And all were speaking well of Him, and wondering at the gracious words which were falling from His lips; and they were saying, "Is this not Joseph's son?" (v. 22)
When I read this verse those 2 little words "gracious words" hit me unexpectedly. Gracious words. Something about it sounded so gentle and loving. I decided to take my study of this tiny phrase a bit deeper and looked up the word gracious in my greek translation Bible (basically has the original greek word and then a more in depth translation of it). Here's the meaning I found for the word gracious: joy, favor, acceptance, a kindness granted or desired, a benefit, thanks, gratitude; a favor done without expectation of return; absolute freeness of the loving-kindness of God to men, finding its only motive in the bounty and free-heartedness of the Giver; unearned and unmerited favor. Wow. These were the kinds of words Jesus was speaking that caused His hearers to wonder. Can you imagine having a conversation with someone and feeling joy, acceptance, kindness, and favor with no expectation of the same words in return? Can you imagine feeling God's loving-kindness and a sense of the speaker's free-heartedness behind those words? The verse says that these gracious words were "falling from His lips". Can you hear the ease behind that phrase? Can you imagine receiving these words from another and knowing that they were not only 100% genuine but also flowing from their mouth as naturally as it is for us to breathe? Is it any wonder the people were a bit befuddled and asking, "Is this not Joseph's son?". Isn't He just an ordinary man like the rest of us? He's not of exceptional breeding or class, is He?
I felt a great deal of conviction as the meaning of this very short verse set in. While I'm not able to do exactly as Jesus does because He's infallible, I fully believe God expects me to try. When it comes to this verse, I'm not totally sure when the last time was that I really tried to speak graciously in such a way that the hearer could sense that it was a natural out-flow from my relationship with the Giver of those words. Of course, God had to up the ante on this and chose to remind me of some broken relationships in my life where there has been a great deal of anger and pain. I could sense Him saying that I'm expected to have gracious words for those who hurt me as well as those who love me. Should I be surprised? After all, when Jesus spoke these gracious words He spoke to people who He knew would one day betray, abandon, and mock Him.
I wonder what it would be like to have interactions with people who know me well and love me to respond to gracious words from me that were so of God that they could say, "Isn't this Amber? The girl who was grouchy with me yesterday morning? The girl who got a little too upset in traffic last week?". Or to encounter someone who had never met me before, who was so struck by God's words to them through me that they had to wonder how it was another human was being so kind, when their normal experience of humanity has been one of selfishness and anger? Kind of sounds like a fun experiment to me.
