Wisdom that fulfills the divine plan

Luke: 4:16-22

He began by saying to them, “Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.”(v.21)

Wisdom that fulfills the divine plan

Jesus began his ministry in Nazareth. The text comes to life where Jesus grew up, Nazareth. He introduced his mission by quoting Isaiah’s words. The Nazareth Manifesto is the crux of Jesus’ life, ministry and mission. Jesus revealed himself in his address to the people. He must have deliberately chosen the text from Isaiah to proclaim the good news to the whole world. Though it was a Messianic discourse, the reading of Jesus reversed the stereotyped concept of Messiah in those days. The Israelite community was waiting for a Messiah who would save them from the clutches of roman imperial rule. But Jesus pronounced the good news to the poor and oppressed, and transcended the exclusive mission of Israel’s Messiah.

Jesus re-reads the text

Jesus addressed the gathering on a Sabbath day at the synagogue in Nazareth. Synagogue was the worship place of the Israelites. Jesus re-reads the text by quoting Isaiah 61:1-2 and Isaiah 58:7. As Jesus proclaimed his mission, he described his mission as letting people free from bondage. Jesus was fulfilling the very meaning of Sabbath. It is not only a day of rest but also the day of redemption. Jesus redefines the text and introduces the mission to the marginalized. It was an affirmation of his purpose as savior in the world and of how he was anointed by the Holy Spirit to fulfill the mission. God sent his only begotten to this earth with a manifesto to bring good news to the poor, to proclaim release to captives, to recover the sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free and to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor. When Jesus declared this, prophesy of Isaiah was fulfilled through his mission statement.  After the reading the scripture he said “Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing”(v.21). The role of the worshipping community is to continue the mission of Jesus to the poor and needy. The text urges us to take the responsibility of liberative mission of God for the most vulnerable in the society.