January 17: THE MESSIAH’S EARTHLY MISSION (part 1)

“The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon Me, Because the LORD has anointed Me To preach good tidings to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, To proclaim liberty to the captives, And the opening of the prison to those who are bound; to proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD.” Isaiah 61:1,2a

After His baptism and forty days of temptation in the desert, Jesus went back to His “old stomping grounds” in the region of Galilee.

He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up. And as His custom was, He went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and stood up to read. And He was handed the [scroll] of the prophet Isaiah . . . and He found the place where it was written: (see the opening passage above) Luke 4:16-19

Then He [rolled up the scroll], and gave it back to the attendant and sat down. And the eyes of all who were in the synagogue were fixed on Him (v.20). Pin-drop silence! Enter into this stunning moment, beloved. It was customary for a certain passage, selected beforehand by the local rabbi, to be read each Sabbath. During the service, the rabbi’s assistant would choose from those willing to read (their willingness indicated by standing). Having the scroll opened to the desired passage, the assistant chose Jesus and handed Him the scroll. But Jesus had a different passage in mind. Knowing the Scriptures, He quickly found the place where [today’s opening passage] was written. As He read aloud the written words from the scroll, the presence of the Holy Spirit piqued the watchful attention of every worshiper present. It was clear that Jesus was referring to Himself. In applying this Messianic prophecy to Himself, He was announcing His ministry to the locals. And the eyes of all who were in the synagogue were fixed on Him. And He began to say to them, “Today this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.” (vv.20b-21)

Jesus is the fulfillment of every promise of God to fallen mankind. So all bore witness to Him, and marveled at the gracious words which proceeded out of His mouth (v.22a). Luke’s gospel is the only one that conveys the event of Jesus reading the Isaiah passage above. The physician’s name makes it evident that he is not Jewish. In fact, he is the only non-Jewish writer of the New Testament. As a follower of Christ, his concern was to compose an orderly account of the fulfillment of Old Testament promises, based on the testimony of eyewitnesses while they were still alive (see Luke 1:1-3). Although Luke was not one of the twelve apostles, he was a faithful disciple of the apostles. As a converted Gentile and a dedicated physician, he was especially attentive to details, and did an excellent job of showing that growing belief in Jesus and growing opposition to Him were developing side-by-side. Clearly Luke was writing under the Holy Spirit’s guidance and inspiration. Immediately following the statement in verse 22a, we are given a distinct clue in regard to the “questioning” strategy of the archenemy:

And they said, “Is this not Joseph’s son?” Luke 4:22b (see also Genesis 3:1; John 6:42)

To be continued…