We live in an age of rapid change.
Our lives, our surroundings, our routines are constantly changing— sometimes so fast that we don’t even notice it; we can’t keep track; we can’t keep up.
In the process, things that once were necessities to us become quaint, obsolete, even ridiculous.
Remember unfolding an actual paper map to find your way? Or using a rotary telephone? Or adjusting a TV antenna?
Even fairly recent technologies and routines are gone now. Such as getting film developed …Popping a VHS tape in the VCR …Untangling a telephone cord …Storing information on a floppy disk …Cassette tapes …Encyclopedia sets …
If you hand a ten-year-old a vinyl record or a sheet of carbon paper, they’d probably have no idea what to do with it.
Those things once had a purpose, a use that everyone understood, but somewhere, somehow, things changed.
Do you know the same thing can happen to a human life?
When we were young, life was all about playing and having fun.Then it became all about learning and getting an education.Then the focus was working and “getting ahead”…and somewhere, somehow, things changed.
And many folks reach the Peggy Lee point …where like that famous singer and her signature song, they ask, “Is that all there is?”
Isn’t there more to life than getting a job and getting ahead? Isn’t there more than making money and acquiring stuff?Isn’t there more than this endless cycle of sleeping and waking, ups and downs,over and over?
Is it possible to live life with purpose, with meaning, with significance?
It may not surprise you to know that I believe it is …and that Jesus believed it, too. Not only did He believe it, but He showed us the way to that kind of life.
In fact, early in His ministry, Jesus revealed something important about Himself, and about everyone who follows Him.
He did it in a lot of ways, but perhaps most forcefully in the statement He gave in His hometown synagogue, as depicted in the following video clip from the Son of God movie, which we’ve been excerpting each week.
PLAY video clip from Son of God, “The Sermon/Rejection at Nazareth.”
That clip from the movie, Son of God, dramatizes the events described in Luke’s Gospel, chapter four. I invite you to turn to Luke 4 in your Bibles. This is the third part of a series called “Who Do You Say I Am?”
based on that movie, a dramatic portrayal of the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ as well as His message and mission.
Each week we have been watching the depiction of a Bible passage as the creators of t Son of God movie rendered it, and then we’ve been going to our Bibles to study and apply that part of Jesus’ story to our lives today.
Over the course of these studies, we have been seeing one facet after another of who Jesus is and all that He can do for those who put their trust in Him.
Today is no different, as we look at Jesus’ revelation of Himself as “the Anointed One,” the One promised by the prophets.
So look with me at Luke, chapter 4, where we will study verses 16–21. It says:
“[Jesus] went to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, and on the Sabbath day he went into the synagogue, as was his custom. He stood up to read, and the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him. Unrolling it, he found the place where it is written:
‘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 prisonersand recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.’
Then he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant and sat down. The eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fastened on him. He began by saying to them, ‘Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.’” —Luke 4:16–21, NIV
Now, numerous scholars agree that what Jesus read that day, as recorded in Luke 4:18–19, was not part of the haphtarah,¬the schedule of readings for synagogue worship.
In other words, He did something that was never done: He chose His own text . . . what is marked in our Bibles as Isaiah 61:1–2 . . .
And He chose it for a very specific purpose, one that’s pretty hard to miss:to announce His “mission statement” as the Anointed One, the Messiah!
He was stating, Matter of factly: “THIS IS WHY I AM HERE. THIS IS MY PURPOSE.”
It was a controversial claim, to say He was the Anointed One, the One the world awaited for centuries, “Son of God and Son of Man,” as the hymn puts it.
But He did even more than that. In revealing His mission as the Anointed One, Jesus also characterized the kingdom He was ushering in. He painted a picture, not only of how He would operate, but of how His kingdom would operate …and how everyone who calls himself or herself a follower of Jesus would operate.
In other words, in publishing His mission statement, Jesus wrote your mission statement, if you are His follower.
That means you don’t have to wonder what your purpose is …you don’t have to worry over why you’ve been put on this earth …
Jesus intends for everyone who follows Him to reflect His priorities and pursue His purpose, which basically means three things.
First:
1. Accept the mission.
When Jesus read those words from the Isaiah scroll in the synagogue, it would have been understood, by every Jew listening, that…(1) those words applied to the Messiah, the Anointed One, and (2) they referred to the year of Jubilee.
You see, the Jews had a custom, ordained by God, that not only would every seventh day of the week be a Sabbath, a day of rest, but that every seventh year would also be a Sabbath, when the land would not be farmed, and so on . . .
And after every seventh Sabbath year (that is, every fiftieth year) there would be what was called the “year of Jubilee.”
In that year, all slaves would be set free, all those whose poverty had forced them to sell their lands would receive them back again, and those who had lost family members into slavery or imprisonment would be reunited with their loved ones . . .
So you can see why it was called “The Jubilee!” That is what Jesus said His mission was . . . What the Law prescribed and what Isaiah promised, Jesus fulfilled!
He came to bring good news to the poor, the kind of news that was supposed to have them dancing in the streets every fifty years!
He came to bring broken families together, to bind up the brokenhearted, and to heal the hurting!
He came to free the slaves, to open the doors of darkness, to untie people’s hands, and to unfold their wings!
To proclaim the year of JUBILEE! But not just one year every fifty—that was already supposed to be the case—but Jesus came to bring a worldwide Jubilee every year, every day, that would speak good news to the poor, liberty to the captives, healing to the brokenhearted, forgiveness for the guilty, freedom for those who feel controlled, release for those who feel trapped, deliverance, laughter, relief, joy … JUBILEE!
That was His mission . . . and that is yours.
Your mission is not merely to go to church for an hour a two a week. Your mission is to take joy and praise and worship and healing and fun out in public, out to the streets, and share it with the world around you. But in revealing Himself as the Anointed One, Jesus intended something else, which is that you should …
2. Adopt the method.
Most people miss the incredible impact of what Jesus said in that synagogue in Nazareth.
After all, there were many texts He might have chosen for His first sermon … texts that applied to Him as Messiah.
He could have unrolled the Isaiah scroll a little further to Isaiah 63:1:
“Who is this coming from Edom, from Bozrah, with his garments stained crimson? Who is this, robed in splendor, striding forward in the greatness of his strength? ‘It is I, proclaiming victory, mighty to save.’” —Isaiah 63:1, NIV
He could have rolled back nineteen chapters to Isaiah 42 and read,
“Here is my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen one in whom I delight; I will put my Spirit on him and he will bring justice to the nations. . . . He will not falter or be discouraged till he establishes justice on earth.” —Isaiah 42:1, 4; NIV
But he didn’t choose those texts, though they are prophecies that refer to Jesus.
Instead, Jesus turned to Isaiah 61:1. Why? What made Him choose that passage?
Maybe it was this:
Jesus’ mission statement made it clear that people are His priority.
Of all the texts He could have chosen, He chose a passage about sharing good news, proclaiming freedom, bringing healing, releasing prisoners, about compassionately meeting people’s needs.
That is the Spirit of Christ!
“A bruised reed he will not break, and a smoldering wick he will not snuff out.” —Isaiah 42:3, NIV
You see, Jesus’ fellow Jews in His day knew they were called by God to be a light to the Gentiles. …But they really didn’t like Gentiles. They didn’t like Samaritans, they didn’t like Romans, they didn’t like tax collectors, they didn’t like women … or children …but Jesus did.
And the kingdom He introduced, the new way of life He made possible, the purpose and calling He intends for His followers, is a “new and living way,” one that has enough grace for everyone, which excludes no one, and spreads Jubilee everywhere.
The method¬ of your mission, given to you by Jesus, is love.
Your method is not argument or ridicule or politics or protest, it is love.
It is to spread healing and hope and joy and Jubilee everywhere you go.
So, accept the mission, adopt the method, and, finally, because you follow the Anointed One, and share His mission:
3. Apply the measurement.
A good while after Jesus announced His mission at the synagogue in Nazareth, something interesting happened. Turn just a page or two in Luke’s Gospel to Luke 7:18—20, and verse 22 . . .
Look at that passage with me. It says:
“John the Baptist … called for two of his disciples, and he sent them to the Lord to ask him, ‘Are you the Messiah we’ve been expecting, or should we keep looking for someone else?’
John’s two disciples found Jesus and said to him, “John the Baptist sent us to ask, ‘Are you the Messiah we’ve been expecting, or should we keep looking for someone else?’”….
[Jesus] told John’s disciples, ‘Go back to John and tell him what you have seen and heard—the blind see, the lame walk, the lepers are cured, the deaf hear, the dead are raised to life, and the Good News is being preached to the poor.’” —Luke 7:18–20, 22; NLT
Notice what Jesus said to John. Jesus referred to His mission statement!
We don’t know if John was in that synagogue when Jesus read from Isaiah—he may have been, the two men were cousins, after all—but when John asked, “Are you really the Messiah, or do we keep looking?”Jesus said, “Look at the measure of the Messiah, John—the blind see, the lame walk, lepers are cured, the deaf hear, the dead are raised to life, the Good News is preached to the poor.
He said, in affect, “Am I fulfilling my mission or not?”
Jesus pointed back to Isaiah 61 as the measure of His success.
And I think the measure of Jesus’ success is the measure of mine … and yours.
Years ago, churches used to award pins or badges for perfect attendance in Sunday School. Some of us here remember that … maybe some of us here still have ours!
And while we don’t do that these days, we still kind of measure ourselves by—whether we have daily devotions, how many Bible verses we know, how involved we are, what position we occupy, and so on.
But Jesus applies a different measurement, and we should, too.
The real measure is in the fulfillment of our mission.
The measure for me, the measure for you, is this—am I spreading healing, hope,joy, and Jubilee every where I can?
Are the people around me coming to join the Jubilee?Are my friends, family, neighbors, and coworkers discovering the joy of the life I’ve discovered?
Can I, like Jesus, point to the fruits of my efforts and ask, “Am I spreading Jubilee? “Am I loving people closer to God?” “Has someone’s life changed because I’m in their life?”
Could I say, “Look at the fruits— people’s eyes are being opened, people are finding new strength, new health, new life, new joy because I am following Jesus and He is working in me and through me?”
I pray it may be so … in me … and in you.
And even if Jubilee hasn’t yet begun in you, it can begin right now, right here, by means of a simple prayer. I invite you to pray it silently in your own heart, as I say the words aloud. Pray:
“Lord Jesus, I want in on that. I want the freedom only you can give. I need the mercy and grace you offer. I confess my sin to you; I bring my need to you. I turn away from all the sin of my past, and accept your sacrifice on the cross as payment for all the wrong things I’ve done. I ask you to come into my heart, and take charge, and help me to follow you and spread the influence of your kingdom from this moment on, amen.”
And for everyone in this room, I invite you to pray:
“Lord Jesus, we have not followed you as we ought. Forgive us, and help us from this day forward, by your grace and in your strength to proclaim good news to the poor, to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free, and to tell everyone that your kingdom is here, amen.”
