The Mission of Messiah
Then Jesus came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up. As was His custom, He entered the synagogue on the Sabbath. And when He stood up to read, the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to Him. Unrolling it, He found the place where it was written:
“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 liberty to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to release the oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”
Then He rolled up the scroll, returned it to the attendant, and sat down. The eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fixed on Him, and He began by saying, “Today this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.”
Luke 4 (BSB)
This is a really cool passage.
Jesus reads from Isaiah and in doing so, announces that he is Messiah, and gives us a clear picture of His mission.
- Preach good news to the poor.
- Proclaim liberty to the captives.
- Give sight to the blind.
- Release the oppressed.
- Proclaim the Lord's favor.
As those who call ourselves 'little Christs', this is our mission as well.
Given any doubts as to this actually being the Messianic mission; John later asks Jesus if He really is the one they have been waiting for:
“John the Baptist sent us to ask, ‘Are You the One who was to come, or should we look for someone else?’”
At that very hour Jesus healed many people of their diseases, afflictions, and evil spirits, and He gave sight to many who were blind.
So He replied, “Go back and report to John what you have seen and heard: The blind receive sight, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is preached to the poor.
Blessed is the one who does not fall away on account of Me.”Luke 7 (BSB)
- Blind receive sight.
- Lame walk.
- Lepers are cleansed.
- Deaf hear.
- Dead are raised.
- Good news is preached to the poor.
As way of evidence that He is who He says He is, Jesus tells John's disciples to report the things that He has done.
The blind receive sight... give sight to the blind. Check.
The lame walk... liberty is given to the captives to walk freely. Check.
The lepers are cleansed... the oppressed are released. Check.
The deaf hear... God's favor proclaimed. Check.
The dead are raised... well, that's just a bonus.
The good news is preached to the poor... preach good news to the poor. Check.
These are the things that Jesus did. It was His main mission.
As His followers, it should be our mission as well.
Is it your mission?
Is it the mission of those you follow?
Are we bringing good news or bad news to the poor?
Are we proclaiming liberty to the captives, or throwing more people in prison?
Are we giving sight to the blind, or do we turn a blind eye to evil?
Are we releasing the oppressed, or terrorizing those who are different?
Are we proclaiming the Lord's favor, or groveling for the king's attention?
Are we raising the dead, or killing the innocent?
...
You are Love.