The level of rage shocked us.  One moment we were having dinner as couples, celebrating their recent wedding which I had officiated (we had done pre-marital counseling the previous six months with them) and the next moment the husband laid into me and my wife with such vitriol, we were leveled by it.  We had stumbled by accident upon a sacred cow that would not budge and paid a very real price for doing so—attempts to work through the conflict with the couple were stymied.

Initially, I was angry and hopeful.  Angry for being wronged by sinful anger but hopeful that through the Gospel, reconciliation would come about but as weeks became months, my heart grew more callous towards this man.  Some days I wished only God’s justice without mercy upon him.  I “dealt” with him through “fantasy role play,” putting him in his place, making him see the error of his ways.  Prayers for mercy for him became more and more infrequent.

Living in the Gospel regularly some days seems as difficult for me as was trying to balance on the thin ice skate blades I put on as a kid from time to time.  I am much more inclined towards calling down justice from the heavens than mercy.

That is why I like what Jesus has to say in Luke 4:13-30 about mercy.

Here you have the summation of the whole earthly ministry of Jesus who was at once both hero and pariah.  The air was thick with messianic anticipation among the Jewish people.  You can hear them now: “Could this be the One? “  “Look what He has done—the time has come!”  “Jesus, perform great wonders among us—make us powerful!”

But Jesus knows their hearts.  His gaze “sees through them”—penetrating the faux-joyful veneer, peering into the depths of their sin-stained hearts to see the truth: they want to keep the Messiah to themselves and let everyone else rot in hell.  The Gentiles—all others—were dirty dogs, the enemies of God (the very ones Jesus mentions here).

They were without excuse—the whole Old Testament Book of Jonah is about God sending the prophet Jonah to pagan Nineveh, a Syrian town (Naaman’s town perhaps?).  God’s great scandal of love was He had mercy upon whomever He wanted to.

Jesus says, “Are you listening?  Isaiah said this was for everyone!  You can’t contain me and you’re gonna hate me for it.”  And they did.  They did not know God and His Gospel and who it was for.
Do you?  Do I?  Does the Gospel of Christ so captivate your heart that you want it to be visited upon the most hated enemy of God?  Let’s make it personal: would you desire the Gospel withheld from the ones who have hurt you the most?  It is a question I ask myself as I think through my own travails and pushes mercy into my heart with fresh earnestness.

The Gospel of Christ is disruptive, calling us to love scandalously on account that “While we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” (Romans 5:8)  If He can have mercy upon us, we should desire that mercy be given to the very ones we struggle to love.  Today, ask Him to heal the wounds of your enemies and pray for justice and mercy to reign down upon them.