16 And He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up; and as was His custom, He entered the synagogue on the Sabbath, and stood up to read. 17 And the book of the prophet Isaiah was handed to Him. And He opened the book and found the place where it was written,
18 “The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me,
Because He anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor.
He has sent Me to proclaim release to the captives,
And recovery of sight to the blind,
To set free those who are oppressed,
19 To proclaim the favorable year of the Lord.”
Because He anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor.
He has sent Me to proclaim release to the captives,
And recovery of sight to the blind,
To set free those who are oppressed,
19 To proclaim the favorable year of the Lord.”
20 And He closed the book, gave it back to the attendant and sat down; and the eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on Him. 21 And He began to say to them, “Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.”
We read last week of Jesus's temptation, of his returning to Galilee from the desert, and now we find he is making his way through Galilee. And now he is in his hometown, Nazareth.
Remember in Luke 2, when Jesus stayed behind in the temple and amazed the leaders there with his learning? He was just a child then. Now he is a man. Now he is allowed to read the scripture, and to preach to the people there.
And he just dives right in! Jesus, without hesitation, reads a prophecy ABOUT HIMSELF. What he reads here is Isaiah 6:1-2. I don't know if it is coincidence that he was handed the scroll of Isaiah, or if he requested it, but I don't think it was a coincidence that he read the prophecy concerning why He was there. This is the beginning of Jesus's ministry, and He wanted everyone to know exactly who He was and what He was doing there.
We'll learn more in the next few days what else he preaches on, but I find this quite powerful. He makes no excuses, he doesn't ease into it, he just tells the people what is going on. Sometimes, preachers who give it straight are ridiculed, they are given labels like "bible-thumper."
There is a time and place to speak parables, Jesus did that as well, but sometimes, obviously, we just need to tell people who we really are, and what we are here for.
We read last week of Jesus's temptation, of his returning to Galilee from the desert, and now we find he is making his way through Galilee. And now he is in his hometown, Nazareth.
Remember in Luke 2, when Jesus stayed behind in the temple and amazed the leaders there with his learning? He was just a child then. Now he is a man. Now he is allowed to read the scripture, and to preach to the people there.
And he just dives right in! Jesus, without hesitation, reads a prophecy ABOUT HIMSELF. What he reads here is Isaiah 6:1-2. I don't know if it is coincidence that he was handed the scroll of Isaiah, or if he requested it, but I don't think it was a coincidence that he read the prophecy concerning why He was there. This is the beginning of Jesus's ministry, and He wanted everyone to know exactly who He was and what He was doing there.
We'll learn more in the next few days what else he preaches on, but I find this quite powerful. He makes no excuses, he doesn't ease into it, he just tells the people what is going on. Sometimes, preachers who give it straight are ridiculed, they are given labels like "bible-thumper."
There is a time and place to speak parables, Jesus did that as well, but sometimes, obviously, we just need to tell people who we really are, and what we are here for.
1 comment:
And what an excellent description of the Messiah's ministry - to preach the gospel to the poor, proclaim release to the captives, recovery of sigh to the blind and set free those who are oppressed. Truly metaphors for the lost spiritual condition of all humanity (though obviously those who are actually poor, prisoners, blind and oppressed are also ripe to receive the gospel message because they are in a position where they are almost forced to acknowledge their desperate state).
And what a description of believers! We are the poor who have been made rich spiritually, we are the captives who have been set free, we are the blind who now see and the oppressed who have been delivered.
The day of judgment is surely coming, but today is the day of salvation!
Post a Comment