Luke 4:14 NASB
14 And Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit, and news about Him spread through all the surrounding region.
After Jesus’ baptism in the Jordan, he was led by the Holy Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by Satan. This would have occurred either in the desert south of Jerusalem or east of the Jordan river, in the wilderness. Afterward, Jesus remained in the vicinity of Jerusalem, where he encountered and called the disciples. Scripture records that after the disciples were assembled, Jesus began to minister and baptize at the Jordan with a message very similar to John the Baptist’s message, “Repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand.” While their messages were very similar, the words spoken by Jesus carried very different ramifications. Because of the tangible presence of the Holy Spirit in Jesus’ proximity when He preached or taught, the power of God was literally present to heal. So then, the difference was one of tense. John preached of the Kingdom to come. Christ preached that the Kingdom had come and was being revealed in His appearance on earth. His sermon of note during this time would have been the sermon on the mount.
After ministering for some time in the vicinity of the Jordan river, Jesus carried his message northward, toward northern Israel, the place Jesus called ‘home’. He went through Samaria, directly north of Jerusalem, where He encountered the Samaritan woman at Jacob’s well. He went on into Galilee, then Cana, then Capernaum, preaching, baptizing, healing, and delivering all along the way. The closer He got to Nazareth, which He called home, the larger the crowds grew. His fame and notoriety exploded around the entire region of Galilee.
The importance of this opening narrative surrounding Jesus’ ministry is that you get a feel for the status of Jesus’ ministry upon His arrival in Nazareth. He was baptized by John at the Jordan. He was baptized by the Holy Spirit immediately afterward. . He was tested with hunger and by Satan in the desert. Then, He preached at the Jordan, thus testing and tempering His message over those first few months. By the time He reached Galilee, He was a seasoned preacher of this new gospel of Grace.
Luke 4:15 NASB
15 And He began teaching in their synagogues and was praised by all.
By now, Jesus had developed a somewhat favorable reputation. So much so, that the religious leaders began to invite him to speak to their local congregations. (Note: The church started in the highways and byways and worked its way indoors. Not the other way around.) Synagogues developed out of the diaspora of the Jews during the Babylonian exile. During that time, they would have gathered together in small groups to continue education and worship according to the Jewish culture. When they returned to Israel after the exile, without a temple, they did not immediately have centralized worship available. They gathered locally in what would become synagogues. That practice endured into and beyond the time of Jesus’ ministry into New Testament times when Jews were dispersed into Europe and Eurasia after the day of Pentecost. Jesus was regularly invited to speak, as the religious leaders of His day wanted to hear this young preacher who was having such an impact on all of Israel.
Luke 4:16 NASB
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.
Finally, Jesus arrives in Nazareth. He has been in the synagogue before. And… He had stood before the congregation to read or teach from the scriptures in the past. I have not been to a Jewish synagogue before, but I have attended service at a Jewish Messianic congregation here in Dallas. Messianic congregations typically mirror the practices of the Jewish synagogue, except that, as Jewish Christians, they believe in and preach Christ. Not coincidentally, they still observe the Sabbath on Saturday. It would have been a normal occurrence for Jesus to read from the Torah or from the Prophets. It then would have been the responsibility of the local Rabbi to bring a related message.
Luke 4:17 NASB
17 And the scroll of Isaiah the prophet was handed to Him. And He unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written:
The normal practice in the synagogue is that Scripture is read from scrolls. Additionally, the scrolls are read from chapter to chapter throughout the year, so that, in the course of a year, the entire scroll is read completely through. At Rosh Hashana, the beginning of the Jewish new year, the scroll is unrolled and restarted. Thus, when Jesus unrolled the scroll, it is probable that He unrolled the scroll handed to Him to a preselected place according to the schedule of reading for that week. Why is this important? Because it displays God’s providence in the proclamation of His Son as...the Messiah.
Luke 4:18-19 NASB
18
“The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me,
Because He anointed Me to bring good news to the poor.
He has sent Me to proclaim release to captives,
And recovery of sight to the blind,
To set free those who are oppressed,
19
To proclaim the favorable year of the Lord.”
It is at this juncture that I pause and offer a reflection. The Standard Lesson writers whose lessons I review weekly have melded a couple of different ingredients into today’s lesson. As is their custom, they always observe the traditional Christian and American holidays in the theme of their lesson when the opportunity presents itself. They all offer respect to the Jewish roots of Christianity by cycling the Standard annually every September. The significance therein is that Rosh Hashana, the Jewish New Year occurs every year in September. The observant bible student will recognize and appreciate this small acknowledgment. The reason this has bearing on today’s lesson is that this is the week that New Year’s is celebrated worldwide according to the roman catholic calendar observed today by the entire world. So let me say it here.
Happy New Year!
Some may be thinking, “Wayne, that was an awfully big detour to take your ‘two cent’s worth’ on, but I would respond that it was necessary in order to continue the lesson. You see, in that Jesus was reading from the prophet Isaiah, chapter 61, during worship service, in a synagogue, there is every indication that this reading occurred during the observance of the beginning of the Year of Jubilee, or as the prophet Isaiah referred to it, “The acceptable year of the Lord”. So in essence, Jesus was proclaiming, “Happy New Year!” That’s right, Jesus was ringing in ‘Rosh Hashana”, the Jewish New Year. But this was not just any New Year, this was the year of Jubilee, which occurs only once every fifty years, So, then this was an amalgamation of two different Jewish Holy Days. The amalgamation doesn’t end there. There are two other Jewish Holy observances that must be mentioned here, in that, they contribute to Jesus’ train of thought as He stands before the congregation in Nazareth. The first is Shmita, which is the Sabbatical year. The Sabbatical year occurred every seven years and conjuncts in the seventh Sabbatical year, with Jubilee. The second is Yom Kippur, or The Day of Atonement.
So the way this works is, in the Jubilee Year, Rosh Hashana, and Yom Kippur and the year of Shmita are all concurrent. What that means is that: Rosh Hashana begins the year, Yom Kippur purged the nation of sin, then, at the same time, Shmita folds itself into Jubilee. What sets Shmita and Jubilee apart is they both provide for the poor and foreigners within the community and they both provide a period of rest for the earth from sowing and harvesting. Thus they display an environmental justice concern along with compassion for their neighbor and for the foreigners in their midst. Finally, they both demonstrate a requirement for faith, in that, they had to trust God to provide for them during the years of no planting or harvesting. Jubilee carried additional components regarding the release of indentured servants and a one-time forgiveness of all debt.
Finally, the Day of Atonement was a solemn observance that required a time of introspection and self-reflection. It was a time for contrition and repentance for sin. Yom Kippur set the table for what would be required of the nation of Israel over the next several years, as they cared for the poor and the oppressed, forgave debt, freed prisoners, and trusted God for their provision. So then, These observances combined to prepare God’s people for a ministry, with a leaning toward environmental and social justice.
Jesus reads aloud the selected passage. The passage is from Isaiah 61 with a nod to Isaiah 58 and points to a time when God would send the Messiah to Israel to restore them, as a nation, to return them to a place of prominence on the world stage. Theologians will argue that Isaiah was prophesying or foretelling the coming of the ‘Church age’. While that eventually became fact, we cannot ignore the immediate impact that Jesus’ presence, under the power of the Holy Spirit, had on Israel during His earthly ministry. Jesus proclaimed Himself to be the Messiah. Then He set about preaching a gospel of deliverance from sin, eternal rest through salvation. Those that received His message were exactly the people that Isaiah described in Isaiah 58 and Isaiah 61. They were poor, oppressed, and broken-hearted. They were taken advantage of by the wealthy and powerful. They had no hope. Jesus’ message was one of liberation, of fairness, of justice. He also provided a model for the Church. A model that could communicate the love, faith, and hope that Heaven desired to communicate to earth. But he also provided a model for social, environmental, and economic justice
Luke 4:20-22a NASB
20 And He rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant, and sat down; and the eyes of all the people in the synagogue were intently directed at Him. 21 Now He began to say to them, “Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your [a]hearing.” 22 And all the people were [b]speaking well of Him, and admiring the [c]gracious words which were coming from His lips…
In His proclamation, Jesus leaves his listeners with some decisions before them. First, they must accept that He is the Messiah. Next, they must be willing to embrace the work that Isaiah outlined some seven hundred years prior. That work would be for social justice.
Isaiah 58:6-9 NASB
6
Is this not the fast that I choose:
To release the bonds of wickedness,
To undo the ropes of the yoke,
And to let the oppressed go free,
And break every yoke?
7
Is it not to break your bread [c]with the hungry
And bring the homeless poor into the house;
When you see the naked, to cover him;
And not to hide yourself from your own flesh?
8
Then your light will break out like the dawn,
And your recovery will spring up quickly;
And your righteousness will go before you;
The glory of the Lord will be your rear guard.
9
Then you will call, and the Lord will answer;
You will cry for help, and He will say, ‘Here I am.’
If you remove the yoke from your midst,
The [d]pointing of the finger and speaking wickedness,
Isaiah 61:3-4 NASB
3
To grant those who mourn in Zion,
Giving them a garland instead of ashes,
The oil of gladness instead of mourning,
The cloak of praise instead of a disheartened spirit.
So they will be called [d]oaks of righteousness,
The planting of the Lord, that He may be glorified.
4
Then they will rebuild the ancient ruins,
They will raise up the former devastations;
And they will repair the ruined cities,
The desolations of many generations.
Isaiah 58: 10-12 NASB
10
And if you offer yourself to the hungry
And satisfy the [e]need of the afflicted,
Then your light will rise in darkness,
And your gloom will become like midday.
11
And the Lord will continually guide you,
And satisfy your [f]desire in scorched places,
And give strength to your bones;
And you will be like a watered garden,
And like a spring of water whose waters do not [g]fail.
12
Those from among you will rebuild the ancient ruins;
You will raise up the age-old foundations;
And you will be called the repairer of the breach,
The restorer of the [h]streets in which to dwell.
Exodus 23: 9-11 NASB
9 “You shall not oppress a stranger, since you yourselves know the [g]feelings of a stranger, for you also were strangers in the land of Egypt.
The Sabbath and the Land
10 “Now you shall sow your land for six years and gather in its yield, 11 but in the seventh year you shall let it [h]rest and lie uncultivated, so that the needy of your people may eat; and whatever they leave the animal of the field may eat. You are to do the same with your vineyard and your olive grove.
Selah,
wb
(My apologies for the lateness of this lesson. There was a lot here that I wanted to communicate. Blessings!)
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