He said to them,
"Today this Scripture passage is fulfilled in your hearing."
The crowd has heard glad tidings. They have heard Jesus proclaiming liberty to those who are captive to sin. They have heard of his miracles. They have been told that the blind recover their sight. Those enslaved by demons have gone free. This Scripture passage is truly fulfilled in their day. Yet this is hard for them to accept. In Nazareth there are probably still blind people, still prisoners, still those oppressed either by demons or at least by Romans. How can this passage be fulfilled in their hearing will pain and suffering remains. Jesus seems to be claiming that he is the promised messiah. How can this be true when not everyone is free?
This is a tension we all experience when not every pain is healed right away. Some seem to be. Others are not. What is Jesus waiting for? He is giving us time to accept him, time to deepen our faith, in which he does not overwhelm us with irrefutable proofs. He wants invites us to put our faith in him. We can see the now just fine on our own. But our faith connects us directly to the not yet where all is fulfilled. Faith allows us to live beyond our direct experience. It connects us directly to the promised fulfillment in heaven. Our eyes are not blinded by the world. Our hearts are not captive to sin. We see the saints worshiping around the throne in heaven, all of them, the full number of the chosen. If earth was heaven now we wouldn't be able to live in faith. It wouldn't be an invitation, it would simply be a matter of fact. Jesus wants us to come to him freely. So let us come.
Let us not be like the crowd who think they know who Jesus is. They think the now they see around them is all there will ever be. By faith we see the not yet already here. We see the words of Scripture fulfilled. It is the sight of heaven that draws us onward. It makes us faithful until the "Lord comes to judge the earth".
Then we who are alive, who are left,
will be caught up together with them in the clouds
to meet the Lord in the air.
Thus we shall always be with the Lord.
Therefore, console one another with these words.
These words console us because we can see this vision by our faith. In fact, our faith speeds the arrival of this day when the words of Scripture are fulfilled in fullness. That is why we cry maranatha, come LORD Jesus (see Revelation 22:20)!
Sing to the LORD a new song;
sing to the LORD, all you lands.
Tell his glory among the nations;
among all peoples, his wondrous deeds.
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