Jesus grabs the scroll and finds Isaiah. Then He drops the bomb on the hearers: today, this prophecy about the Messiah is fulfilled in your hearing. Two things strike me about that.
First, Jesus was quite confident in who He was. Some people in academia paint Him as a backwoods manic on a path of self-discovery. That's simply not the portrayal of Him in the Scriptures. He's clear on who He is: "Today this is fulfilled in your hearing." That means, "I'm the guy this is talking about." No self-discovery there. No doubts. No identity crisis. No question remains.
Second, look at the content that describes Jesus' ministry.
- It begins with the Spirit as all ministry on the earth should. We cannot assemble enough talent or enough sweat to advance the Kingdom - that's the Spirit's work.
- Right out of the box is proclamation: "Good News to the Poor!" I don't know that it's literal poor only as some have taken it, since He's not only talking about literal captives, blind or oppressed. But proclamation is the beginning.
- More proclamation: "Liberty to the captives!" Those enslaved can be set free by the Messiah.
- Even more proclamation: "Recovery of sight to the blind." People who used not to see can begin to see. We see this quite literally through the healing ministry of Jesus and more spiritually as people's spiritual eyes get opened and they see Him for who He is.
- Demonstration: to actually liberate the oppressed. Words are not enough. Action is required.
- Proclamation: God's in favor of you!
And when the rest of Luke unfolds, that's exactly what we see.
And here's the testimony part: more and more I am seeing that the Gospel is more than I've ever known it to be. I grew up at a church that preached Gospel = forgiveness. I need forgiveness, no doubt. I also need holiness, wisdom, peace, help. And I need it across the different playing fields of life. What's more, I think that this Gospel is the only Gospel that really makes disciples, people who follow Jesus.
But that's just me thinking thoughts.
And here's the testimony part: more and more I am seeing that the Gospel is more than I've ever known it to be. I grew up at a church that preached Gospel = forgiveness. I need forgiveness, no doubt. I also need holiness, wisdom, peace, help. And I need it across the different playing fields of life. What's more, I think that this Gospel is the only Gospel that really makes disciples, people who follow Jesus.
But that's just me thinking thoughts.
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