On Line Bible Study - For the Week February 22-28, 2010

Lesson 428

Luke 4: ¹⁶He went to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, and on the Sabbath day he went into the synagogue, as was his custom. And he stood up to read. ¹⁷The scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him. Unrolling it, he found the place where it is written:
¹⁸"The Spirit of the Lord is on me,
because he has anointed me
to preach good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners
and recovery of sight for the blind,
to release the oppressed,
¹⁹to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor."

²⁰Then 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, ²¹and he began by saying to them, "Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing."

The Gospel writers Mark and Matthew speak of Jesus coming into Nazareth; and John references Jesus as having come from Nazareth. But it is only St. Luke that tells us of this specific moment when Jesus is given the scroll in his hometown synagogue, and because of this exclusive telling there is a lot of speculation about the authenticity of the text. Did Jesus actually have this experience, or did Luke include it for his own purposes of evangelism?

Either way, the text is compelling - notice a possible chiastic structure that looks like this:

a The synagogue
b Standing
c Receiving the Scripture
d Opening the Scripture
e Preaching the good news
f Proclaiming release to the captive
g Giving sight to the blind
f Setting free the oppressed
e Proclaiming acceptable year of the Lord
d Closing the Scripture
c Returning the Scripture
b Sitting
a The synagogue

Whether that structure actually works or not, Luke presents Jesus in the synagogue proclaiming the good news to his own, both ethnically (the Jews) and geographically (in his home town). When we discussed Matthew we noted how important it was for that evangelist to show Jesus as the fulfillment of ancient prophecies. In Luke, Jesus himself proclaims this message - that today, the ancient Scriptures are fulfilled in your hearing...

As scholar Darrell Bock points out, Jesus' mission is light and hope to those who are both physically and spiritually downtrodden. Right from the get-go, there is no distinction, no dualism in the ministry of Christ. The work he is about has both future significance and immediate relevance and results, and it deals with body and soul.

One of the on-going challenges with relation to Jesus' ministry is this: Is it primarily to individuals, or as a critique of social structures? Before we answer too quickly, let's remember the times Jesus calls into question social injustice, especially when it comes to the religious systems of his day. At the same time, his passion is for the individual who is lost (Luke 15:3-10).

As you read the passage above, what is it that Jesus has to offer that you are most in need of right now? As you think about the people close to you, and the ones you work with - what do they need?

We'll continue to explore this passage in our next lesson.