Stating the Purpose
a sermon based on Luke 4:14-21
by Rev. Randy Quinn
 

Before reading the text:

If you could pick one passage of scripture from the Old Testament that might serve to define who Jesus is, what would it be?  What one scripture portrait of “the Messiah” would you use to describe Jesus?

Ø      There is no doubt that for some, it would be the very first place where we read a prophetic foretelling of a savior, where God curses the serpent in the garden of Eden and then pronounces a word of hope:  “I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will strike your head, and you will strike his heel” (Gen. 3:15) 

Ø      For others, it might be a quote from Moses, who after reminding the people of their salvation from the Egyptians and their long journey through the wilderness says:  “I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Choose life so that you and your descendants may live, loving the LORD your God, obeying him, and holding fast to him” (Dt. 30:19-20).

Ø      Still others may turn to the amazing promise made to King David, “I will raise up your offspring after you, who shall come forth from your body, and I will establish his kingdom.  He shall build a house for my name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever.  I will be a father to him, and he shall be a son to me. . . . Your house and your kingdom shall be made sure forever before me; your throne shall be established forever” (2 Sam. 7:12-14a, 16).  Of course, to use that one as a reference to Jesus, we have to leave out the line that says, “when he commits iniquity, I will punish him” (2 Sam. 7:14b).

What passage of scripture would you turn to?

Ø      Maybe you would turn to a familiar passage like Psalm 23 and affirm that Jesus is the Good Shepherd.

Ø      Or perhaps, you would hear him being spoken of in the words of wisdom in the book of Proverbs, “For the LORD gives wisdom; from his mouth come knowledge and understanding; he stores up sound wisdom for the upright; he is a shield to those who walk blamelessly, guarding the paths of justice and preserving the way of his faithful ones” (Pr. 2:6-8).

Ø      Maybe you prefer to hear how Jesus came to express and share God’s love like Ruth did with Naomi or as expressed in the lover’s songs in the Song of Songs.

And while each of those can accurately and appropriately be seen as conveying some of what Jesus came to be, my question is which one passage would you choose?  I know it may be an unfair question since we hear Jesus being echoed throughout the Old Testament, but if there was one that would summarize your image of him, which would it be?

Ø      I suspect many of us would turn to the words of the prophets.  Jeremiah’s image of the new covenant, perhaps:  “The days are surely coming, says the LORD, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah.  It will not be like the covenant that I made with their ancestors when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt – a covenant that they broke, though I was their husband, says the LORD.  But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the LORD:  I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.  No longer shall they teach one another, or say to each other, "Know the LORD," for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, says the LORD; for I will forgive their iniquity, and remember their sin no more (Jer. 31:31-34).

Ø      Or maybe you would be one of those who turn to the warnings of Amos:  “For lo, I will command, and shake the house of Israel among all the nations as one shakes with a sieve, but no pebble shall fall to the ground.  All the sinners of my people shall die by the sword” (Amos 9:9-10).

Ø      Or what about something from Isaiah?  Maybe one of the familiar passages we used last month such as “a child has been born for us, a son given to us; authority rests upon his shoulders; and he is named Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.  His authority shall grow continually, and there shall be endless peace for the throne of David and his kingdom.  He will establish and uphold it with justice and with righteousness from this time onward and forevermore” (Is. 9:6-7).

There are numerous other possibilities.  And some of us are not familiar enough with the Jewish scriptures to make an educated guess.  But Jesus knew the scriptures.  And as he begins his ministry, he has the opportunity to use one of them to set the tone and tenor of his work.

So let’s hear how Jesus answers the question.  He has just returned from being tempted in the wilderness.  He is beginning his ministry, and he chooses a passage of scripture to help people understand how he sees himself fulfilling God’s call in his life.

Read text.

I find it interesting to watch the Presidential election campaigns as they begin – long before the elections potential candidates vie for attention and try to create a verbal impression on the voters – an impression they hope will linger with us for the entire course of the campaign.

What one phrase will capture our attention?

What one issue will lure us into their particular camp?

Each has their own vision of where they think we should be going as a nation, and they are trying to get that vision implanted in our minds so that we will allow them to lead us into that vision.

One way of reading this text is to hear it in a similar context.  The people have been looking for a savior, the messiah.  But there isn’t a clear consensus about what that messiah will look like.  Not even we can agree on which text best portrays his role.  Like us, people in that synagogue that day each had their own passage they would turn to when they wanted to describe what the messiah would be like.

So when Jesus stands up and quotes from Isaiah, he is quoting one of those popular passages that refer to or allude to a messiah; they hear in it a proposed framework from which he will begin his work.

The spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me, because the LORD has anointed me; he has sent me to bring good news to the oppressed, to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and release to the prisoners; to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor (Is. 61:1-2a).

They might also know – and wonder why – he left off a part of the last verse:  “to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor and the day of vengeance of our God.”

In his book, Seven Habits of Highly Effective People (Simon & Schuster, 1989), Stephen Covey says that habit number two is to “begin with the end in mind”.  By that, he means we need to have a clear understanding of why we are doing what we’re doing in order to be effective at it.

As one common phrase says it, “it’s hard to remember when you are up to your neck in alligators that your job is to drain the swamp.”  You’ll never accomplish things if you forget why you are there.  It becomes too easy to pursue less important goals that seem too urgent to avoid.

Jesus is stating his purpose.  It’s why he came.  He may – in fact he does – do other things as well.  But his primary purpose is to bring good news to those who are afflicted, regardless of their affliction.  It is his way of beginning with the end in mind.

In fact, when John the Baptist sends his followers to Jesus asking if Jesus is “the One,” the One they are waiting for, Jesus answers by turning to this scripture again.  “Go and tell John,” he says, “what you have seen and heard:  the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, the poor have good news brought to them” (Lk. 7:22).

In other words, he asks John to measure his success based on what he set out to do.  Am I doing what I said I would do?

But even Jesus cannot do it all alone.  He will invite people to be a part of his team.  The twelve were the closest to him, but there were more than that.  In the book of Acts, Luke tells us there were about 120 followers of Jesus, some of whom had been following Jesus since his baptism (Acts 1:15-17, 21-26).  And “Team Jesus” extended beyond his earthly ministry and includes us as well.

Ever since Pentecost, when the Holy Spirit descended upon the church, our purpose has been to follow Jesus in accomplishing his purpose:  “to bring good news to the poor. . . . to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, and to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor” (Lk. 4:18-19).

He is telling us where the bus is headed.  It is up to us to get on board and continue his ministry by proclaiming good news to those who are afflicted.

Let us pray:

Open our hearts, O Lord, to love those whom you have loved.

Open our minds, O God, to know your will for us and for your church.

Open the doors of your church, Lord Jesus, so we may go out to serve you and others may come in and join us in worshipping you.  Amen.