ministry and message of Jesus Christ is all a matter of perspective. If we stand aloof to the care and claims of Jesus, convinced that our personal ethic and practical resources are sufficient for a life well lived, we will grumble against this Jesus, wishing he and his message would just go away. However, if the chains of our physical infirmity and spiritual infidelity have been broken by this Jesus, we glorify his name, grateful that his fame was made known to us. Paul summarized this issue of perspective, writing, For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God (1 Corinthians 1:18).
This Sunday I’m celebrating “Jesus Christ Appreciation Day.” Who’s with me?