Week 8 – Jesus Wants Sabbath For All
Luke 4:14-30
14And Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit to Galilee, and a report about him went out through all the surrounding country. 15And he taught in their synagogues, being glorified by all.
16And 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. 17And 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,
19to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor.”
20And 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. 21And he began to say to them, “Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.” 22And 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?” 23And 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.” 24And he said, “Truly, I say to you, no prophet is acceptable in his hometown. 25But 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, 26and Elijah was sent to none of them but only to Zarephath, in the land of Sidon, to a woman who was a widow. 27And there were many lepers in Israel in the time of the prophet Elisha, and none of them was cleansed, but only Naaman the Syrian.” 28When they heard these things, all in the synagogue were filled with wrath. 29And 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. 30But passing through their midst, he went away.
Reflection and Questions
This passage concludes our sermon series on the Sabbath. In Luke, this passage is a proclamation of the mighty acts Jesus is going to participate in while he ministers. In this passage, Jesus quotes or references three different Scripture passages. First he recites from Isaiah 61 when he reads from the scroll. But what is the “year of the Lord’s favor?”
In Leviticus 25, we get a description of the Jubilee year, a time when debts were forgiven, land was restored to rightful owners, and blessings were poured out upon all the people of God. It was intended to be a year where fields could have rest from producing crops, to literally take a Sabbath. It was a time when things were made right – relationships reconciled, foreigners accepted, and financial debts totally forgiven. It is likely that this practice never happened in Israel’s history. It doesn’t take much for us to understand why. Humanity is broken. Our egos rule supreme, and history shows us that we have a really difficult time forgiving and accepting people. We much prefer collecting our debts.
Notice though that in this passage, Jesus says that this has been “fulfilled” in their presence. Jesus is ushering in a Jubilee year! Jesus then goes on to speak aloud what the people might be thinking. They want to be blessed during this time and Jesus reminds them that Jubilee is for all people, Jew and gentile, those inside the church and those outside. He reminds the people of two instances when God blessed outsiders through Elijah and Elisha. And the crowd turns murderous.
What bothers you about this passage?
If Jesus ushered in Jubilee, how should the church relate to outsiders?
What would it look like for us to forgive debts? Return land, property, and welcome foreigners into our lands? Does the Church have a role in this today? Why or why not?
In this passage, who are the poor, the captive, and the blind?
As Christians, is our mission still to these same categories of people?
Contextualize this for a moment. Who might you add to the list that Jesus and the Church are called to serve and pronounce Jubilee to?
Read the stories directly following this passage. Notice what Jesus does on the Sabbath? He enacts Jubilee. Sabbath is intended to be a day where God delivers us, restores us, acts on our behalf as we rest in him. Praise Jesus!
Emmanuel Church – 2016