The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because He has anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor

Then Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit to Galilee, and news of Him went out through all the surrounding region. And He taught in their synagogues, being glorified by all. So He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up. And as His custom was, He went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and stood up to read. And He was handed the book of the prophet Isaiah. And when He had opened the book, He found the place where it was written:

"The Spirit of the LORD is upon Me,

Because He has anointed Me

To preach the gospel to the poor;

He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted,

To proclaim liberty to the captives

And recovery of sight to the blind,

To set at liberty those who are oppressed,

To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD."

Then He closed the book, and gave it back to the attendant and sat down. And the eyes of all who were in the synagogue were fixed on Him. And He began to say to them, "Today this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing." So all bore witness to Him, and marveled at the gracious words which proceeded out of His mouth. And they said, "Is this not Joseph's son?" He said to them, "You will surely say this proverb to Me, 'Physician, heal yourself! Whatever we have heard done in Capernaum, do also here in Your country.'" Then He said, "Assuredly, I say to you, no prophet is accepted in his own country. But I tell you truly, many widows were in Israel in the days of Elijah, when the heaven was shut up three years and six months, and there was a great famine throughout all the land; but to none of them was Elijah sent except to Zarephath, in the region of Sidon, to a woman who was a widow. And many lepers were in Israel in the time of Elisha the prophet, and none of them was cleansed except Naaman the Syrian." So all those in the synagogue, when they heard these things, were filled with wrath, and rose up and thrust Him out of the city; and they led Him to the brow of the hill on which their city was built, that they might throw Him down over the cliff. Then passing through the midst of them, He went His way.

- Luke 4:14-30

On Saturday, we read of Jesus' temptations in the wilderness. After His baptism, at which the Holy Spirit anointed Him, and the Father's voice proclaimed Him Son, the Spirit led Him to the wilderness where, after His fast, He was tempted to use His power in the "worldly" ways of the "prince of this world," the devil. Each time He refused, quoting Scripture, in obedience to the Father. His power will be used in His ministry not for expediency, but to serve that will, and bring a different kingdom into this world. See It is written, 'Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God.'

Then Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit to Galilee, and news of Him went out through all the surrounding region. And He taught in their synagogues, being glorified by all. Luke's testimony in this Gospel refers us again to the power of the Spirit which leads Jesus; in Saturday's reading, we were told He was "filled with the Spirit." At this point, His Galilean ministry has been successful, and He is "glorified by all."

So He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up. And as His custom was, He went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and stood up to read. And He was handed the book of the prophet Isaiah. And when He had opened the book, He found the place where it was written: "The Spirit of the LORD is upon Me, because He has anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, to proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD." It's interesting that we are told that it is His custom to stand up and read. Isaiah's prophecies are repeatedly referred to in the Gospels - most recently we have heard Isaiah's words proclaimed by John the Baptist (see Make His paths straight). Here, Isaiah refers to the anointing of Christ by the Holy Spirit. My study bible says, "The Spirit of the LORD descended upon Jesus at His baptism. Jesus will bring blessings long awaited by the Jewish people, thus fulfilling the prophecy of Isaiah." In this prophecy, as we were previously told by John the Baptist of the 'evening up' before the Lord, so Isaiah again teaches us what this is: the good news is preached to the poor, the brokenhearted are healed, the proclamation of liberty made to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, those who are oppressed are set at liberty, the acceptable year of the LORD is proclaimed. And in this is the action of the Holy Spirit.

Then He closed the book, and gave it back to the attendant and sat down. And the eyes of all who were in the synagogue were fixed on Him. And He began to say to them, "Today this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing." So all bore witness to Him, and marveled at the gracious words which proceeded out of His mouth. And they said, "Is this not Joseph's son?" He said to them, "You will surely say this proverb to Me, 'Physician, heal yourself! Whatever we have heard done in Capernaum, do also here in Your country.'" We again bear witness here to the work of the "fullness of the Spirit" in Jesus and His ministry: they marveled at the gracious words which proceeded from the mouth of the one whom they've known all their lives, the son of Joseph. Jesus refers to the reputation they must know by now of His successful ministry in Galilee -- and He knows they want proof of His Messiahship, to which Isaiah's prophecy refers. But He is their fellow villager! They want proof through spectacular acts of power -- and again, Jesus is faced with the same temptation He met in the wilderness: this time, among those whom He has known all His life.

Then He said, "Assuredly, I say to you, no prophet is accepted in his own country. But I tell you truly, many widows were in Israel in the days of Elijah, when the heaven was shut up three years and six months, and there was a great famine throughout all the land; but to none of them was Elijah sent except to Zarephath, in the region of Sidon, to a woman who was a widow. And many lepers were in Israel in the time of Elisha the prophet, and none of them was cleansed except Naaman the Syrian." My study bible says, "Jesus exposes their unbelief. Through examples of God's mercy to Gentiles, He warns them that their heritage alone will not save them." But clearly, He accepts the ways of "the world." The familiar becomes a limitation to sight, to seeing Him for who He is -- and more particularly to the Spirit who is at work in Him: "No prophet is accepted in his own country." And, indeed, He teaches them of the work of the Holy Spirit in the world, which, like the wind, "blows where it wishes, and you hear the sound of it, but cannot tell where it comes from and where it goes." We understand the work of God, of the Holy Spirit, through the Scriptures and the examples He gives, and so do they. The "evening up" also includes the Good News and its work going to the Gentiles, to the ones not expected to receive, the outsiders. But, the irony is, in this warning itself is mercy: He is telling them they must open their eyes in faith.

So all those in the synagogue, when they heard these things, were filled with wrath, and rose up and thrust Him out of the city; and they led Him to the brow of the hill on which their city was built, that they might throw Him down over the cliff. Then passing through the midst of them, He went His way. This is not the first nor the last time we will be told in the Gospels that Jesus "passes through the midst of them" -- of a crowd that is bent on destroying Him. We have just finished readings in John's Gospel, where it happens several times at the temple. His pronouncements can bring the wrath of those whom He criticizes, who have failed to grasp what is at work in Him. His warnings are met with wrath. But His ministry is far from finished, and so He journeys on.

How is the power of the Holy Spirit at work in your life? Do you find surprises on your own journey of faith? Does the familiar limit your perception, until perhaps something startles you into new understanding? We read in the prophecy of Isaiah the words about the recovery of sight to the blind, the healing of the brokenhearted, good news for the poor, liberty for the captive and oppressed -- and even these very words will not bear the kind of fruit expected in Israel. Who, indeed, for example, are the poor? The prophecy will be fulfilled in ways only the Spirit can reveal to our understanding, and the love of God can fill. Christ's ministry will open up all kinds of ways in which the expected and familiar become new. And so it is in our own lives; I find that I can never be prepared for the work in my life and where God's love and leading will take me. All things are made new by this anointing, and it "blows where it wishes." Can we follow in His way with Him as He takes us forward?