Luke 4

Jesus went to the local synagogue to tell his neighbors that he was the messiah, but they didn't listen. Instead they chose to do this:

Verses 29-30: "They got up, drove him out of the town, and took him to the brow of the hill on which the town was built, in order to throw him off the cliff.  But he walked right through the crowd and went on his way."

This may be the most anti-climactic story in the bible. They drove Jesus to a cliff, they were about to throw him off and murder him, but instead Jesus walked right through the crowd and went on with the rest of his day. This wouldn't make a very exciting movie.
I imagine that a group of church people got excited enough to drive him to the cliff, but no one had the courage to push him to his death. There they were, at the edge of the cliff looking at each other wondering who was going to be the one to finish him off, but no one stepped up. They were all talk, and instead they let Jesus walk right through them.

I'm glad that no one pushed him off the cliff... I think that would have been a bad decision. I am not surprised that they thought about it though, and almost acted on it. Small groups of people make bad decisions all the time, we call them riots and mobs today. At some point, the members of riots and mobs realize that what they are doing is a bad idea, so they stop. Maybe it's after a coulple days in jail, but no American riot has ever been permanent. 

Permanent riots have a different name... Revolution.

For a riot to turn into revolution, the members of the revolution have to be committed and courageous. I am humbled by the sacrifice of people like Martin Luther King and Mahatma Ghandi, who led non-violent revolts and were so committed to their cause that they paid the ultimate price. Their courage changed the lives of millions of people.

While his neighbors didn't have the courage to take Jesus' life, he had the courage and commitment to give it.

His courage changed the world, and the world to come.

His courage started a revolution of love, a revolution that has grown every day since.