Nehemiah 8.1-3, 5-6, 8-19; Luke 4.14-21
Luke in his gospel has already given us wonderful details about the birth of Jesus, and early life. The short ministry of John the Baptist preparing people’s hearts for the star of the show, Jesus, and his baptism. At that baptism the Holy Spirit comes upon Jesus in bodily form - people see something tangible coming upon him in the form of a dove. Then this same Spirit leads him out into the desert where he is tempted by the devil for 40 days - something we will focus on when we get to Lent. But today in this season of Epiphany, Jesus being revealed to the world for who he is, our gospel reading was of his return from the desert to the region of Galilee, and particularly his home town Nazareth.
I wonder if you have ever experienced a transformation in your life, especially in your early adult life and then have returned to your home town? Did people recognise and affirm the changes in you? I stayed on at school for an extra term after University to take the entrance exam for Cambridge and then in the February I went to The Royal Military Academy in Sandhurst for three weeks and then was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant and sent to an Engineer regiment just outside Cambridge. Four months later, I was put in charge of a troop of 35 men on a construction job in Gibraltar. I was the youngest in the troop, yet I was in charge. When four months later I returned to England and saw my parents, I remember my mother remarking to a friend that I had matured a lot. She recognised the change in me brought about by my experience as a young officer. I wonder what the people in Jesus’ villlage thought of him, when he returned to them after his baptism and 40 days in the wilderness, combatting Satan? If you read on the next verses they are not convinced by his transformation. But Jesus had changed, been transformed by the Holy Spirit coming upon him.
Yes, he always knew that he was God’s Son, but now he also has the full power, presence and authority of God as well. And he knew that. When the Holy Spirit comes upon us, we know it. We are changed by it. Our identity in Christ is affirmed and any uncertainties or disbelief are swept away. We understand our purpose in life - to know God and the Holy Spirit guides us into this deeper understanding of God. The Holy Spirit is essential in our relationship with Jesus, just as it was essential for Jesus himself.
To return to our gospel reading. Luke records that Jesus entered the synagogue in his home town something he had done many times before and he stood up to read from the holy Jewish scriptures. The scroll of the prophet Isaiah is handed to him - remember that we quoted from Isaiah in our Carol service, on Christmas Eve and Day and our first Epiphany service. He is a hugely important prophet in Jewish and Christian theology, pointing towards the promised Messiah, foretelling the servant nature of that Messiah. His prophecies would have been highly respected and Jews would have longed for their fulfilment.
Luke records Jesus as reading an edited version of Isaiah chapter 61 with a reference also to Isaiah 58 verse 6. These are hugely important words
“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, and to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favour.”
This is a prophecy about the Messiah, about Jesus himself and in his proclamation of it, he is stating to the listeners, both those present in the synagogue but also those listening in the heavenly realms, that the words of Isaiah are fulfilled in him. He is declaring his identity as God’s son, that was affirmed in his baptism - “You are my Son, whom I love, with you I am well pleased.” Now Jesus is stating this to those he grew up with, who knew him from the time the family moved there from Egypt. What a historical moment. You can imagine those listening in heaven being very moved by this. They had waited 600 years from Isaiah’s proclamation for this fulfilment….Are you good at waiting? We want things now or tomorrow at the latest. God’s timing and purposes are on a different scale, and learning that would give us peace when we are impatient.
So what is Jesus saying? Picking out two points. Firstly, release to the captives. Unlike President Trump who released from prison a lot of people who had been convicted for storming the US Capitol building, Jesus is not referring to those in a physical prison. He is speaking of those in a spiritual prison, held bandage to Satan. And there are many examples in the gospels of Jesus setting people free from the devil’s snares. This is as relevant today as it was then and is still needed and does happen.
Secondly recovery of sight to the blind. This was both for restoration of physical sight - there are several examples of this in the gospels - and also the revealing of God’s will, God’s purposes to individuals. In his later ministry Jesus chastises the Pharisees for their spiritual blindness, they do not recognise him, they keep to the letter of the law but not its spiritual meaning.
On the news last week I saw a member of the Proud boys reunited with his father after being released from prison by President Trump. The father was so proud of his son and delighted in him, yet I had a strong sense that he was spiritually blind, that he had allowed Satan to deceive him and twist truth and integrity. He was spiritually blind to the purposes and goodness of God and I believe there are many people including Christians in the US who have been similarly blinded. Pray for them, that the Holy Spirit will come upon them and reveal the truth to them. Pray for those we see around us who follow fake news, who prefer lies to the truth, who can no longer discern truth. They need spiritual release. They need our prayers. Pray for ourselves that we will remain faithful to the purposes and will of God, that we will always seek and follow the truth.
These verses are a sort of manifesto for Jesus. They do not make him a social reformer - he is more than that, he is interested in the whole person wanting physical and spiritual healing and fulfilment. This is borne out by his compassion for all those he meets in the gospels. Let us also follow his example, his faithfulness and trust in the Father’s will. Amen.