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NASB | Luke 4:18 "THE SPIRIT OF THE LORD IS UPON ME, BECAUSE HE ANOINTED ME TO PREACH THE GOSPEL TO THE POOR. HE HAS SENT ME TO PROCLAIM RELEASE TO THE CAPTIVES, AND RECOVERY OF SIGHT TO THE BLIND, TO SET FREE THOSE WHO ARE OPPRESSED, |
AMPLIFIED 2015 | Luke 4:18 "THE SPIRIT OF THE LORD IS UPON ME (the Messiah), BECAUSE HE HAS ANOINTED ME TO PREACH THE GOOD NEWS TO THE POOR. HE HAS SENT ME TO ANNOUNCE RELEASE (pardon, forgiveness) TO THE CAPTIVES, AND RECOVERY OF SIGHT TO THE BLIND, TO SET FREE THOSE WHO ARE OPPRESSED (downtrodden, bruised, crushed by tragedy), |
Subject: Jesus and the Jubilee Year in Luke |
Bible Note: Jesus and the Jubilee Year In Lukes's gospel Jesus begins his ministry in his home town of Nazareth, where in the Synagogue he reads from the scroll Isaiah 61:1-2. He comes to "proclaim release" to the captives and asserts that Isaiah's prophecy is fulfilled in their hearing (Luke 4:16-19). And they all spoke highly of him until he intimated in verses 22-30 that the Gentiles were also cut in on the good deal of the good news. Then they wanted to kill him. No room in their minds for Gentiles at their table. Why all the fuss? Jesus was proclaiming the Jubilee Year. the phrase "proclaim release" was a formula phrase used to announce the Jubilee year (cf Lev 25:10; Deut 15:2). And the passage of Isaiah was about the Jubilee of all Jubilees, the Messianic Jubilee. And what was the jubilee year all about? It was about remembering the Exodus in a big way. Every seventh year was a Sabbath year and after seven Sabbath years (49 years) was the 50th year, the year of Jubilee. The year when the remembrance of the Exodus was to be made really concrete. In remembering how God had set them free, the Israelites were to release all their Israelite slaves, cancel all debts and restore all property that had been sold to the family that originally owned it.(Lev 25:10. 28, 39-41; Deut 15:2). All the poor and oppressed among them were set free in every way. At least that was the way it was supposed to be. But the Israelites did not do to one another as God had done to their forefathers. They swore a covenant oath, but then reneged and took back the slaves they had set free. Bad news for the Jews. (Jer 34:9-17) Do unto other as you would have them do unto you. God send them back into exileand bondage, this time in Babylon. And they were still in Jesus' day under the heel of a Gentile nation, the Romans. So the folks in the old neighborhood in Nazareth weren't too thrilled with Jesus implying that the Gentiles were going to been in on this Jubilee for which they had been waiting. The whole idea in their minds was that they would be set free and the Gentiles would get their come uppance. Then Israel would be on top and the Gentiles under their heel. So they didn't want any Gentile lover Jesus in their Synagogue. Sound like any Churches you've been to? Got to have that enemy to hate and look down on! Problem is we usually have our sights set on the wrong enemy, usually other Christians or even non Christians, you know, like Gentiles compared to us chosen people. But Jesus reminded his people that the enemy was not the Gentile, but the devil and sin. And he came to set all men free from the bondage of sin, death and the devil, not just the Israelites from the Gentiles, but the Israelites and the Gentiles from the real enemy and oprressor and even from themselves. The rest of the gosepel of Luke shows how this tension which began at Nazareth played out. |