Luke 4:14-22
Introduction
At the beginning of his public ministry, not long after he had been baptised by John, Jesus came to his home town of Nazareth. He went to the synagogue on the Sabbath day, as was his custom. As a religious teacher and an “old boy” of the synagogue school Jesus was invited to read the scripture for the day from the Prophet Isaiah. It was the practice for the visiting teacher to add any comments or exposition he might have on the passage. Jesus stood up to read the passage, and then sat down, as the custom was, to give his address. Everyone’s eyes were upon him when he said: “Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing”.
They all marvelled at what he said – although many later rejected him. It was an amazing claim that Jesus was making. Isaiah had been speaking of the Messiah: how God’s Spirit would be upon him, and how he would do mighty deeds and would bring salvation to God’s people. This is Isaiah’s manifesto for the Messiah. So Jesus comes along and says, in effect, “I am going to fulfil these words. In other words: this is my manifesto. I am the Messiah and I am going to keep all these manifesto pledges!”
During the past week we have heard all leaders of the different political parties saying the same thing. They are all promising to do great things to get our nation out of the mess we are in. It remains to be seen how many of these pledges will be kept when a new government is formed after May 7th.
Yes politicians are after your vote – and they often promise what they can’t deliver, when it comes right down to the nitty-gritty. But Jesus is different from any politician. His words were true and every one of them was fulfilled during his public ministry. Moreover, he is still at work in the world fulfilling his manifesto promises.
Jesus’ manifesto promises
Let’s have a look at what Isaiah says, and see how Jesus the Messiah fulfilled these words. If you compare what you see in Isaiah 61:1-2 with what Luke quotes in Luke 4:18-19 you will see a slight difference. Not a substantial difference in meaning but a slight variation. This is because Luke is quoting from the Greek version of the Old Testament which differs slightly from the Hebrew text. (What we have in our Old Testament is the English translation of the Hebrew. What we read in Luke’s Gospel is our English translation of the Greek version. I hope that’s not too complicated for you!)
Jesus in the Synagogue would have been actually reading from the Hebrew version. Now, if you put together both Isaiah’s words and Luke’s quotation you can see at least six things that the Messiah is going to do. You might call them six points in his manifesto.
1) to preach good news to the poor
2) to bind up the broken hearted
3) to release the oppressed
4) to proclaim freedom for captives
5) to proclaim restoration of sight to the blind
6) to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favour.
Let’s see how Jesus the Messiah fulfilled these pledges.
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1) He comes to preach good news to the poor
We are told that the common people heard Jesus gladly. Jesus had something for them. The poor were often shut out of so many blessings and privileges in Israel. They couldn’t afford to do all the things the Pharisees said they needed to do in order to be saved. They struggled even to earn a crust of bread. How could they find time for elaborate rituals or money to pay for sacrifices.
But Jesus said to them: “Come unto me, all you that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” (Matthew 11:28)
And it’s an invitation to all who feel burdened and all who are worn down.
As for the rich he says: “It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.” (Matthew 19:24)
The message of the Kingdom is good news for the poor, not for the rich!
He also brings good news to the spiritually poor – to those who recognize that they are in spiritual need. He comes to all who realize they need to be saved and he offers hope.
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2) He comes to bind up the broken hearted
Those who sorrowed over their sins were offered forgiveness. Also, those who mourned for their loved ones saw their dead restored to life. Think, for example, of Jairus, the Widow of Nain, and Martha and Mary. He brought balm to the wounded soul.
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3) He comes to release the oppressed
There was not much that he could do for those who were suffering political oppression by the Romans, but to those who were oppressed by Satan he could bring release. So he cast out evil spirits and he freed people from both physical and mental illnesses – lifting the burden of their oppression.
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4) He comes to bring freedom to the captives
He came for all who were in the grip of Satan’s power because of the sins they had committed. He was going to die on a cross to redeem them from their sins. In Christ there is true spiritual freedom.
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5) He comes to restore sight to the blind
This, Jesus did literally, on numerous occasions. But he also came to remove a different kind of blindness – spiritual blindness. By his teaching, and through the working of the Holy Spirit, he opened the eyes of his disciples to see things as they truly were. He enabled them to see what mankind was really like – sinners in need of salvation. He enabled them to see something of God’s plan and purposes: to view the world from the eternal, not just the temporal, perspective. He came to bring spiritual insight.
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6) He comes to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favour
Or, as it says in the King James Version: “the acceptable year of the Lord”. What this means is that Jesus was telling people that a new dispensation was coming. The Kingdom of God was now among them. I think the word “favour” here really means “grace” – undeserved favour. Salvation comes as a free gift of God to all who have faith in Jesus. The Lord is favourable to all who truly repent and believe.
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Conclusion
Yes, Jesus fulfilled his manifesto commitments, right down to the smallest detail. And he has called us to continue his work – to proclaim the message of salvation by grace and faith in Jesus. To reach out to all who are needy or oppressed in any way in his name. To offer God’s love in practical ways. This is the work of the Church of Jesus Christ – to continue to fulfil his manifesto pledges.
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