By Mike Friesz
Look in people’s eyes today and you will see hurt on many faces.
Last year alone more than 5,000, 000 people in our country are in self-help groups. Look deeper and you will see loneliness, hurt, divorces, death, broken relationships, anger, and bitterness.
Depending on the sources you examine 42% of first marriages end in divorce. As a result, more than 19,000,000 children live in single parent homes. Many live in poverty.
Suicide rates have tripled. Depression is everywhere.
Sickness abounds. Heart disease and cancer are unabated.
In this season we see so much happiness. The sights and sounds of the season bring smiles to so many faces. The twinkle in the eye of children excited about the lights. The sound of great Christmas songs echoing through the stores and street corners.
Yet look deep and you see the pain in their eyes.
A stunning verse is found as Moses begins his efforts to lead the people out of Egypt. He told them of God’s plan to set them free. (Exodus 6:1-8) And then tragically these words, “Moses told these to the Israelites, but they did not listen to him because of their broken spirit and hard labor.” (Exodus 6:9)
Into this hurting world Jesus came. Luke gives us the setting in Luke 4:16-17
He 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, 17 and the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him. Unrolling it, he found the place where it is written:
Three things stand out about the setting. First, this happened in Nazareth, Jesus’ hometown. The people there know him. He was Joseph’s son. But know they will come to understand there is more to the story.
Second, it is at the synagogue. It would have been the custom for the men of Nazareth to gather for worship on the sabbath.
Jesus is handed the scroll to read. This also would have been expected. Men would be given that honor. They would stand to read God’s Word.
Jesus just “happened” to be there that day. He just “happened” to be handed the scroll for Isaiah. He just “happened” to find this particular passage. Of course, there is no happenstance. This is the plan of God for Jesus to read the prophecy and apply it to His life’s work from this moment on.
18 “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 prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind,
to set the oppressed free, 19 to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”
Jesus understood something they did not as He read this passage. We understand it from our perspective as well. These words are spoken about Him.
Jesus’ ministry was filled with power. He is anointed. The presence of the Spirit fell upon Jesus at His baptism. He received all the gifts and grace of God. God offered not just the approval, but the empowerment to complete the work given Him.
Jesus ministers to the poor and powerless. Those who are poor sometimes crouch in fear. Jesus came to minister to them. We see him feed the hungry and help the lowest of the low.
Jesus reached out to the crushed and shattered. He came to the brokenhearted. They are hurting, shattered, and shivering. The Old Testament predicted this ministry:
Psalm 34:18 “The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.”
Psalm 147:3 “He heals the broken hearted and binds up the wounds.”
The ministry of Jesus in coming to the broken hearted is illustrated powerfully in John 11:35. The shortest verse in the Bible is “Jesus Wept.” That verse is easily identified by children in Sunday School classes across the land. But the depth of meaning defies simple explanation.
Jesus was greeted by Mary and Martha with words dripping with emotion. “Jesus, if you had only been here…” A serious accusation driven from hurt and brokenness.
Jesus did not chastise. He wept. He did not correct. He felt with them. He still does. Every broken person during this holiday season is promised the healing only Jesus can bring.
Jesus declares release to those in bondage. The word for bondage is a powerful picture, meaning “One captured by a spear.”
Jesus came to those who cannot control their own destiny. Jesus came to set free those who are bound. He ultimately does this through His death on the cross. He came to set us free from sin and bondage to Satan.
He is still setting people free. Those who are saved can still find themselves bound by sin and struggle. He sets us free. Psalm 146:7, “He upholds the cause of the oppressed and gives food to the hungry. The Lord sets prisoners free.”
Jesus provides light to those who need to see. Of course, there are people who suffer from physical blindness. Jesus certainly was able to give sight to those who could not see. He gave sight to the man born blind. Psalm 146:8 “The Lord gives sight to the blind; the Lord lifts up those who are bowed down. The Lord loves the righteous.”
Of greater significance is Jesus’ work to overcome spiritual blindness. These are those who cannot understand spiritual truths. Illustrations through Jesus ministry are numerous. Jesus had to help the religious ruler Nicodemus understand the basic spiritual truths. He is still helping the spiritually blind see.
Jesus binds those who are broken by calamity. Many are oppressed and abused in our society. He made those who are outsiders acceptable. He opened the door to those who were outside. He made a way for all to come to the kingdom.
The Revelation of Jesus Messiahship (Verses 20-21)
20 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. 21 He began by saying to them, “Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.”
After reading the passage from Isaiah Jesus revealed Himself and His ministry to them. In a message that changed history Jesus’ next actions and words transformed this from a normal synagogue service to the initiation of His public ministry.
This was a moment of restlessness. He handed it back to the synagogue ruler. The men in the group merely gazed at Jesus. Joseph’s son spellbound them.
This was also a moment of revelation. Jesus spoke again with an earth-shattering sentence. “Today this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.” TODAY. That day. From that day forward Jesus would bring the fulfillment of this passage through the next years of his ministry.
Finally, this was a moment of rejection. They turned away. They hugged the chains of their sin. Instead of expressing faith they asked for proof. For the rest of His earthly ministry the tension remains. Would they accept Jesus or not? Would they believe Him or doubt.
Today the tension remains. Will we believe Jesus. Will we accept Jesus’ work on our behalf. Trust Him. Now is the acceptable time. He is still completing the mission.
The focus now changes. We who have experienced the ministry of Jesus in our lives are now commissioned, anointed by Him to continue the ministry.
In the space between Jesus’ resurrection and ascension to begin His heavenly ministry He commanded the disciples and those who follow them. We are included in the commission, “Again Jesus said, “Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.” (John 20:21)
We are called to continue the ministry. The church is still the body of Christ. We are His hands and feet. We are called to carry one another’s burdens and build one another up (Galatians, 6:2 and 1 Thessalonians 5:11).
To complete the work, we must reach up and reach out.
Reach up to Jesus. Stay connected to the Vine. Only through our connection with Him do we receive the life sustaining strength He came to bring. We taste and see that He is good.
