When the people in the synagogue heard this, they were all filled
with fury. They rose up, drove him out of the town, and led him to
the brow of the hill on which their town had been built, to hurl
him down headlong. But he passed through the midst of them and went
away. Luke 4:28–30
One of the first places Jesus went to begin His public ministry was
His own home town. After entering the Synagogue and reading from
the Prophet Isaiah, Jesus proclaimed that the prophecy of Isaiah
was now fulfilled in His very person. This caused His townspeople
to be outraged at Him, thinking He was blaspheming. So they
shockingly sought to immediately kill Jesus by driving Him out of
their town to the brow of a hill off which they meant to throw Him.
But then something fascinating happened. Jesus “passed through the
midst of them and went away.”
The Father eventually permitted the grave evil of the death of His
Son to take place, but only in His time. It’s unclear from this
passage how Jesus was able to avoid being killed right then at the
beginning of His ministry, but what’s important to know is that He
was able to avoid this because it was not His time. The Father had
more for Jesus to do before He would permit Him to offer His life
freely for the salvation of the world.
This same reality is true for our own lives. God does permit evil
to happen, at times, because of the irrevocable gift of free will.
When people choose evil, God will allow them to proceed—but always
with a caveat. The caveat is that God only permits evil to be
inflicted upon others when that evil is able to be ultimately used
for God’s glory and for some form of good. And it is only permitted
in God’s time. If we do evil ourselves, choosing sin rather than
the will of God, then the evil that we do will end in our own loss
of grace. But when we are faithful to God and some external evil is
imposed upon us by another, God permits this only when that evil
can be redeemed and used for His glory.
The best example of this is, of course, the passion and death of
Jesus. A far greater good came forth from that event than the evil
itself. But it was only permitted by God when the time was right,
in accord with God’s will.
Reflect, today, upon the glorious fact that any evil or any
suffering inflicted upon you unjustly can end in the glory of God
and the greater salvation of souls. No matter what you may suffer
in life, if God permits it, then it is always possible for that
suffering to share in the redeeming power of the Cross. Consider
any suffering you have endured and embrace it freely, knowing that
if God permitted it, then He certainly has some greater purpose in
mind. Surrender that suffering over with the utmost confidence and
trust and allow God to do glorious things through it.
God of all wisdom, I know that You know all things and that all
things can be used for Your glory and for the salvation of my soul.
Help me to trust You, especially when I endure suffering in life.
May I never despair when treated unjustly and may my hope always be
in You and in Your power to redeem all things. Jesus, I trust in
You.
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Featured image above: The Brow of the Hill near Nazareth By
James Tissot
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