The Ministry of Jesus... It Begins...

After being tempted in EVERY way by Satan for 40 days Jesus begins His earthly ministry in Luke 4:14.  Then the "ministry" begins...

"And He came to Nazareth, where He has been brought up (His hometown).  And as was His custom, He went to the synagogue on the Sabbath day..." 

Can I take a time out here for a second and just say that if going to church every Sunday was good for Jesus it's good for us... ok, time in.

"and He stood up to read.  And the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to him. He unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written, “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 captive 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 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."

In this time and culture it was the tradition in the synagogues that when an out of town rabbi came they were able to read a scripture and share a brief comment about it with the people gathered for the Sabbath service.  And on this particular day Jesus was given the scroll of the book of Isaiah and He chose to read Isaiah 61:1-2.  This scripture was a prophecy  about His coming and the ministry He would do.  It awesome! Jesus first sermon was about Himself. 

The ministry of Jesus was to...

PROCLAIM THE GOOD NEWS TO THE POOR: The down and out, the castaways, the forgotten people, me... If we want to be like Jesus then these are the people that we are supposed to reach out to.

PROCLAIM LIBERTY TO THE CAPTIVES: Those who are in bondage and are brokenhearted are not easy to mister to... it's not easy to walk alongside someone who is hurting, to listen to their ramblings, their tears.  But these are the one who Jesus came to lovingly, tenderly and specifically. Jesus was anointed to preach to the people who all to often we are impatient with.

AND RECOVERING OF SIGHT TO THE BLIND: I know I get frustrated at the spiritually blind and often get frustrated, "Why don't they get it!" Jesus came for the people like this... and I know He is way more patient and loving than me/us.  Lord help us be more like You.

TO SET AT LIBERTY THOSE WHO ARE OPPRESSED: Oppressed people are defensive, timid, and fearful... especially of getting hurt again.  Jesus is called to free them and so are we.

TO PROCLAIM THE YEAR OF THE LORD'S FAVOR: Jesus is amazing... He is the One who is patient with those who are frustrating.  He is the One who listens to those who are blubbering fools, He is the One who continues to take time with those who just can't see, He is the One who lovingly and tenderly works with those who are in bondage and doesn't give up on them.  

This was Jesus' job description.  So now He has been prepared for ministry and now has His job description.  I am sure now that He has done all of this I am sure His first venture in ministry is going to be a huge success right? 

"And he began to say to them, “Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.” 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?” 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.” And he said, “Truly, I say to you, no prophet is acceptable in his hometown. 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, and Elijah was sent to none of them but only to Zarephath, in the land of Sidon, to a woman who was a widow. 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.” When they heard these things, all in the synagogue were filled with wrath. 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. But passing through their midst, he went away."

Jesus' word to the doubting, unwilling Jews in His hometown was a story of Elijah and Elisha's ministry.  When Elijah and Elisha were not received in their own land, they were sent to the gentiles to do significant miracles.  So Jesus is prophesying to then that unless their hearts become soft towards Him that the same will be true of them, That it will be the gentiles who receive His miraculous ministry.  And so it was true.

You see the Jews believed that the gentiles were good for nothing other than to keep the fires of hell hot.  Jesus sharing that because the Jews were unwilling to believe in Him that the gentiles would be the recipient of their favor and blessing... this filled them with wrath.  With so much wrath they were going to throw Jesus off a cliff. This story ends in a crazy way that leaves me curious with another question to ask Him in heaven one day.  How did this happen?  They were going to throw You off a cliff then all a sudden You, "pass through their midst"?  Was it something you said? Was it a look You gave them?  Man I want to know...  But this isn't the point of this blog.

I was comforted that Jesus first step into ministry He was rejected.  JESUS WAS REJECTED. I know that is obvious in that He was murdered.  But for those of us in ministry we have to understand that if Jesus was rejected in ministry and dealt with harshly the same will be true for us.  We have to learn to have a thick skin.  Mine skin is getting thicker by the day which I am thankful for.  But hopefully as our skin is getting thicker our hearts are getting softer.

Be encouraged,