And the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to him. He unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written,
“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,
to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor.”
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. And he began to say to them, “Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.”
—Luke 4:17-21
In the beginning was the Word. And He entered into His own creation.
Jonah sat down outside Nineveh, hoping to see the city overturned. He did, but not in the way that he expected. In a very real sense, Jonah demonstrated the worst of human attitudes. He hated, and he wanted those whom he hated to be destroyed. He was even willing to sacrifice himself for that purpose. (Remember his advice to the sailors in the storm?) In the language of Psalm 32, he was led to his assignment with bit and bridle. And when the people of Nineveh repented, Jonah resented.
Jesus came to those who should have been most ready to receive and welcome Him. And He did so in the most humble, inoffensive, non-threatening way possible. As a newborn baby. To offer a new beginning. Unlike Jonah, he came willingly. And His own did not receive Him. Luke records the scene in which Jesus wept over the city whose rulers rejected Him.
Unlike Jonah, He did not arrive hoping to bring a message and a reality of destruction. He did offer warnings, but Luke records His description of His own purpose. A newborn baby doesn't speak with words, although His arrival and its manner spoke volumes. As an adult, He called those who heard Him to pay attention to ancient words that had described His purpose centuries before.
And then He sat down and began to teach. He offered a new beginning.
Beginning
The Lord reigns, let the earth rejoice;
let the many coastlands be glad!
—Psalm 97:1
And the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to him. He unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written,
“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,
to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor.”
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. And he began to say to them, “Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.”
—Luke 4:17-21
In the beginning was the Word. And He entered into His own creation.
Jonah sat down outside Nineveh, hoping to see the city overturned. He did, but not in the way that he expected. In a very real sense, Jonah demonstrated the worst of human attitudes. He hated, and he wanted those whom he hated to be destroyed. He was even willing to sacrifice himself for that purpose. (Remember his advice to the sailors in the storm?) In the language of Psalm 32, he was led to his assignment with bit and bridle. And when the people of Nineveh repented, Jonah resented.
Jesus came to those who should have been most ready to receive and welcome Him. And He did so in the most humble, inoffensive, non-threatening way possible. As a newborn baby. To offer a new beginning. Unlike Jonah, he came willingly. And His own did not receive Him. Luke records the scene in which Jesus wept over the city whose rulers rejected Him.
Unlike Jonah, He did not arrive hoping to bring a message and a reality of destruction. He did offer warnings, but Luke records His description of His own purpose. A newborn baby doesn't speak with words, although His arrival and its manner spoke volumes. As an adult, He called those who heard Him to pay attention to ancient words that had described His purpose centuries before.
And then He sat down and began to teach. He offered a new beginning.