This passage is about Jesus reading the scroll of Isaiah in the synagogue of His home town of Nazareth. Now this might seem like a small thing at first, but that is because there is a lot of missing context here. Let me try to explain.
First is the teritorial context of where this happens. This scene takes place in Nazareth, Jesus’ home town. This is important for a couple reasons. Primarily because he grew up there and knows every person in this small little community. But secondarily because Naazreth is a town that consisted of mostly descendants of the line of David. The Romans were very efficient at eliminating threats to the kingship of their Ceasar. And so they actively sought out the descendants of David and tried to eliminate them as potential rivals to Ceasar. As a result, at this time, all of the people of the line of David had fled the big cities and gathered in this tiny little backwater town of Nazareth, and tried to live lives that would go unnoticed by the Roman elites.
Next we have spiritual context of where this happened. This passage takes place in the synagogue of Nazareth. But not just anyone was given the priveledge of reading the scroll in synagogue, that was the role of a rabbi (or teacher), and was a high honor to be asked to do so. So we take from this that Jesus’ family and friends had heard the rumours about Jesus and His ministry, and thus want to hear for themselves what He had to say. But the people of Nazareth (the tribe of Judah) have always held themselves as special among the jews because all of the prophets proclaimed that the messiah would come from the tribe of Judah, and would restore the kingdom of David, and bring the peace that they have always yearned for. It is with that understanding that they hand Jesus the scroll of Isaiah to read from. This was done because the people of Nazareth wanted to test Jesus’ skill as a rabbi, and hear for themselves if all of the rumours about Jesus were true. But of all of the passages in the scroll of Isaiah, Jesus reads the one passage that was most debated among all of the great rabbis and sages of the jewish world. This passage specifically teaches about what the messiah will do when He returns.
The jewish people believed that the messiah would restore the priesthood that was lost in the desert during the “golden calf” incident. It is important to remember here that before the “golden calf” God willed that the patriarch of every family serve the high priest for their families and tribe, and offer worship and sacrifice to God on their behalf. It was the mysterious figure of Melchizadek that most fully embodies this persona in the Old Testament. Mechiadek was both the king and priest of the early tribe of people that would later be know as the Jews. It was only after the “golden calf” incident that the lord took that priesthood away the patriarchs, and bestowed it upon the Levites from that time on, because they did not worship the golden calf. Secondly the jews believed that the messiah would restore the Kingdom of David that was lost when the kingdom was divided, and fell into pagan worship and idolotry. God always planned for Him to be our King and we to be His people. It was only after the people revolted and rejected that offer that God allowed us to have a human king, starting with Saul and then ultimately being fulfilled in His annoited David, “a man after God’s own heart.”
The scroll of Isaiah that Jesus reads in today’s passage specifically speaks to this two fold nature of the coming messiah. “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring glad tidings to the poor.” The anointed refers to God anointing David as King of the Jews, Jesus is connecting Himself with that same anointing. “He has sent me to proclaim liberty to captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free,” This prophesy speaks of the miracles that the messiah would perform to confirm his divine origin, but it also speaks to Jesus’ divine mission to come to save us from the slavery to sin. “and to proclaim a year acceptable to the Lord.” This specifically speaks to the tradition of the Jubilee. The Jubilee happened in the 50th year after 7 consequtive 7 year cycles of preparation, and resting on the 7th year. The Jubilee is an incredible gift from God to His people that bought freedom from opression, and forgiveness of sin in exchange for their obedience to God and His laws. It showed God’s infinite mercy and never ending goodness, and ultimately His total love for His people and their happiness. The Jubilee is something that deserves a much deeper dive than we have time for in this reflection. But there was one other time that a Jubilee could be declared, and that is when a new King was anointed, no matter where they were in that 49 year cycle, the newly anointed king could declare a jubilee year, and often did. This is what it means to “to proclaim a year acceptable to the Lord.” And this what Jesus is associating Himself with in this passage.
So with all that context in mind, lets explore what is happening in today’s reading. Jesus reads the scroll and after reading the scroll he sits down. Please note that in the synagogue, Rabbi’s would stand to read the scripture, but then sit when he was ready to teach. So Jesus is sitting, taking the posture of a rabbi that is about the give wisdom and understanding about the scripture that He just read, and when all are ready and eagerly waiting to hear what He has to say, He drops the bomb on them by saying that “…these words are fulfilled in your hearing.”
I cannot stress strongly enough how startling and shocking this statement would be for these jews to hear. Jesus is saying plainly that He is the Messiah that was fortold in Isaiah. Jesus has come to the tiny village where the descendants of David live, He comes as a great Rabbi that is renowned for His wise teaching, and He reads the scroll of the most revered of all of the Prophets. The prophet that fortold the coming of the messiah, and Jesus says that all of that prophesy and all of that anticipation is fulfilled in this moment, in their hearing. Jesus is saying that He is now come to restore the patriarical priesthood of Melchizadek, and putting to an end the Levitical priesthood, and taking His place as the Great High Priest that God always promised. But He is also claiming to be the Lion of Judah, the descendant of David that would come and restore the Kingdom of David, but more importantly the Kingdom of God in this world. Jesus is saying in this moment that everything that God, and the Law, and the prophets ever foretold is fulfilled in this moment…, In Him! Wow, that is the mic-drop of all mic-drop moments, amazing!
But He is also making this statement and claim to you as well today. He is saying that I am the one that you too are waiting for, the one that was sent to save you from your sins…, Do you accept this claim, do you believe that He is who He says He is, or are you going to reject Him too? That is what He is calling for you to consider today, How will you respond? I would not take this call lightly, it is the most important question you will ever answer in your life, and that answer will determine if you spend eternity with God, in heaven…, or in Hell with the evil one. The choice is yours, choose wisely.
