Mark spoke tonight on the subject of force fields, something much loved in science fiction! A force field is a barrier made up of energy or particles to protect a person, area or object from attacks or intrusions:
It seems from Luke 4:16-30 that Jesus was divinely protected (maybe not by a force field, but certainly by a ‘God-shield’!) After reading from Isaiah 61 in the synagogue, every eye was fixed on Jesus (rather like when a stranger walks into a cowboy town…) They knew that God could heal and do great things, but their reaction seems to have been ‘who does Jesus think he is?’ His words infuriated and enraged them (they ‘exploded’ with anger at the claims He was making), so much so that they were going to kill Him, planning to throw Him off a cliff. Yet ‘he walked right through the crowd and went on his way.‘ (Luke 4:30) It must have seemed as though God intervened and His protection was on His Son.
God had plans and purposes for Jesus and that was not the right time for Him to die, so God intervened. Jesus was not scared off by the venom He had provoked, but continued to preach God’s message of repentance and love to all.
We often feel alone and afraid, dragged down by situations. panicking as Israel so often did when faced with enemies. Just as they were commanded, however, we need to stand still and see God’s salvation (see Ex 14:13-14), for He is a shield to His people, providing angelic protection at times (Ps 34:7). We need not fear, however much situations may change rapidly, because God is on His throne and in complete control of all situations. Our lives and our times are in His hands and we too can know the protection and help which Jesus experienced.