| << | Contents | >> |
Articles 2021-2023
Jesus had already been filled with the Holy Spirit when He faced Satan in the wilderness (Luke 4:1). But He came away from that confrontation in the power of the Spirit.
And Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit, and news about Him spread through all the surrounding district.
It is not that Jesus lacked power beforehand, but the Father was now releasing Him to visibly express it. And the result was that news about Him began to spread everywhere. The Scripture’s first example of Him revealing His power in Galilee took place at a wedding (John 2:11).
When His mom informed Him that those hosting the event had run out of wine, He was not immediately inspired to do anything about it. But when He heard her speak to the servants, it seems that He then heard His Father in heaven releasing Him into action. The words she said to them (her last recorded words in Scripture) were the essence of Heaven’s strategy for mankind for the rest of Church history. Whatever He says to you, do it (John 2:5). The Father used those words to stir something deep in Jesus’ soul that resulted in Him revealing the glory of God.
How was God’s glory revealed? Was it simply in the miracle of water becoming a better tasting wine than the guests had previously enjoyed? Or was there something else as well? Is it not interesting that nobody except the servants knew the source of the wine? The head waiter did not know. And he congratulated the groom for serving the best wine last. Maybe the groom took credit and enjoyed the waiter’s praise. But the truth is that he did not know what the man was talking about. So how was God’s glory manifest?
It is the glory of God to conceal a matter, but the glory of kings is to search out a matter.
Kings and political leaders will search out the reasons why certain events took place and then take credit for their insights. Scientific leaders will search out the hidden causes of various phenomena and then explain how they came to their conclusions. They will then point to their labors, insights, and specifically the methods they used. Here are the ways of man.
But God’s glory is revealed in His humility. The eternal invisible Father was made known to just a few that day. Notice Jesus’ disciples’ response when they realized what had happened.
This beginning of His signs Jesus did in Cana of Galilee, and manifested His glory, and His disciples believed in Him.
They were already following Him; they were His disciples. But when they saw how He handled Heaven’s miraculous power, they believed. In Him. What had happened? They had gained insight into the nature of the God of Israel. And they saw it revealed in the humility of the man Christ Jesus. And they believed. In Him.
So, Jesus came to Nazareth in Galilee where He had been brought up, entered the synagogue on the Sabbath, and began to publicly read from the prophet Isaiah (Luke 4:16 - 17).
THE SPIRIT OF THE LORD IS UPON ME, BECAUSE HE ANOINTED ME TO PREACH THE GOSPEL TO THE POOR. HE HAS SENT ME TO PROCLAIM RELEASE TO THE CAPTIVES, AND RECOVERY OF SIGHT TO THE BLIND, TO SET FREE THOSE WHO ARE OPPRESSED, TO PROCLAIM THE FAVORABLE YEAR OF THE LORD.
First, Jesus had been filled with the Spirit. Next, He was released to reveal in public the Spirit’s power. And finally, He began to declare openly that the Holy Spirit was upon Him to perform specific God–given tasks. The eternal invisible God of Israel was now stepping out in visible humanity before the eyes of the nation.
God was now anointing His Son to preach Heaven’s good news to the poor. These were folks who had nothing going for them. What could possibly bring encouragement to people who had nothing and had no way out of their condition?
But the Scripture does not say that Jesus would only go to the poor, that He was somehow restricted from speaking to the wealthy and powerful. We know that He interacted with wealthy tax collectors, many religious leaders, and other influential people over the next several years. Clearly, Jesus went and spoke to anyone to whom the Father sent Him. But the prophecy was making clear that God had no intention of leaving the poor out of what He was about to do. This in itself was good news.
Next, Jesus declared that He was sent (Greek, APOSTELLO) to proclaim release to the captives (Greek, AICHMALOTOS – the prisoners of war). It is not as though spiritual warfare against God’s people began only when Jesus was born. Satan had been trying to destroy Israel for centuries. Today he is still trying.
But many in Israel had been taken captive by rage against military oppression (the zealots), compromising attitudes of collaboration with her enemies (the tax collectors), and religious/legalistic deception based on a mingling of man’s tradition with the Scriptures. And Jesus came into the prevalent confusion to bring Israel’s God into clarity before the eyes of all so that clear choices could be made.
But prisoners of war cannot just decide one day to no longer be imprisoned. That is the essence of what it means to have been taken captive. Just like there was no way out of poverty, there was no way out of bondage. How hopeless. Until God Himself stepped forward and proclaimed that the prison doors were now being opened and the oppressive futility of poverty mindsets were now being broken. Truth had stepped forth center stage offering freedom. In receiving Him, those with heavy yokes of spiritual slavery could exchange them for His burden which was light. Jesus was God’s way out/forward for the nation.
So, His mission was to proclaim the recovery of sight to a nation that had once seen, and now did not. The gradual and increasing imprisonment of the souls of the Jewish people had over time caused a national decrease of Heaven’s illumination. But the fullness of time had now come for the Sun of righteousness to rise with healing in His wings. And Jesus could authoritatively declare that Heaven’s light had now dawned.
Then Jesus again spoke to them, saying, “I am the Light of the world; he who follows Me will not walk in the darkness, but will have the Light of life.”
And again:
While I am in the world, I am the Light of the world.
(John 9:5)
But after He had ascended back to His Father, those who had received Him would now be empowered to bring Heaven’s illumination to others.
You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden;
Finally, according to the NASB quote above, Jesus said that He had come to set free the oppressed and to proclaim the favorable year of the Lord. But the Greek words translated as “set free” are APOSTELLO – to send on a mission as a messenger and APHESIS – freedom, pardon, and deliverance.
In other words, Jesus came to His people (including the poor) to set them free from their prisons, to open their eyes to be able to see, and then to send them in freedom as His apostolic people to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor. The Amplified Bible says it well. The Spirit of the Lord was upon the Lord Jesus:
…to send forth as delivered those who are oppressed…to proclaim the accepted and acceptable year of the Lord…
And Jesus did exactly what He said. He took folks who had nothing going for them and turned them into an apostolic people who according to some observers saw them as having turned the then–known world upside down (Acts 17:6). In our own day, let us not look at ourselves and think about how little God has to work with. How much did He have to work with in Israel two thousand years ago?
Rather, let us receive His call to be His apostolic people in our generation. Amen.
Donald Rumble – December 2023
Search Comments
This page has been visited 0086 times.
| << | Contents | >> |
10 per page