"The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.” Luke 4:18-19
“Someday, your tombstone will read, ‘She died because she did too much!’”. I confess that was something someone once said to me. Life is busy and there is so much that needs attending to and checked off the to-do list. But if we’re honest with ourselves, our busyness begs the question of priorities. While many tasks are indeed non-negotiable, we will only learn what God really wants us to do when we stop long enough to listen to the still, quiet voice of the Holy Spirit. For many of us, taking that pause is difficult to do as it requires us to temporarily step out of our busyness.
In our key verses today, it’s the Sabbath and Jesus visits the synagogue in his hometown of Nazareth. When it’s time for the Scripture reading, Jesus stands up and takes the scroll from the attendant. He reads aloud from Isaiah 61:1-2, noted in Luke 4:18-19 above, rolls up the scroll, hands it back to the attendant, and returns to his seat. He then proclaims that the words He just read are not only true, but are fulfilled in Him in that moment. The congregation is astonished because Jesus, their local carpenter’s son, just proclaimed Himself to be the Messiah.
In reading aloud these Scriptures, Jesus also delineates His mission. He has no doubt of His calling and His purpose. All throughout His ministry, the Gospels record Jesus living out His mission to proclaim the good news to the poor, to proclaim freedom for the prisoners, to recover sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free, and to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor. Scripture gives us a window into His ministry of restoring hope to the hopeless, of saving that which was lost, of meeting often desperate needs.
If we study each of these facets of Jesus’ ministry from His mission statement, we see that each is spiritual as well as physical. Jesus did indeed come to proclaim the good news of salvation to the spiritually poor. But He also has overwhelming compassion for the impoverished and hungry. Jesus came to set spiritual prisoners free from the prison of sin. He also sets free those who were bound in metal chains, too, as He heals them of illness. Restoring spiritual sight to those blinded by their lack of faith is part of Jesus’ mission. But He also restores physical sight to those who are blind. Those oppressed spiritually by demons are cured, those oppressed by ostracism because of their devastating health conditions are healed, and those oppressed by hatred and contempt like tax collectors and prostitutes are befriended. Indeed, those oppressed in many ways are set free.
The year of the Lord’s favor typically refers to the Year of Jubilee (from Leviticus 25) when, every 50 years, lands that had been purchased (or taken or swindled) had to be returned to the original owners. Debts were canceled, inheritances were restored, and slaves were freed. During Jubilee, wrongs were undone and lands, wealth, and freedom were restored. By proclaiming to be the fulfillment of the Year of Jubilee, Jesus declares His mission to reset society and to reverse injustices. His concern reaches from our spiritual needs to our physical distress. Jesus heals us spiritually and sometimes physically, and ultimately purchases our bondage from sin by His death on the cross.
Throughout His earthly ministry, Jesus was laser-focused on what His Father had sent Him to do. Spending time in prayer with His heavenly Father kept Jesus unwavering in His mission.
Jesus says if we have seen Him, we have seen God, the Father (John 14:9*). Jesus, by His words, action, and mission, points us to what is close to God’s heart. Throughout the Old Testament, we read verse after verse about what’s on God’s heart: to care for the poor, the widows, the orphans, the imprisoned, the disabled, the oppressed, the foreigners, and to bring love and justice to those mistreated. In the New Testament, Jesus is God’s love in action, pointing the way more fully to what concerns the heart of God.
As humans, we’re wired for purpose. If, according to the Westminster Shorter Catechism*, our primary purpose is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever, what better way to live that out than to follow the guiding principles of Jesus’ mission?
We each have a divine purpose, to glorify God in ways that are uniquely ours, based on our God-given gifts, talents, and even personalities. How can we use our individual giftedness to follow Jesus’ ministry to the poor, the imprisoned, the disabled, and the oppressed? And how can we shift our priorities and transform our busyness into a laser-focused mission driven by our God-given purpose?
We, as Christ-followers, are called to be the hands and feet of Jesus to a hurting world. To bring the good news of Jesus’ salvation along with practical help in times of need to feed the poor, to minister to those incarcerated unjustly, to stand up for those mistreated by racial injustices, to aid defenseless immigrants, and to help those marginalized and less fortunate is a mission we can all participate in. Our purpose in life can mirror Jesus’ mission if we only open our eyes to the needs around us and our ears to the Holy Spirt while asking ourselves, “What would Jesus do?”
Lord Jesus, thank You for setting me free from sin’s power and reconciling me to God, the Father. Thank You for Your faithfulness in meeting my needs on all levels. Open my eyes to the needs around me and open my ears to hear the Holy Spirit’s whispering guidance so that I may emulate Your good example in showing Your love and care to the hungry, the homeless, the incarcerated, the immigrants, the disabled, the oppressed, and the poor. Amen.
*John 14:9 - Jesus answered: “Don’t you know me, Philip, even after I have been among you such a long time? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’?”
*The Westminster Shorter Catechism is composed of 107 questions and answers to help educate primarily children in the Christian faith. Written circa 1647, it was a tool promoted by the Church of Scotland and approved for instruction by the Scottish Parliament in 1649. One of the questions is, “What is the chief end of man?” The answer is, “Man's chief end is to glorify God, and to enjoy him forever.”
Text and photograph copyright © 2021 by Dawn Dailey. All rights reserved. Photo of bridge over the River Eden near Hever Castle, childhood home of Anne Boleyn, Kent, England.
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A NOTE ON RACIAL JUSTICE: February is Black History month. Celebrate by learning something new about Black history in the US. For a list of books, articles, podcasts, and videos to get you started, click here for a free, downloadable PDF. Also check out my web page on “Justice Matters” to find resources and to connect with organizations engaging in the cause of racial justice. Click here to learn more.
All scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.com The “NIV” and “New International Version” are trademarks registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by Biblica, Inc.™
“Someday, your tombstone will read, ‘She died because she did too much!’”. I confess that was something someone once said to me. Life is busy and there is so much that needs attending to and checked off the to-do list. But if we’re honest with ourselves, our busyness begs the question of priorities. While many tasks are indeed non-negotiable, we will only learn what God really wants us to do when we stop long enough to listen to the still, quiet voice of the Holy Spirit. For many of us, taking that pause is difficult to do as it requires us to temporarily step out of our busyness.
In our key verses today, it’s the Sabbath and Jesus visits the synagogue in his hometown of Nazareth. When it’s time for the Scripture reading, Jesus stands up and takes the scroll from the attendant. He reads aloud from Isaiah 61:1-2, noted in Luke 4:18-19 above, rolls up the scroll, hands it back to the attendant, and returns to his seat. He then proclaims that the words He just read are not only true, but are fulfilled in Him in that moment. The congregation is astonished because Jesus, their local carpenter’s son, just proclaimed Himself to be the Messiah.
In reading aloud these Scriptures, Jesus also delineates His mission. He has no doubt of His calling and His purpose. All throughout His ministry, the Gospels record Jesus living out His mission to proclaim the good news to the poor, to proclaim freedom for the prisoners, to recover sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free, and to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor. Scripture gives us a window into His ministry of restoring hope to the hopeless, of saving that which was lost, of meeting often desperate needs.
If we study each of these facets of Jesus’ ministry from His mission statement, we see that each is spiritual as well as physical. Jesus did indeed come to proclaim the good news of salvation to the spiritually poor. But He also has overwhelming compassion for the impoverished and hungry. Jesus came to set spiritual prisoners free from the prison of sin. He also sets free those who were bound in metal chains, too, as He heals them of illness. Restoring spiritual sight to those blinded by their lack of faith is part of Jesus’ mission. But He also restores physical sight to those who are blind. Those oppressed spiritually by demons are cured, those oppressed by ostracism because of their devastating health conditions are healed, and those oppressed by hatred and contempt like tax collectors and prostitutes are befriended. Indeed, those oppressed in many ways are set free.
The year of the Lord’s favor typically refers to the Year of Jubilee (from Leviticus 25) when, every 50 years, lands that had been purchased (or taken or swindled) had to be returned to the original owners. Debts were canceled, inheritances were restored, and slaves were freed. During Jubilee, wrongs were undone and lands, wealth, and freedom were restored. By proclaiming to be the fulfillment of the Year of Jubilee, Jesus declares His mission to reset society and to reverse injustices. His concern reaches from our spiritual needs to our physical distress. Jesus heals us spiritually and sometimes physically, and ultimately purchases our bondage from sin by His death on the cross.
Throughout His earthly ministry, Jesus was laser-focused on what His Father had sent Him to do. Spending time in prayer with His heavenly Father kept Jesus unwavering in His mission.
Jesus says if we have seen Him, we have seen God, the Father (John 14:9*). Jesus, by His words, action, and mission, points us to what is close to God’s heart. Throughout the Old Testament, we read verse after verse about what’s on God’s heart: to care for the poor, the widows, the orphans, the imprisoned, the disabled, the oppressed, the foreigners, and to bring love and justice to those mistreated. In the New Testament, Jesus is God’s love in action, pointing the way more fully to what concerns the heart of God.
As humans, we’re wired for purpose. If, according to the Westminster Shorter Catechism*, our primary purpose is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever, what better way to live that out than to follow the guiding principles of Jesus’ mission?
We each have a divine purpose, to glorify God in ways that are uniquely ours, based on our God-given gifts, talents, and even personalities. How can we use our individual giftedness to follow Jesus’ ministry to the poor, the imprisoned, the disabled, and the oppressed? And how can we shift our priorities and transform our busyness into a laser-focused mission driven by our God-given purpose?
We, as Christ-followers, are called to be the hands and feet of Jesus to a hurting world. To bring the good news of Jesus’ salvation along with practical help in times of need to feed the poor, to minister to those incarcerated unjustly, to stand up for those mistreated by racial injustices, to aid defenseless immigrants, and to help those marginalized and less fortunate is a mission we can all participate in. Our purpose in life can mirror Jesus’ mission if we only open our eyes to the needs around us and our ears to the Holy Spirt while asking ourselves, “What would Jesus do?”
Lord Jesus, thank You for setting me free from sin’s power and reconciling me to God, the Father. Thank You for Your faithfulness in meeting my needs on all levels. Open my eyes to the needs around me and open my ears to hear the Holy Spirit’s whispering guidance so that I may emulate Your good example in showing Your love and care to the hungry, the homeless, the incarcerated, the immigrants, the disabled, the oppressed, and the poor. Amen.
*John 14:9 - Jesus answered: “Don’t you know me, Philip, even after I have been among you such a long time? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’?”
*The Westminster Shorter Catechism is composed of 107 questions and answers to help educate primarily children in the Christian faith. Written circa 1647, it was a tool promoted by the Church of Scotland and approved for instruction by the Scottish Parliament in 1649. One of the questions is, “What is the chief end of man?” The answer is, “Man's chief end is to glorify God, and to enjoy him forever.”
Text and photograph copyright © 2021 by Dawn Dailey. All rights reserved. Photo of bridge over the River Eden near Hever Castle, childhood home of Anne Boleyn, Kent, England.
Not a subscriber to the blog posts? Click here to subscribe.
A NOTE ON RACIAL JUSTICE: February is Black History month. Celebrate by learning something new about Black history in the US. For a list of books, articles, podcasts, and videos to get you started, click here for a free, downloadable PDF. Also check out my web page on “Justice Matters” to find resources and to connect with organizations engaging in the cause of racial justice. Click here to learn more.
All scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.com The “NIV” and “New International Version” are trademarks registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by Biblica, Inc.™
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