Proclaim the Year of the Lord's Favor

Hello everyone.

In my last post, I mentioned that I am now teaching an extra class, and that has kept me pretty busy.  Also, my son get engaged last weekend, and that has kept me busy as well.  But as of yesterday, I am on spring break, so I hope to get my writing caught up with my study this week.  We have completed a look at Jesus in the wilderness, and now the narrative of Luke follows Jesus to his hometown of Nazareth.  Luke 4:14-30 tells of his visit to the synagogue there. 

Having been led by the Spirit into the wilderness, now, according to Luke, Jesus returns to Galilee in the power of the Spirit.  News about Jesus, who is able to perform miraculous signs and wonders, spreads rapidly, and soon the whole region is talking about him.  

We know that Jesus had a three pronged ministry of preaching, teaching and healing.  At this point, Jesus’ ministry appears to be focused on teaching.  He is going to different synagogues in Galilee and teaching people.  He appears to be very popular, and everyone is praising him. For the word used here δοξαζόμενος (doxazomenos) praise may not be strong enough, the word actually means ‘glorified.’  People were really excited about Jesus’ teaching. 

Now, in his hometown, Jesus does what he had been doing everywhere else he has gone, he goes to the synagogue to teach. In fact, Luke says in 4:16 that it was Jesus' custom to go to the synagogue on the Sabbath. Darrell Bock makes the point that Jesus was a pious Jew, who attended the synagogue regularly, but his piety was different from the piety of the Jewish leadership. (Bock, 402-403)

Most likely, in the synagogue, when a scripture was read, it was read in Hebrew, then translated into the local dialect of Aramaic. Someone would stand, read the Scripture and discuss.  It could be a fixed reading or selected for the occasion.  In Luke 4, Jesus stands, indicating that he will speak on a passage. He is handed the scroll of Isaiash and he finds the passage he wants to discuss. Isaiah 61. We have already seen Jesus led by the Spirit into the wilderness and then leading him into Galilee.  Interestingly the passage he chooses to start his ministry begins, “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me.”  We again see the Spirit's movement and guidance.  

According to Kenneth Bailey, the town of Nazareth was a Jewish enclave within a “Galilee of the Gentiles” (see Matthew 4:15.)  Bailey’s point is that this Jewish community living in a region that is heavily Gentile likely led the community to be heavy on Jewish nationalism. (Bailey, 152.)

Bailey posits that the passage Jesus is going to read and discuss was probably one of their favorites because, while it talks about the Lord’s compassion, it also talks about His vengeance on their enemies.  In Isa. 61:2 prophecies "the year of the Lord’s favor" but also "the day of vengeance of our God.” The idea here is that God is making things right, including a heavy dose of wiping out their enemies and setting them up victoriously. 

Jesus does something interesting here.  He reads from the passage in Isaiah 61, but edits it as he reads.  He shares the parts about proclaiming good news, setting the captive free, but then stops short, and does not share the part about God having His day of vengeance. 

The passage that Jesus reads has five things that He would do. Because the Spirit of the Lord was upon Him, and had anointed Him, so that He would:

• Preach the good news to the poor. 
• Proclaim deliverance for the captives.
• Restore sight to the blind.
• Release those living in oppression.
• Declare the year of the Lord’s favor.

His audience liked this passage, because they believed that the year of the Lord's favor would be to their benefit, and that His vengeance would then be carried out on their enemies.  Isaiah 61 continues with talk of the ancient ruins being rebuilt, with strangers and foreigners doing the work, while they reap the benefits and enjoy the wealth of other nations.  So try to imagine Jesus reading one of the congregation's favorite passages, and stopping abruptly just before he gets to the "good stuff," of revenge on their enemies.  They had been happy and agreeing with everything their hometown boy was saying, until suddenly, crickets.  Their reaction to what Jesus is saying will soon take a sharp turn for the worst. 

Jesus offered his crowd these things: Good news, freedom, sight and more freedom. Then offered the Lord's favor.  He did not declare the Lord's vengeance.  I think this was good news for them (although they didn't see it that way.)  It is also good news for us.  Jesus offers us good news, freedom, sight and more freedom.  He would much rather give us the Lord's favor than the Lord's vengeance. The Lord's impulse is toward mercy rather than punishment. Also, good news for us. 

Jesus has read the passage and then sits down to teach them. Everyone present fixes their attention on him. Luke uses the word Ἀτενίζοντες (atenizontes) - Bock states that this word depicts intense focused emotion. (Bock, 412.) So, everyone is staring at Jesus with an intense emotion. 

Then, Jesus then declares to them that the passage that he had just read to them was being fulfilled right now in their presence.  You would think that they would be happy.  They were witnessing history. By the end of the story they were not very happy. Jesus may have been fulfilling the scripture, but he was not doing the way that they believed he was supposed to.  

There is more to this story, that we will examine next time. 

Tom 

    Darrell Bock, Luke, Volume 1 - 1:1-9:50, Grand Rapids, Michigan, Baker Academic, 1994. 

    Kenneth Bailey, Jesus through Middle Eastern Eyes, Downers Grove, Illinois, IVP Academic, 2008.