Scripture Reading(s)
Luke 4:14-21
4:14 Then Jesus, filled with the power of the Spirit, returned to Galilee, and a report about him spread through all the surrounding country.
4:15 He began to teach in their synagogues and was praised by everyone.
4:16 When he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, he went to the synagogue on the sabbath day, as was his custom. He stood up to read,
4:17 and the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to him. He unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written:
4:18 “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free,
4:19 to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”
4:20 And he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant, and sat down. The eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on him.
4:21 Then he began to say to them, “Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.”
Reflections
What a beautiful picture of God’s Grace being poured out into the hearts and lives of those who gather to listen. This passage paints a profound picture of Jesus, the living word Himself, preaching the word through both words and action. How amazing it would have been to be sitting the audience and listening to the son of God read out His inspired word.
Christ is just now stepping into the scene and beginning His ministry. He wastes no time in diving into preaching a message of hope and love to lost sinners in need of saving. There are three main ways in which we see the love of Christ being poured in through the start of His ministry. I hope and pray that these can bring encouragement to your hearts as they did mine.
1. He began His ministry after being baptized:
It is important to note that Jesus was began His ministry right after He was baptized and faced temptation. He had humbled Himself in order to relate to us through baptism. He set the example of what it meant to publicly declare a love and devotion for Christ.
2. He began His ministry after facing temptation:
Christ had also just experienced temptation right before beginning His task to spread the good news. He understands what it means to face the reality of being tempted to choose the world over the promises of God and showed how scripture is used as a tool to thwart of the temptations what we face in life.
3. He began His ministry by preaching from the word of God:
It is also interesting to see how Christ wasted no time in spreading the good news to a lost people. The passage that He chose to read from highlighted how Israel was redeemed and restored. Israel had been a nation that had rebelled and rejected Christ and would do so again at the time of Christ’s crucifixion. However, His love covers all our sins and His hand of Grace has no limits.
I always loved how Jesus introduced His mission in the book of Luke. What a profound scripture to start with.
The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor. (Luke 4:18-19)
Who is the good news for? It’s for everyone. It is especially for the poor, outcasts, sinners, and oppressed.
Sometimes I have to ask myself, am I doing what I can to bring the good news to the same people Jesus came to bring the good news to? Or have I been delivering the good news from within my comfort zone? Let us not forget the “least” of our society when sharing the gospel.
I would also suggest that Jesus’ ministry was a determined one. He did not sit idly by and just let things happen. He MADE things happen. My friends, we must be bold and we must be willing to sacrifice if we want to minister like Jesus did.