[Devotional on YouVersion Bible App – by N.T. Wright]
Scripture
Luke 4:14-21
Jesus Begins His Ministry
14 And Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit to Galilee, and a report about him went out through all the surrounding country. 15 And he taught in their synagogues, being glorified by all.
Jesus Rejected at Nazareth
16 And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up. And as was his custom, he went to the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and he stood up to read. 17 And the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to him. He unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written,
18 “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 captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, 19 to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor.”
20 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. 21 And he began to say to them, “Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.”
Think back to the last time you received some really good news.
What was it about this bit of news that made it so good? Was it a long-awaited answer to prayer, news that a potential disaster had been avoided, the welcome arrival of an unexpected family member, or perhaps, something else?
As followers of Jesus we can become so accustomed to hearing about ‘Good News’, or the ‘Gospel’, that we lose sight of what makes the Christian message so revolutionary. Jesus’ contemporaries were astonished at the words coming from the mouth of the man whom they had known simply as Joseph’s son.
After forty days of deprivation and temptation in the wilderness, Jesus returned home. Luke tells us that after an immense time of testing and isolation (sound familiar my COVID friends?!) Jesus made his way home to Galilee filled with the power of the Spirit (Luke 4:14a). Up until that time, Jesus had been just an ordinary member of the small community of about 200 people in the village of Nazareth. However, he was beginning to gain a great reputation throughout the whole district as news about him spread throughout the countryside (14b).
One Sabbath day, Jesus stood up in the synagogue and read from Isaiah’s scroll. His hearers received a message that we now understand to be central to the Christian faith. Jesus claimed to be the one appointed by God to bring ‘good news’ (v 18), Euangelion. This Greek word was used in the first century to describe a welcome announcement, or something that created a whole new state of affairs.
Now, pause for one moment and consider, what’s the news and why is it good?
How does the proclamation that Jesus is the fulfillment of ancient promises continue to be simply good news for today’s world? We need to refresh our memories and our imaginations as to how this ‘good news’ was actually supposed to work from the very beginning. News is about something that has happened – something that is going to make the world different, and there are things that are going to happen for which we have to ready ourselves
News creates a new situation where we live between the event that has happened, and the event that will happen. It is easy to collapse the Christian message into good advice about how you might live your life or re-order your private spirituality. But, the whole point of Christianity from the beginning was about something that had happened:
News concerning Jesus of Nazareth and his death and resurrection.
News about the God we see revealed in and active through Jesus.
News that has changed the way the entire world is now and will be forever.
The Gospel announces that a whole new world order and a whole new way to be human has now arrived and will one day be fully and finally completed. This is simply good news!
Questions to Consider:
There are many different types and sources of news. How is the Gospel of Jesus Christ a form of news that makes a welcome announcement in your own life today? Your family? Your church and community?
Living it out:
News create a new situation and calls for new decisions.
Consider: in what ways does the Gospel of Jesus Christ call you to make different choices or live differently today?
Prayer:
Father God, the good news of your story is all about your son Jesus, who gave His life for all of us so that we can be part of your family forever. Thank you for that gift of grace and forgiveness. Burn it on our hearts so that we live out this miracle in our lives every day to shine the light of Christ to others around us. Help us to share this good news with our friends and family. In the name of Jesus – our Savior – Amen!