Get Your Pretense On!

Chapter 2: The Principle of Reversal and the Upside-Down Kingdom of God • 47

Unlikely Places, Unlovely People, Unimaginable Purposes Practically speaking, understanding the principle of reversal means that things are simply not what they seem. However defeated, messed up, or dubious things might appear, the power of the Kingdom of God can reverse it. God can do the unexpected with the most questionable folk. The grace of God is in full effect. God can transform and rescue even the most horrible circumstance, the most absurd person, or the weirdest condition and turn it around (like a U-turn) for the purposes of his Kingdom’s advance. Take for instance unlikely places. What are the odds that the Messiah and Lord of the universe would grow up, in all places, Nazareth of Galilee? The next day Jesus decided to go to Galilee. He found Philip and said to him, “Follow me.” [44] Now Philip was from Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter. [45] Philip found Nathanael and said to him, “We have found him of whom Moses in the Law and also the prophets wrote, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.” [46] Nathanael said to him, “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” Philip said to him, “Come and see.” ~ John 1.43-46 Only the Gospels and Acts use the term Nazarene or Nazareth in the New Testament. It was an insignificant place at the time of Jesus, both in terms of size and population, probably around sixty acres able to support a few people under five hundred. Only one citation in the New Testament appears to be a positive one (Matt. 2.23), which cites a kind of phantom text in the Old Testament. Historically, Nazareth was associated with dubious and unimpressive characters (see Hiram’s reaction to Solomon’s gift of some of the