Sunday January 24, 2009 Luke 4:14-21

Welcome, it doesn’t seem right to start this blog without saying something about Haiti but what is there to say-it’s horrible. One thing that stands out for me is how countries are trying to get relief supplies in, including some countries that don’t do this routinely. Is God focusing our attention on some of our brothers and sisters whom we have tended to ignore, not by a disaster but by insisting we finally reach out to them? After this will we ever be able to forget Haiti? I hope not and I hope we also reach out to our brothers and sisters in other poor countries as well. Our text for Sunday comes from the gospel of Luke. Previous to this lesson Jesus has gone through the three temptations. This is the beginning of his public ministry.

V14-15 Jesus returned to Galilee and began to teach in their synagogues. At this point he is praised by everyone, kind of a home town boy whom everyone is proud of.

V16 He returned to Nazareth to teach on the Sabbath. This was the town he had grown up in. Everyone knew him and his family. You know how it is if you’ve grown up in a small town, everybody knows your business-the good and the bad.

V17 He stood up to read as the invited guest teacher and the scroll of Isaiah was given to him. He didn’t choose it himself. Back then they, too, had a prescribed set of readings for a year. He unrolled the scroll and found the reading for that Sabbath.

V18-19 According to rabbinic tradition when reading the prophets the reader could edit his verses. When one read the Law it was to be read exactly as it appeared and someone looked over your shoulder to make sure that it was read correctly. The verses Jesus read are a combination of Isaiah 61:1-2 and Isaiah 58:6.
“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me” this was a reference to his baptism
“because he has anointed me” he is the anointed and promised one in the text-a present reality fulfilled in Him.
“to bring good news to the poor” the meek , the humble who seek God.
“He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives”
“and recovery of sight to the blind” the literal blind and the spiritually blind, compassion.
“to let the oppressed go free” justice for the oppressed.
“to proclaim the year of the Lords favor” proclaim the Jubilee year-the Messiah will bestow blessings on his people.

V 20 Jesus rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant and sat down. Everyone is staring at him. They have just heard a radical message and they can’t believe it.

V21 Jesus then says that “today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing” today this scripture is starting to be lived. It is no longer a hope in the future but a reality for today.

So why were the people in shock? It sounds like a “nice” reading to us. We need to go back to the Messianic dreams from Isaiah to find the answer. Isaiah 60:1-61:6 held the hopes of the people of things that would happen when Messiah came. These were their national “dreams”:

* God’s glory will embrace His so-called Chosen People forever, 60:2. Oppression by other nations will cease, 61:1.
* Rulers and people of other nations will come to the Holy Land, bringing with them their wealth–across the oceans in ships and across the land on camels, 60:3, 5b, 6, 11, 61:6b. Indeed, God’s people will suck into their own land and hands the wealth of the Gentiles as a child sucks milk from its mother’s breasts, 60:16a.
* God will pour out His vengeance on any Gentile nation that will not serve the Jewish people, 60:12, 61:2a. Gentiles will rebuild any Jewish structures that they have reduced to rubble (60:10a), using the best of timbers from Lebanon in the process, 60:13; see also 60:17. They will also free God’s people from having to do menial tasks such as caring for animals and farming the land, 61:5. Possibly the suggestion is also that God’s people will be spared having to do menial tasks so that they might devote life to studying the Torah, their scriptures.
* Diaspora Jews scattered around the Mediterranean world will return to the Holy Land, bringing their silver and gold with them, 60:9.
* God’s people will live in their land in peace and security, 60:18. The gates that lead into their towns and cities will always remain open, 60:11a. The people will all be righteous, possess the land forever, and increase greatly in numbers, 60:21,22a. (c 2010, Harry Wendt)

By leaving these verses out of the reading and claiming the scriptures were being fulfilled in him, Jesus shredded their national dreams. This was a very unMessianic announcement to those waiting for redemption from a Messiah. The Messiah was to come and wage war against the occupying forces, Rome, and take over the land and the Temple declaring himself king while the population also declared him their king. He would subdue the Gentiles and either enslave them or get rid of them. Jesus left all of this vengeance, wealth and servitude of the Gentiles out.

Next week we will continue with this text and find out what happened in the synagogue. This is a “stay tuned” message that is “to be continued”. It’s too bad that the reading was broken up as the message as a whole is powerful as is the crowd’s reaction. I urge you to read these verses in Isaiah and note where Jesus stopped reading (at 61:2a) and what the next part of 61:2b says.