Digging Deeper – A Friend of Jesus

Avatar photo Chris Boggess on May 8, 2026

 

“When it was evening, he reclined at table with the twelve. 21 And as they were eating, he said, “Truly, I say to you, one of you will betray me.” 22 And they were very sorrowful and began to say to him one after another, “Is it I, Lord?” 23 He answered, “He who has dipped his hand in the dish with me will betray me. 24 The Son of Man goes as it is written of him, but woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! It would have been better for that man if he had not been born.” 25 Judas, who would betray him, answered, “Is it I, Rabbi?” He said to him, “You have said so.”

“While he was still speaking, Judas came, one of the twelve, and with him a great crowd with swords and clubs, from the chief priests and the elders of the people. 48 Now the betrayer had given them a sign, saying, “The one I will kiss is the man; seize him.” 49 And he came up to Jesus at once and said, “Greetings, Rabbi!” And he kissed him. 50 Jesus said to him, “Friend, do what you came to do.”

Matthew 26:20-25; 47-50 ESV

“Be merciful, even as your Father is merciful.”

Luke 6:36 (ESV)


A FRIEND OF JESUS

Most of us would be pretty familiar with the two scenes above. This passage is leading up to the climactic account of the death and resurrection of Jesus. Here, we have two scenes that serve as the final setup for the violence to follow.

Jesus knows Judas is going to betray Him, and He lets Judas know that He knows, but He does not make it abundantly obvious to the rest of the disciples. I picture this exchange being whispered between mouthfuls of bread as they recline among the other chatting disciples. I feel like if it were a louder exchange, the disciples might have had some questions for Judas.

That line, “You have said so,” gives me chills every time Jesus uses it. He says it again at the trial before the high priest:

“But Jesus remained silent. And the high priest said to Him, ‘I adjure You by the living God, tell us if You are the Christ, the Son of God.’ Jesus said to him, ‘You have said so. But I tell you, from now on you will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of Power and coming on the clouds of heaven’” (Matthew 26:63–64, ESV).

It is Jesus’s way of saying, “You are speaking the truth in your own words.” In both cases, He is pointing out that they really know the truth, whether they say it directly or not. So Jesus knows that Judas is about to betray Him.

With that in mind, my friend Ryan Hoffer pointed out a word that is truly mind-blowing in the scene where they come to arrest Jesus. Jesus calls Judas “friend.” Jesus had every right to curse Judas, to push him away with disdain, but instead, He draws him in with the word “friend.”

It is astonishing, and it should fill us with hope.

If Jesus can call Judas a friend, then there is hope for us, too. Take a moment to come before Jesus in prayer. Tell Him honestly who you are and what you have done. Then, in a moment of silence, receive the mercy and forgiveness He offers as He calls you “friend.”

 

Chris Boggess is the Care + Family Pastor at NorthStar Church. He grew up in St. Albans, West Virginia, and still cheers for the Mountaineers. He and his wife, Heather, have two grown children and one granddaughter.

Digging Deeper – Do You Really Want Karma?

Avatar photo Chris Boggess on May 7, 2026

 

To one who strikes you on the cheek, offer the other also, and from one who takes away your cloak do not withhold your tunic either. 30 Give to everyone who begs from you, and from one who takes away your goods do not demand them back. 31 And as you wish that others would do to you, do so to them…35 But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return, and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, for he is kind to the ungrateful and the evil. 36 Be merciful, even as your Father is merciful.

Luke 6:29-31; 35-36 (ESV)


DO YOU REALLY WANT KARMA?

I don’t know about you, but I love karma. When someone blows past me on Jiles Road while I’m doing the speed limit—and there’s one of Kennesaw’s finest waiting just over the rise—those blue lights flash, and I cheer. They got instant karma!

But in most of our lives, karma doesn’t hold up. There are many more times when the car blows past me and nothing happens—except they make it through the next light while I catch the red. We mostly don’t get what we deserve.

That’s why the Gospel is “good news.” It says we don’t get what we deserve; rather, we get what we don’t deserve. That is what Jesus is saying in this passage: act more like your Father in heaven. Give the people you come in contact with what they don’t deserve.

So many times, we treat life as a transaction. Our interactions with people are based on how they treat us. Notice that Jesus dismantles that idea by telling us not to treat people as they treat us, but as we wish they would treat us. That’s not a game changer; that’s a world changer!

Try it as you go through your day. Be intentional about it. Look for ways to give without expectation, to love someone through your actions in ways they can never repay. Let that kind of open generosity begin to replace the desire for people to “get what they deserve,” and instead allow you to love them as God loves you.

 

Chris Boggess is the Care + Family Pastor at NorthStar Church. He grew up in St. Albans, West Virginia, and still cheers for the Mountaineers. He and his wife, Heather, have two grown children and one granddaughter.

Digging Deeper – Wisdom from Old Commentaries

Avatar photo Chris Boggess on May 6, 2026

 

27 “But I say to you who hear, Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, 28 bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you. 29 To one who strikes you on the cheek, offer the other also, and from one who takes away your cloak do not withhold your tunic either. 30 Give to everyone who begs from you, and from one who takes away your goods do not demand them back. 31 And as you wish that others would do to you, do so to them. 32 “If you love those who love you, what benefit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them. 33 And if you do good to those who do good to you, what benefit is that to you? For even sinners do the same. 34 And if you lend to those from whom you expect to receive, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, to get back the same amount. 35 But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return, and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, for he is kind to the ungrateful and the evil. 36 Be merciful, even as your Father is merciful.

Luke 6:27-36 (ESV)


WISDOM FROM OLD COMMENTARIES

When I get ready to write the Digging Deeper for the week, I like to pull out my old books, especially some of the commentaries in my library. Some of my favorite resources are H. A. Ironside’s commentaries.

Why are commentaries written in the 1940s high on my list? It is for sentimental reasons. These are hand-me-downs from my grandmother. She faithfully taught her Sunday School class for many years at Bible Center Church, and I know these commentaries were a ready resource for her. I love it when I go to read a passage and come across her underlines and margin notes. As I turn to “Address 21” in the commentary on Luke, I find a lot of marking, and I want to share some great wisdom with you.

First, on page 201, there is this quote underlined in red: “To obey these precepts is to manifest the spirit of Christ. This is love in activity. It was fully displayed in our blessed Lord, who laid down His life for those who were His enemies and hated Him without cause.” Ironside wants us to understand that there is activity in love. Love doesn’t just talk a good game; it acts on behalf of the one who is loved. I once heard a sermon by Martin Luther King Jr. in which he said that the difference between “like” and “love” is that “like” is sentimental and “love” is active; we don’t need to “like” someone to love them. Loving our enemies means we are acting more like Jesus.

Another amazing quote from the commentary is: “When someone has been very unkind, instead of meeting him in the same way, get down on your knees and plead for his blessing, and when the Spirit of God speaks to him, his attitude will change… Go alone into the presence of God and ask Him to speak to those hearts in divine love.” Praying for those who are against us is not easy. We must love with intentionality. People we love may come to mind throughout the day, and it is a blessing to lift them up in prayer. But praying for people we would rather not think about at all is something else. Loving our enemies means intentionally praying for them.

Finally, there is this gem: “The Lord ridicules those who pretend to be the children of God when they have not reached any higher, so far as practical behavior goes, than those who make no profession at all.” God expects more from us. I like the way the commentator phrases the statement: “The Lord ridicules.” Jesus is pointing out that it would not make sense for followers of God to act like the rest of humanity. The first five books of the Bible focus on God setting His people apart so they will look different from the world around them. So the Jews hearing the comparison phrase, “For even sinners love those who love them,” would understand that they had a responsibility, as the children of the Most High God, to be set apart like priests are set apart: “And you will be my kingdom of priests, my holy nation.” This is the message you must give to the people of Israel (Exodus 19:6, NLT). And Peter applies this same standard to us as a church: “But you are not like that, for you are a chosen people. You are royal priests, a holy nation, God’s very own possession. As a result, you can show others the goodness of God, for He called you out of the darkness into His wonderful light” (1 Peter 2:9, NLT).

Priests show who God is to the people. They live their lives to a higher standard. Take a moment to evaluate yourself and your actions. Do you live a life that looks like everyone else, or do you live a life that puts God on display? What can you do today to point people around you to God by how you live your life?

  • Quotes from Addresses on the Gospel of Luke by H. A. Ironside, Litt.D. Published by Loizeaux Brothers, New York, 1947.

 

Chris Boggess is the Care + Family Pastor at NorthStar Church. He grew up in St. Albans, West Virginia, and still cheers for the Mountaineers. He and his wife, Heather, have two grown children and one granddaughter.

Digging Deeper – The Pittsburgh Experiment

Avatar photo Chris Boggess on May 5, 2026

 

27 “But I say to you who hear, Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, 28 bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you. 

Luke 6:27-28 (ESV)


THE PITTSBURGH EXPERIMENT

Don James was a veteran of the Korean War. He was a hard man—not just a Marine, but a former drill instructor. He was known to say that if he couldn’t “eat it, drink it, or sleep with it,” he didn’t need it.

Sam Shoemaker was a force for faith in Pittsburgh. His vision was that Pittsburgh would become “as famous for God as it was for steel.” Sam was one of the originators of the Twelve Steps used in Alcoholics Anonymous and had a heart for people who were far from God to be brought near.

Sam started arranging weekly lunches with groups of local business leaders to encourage them to pray for the city and become spiritual leaders. This group became what Sam called the Pittsburgh Experiment. The men would meet together, and Sam would encourage them to name their biggest enemy and pray for that person every day for 30 days.

Don heard Sam’s message and told him he thought it was a load of excrement (my words). Don explained that his biggest enemy was his boss, and he hated the guy. Don said that whoever came up with the idea of praying for your enemy must be out of their mind. Sam encouraged him to give it a try and let him know how it turned out.

Don gave it a try.

He prayed that God would work in his boss’s life and bless him. As the month went on, Don’s boss began to see a difference in him. Don was changing. Don ended up coming to Jesus through this experience.

Coming to Jesus was just the first step. Don went to seminary and became an ordained Episcopal priest. He began to work alongside Sam to fulfill the vision of making Pittsburgh a city known for faith in God. When Sam died, Don took up the reins to continue the Pittsburgh Experiment, leading hundreds of men to pray for the city. And when Don died, a choir of priests from all over the diocese sang at his funeral.

When we pray for God to bless and change our enemies, I believe He begins to bless and change us at the same time.

Who is your enemy right now? Do your own Pittsburgh Experiment and set aside time each day to pray exclusively for that person. Do it for thirty days and see what happens.

Chris Boggess is the Care + Family Pastor at NorthStar Church. He grew up in St. Albans, West Virginia, and still cheers for the Mountaineers. He and his wife, Heather, have two grown children and one granddaughter.

Digging Deeper – A Radical Statement

Avatar photo Chris Boggess on May 4, 2026

 

27 “But I say to you who hear, Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, 28 bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you. 29 To one who strikes you on the cheek, offer the other also, and from one who takes away your cloak do not withhold your tunic either. 30 Give to everyone who begs from you, and from one who takes away your goods do not demand them back. 31 And as you wish that others would do to you, do so to them. 32 “If you love those who love you, what benefit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them. 33 And if you do good to those who do good to you, what benefit is that to you? For even sinners do the same. 34 And if you lend to those from whom you expect to receive, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, to get back the same amount. 35 But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return, and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, for he is kind to the ungrateful and the evil. 36 Be merciful, even as your Father is merciful.

Luke 6:27-36 (ESV)


A RADICAL STATEMENT

I think we often read the phrase “love your enemies,” and the words feel familiar. We have heard this before. This love is a common theme with Jesus and throughout the New Testament. We hear it, and we think of our enemies as people opposed to us ideologically or socially. But if we lived in the first century, when Roman-occupied Judea was under oppression, we might not hear this in the same way.

The Jewish community hearing this address was under Roman rule and at the tip of the Roman sword. The enemies of the Jews did not make social media posts; they crucified. “Love your enemies” is a radical statement! More than radical, it would have been an outrageous statement in the world in which Jesus was preaching.

Another aspect of the statement “love your enemy” is that it was something new, not taught by any religious leader before. Others had taught their followers not to harm their enemies or to refrain from fighting back against them, but the idea of loving your enemy seems to originate with Jesus.

Even though it is not explicitly stated before Jesus, God had been telling His people how to act toward their enemies from the beginning of their relationship. “If you meet your enemy’s ox or his donkey going astray, you shall bring it back to him. If you see the donkey of one who hates you lying down under its burden, you shall refrain from leaving him with it; you shall rescue it with him” (Exodus 23:4–5, ESV). The writer of Proverbs also addresses how to treat an enemy: “Do not rejoice when your enemy falls, and let not your heart be glad when he stumbles, lest the LORD see it and be displeased, and turn away His anger from him” (Proverbs 24:17–18).

But Jesus wants His listeners to understand the heart of God explicitly toward people created in His image, even enemies. Not just to do no harm or even to do good to them, but to love them.

Love the ones who strike you.
Love the ones who oppress you.
Love the ones who cheat you.
Love the ones you do not even like.

And why should we love them and not pour out our wrath on them? Because Jesus wants us to act like the Father. God is “kind to the ungrateful and the evil.” Take some time today to make your list of enemies. But remember, you are not making a “hit list”; you are making a “love list.”

 

Chris Boggess is the Care + Family Pastor at NorthStar Church. He grew up in St. Albans, West Virginia, and still cheers for the Mountaineers. He and his wife, Heather, have two grown children and one granddaughter.

Digging Deeper – 24 Hours

Avatar photo Chris Boggess on February 13, 2026

 

31 And he went down to Capernaum, a city of Galilee. And he was teaching them on the Sabbath, 32 and they were astonished at his teaching, for his word possessed authority. 33 And in the synagogue there was a man who had the spirit of an unclean demon, and he cried out with a loud voice, 34 “Ha! What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are—the Holy One of God.” 35 But Jesus rebuked him, saying, “Be silent and come out of him!” And when the demon had thrown him down in their midst, he came out of him, having done him no harm. 36 And they were all amazed and said to one another, “What is this word? For with authority and power he commands the unclean spirits, and they come out!” 37 And reports about him went out into every place in the surrounding region.

38 And he arose and left the synagogue and entered Simon’s house. Now Simon’s mother-in-law was ill with a high fever, and they appealed to him on her behalf. 39 And he stood over her and rebuked the fever, and it left her, and immediately she rose and began to serve them.

40 Now when the sun was setting, all those who had any who were sick with various diseases brought them to him, and he laid his hands on every one of them and healed them. 41 And demons also came out of many, crying, “You are the Son of God!” But he rebuked them and would not allow them to speak, because they knew that he was the Christ.

42 And when it was day, he departed and went into a desolate place. And the people sought him and came to him, and would have kept him from leaving them, 43 but he said to them, “I must preach the good news of the kingdom of God to the other towns as well; for I was sent for this purpose.” 44 And he was preaching in the synagogues of Judea.

Luke 4:31-44


24 HOURS

Looking back at the passage we have spent this week on, the thing that strikes me is that Luke relates these events as occurring in the course of one day, one 24-hour cycle. The Sabbath ended at sundown, and maybe that is why the wave of people who needed healing started to come out of the woodwork. Jesus ends the Sabbath and goes straight to work. The work that he starts at sundown apparently does not end until the same sun rises. Jesus pours into the people who need him, and then in the morning he takes time to fill back up by spending solitary time with his Father.

I also love that the passage ends with Jesus saying he will keep preaching the good news he brought into the world.

How will you spend this day? Some of you may be reading this in the morning, some in the evening, and some at various times throughout the day. Whenever you are reading this, think about your next twenty-four hours. Will you let the day carry you like the current of a river, taking you wherever it will? Or will you go into this day with intent? I pray that it will be the latter. I pray that you will do everything today as an act of worship, acknowledging how much God has done in your life and making all that you do a chance to honor him with how you live. I pray that you will serve people around you even when it is inconvenient or difficult. I pray that you will spread the good news of Jesus to everyone you meet.

Take a moment and pray those prayers with me, and then go out into your day!

 

Chris Boggess is the Care + Family Pastor at NorthStar Church. He grew up in St. Albans, West Virginia, and still cheers for the Mountaineers. He and his wife, Heather, have two grown children and one granddaughter.

Digging Deeper – Service Worship

Avatar photo Chris Boggess on February 12, 2026

 

And he arose and left the synagogue and entered Simon’s house. Now Simon’s mother-in-law was ill with a high fever, and they appealed to him on her behalf. 39 And he stood over her and rebuked the fever, and it left her, and immediately she rose and began to serve them.

Luke 4:38-39


SERVICE WORSHIP

Today, we are still in Simon’s house. We saw the healing of his mother-in-law and how we all need healing from Jesus. Today, let’s take a look at her response to Jesus’ healing.

The fever left her, and “immediately she rose and began to serve them.” Her response to the gift of healing is to serve. And she is not serving because she has to; she is serving as a reaction to God moving in her life. In other words, it is service as an act of worship.

So often, we view worship as something we do. We are singing, we are raising our hands, we are bowing down on our knees. But what defines worship is not the act we are undertaking, but the One the act is directed toward. The “guest” in Simon’s house makes her lowly acts of service into worship. It reminds me of what Paul wrote in Colossians 3:23: “Work willingly at whatever you do, as though you were working for the Lord rather than for people.”

We do not serve because God needs our service. God does not “need” anything from us (C.S. Lewis quote incoming!).

“Every faculty you have, your power of thinking or of moving your limbs from moment to moment, is given you by God. If you devoted every moment of your whole life exclusively to His service you could not give Him anything that was not in a sense his own already. It is like a small child going to its father and saying, ‘Daddy, give me sixpence to buy you a birthday present.’ It is all very nice and proper, but only an idiot would think that the father is sixpence to the good on the transaction.” (C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity)

When we act in reaction to what God is doing by offering what we are doing back to him, that is worship. It is not what we are giving God out of our supply, but what we are giving back to him out of what he has supplied us with.

Take a moment and think about how you can worship God today by serving. Whether it is working as if you are working for Jesus, or serving someone else, as Jesus told us:

“Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the creation of the world. For I was hungry, and you fed me. I was thirsty, and you gave me a drink. I was a stranger, and you invited me into your home. I was naked, and you gave me clothing. I was sick, and you cared for me. I was in prison, and you visited me.’

“Then these righteous ones will reply, ‘Lord, when did we ever see you hungry and feed you? Or thirsty and give you something to drink? Or a stranger and show you hospitality? Or naked and give you clothing? When did we ever see you sick or in prison and visit you?’

“And the King will say, ‘I tell you the truth, when you did it to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were doing it to me!’” (Matthew 25:34-40)

Chris Boggess is the Care + Family Pastor at NorthStar Church. He grew up in St. Albans, West Virginia, and still cheers for the Mountaineers. He and his wife, Heather, have two grown children and one granddaughter.

Digging Deeper – In Need of Healing

Avatar photo Chris Boggess on February 11, 2026

 

And he arose and left the synagogue and entered Simon’s house. Now Simon’s mother-in-law was ill with a high fever, and they appealed to him on her behalf. 39 And he stood over her and rebuked the fever, and it left her, and immediately she rose and began to serve them.

Luke 4:38-39


IN NEED OF HEALING

In the city of Capernaum, there is a ruin of an eight-sided chapel that marks the traditional site of the home of Simon Peter. Octagonal buildings were often used in the early church to mark sacred or historically significant sites in Christianity. Eight was meant to reference the resurrection of Jesus on the “eighth” day of the week, a new day of worship for Christians. This octagon marks the traditional ancient home of one of the giants of the early church, but not on the day that Jesus comes to the house.

On that day, Jesus is not coming to see a spiritual leader, but a lowly fisherman. Though Simon will prove to be one of Jesus’ strongest supporters and a dear friend, at this point he is not yet a disciple. Jesus is not going to the house of a friend; he is going to a home where sickness dwells. He comes because people “appealed to him on her behalf.” I think this is a beautiful thing.

Jesus comes to the sick woman and “rebukes” the fever, and it leaves her. Matthew describes the scene this way: “But when Jesus touched her hand, the fever left her” (Matthew 8:15).

There are two things in this account that I think we all need. First, we need people interceding with God on our behalf. Prayer has power. So often we pray for ourselves, but praying for others, or having others pray for us, I believe is especially powerful. It embodies the commandment to “Love the Lord your God” because we acknowledge that he must act in our lives. It also represents the command to “love our neighbor as ourselves,” because in interceding for someone else, we turn the prayer outward.

Second, we need healing. You may not have a fever right now, but I do not think it would take you very long to think of things in your life that you need God to heal. H. A. Ironside said it like this: “We are all distracted and disturbed by existing conditions. What a blessed thing it is when Jesus comes to the bedside, when Jesus draws near, when he rebukes the fever, and when he touches the hand, the fever dies away.”

Take a moment and pray for someone else who needs the Lord’s healing. Think about what you need God to heal in your life, and find someone to pray for you.

Chris Boggess is the Care + Family Pastor at NorthStar Church. He grew up in St. Albans, West Virginia, and still cheers for the Mountaineers. He and his wife, Heather, have two grown children and one granddaughter.

Digging Deeper – Demons in Church

Avatar photo Chris Boggess on February 10, 2026

 

And in the synagogue there was a man who had the spirit of an unclean demon, and he cried out with a loud voice, 34 “Ha! What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are—the Holy One of God.” 35 But Jesus rebuked him, saying, “Be silent and come out of him!” And when the demon had thrown him down in their midst, he came out of him, having done him no harm. 36 And they were all amazed and said to one another, “What is this word? For with authority and power he commands the unclean spirits, and they come out!” 

Luke 4:33-36

 

 “But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?”

16 Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.”

17 Jesus replied, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by flesh and blood, but by my Father in heaven. 

Matthew 16:15-17


DEMONS IN CHURCH

So, how lax do your synagogue standards have to be to let a man who has a demon into your Sabbath gathering? I mean, didn’t they notice before Jesus showed up? The demon in their midst was good at hiding, but when Jesus came around, the demons could not help but acknowledge who he was.

When the demon, through the man he indwells, shouts out who Jesus is, Jesus responds by telling him to “Be silent and come out!” Jesus does not want the demon even to speak about him.

This contrasts with the conversation later in Jesus’ ministry with Peter in Matthew’s Gospel. When Peter rightly calls Jesus the “Son of the living God,” Jesus calls him “blessed” and tells him that this is a spiritual revelation, not of the flesh.

So, the demon and Peter both have a spiritual revelation of who Jesus is, and both of them verbalize that revelation. So why is one silenced and the other blessed? I know some of you are saying, “One of them is a demon, Chris, duh!” But I think it is more than that. I think that is what makes the demon a demon in the first place.

A demon is a spirit that knows exactly who Jesus is and yet, even with that knowledge, refuses to submit to his rule. I know it sounds wild that they would see the truth of who Jesus is to the point that they shout it out, but do not live in accordance with his ways.

Wait.

We see this all the time in church. Maybe we are even guilty of it. We know exactly who he is, but we do not submit to his rule. Jesus said it this way: “So why do you keep calling me ‘Lord, Lord!’ when you don’t do what I say?” (Luke 6:46). Jesus also quotes Isaiah, saying, “‘These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me’” (Matthew 15:8).

We cannot just acknowledge who he is; we have to submit to him. When we are obedient, it shows that we trust him. We trust that he is good and that his ways are right.

Take a moment and examine your heart. Where in your life do you need to submit to Jesus? Ask him to show you.

 

Chris Boggess is the Next Generation/Family Pastor at NorthStar Church. He grew up in St. Albans, West Virginia, and still cheers for the Mountaineers. He and his wife, Heather, have two grown children and one granddaughter.

Digging Deeper – Cease

Avatar photo Chris Boggess on February 9, 2026

 

And he went down to Capernaum, a city of Galilee. And he was teaching them on the Sabbath, 32 and they were astonished at his teaching, for his word possessed authority. 

Luke 4:31-32 (NLT)


CEASE

The first part of Luke chapter 4 addresses Jesus’ visit to his hometown of Nazareth. He ends up frustrated by their reception and responds with that famous quote: “But I tell you the truth, no prophet is accepted in his own hometown” (Luke 4:24). The reception was so bad that it nearly ended with Jesus being killed.

As we continue to read, we see that, starting in verse 31, it is a week later and Jesus has traveled about 16 miles, as the crow flies, to Capernaum. This little seaside village will be a “base of operations” for Jesus.

We are told that he is in Capernaum on the Sabbath. We are so used to the idea of a weekend in our culture that we read right over the Sabbath. We do not understand how unique this was in the ancient world. No society before them had anything like it. No god had ever asked his people to stop and rest one day in seven.

The word “Sabbath” is often translated “to rest,” but a better translation would be “to cease.” God wanted his people to stop striving, pushing, gaining, and struggling for a day. The creation account in Genesis revolves around the idea that God created for six days, then he ceased for a day, modeling what he wants from his people.

The Jews of Jesus’ day took this “ceasing” seriously. How many times does Jesus get accused of violating the Sabbath rest? At least six. And when he is accused, he does not just blow it off; he defends himself, because the Sabbath is serious for him too.

In her book Holy Days, Lis Harris recounts spending Shabbat (Sabbath) with a Hasidic family and asks why God cares that they rest. Her host, Moishe, responds, “What happens when we stop working and controlling nature? When we don’t operate machines or pick flowers or pluck fish from the sea? When we cease interfering in the world, we are acknowledging that it is God’s world.”

When was the last time you stopped? We are not under the covenant that commands us to keep the Sabbath, but maybe we all need to take some time to cease and to acknowledge the One who created all that we enjoy. Take a moment now, look at your calendar, and make some time for Sabbath.

Chris Boggess is the Next Generation/Family Pastor at NorthStar Church. He grew up in St. Albans, West Virginia, and still cheers for the Mountaineers. He and his wife, Heather, have two grown children and one granddaughter.