Meditationene am Gnadenstuhl: Monday Easter II - Luke 4:16-30
Monday Easter II
Daily Lectionary Readings: Exodus 22:20-23:13; Luke 4:16-30; (Sirach 40)
Luke 4:16–30:
[16] And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up. And as was his custom, he went to the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and he stood up to read. [17] And the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to him. He unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written,
[18] “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,
because he has anointed me
to proclaim good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives
and recovering of sight to the blind,
to set at liberty those who are oppressed,
[19] to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”
[20] And he rolled up the scroll and gave it back to the attendant and sat down. And the eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on him. [21] And he began to say to them, “Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.” [22] And all spoke well of him and marveled at the gracious words that were coming from his mouth. And they said, “Is not this Joseph’s son?” [23] And he said to them, “Doubtless you will quote to me this proverb, ‘“Physician, heal yourself.” What we have heard you did at Capernaum, do here in your hometown as well.’” [24] And he said, “Truly, I say to you, no prophet is acceptable in his hometown. [25] But in truth, I tell you, there were many widows in Israel in the days of Elijah, when the heavens were shut up three years and six months, and a great famine came over all the land, [26] and Elijah was sent to none of them but only to Zarephath, in the land of Sidon, to a woman who was a widow. [27] And there were many lepers in Israel in the time of the prophet Elisha, and none of them was cleansed, but only Naaman the Syrian.” [28] When they heard these things, all in the synagogue were filled with wrath. [29] And they rose up and drove him out of the town and brought him to the brow of the hill on which their town was built, so that they could throw him down the cliff. [30] But passing through their midst, he went away. (ESV)
Businesses love mission statements. Jesus had a "mission statement," too! Luke 4:16-30 is our Lord's mission statement, or rather we should say Jesus quotes Isaiah 61:1-2 (Lk.4:18-19) as His mission statement.
Scholars use the term “programmatic” to describe Luke 4:16-30. “Programmatic:” of the nature or according to a schedule or method. Luke 4:14-30 is programmatic in that it shows what will be the method of Jesus' teaching in Luke's Gospel, which is a Prophet Christology, i.e., we learn about the last prophet, Jesus, by reading about His teaching and about His life through a chiastic structure of Jesus as a prophet (teacher, proclaimer, and miracle worker) and reaction to the prophet by the people (wonder and rejection).
Interestingly, Luke records Jesus' Nazareth sermon near the beginning of his Gospel. We can see from the context that Luke is not saying this is the first thing Jesus did. However, Luke was inspired to put the account here shortly after recounting Jesus' wilderness temptation and subsequent return to Galilee in the power of the Spirit. One such purpose for this might be seen in the placement of this periscope as the first detailed account of Jesus' teaching. We may then assume the teaching "as was His custom" followed a similar pattern of prophecy about Christ. Jesus reveals He is the Christ, He is rejected, and the people ("in authority") are against Him. There looks to be a chiastic pattern, and the entire scene looks like Jesus' entire ministry in miniature.
The other synoptic gospels place this event nearer the middle; Matthew 13 and Mark 6. In those Gospels, it functions as a witness to Jesus' rejection by His own people and fulfillment of prophecy in a historical and progressive sense. Luke singles this scene out for special emphasis in this first record of Jesus' role as the rejected prophet to set the stage for the similar events that will be seen in the rest of Jesus’ Galilean ministry.
Jesus follows a pattern in His preaching and teaching. In Galilee, we see Jesus teaching at table on the Sabbath eve, and then in the synagogue reading and proclaiming publicly. Jesus makes no distinction between the spiritually and physically sick in His teaching or miracles. Jesus continues in the pattern of the Old Testament prophets, teaching and proclaiming, suffering rejection, and subsequently ministering to the unclean Gentile. The emphasis is on Jesus’ fulfillment of Old Testament prophecy.
This pattern continues on the journey toward Jerusalem, but the emphasis shifts to the power and proclamation given to the apostolic ministry through the sending of the twelve and then the seventy(two). Here we begin to see what the life of those who follow Jesus' way will be.
In the final week of Jesus' life, Jesus teaches the apostles how to carry out the mission of the church: table fellowship, which actively participates in His death and proclaims it until His return.
In Jesus' sermon in Nazareth, He preaches and is shown to be a prophet and miracle worker and then suffers rejection. It is a continuous expression of release through His teaching, healing, and proclamation of all things fulfilled in Him. This pattern is followed in such passages as 4:31-44 (Jesus heals and casts out demons, teaches, and proclaims that He must travel to other places and synagogues and do the same because that is why He was sent), 5:12-26 (Cleansing the leper, healing the paralytic, and forgives sins – inciting the wrath and rejection of the Pharisees), and 7:1-50 (Jesus heals the Centurion's servant, raises the widow's son, and responds to John the baptists messengers, again suffering the rejection of the Pharisees).
The same Spirit which empowers Jesus to begin His ministry in Galilee (4:14) rested upon Him in His baptism (3:22) and filled Him when He returned from the Jordan and led Him into the desert (4:1). At each of these events, the Spirit was upon Jesus, the Divine "stamp of approval," if you will, of all Jesus said and did.
What is "the year of the Lord's favor" (4:19)? In Leviticus chapter 25, the year of Jubilee is described. The 50th or Pentecost year is set apart as a year of release. The number 50 is significant in that it is (7x7)+1. Seven is the number of that which only God can do, has done, or will do. Seven = three (the number of God) plus four (the number of the creation). Squaring a number intensifies its meaning, and adding one sets it apart (cf. the use of 3, 4, 7, 12, etc. in Revelation).
In the year of Jubilee, slaves were freed, debts were canceled, and the land was allowed to rest. All people returned to their homes. It is also a prophecy of the Messiah's eschatological salvation as Jesus breaks into the world, declaring the Jubilee, the year of the Lord's favor, through His ministry. Jesus says "today" 94:21) – right now! Marking the beginning of the end times. The Jubilee is present in Jesus and initiates us into a life of release at our baptism and sustained in the Lord's Supper.
"Release" "to the broken ones," and "captives" speak to absolution in an absolutely complete sense. Complete forgiveness of sin and mending of corrupted flesh is that to which this absolution is spoken: both physical and spiritual bondage. This is release from all sin, the power of death, and the devil unto eternal life.
One of the major themes of Jesus' preaching will be proclaiming spiritual and physical release as well as the demonstration of that release through the forgiveness of sins, exorcising demons, healing the sick, table fellowship with sinners, and rebuke of "the blind" in Spirit who reject Him.
This pericope (passage of the Bible selected to be read aloud in the Divine Service on an appointed day) appears during Epiphany in the lectionary. This is a very appropriate placing, as the Epiphany season is where we learn of the Christ's revelation to the Gentiles. In this pericope, Jesus' revelation to the Gentiles is implied by Luke's Prophet Christology, as Jesus associates Himself with Elijah and Elisha's rejection by Israel and subsequently being sent to Gentiles for both spiritual and physical healing.
By saying the Spirit of the Lord is upon Him, that He has been anointed – that He is the Messiah, a programmatic pattern of prophecy fulfillment is established. Proclaiming release from the bondage of sin through Him, Jesus restores creation to what it was before the fall. From His anointing with the Spirit at His baptism to His bloody “baptism” on the Cross, Jesus reconciles the fallen creation with the Creator. Jesus’ sermon in Nazareth both initiates His mission to accomplish this and exemplifies it in miniature, always showing God, not man, is in control.