Fulfilled in Your Hearing

So today is the third Sunday of Epiphany.

So we're in a season right now of celebrating and observing how God revealed himself

through the person of Jesus Christ to the world.

God's revealing of himself through the person of Jesus Christ.

2,000 years ago, the ancient world had an epiphany.

Here's who God is. Here's what he's like.

And here's what he's doing.

Jesus. The particular epiphany, revelation, that the people of Nazareth had when Jesus

came home to preach was twofold.

First of all, Jesus told them in no uncertain terms that he is the fulfillment of one of

the most hopeful passages of the Hebrew Bible, Isaiah 61.

And second, he gave them a vastly more inclusive picture of the kingdom of God than they had.

Jesus says, I'm the fulfillment of this promise, but not quite in the way that you've been thinking.

Maybe not even the way you want me to be.

And Luke records their response in the following paragraph, which we didn't read.

They mob him and they try to throw him off a cliff.

Not exactly the response most guest preachers want from the congregation,

but I take comfort for my own sake that there's no cliffs in the area.

So as we look at this text, let's pray.

Heavenly Father, we thank you for your word.

We thank you for revealing your truth to us in Jesus Christ.

I pray now that the words of my mouth and the meditations of all our hearts would be pleasing to you.

Lord God.

Amen.

So why was Jesus's sermon so unpopular?

What part of his message triggered that harsh reaction?

To understand the people of Nazareth's response to the message,

we have to understand more about the people of Nazareth.

So like citizens of the United States today,

first century Israelites had a number of differing opinions on what was best for their country.

And there were four main competing views,

visions of what the kingdom of God should look like and how it would arrive.

So one, you've probably heard of the Pharisees.

They expected the kingdom of God to arrive when people started,

were truly following the cultural practices that surrounded the Torah,

the teachings of God's word.

That's the Pharisees.

Get everyone living right and we'll be ready for the Messiah to come and usher in the age to come.

The Sadducees, the priestly ruling class who ran the temple,

they had life already about as good as they could have it.

And so they didn't really want any kind of kingdom of God coming and disrupting their status quo.

Then you have the Essenes who saw corruption pretty much everywhere at the heart of both these parties.

So they said, we're tainted by any contact with other nations, with faithless Israelites.

So for the sake of our purity of life, we're going to remove ourselves.

And so they joined these communes out in the wilderness and they waited for the return of the Messiah.

For the coming of the Messiah.

And then finally you have the Zealots who they believe the best way to usher in the kingdom of God was,

let's throw off the shackles of our Gentile Roman overlords and let's have a revolution.

By the time Jesus was an adult, a number of men claiming to be the Messiah had laid groups of zealots on bloody riots and revolts,

which the Romans in their classic brutal fashion had put down with mass crucifixions and other gruesome, painful forms of execution.

So Galilee, the region where Nazareth was and the region where Jesus is preaching this sermon,

was known for having very strong zealot sentiments.

There were a lot of zealots from Galilee.

Luke records, so that's the context, right?

That's Jesus' audience.

That's who he's preaching to.

Let's look at his preaching text and his message.

Luke only records a summary of the sermon.

It's not a word-for-word record of the sermon.

So what we have here is the highlights.

Really, it's the thesis statement.

So here's Isaiah 61, the text.

According to the ESV, the version of the Bible we're using,

the Spirit of the Lord God is upon me,

because the Lord has anointed me to bring good news to the poor.

He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,

to proclaim liberty to the captives,

and the opening of the prison to those who are bound,

to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor,

and the day of vengeance of our God,

to comfort all who mourn.

I'm going to read verse 2 one more time,

just so we can keep it in our heads.

To proclaim the year of the Lord's favor,

and the day of vengeance of our God.

Now listen carefully to what Jesus reads out of the scroll.

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,

to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor.

And the eyes of all the synagogue were upon him.

Did you notice where Jesus stops?

Did you hear it?

Anything missing there?

As far as the folks in Nazareth are concerned,

he stopped right before the best line.

Yes, yes, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor,

and the day of vengeance of our God, right?

You say you're the Messiah, Jesus.

Let's do this.

Come on.

Isaiah was writing about vengeance on the Babylonians, right?

But anyone claiming to be Messiah nowadays,

if you're not going to talk about vengeance on the Romans,

like, let's not talk about that other stuff.

But he doesn't read that line.

He stops.

He stops with the year of the Lord's favor,

sits down, and tells them,

today this scripture has been fulfilled.

The Messiah has arrived,

but he's not talking about a day of vengeance.

He's announcing his mission,

what he came to do.

The Spirit of the Lord is upon me.

He has anointed me.

When Jesus is baptized,

at the start of his public career as a prophet,

the heavens open,

and the Holy Spirit descends on him as a dove.

And his father says,

you are my beloved son.

With you I am well pleased.

In the power of the Holy Spirit,

Jesus retreats to the wilderness,

and goes through temptation by his greatest enemy,

Satan,

and he rejects Satan's offers

to allow him to become great

and provide him a name for himself

by the world's methods,

or by diabolical methods, we might say.

Instead, he trusts in his identity

as revealed to him by his heavenly father.

He's a beloved son.

In the power of the Spirit,

he returns to Galilee,

as we read today,

and he becomes a traveling preacher,

finally coming back to his hometown of Nazareth.

So what's he preaching?

Well, let's go through Isaiah 61.

Good news to the poor.

The economy of God's kingdom

doesn't work the same way our economy does

in this country or any other nation I've ever heard of.

Throughout the Old Testament,

we see God setting up a nation

and a social worldview that favors the poor.

Those who are wealthy are called by God

to share the provision they've received,

to use their wealth for the sake of others,

not just for their own comfort.

Those who are strong are called by God

to care for, to protect the weak and vulnerable,

not just their own, not just their selves,

but those who can't protect themselves.

But all of it is done in a way that gives dignity.

The poor, the widows, the orphans,

they're not just vessels who exist for the rich and powerful

to earn good karma or get points with God.

They are brothers and sisters,

fellow bearers of God's image.

Next line, liberty to the captives,

to set at liberty those who are oppressed.

In the Roman Empire, as in the United States today,

there were many men and women locked up for unjust reasons.

In the Roman Empire, as in the United States today,

there were many men and women who were captured by slavers

or as prisoners of war

and taken far from their homes and their families.

And Israel was no exception in the Roman Empire.

But a look at the history of God's people

will show that God's program,

almost from the beginning of the Bible,

has been to rescue the captive and the oppressed.

He freed his chosen people from slavery in Egypt

and rescued them from the oppression of other nations numerous times.

Jesus' mission is not different.

Sight to the blind.

Jesus' ministry was characterized

by a concern for and a care of those who were sick.

The Gospels are full of accounts of Jesus and his disciples

healing those with physical ailments

and not only healing,

but visiting the homes of those who were terminally ill,

touching those who were contagious or considered unclean,

visiting and treating those who,

because of their maladies,

were isolated or lonely.

And finally, the last line,

to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor.

In saying the scripture has come true with his arrival,

Jesus is saying that his life and work,

his ministry and his mission

is the beginning of a new age of grace from God.

In applying this verse to himself,

Jesus is saying,

you want to know what good news for the poor looks like?

You want to see captives and oppressed or liberated?

You want the blind to see?

Watch me. Watch how I do it.

Listen to me. Walk with me.

This is what I'm doing right now.

This is what it looks like.

This is good news.

This liberation, though,

it's not just for one tribe or for God's chosen people.

In fact, his acts of deliverance from physical maladies,

they point beyond a single individual affliction.

His promises of deliverance from captivity,

which recall the ways God has saved his people in the past.

They point beyond the deliverance of a single people group

to the deliverance of all humankind

from the chains that have held all people in bondage

from close to the beginning of time.

His mission,

his purpose here on earth,

is not to deal with the Romans.

That's why folks in his hometown were so angry

after he finished preaching.

He didn't come to deal with a single corrupt

or oppressive government.

These people, Jesus says,

are not our ultimate enemies.

Our enemies at work,

in our nation,

in our neighborhoods,

internationally,

they are not our ultimate enemies.

They are fellow human beings

who are captive under the same cruel rulers

that we are,

apart from Christ and his work.

The strife that we see today

and throughout history

between tribes and nations,

families,

the divisions between persons,

they're all products of the fact

that our world's relationship with God

is fundamentally broken.

Through disobedience to God,

humankind has become sinful,

which means separated from God.

And as a result,

we've become subject to the powers of death

and the power of Satan and his angels

who are rebellious against God.

Jesus came to a world

that was captive to these three powers.

Sin, separation from God,

death,

the proclivity to violence,

disease,

loss of life,

Satan,

the spiritual forces

that influence individuals

and nations

to oppose God and his people.

Church of the Advent,

I have good news for you.

The day of vengeance

foretold by prophet Isaiah

has come already.

The justice required by God

for the crimes of humanity

has committed against God

and against one another

has been exacted.

Jesus bore those crimes

in his person

to the cross.

He took the sin,

that separation from God

that afflicted all humanity

into his own person

and he put it to death

with his own death.

In the body of Christ,

the way to God

is now open.

He rose from the grave

three days later

as a proof

that death

is now

powerless.

It's a serpent

without things.

It's an insubstantial

bogeyman.

He has taken

his rightful place

as king over this world

and he will return

to serve final vengeance

on his enemy,

Satan,

whose power

is now bound

and restricted.

Church of the Advent,

I have good news for you.

Jesus has passed

his mission

to us.

We,

the church,

his body,

can now say

to a world

that is poor,

captive,

and dying

for good news

that in our baptism

the spirit

of the Lord

is upon us

because he has

anointed us

to proclaim

good news

to the poor.

He has sent us

to proclaim liberty

to the captives

and recovering

of sight

to the blind

to set at liberty

those who are oppressed

to proclaim the year

of the Lord's favor.

This is now

our mission.

In the power

of the Holy Spirit,

we get to proclaim

good news

to the poor

in body

and in spirit.

This is why

serious Christians

from the beginning

of our faith

care for the poor

and seek

to give them

dignity.

This is why

serious Christians

from the beginning

of our faith

care for those

who are poor

in spirit,

who are poor

in non-material

things,

whether they're

economically wealthy

or not,

we seek to

uplift them.

In the power

of the Holy Spirit,

we get to proclaim

liberty to the captives

and the oppressed.

This is why

serious Christians,

we seek to reform

prisons,

call corrupt

or evil governments

to account for

unjust imprisonments

and give help

to those who are

trapped in addiction.

This is why

serious Christians

from the Apostle

Paul to William

Wilberforce,

from Harriet Tubman

to Martin Luther King Jr.,

have opposed slavery

and fought for

equal rights

for all citizens

of their lands.

This is why

serious Christians

take Jesus

at their word

when he says

in John 8.34

that whoever sins

is a slave

to sin.

So we seek

to be honest

and free from sin.

This is why

serious Christians

hate the work

of Satan

and in the power

and authority

given by Christ

drive out demons

from those

who are afflicted.

In the power

of the Spirit,

we get to proclaim

recovering of the sight

to the blind.

This is why

Christians seek

to bring healing

to those

who suffer

in body

or mind.

This is why

Christians seek

to learn,

know,

and proclaim

truth

in a world

that is spiritually

blind.

Christ has passed

his mission

to us.

And as you

and I seek

to carry it out,

I pray we don't

fall into either

of two errors.

We dare not

spiritualize

matters

that God's word

gives us no reason

to spiritualize.

Isaiah 61

is talking about

good news

for the poor

in body,

the poor

in relationships.

And we,

the church,

are called

to proclaim

good news

to the poor

by seeking

to relieve

poverty.

But in following

that call,

let's not miss

the fact

that this

physical mission

is a signpost

to the great

reality

of God's

lavish charity

in giving

all the treasures

of heaven

to his finite

creations,

us.

We,

the church,

are called

to proclaim

liberty to the captives,

which means

we are called

to actually

oppose and fight

against slavery,

economic oppression

of physical

or economic,

you know,

evil debt,

usury is what

is the sort

of medieval term

for it.

We must,

but let's not

miss the fact

that this mission

is a signpost

to the great

reality of God's

liberation

of his people

from the captivity

to sin

and the oppression

of death.

We must hold

these things together,

church.

Jesus forgave sins

and made the lame

walk in the blind sea

and he calls us

to follow

in his footsteps.

As I close,

I want to invite

those of you

who don't consider

yourself to be

a Christian

or those of you

who have been

hurt by the failure

of the church

to carry out

Jesus' mission

perfectly.

After the service,

come and talk to me

or to a staff member

or a leader

in the church.

We would love

to tell you more

about this year,

this era

of the Lord's favor,

of his grace.

Whether you're

a Christian or not,

whether this is

your first Sunday

at Church of the Advent

or your 500th Sunday,

I want to invite you,

if you're poor

of any sort

of poverty,

if you're oppressed

or captive

to addiction,

if you are suffering

in your body

or in your spirit,

I invite you,

come receive prayer

from our prayer ministers

during our time

of communion.

God works

powerfully

in the prayers

of his people.

For those of you

who are baptized

who consider yourselves

to be Christian,

I invite you

to ask yourselves,

and I'm asking myself

this as well,

I'm preaching to myself

here,

are you,

am I,

carrying out

the mission

Jesus has given us?

Are we neglecting

one aspect

of Jesus' message

in favor of another?

Are we holding

these things together

as Jesus did?

My prayer for you

and for myself

and my family

is that we proclaim

and live out

the full gospel

given to us

by Jesus.

2,000 years ago,

the world had

an epiphany

in the person

of Jesus Christ.

Here's who God is,

here's what God's like,

and here's what

he's doing.

May he use us,

may he use this church

to give the world

that same epiphany.

Here's who God is,

here's what he's like,

and here's what he's doing.

Amen.