Unplug: Jesus

Tammy Holder join me to share just a little bit about the value of Sabbath on the land in farming.

Tammy Holder has served at the College of the Ozarks as associate professor of agronomy since 2010. Since coming to the college, she has also served as manager at the dairy, beef farm, feed mill and agronomy workstations.

Tammy completed her M.S. degree from the University of Arkansas in Crop Science and her undergraduate studies at College of the Ozarks.  Her interests lie in forage production and forage physiology. In her graduate research she was responsible for discovery of several of the novel endophytes used in many improved varieties of tall fescue today.

Tammy has been a member of the Agronomy Society of America, Soil Science Society of America, and Crop Science Society for 24 years.

1.) talk to me about what it means to fallow land or let land lie fallow.

2) What is the value of this practice and how do you see this tying into our everyday lives?

I think Sabbath idea is starting to sink in. This past week. Amy and I was able to Sabbath. The last two weeks have been super busy and we were really able to stop on Friday of this week. We stopped and we settled in. It was super healthy. Throughout the day we would bring up we things we should have accomplished and I would just say sabbath.

The word sabbath would put to rest the idea that I should have accomplished so much more.

Summary of Sabbath

We saw in Genesis 1:1 God speaking of the beginning and the end.

Genesis 1 goes from darkness to order and leads us to the 7th day.

The 7th day does not end. The words it was even then morning is not there pointing us to the ultimate 7th day that does not end.

We have seen the rhythms throughout the days that point us to 7th day rest.

We looked at the Exodus story and saw God’s blessing of the 6th day to provide enough for the 7th day and us trusting that God’s provision for us is enough to Shabbath and Nuak(Cease and settle in)

Last week, we looked at the rest of the Land. You have heard that this morning from Tammy again.

Today we get to Jesus and Sabbath.

Turn to Luke 4.

Luke 4:14–21 HCSB

14 Then Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit, and news about Him spread throughout the entire vicinity. 15 He was teaching in their synagogues, being acclaimed by everyone. 16 He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up. As usual, He entered the synagogue on the Sabbath day and stood up to read. 17 The scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to Him, and unrolling the scroll, He found the place where it was written: 18 The Spirit of the Lord is on Me, because He has anointed Me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent Me to proclaim freedom to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to set free the oppressed, 19 to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor. 20 He then rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant, and sat down. And the eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fixed on Him. 21 He began by saying to them, “Today as you listen, this Scripture has been fulfilled.”

This is a mic drop moment for Jesus. Let me tell you why.

Here Jesus quotes from Isaiah 61. Verse 19 to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor references us to The Year of Jubilee.

Isaiah 61 references the “Year of Jubilee” in Leviticus 25.

I chose not to add a dedicated Sunday to the Year of Jubilee in this series because we covered the year of Jubilee earlier this year when we spoke about Kingdom Economy and Jesus praying thy kingdom come thy will be done on Earth as it is in Heaven.

You might recall this message on the Year of Jubilee.

Year of Jubilee followed after you had 7x7 years then in the 7 month of the 49th year you would have a year of Jubilee. So the 50th year was the year of Jubilee.

To explain this year, I had Zaden and Akela come on stage and I had hula hoops up here to represent their land.

Zaden was not able to keep his land and so it went through stages and the final stage was that Zaden sold his land to Akela and he became her employee. He was then working for her on his land that she now owned.

The Year of Jubilee all debts attached to the land is released and the land itself is released back to the original family of the owners.

This was a great economic reset. Slaves were set free and returned to their families, property that was sold reverted to the original owners and all debts were canceled.

The land would lay fallow as man and beast rested and rejoiced in the Lord.

Who could use some debt being released this morning?

Isaiah 61 points forward to the

ULTIMATE JUBILEE

Luke 4:16 HCSB

16 He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up. As usual, He entered the synagogue on the Sabbath day and stood up to read.

Notice what Jesus is doing on the Sabbath here. He goes to the synagogue. Luke also says as usual.

Sabbath

Stop

Settle in

Worship

Rejoice/Delight

Jesus as usual enters the synagogue on that Sabbath. Some will tell you that I connect with Jesus better on Sabbath in nature or outside or being alone.

Sabbath doesn’t just provide rest alone. Rest is not the end for Sabbath. Sabbath is to bring you back to your creator and into right relationship with Him. Knowing that Jesus created you and made you and he is your healer, provider, and sustainer.

If Jesus went to the synagogue on the Sabbath, then be carful what you might try to justify as Sabbath practice that Jesus himself did not do.

Sabbath points us to worship Jesus.

Luke 4:17–19 HCSB

17 The scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to Him, and unrolling the scroll, He found the place where it was written: 18 The Spirit of the Lord is on Me, because He has anointed Me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent Me to proclaim freedom to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to set free the oppressed, 19 to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.

Jesus gets a scrolled handed to him and he opens up to find the Jubilee year proclamation in Isaiah 61.

He reads from it and says the Spirit of the Lord is on me because.

He has anointed Me to preach good news to the poor.

He has sent me to proclaim freedom to the captives

Recovery of sight to the blind

Set free the oppressed.

Now Jesus does something unique with this passage. If you lay them side by side with Isaiah 61 you will see an added line here in Luke 4.

This was a common practice. Jesus uses this added line to Hyperlink us to another passage.

Isaiah 58:6–7 HCSB

6 Isn’t the fast I choose: To break the chains of wickedness, to untie the ropes of the yoke, to set the oppressed free, and to tear off every yoke? 7 Is it not to share your bread with the hungry, to bring the poor and homeless into your house, to clothe the naked when you see him, and not to ignore your own flesh and blood?

The prophet Isaiah in chapter 58 is railing on or ripping them for their Sabbath practices.

The fast I choose or the Sabbath practice I choose is to set the oppressed free.

In Luke 4 the word in Greek is

Aphesis

Lexham Theological Wordbook (ἄφεσις)

ἄφεσις (aphesis)

release, forgiveness. Indicates the state of having a particular obligation removed or ignored in a given relationship

I love this image of sins being released. It is that image of being completely set free.

I have the mental image of a lot of balloons tied onto all my sins and they are released from me and sent off. Think about not just sins but think of sickness and poverty and Jesus release them from us.

Isaiah 58:6–8 HCSB

6 Isn’t the fast I choose: To break the chains of wickedness, to untie the ropes of the yoke, to set the oppressed free, and to tear off every yoke? 7 Is it not to share your bread with the hungry, to bring the poor and homeless into your house, to clothe the naked when you see him, and not to ignore your own flesh and blood? 8 Then your light will appear like the dawn, and your recovery will come quickly. Your righteousness will go before you, and the Lord’s glory will be your rear guard.

He says this is proper Sabbath that you set the oppressed free and to tear off every yoke, share your bread with the hungry, bring the poor and homeless into your house, to clothe the naked when you see him and to ignore your own flesh and blood.

If you observe Sabbath in this way then

Your light will appear like the dawn (Genesis 1.)

Your recovery will spring forth (Genesis 1.)

The Glory of the Lord will be your rear guard (Exodus 14.)

Back to Luke 4.

Luke 4:18–21 HCSB

18 The Spirit of the Lord is on Me, because He has anointed Me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent Me to proclaim freedom to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to set free the oppressed, 19 to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor. 20 He then rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant, and sat down. And the eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fixed on Him. 21 He began by saying to them, “Today as you listen, this Scripture has been fulfilled.”

Jesus in the mic drop moment says the year of Jubilee is here and I am the one fulfilling this. I am the one who is bringing the year of Jubilee.

This statement makes them want to throw him off a cliff. He proclaims that He is the messiah and He is the one bringing the year of Jubilee.

I have come to release the oppressed from their sins. I have come to preach the good news to the poor, I have come to proclaim freedom to the captives, recovery of sight to the blind and to set free the oppressed.

To release the oppressed

What follows in Luke is we see Jesus doing just this. He lives out the Isaiah 61 mission.

Luke 5:18–20 HCSB

18 Just then some men came, carrying on a mat a man who was paralyzed. They tried to bring him in and set him down before Him. 19 Since they could not find a way to bring him in because of the crowd, they went up on the roof and lowered him on the mat through the roof tiles into the middle of the crowd before Jesus. 20 Seeing their faith He said, “Friend, your sins are forgiven you.”

ἀφίημι (aphiēmi) apheimay

We see Jesus releasing from sickness, poverty and sins throughout the rest of the Gospel of Luke.

I like what follows this releasing of oppression and sin.

There is much rejoicing and throwing of parties

The lost sheep

The lost coin

The lost Son

You talk about release from sin, poverty, and brokenness read that again.

Throw a party for the this lost son has come home.

Luke 14:21–23 HCSB

21 “So the slave came back and reported these things to his master. Then in anger, the master of the house told his slave, ‘Go out quickly into the streets and alleys of the city, and bring in here the poor, maimed, blind, and lame!’ 22 “ ‘Master,’ the slave said, ‘what you ordered has been done, and there’s still room.’ 23 “Then the master told the slave, ‘Go out into the highways and lanes and make them come in, so that my house may be filled.

The poor are invited in to the banquet. Who pays for the banquet? Those with the ability to do so.

Thrift stores

Wednesday night meals

Financial Literacy

Fences at the top and nets at the bottom

Girl from Southgate came up to me.

A food line is not a banquet

A banquet everyone is eating

Jesus says the year of Jubilee is here because I am the one who is bringing it.

I am here to release you from sin, sickness, and debt.

I love how Bridge of Faith believes this mission is connected.