Mission of Jesus Christ: The Self Epiphany

Jesus Christ was Called to His Mission

This morning, we are going to jump right into this passage, just as Jesus jumped right into teaching when he reached the area surrounding the Sea of Galilee, and in particular, his home town of Nazareth. I just want to give you a couple historical/contextual facts before I get too far ahead of myself...

Jesus is an adult, we know that from a few weeks ago when we read about his baptism by John

Jesus has spent time in the desert/wilderness being tempted to pull away from God, just as each of us are in our normal, everyday lives.

Jesus has decided to begin his ministry near his hometown of Nazareth.

So, with those facts in mind, let’s jump into our story for this morning...according to Luke, we are at the very beginning of Jesus’ ministry…not unlike many of my pastoral colleagues, Jesus has traveled to his hometown for folks to see him and hear him. I can imagine him being excited to go to his hometown to see some of the people who grew up around and to share this great news of his calling. What we will hear next week is how those people responded to his teaching, for now, know that like many of my colleagues, and myself, Jesus is rejected by those he probably thought were going to love him and support him in this journey.

Here are just a few more points that I want us to keep in mind as we explore this passage this morning...

Jesus is a dedicated Jew

He is a Rabbi

He reads from a scroll of the Prophet Isaiah and pronounces his identity

He interprets the scripture

First and foremost, Jesus is in the Synagogue on the Sabbath. Much like us, not a requirement but a really good suggestion if we want to connect with God and others. Only those completely dedicated to their faith came to the Synagogue religiously.

Now, some scholars believe that Jesus had been trained as a Rabbi, or teacher. Some believe that because he is the Son of God, it was just what he knew. Regardless as to how we see this, he had authority in his hometown because only those with any kind of religious training read during the worship in a Synagogue and only those religiously trained also interpret the scripture they read. So in a sense, he is a pastor come home from traveling around to other places and synagogues.

The passage he is handed, again there is some debate as to whether he chose the scroll or someone else just handed him the scroll of Isaiah, regardless, in his heart, he knew what he wanted to read. This passage that he read from Isaiah is a proclamation of who he is and who he is to become. It is his epiphany of who he is to those around him.

The biggest piece to this for me is the fact that the people stared at him until he interpreted the passages he read…and his interpretation is what I want us to focus the rest of our time upon this morning, because it will first tell us who Jesus will be and second it tells us much about what Jesus sees as his mission.

So let’s look at that piece from Isaiah once again...

Isaiah 61:1–2 NIV

The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me, because the Lord has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn,

The Spirit of God is upon him, God anointed him to proclaim and not only proclaim but address some very important social justice issues. Issues that many people fight for even today...comfort for the brokenhearted, freedom for captives, release from darkness for prisoners. Jesus Christ came to reach out to those who needed to hear a message of love and redemption. He knew that at this point in his life. He wanted everyone to be able to say that they were committed and more than committed, he wanted everyone to desire a faithful relationship with God. The problem was that many people had never heard about God and even if they did, many were so far away from what God commanded that they lived in a spiritual darkness.

Again, this is not much different than the world today. So what was it that Jesus was called to do…so glad you asked...

Aspects of Jesus Christ’s Mission

Jesus came to:

Preach and teach that the kingdom of God was already here that he was sent to be the once and for all, final sacrificial lamb. After he taught and people believed that they could be redeemed by merely asking for forgiveness, people were changed, they were no long captive to their sins, they were no longer slaves of the things they had done. He came so that all could have life and live abundantly through his love...

Sacrificial service…his life was all about serving others. It was not about serving himself or making sure that he had everything he felt he needed, no, he came so that everyone could be served by another. Isn’t that what his life was all about?! Didn’t he provide more than enough food to the 5,000 men and who knows how many women and children who were fed to their capacity by 5 loaves and two fish? Didn’t he heal those who were physically and mentally ill? He taught the disciples that when they entered someone’s home that if they were not welcome, they were to shake the dust off their feet and move on? It was about serving the needs of those around him, not his own needs...

Healing…speaking of healing, do I really need to say more…lepers, lame, blind, deaf, and the dead were all healed or brought forth from the world into a world of love and compassion...

The Focus of His Mission...

Jesus Christ came to save and to give life. Jesus Christ came to suffer and to die. Jesus Christ was aware of the personal cost of his mission…he knew all these things so as we see him in the Synagogue in Nazareth, we are seeing the man who recognized all that he must do, all that he was called to do and be, and yet, he still proclaimed it to those to whom he was probably closest for the majority of his life. The people to whom he looked to as examples of how to be in his world and to those who he would have respected as a child and youth because they taught him so much about what a true Jew should be. And His obedience to God’s will cannot be argued either…he, himself, talked about how he wanted to have the cup of pain and suffering that he was about to endure be removed but yet, not his will but God’s will to be done.

His mission was about listening, praying, and doing what God called him to do…the interesting thing I am taking away from this story is this...

The Mission of Jesus Christ Continues Today

As we reflect on this passage in the coming week, and I challenge each of us to do reflect on it throughout the week, think about how Christ proclaimed his mission in the Synagogue in which he was most familiar. This is the first time that we hear him doing such a thing and this speaks volumes to us in today’s society because his mission, our mission in this world, remains and continues…so here are a few passages that help us to see how...

Hebrews 7:24–25 NIV

but because Jesus lives forever, he has a permanent priesthood. Therefore he is able to save completely those who come to God through him, because he always lives to intercede for them.

We are called to share in Jesus Christ’s mission as John puts it...

John 20:21 NIV

Again Jesus said, “Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.”

His mission was and is to establish justice and peace even though part of his mission was to also suffer and die…as told to us by Isaiah… Isaiah 53:3-6

Isaiah 53:3–6 NIV

He was despised and rejected by mankind, a man of suffering, and familiar with pain. Like one from whom people hide their faces he was despised, and we held him in low esteem. Surely he took up our pain and bore our suffering, yet we considered him punished by God, stricken by him, and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed. We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to our own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all.

His mission was fulfilled in humility and poverty and was for all nations, not just one or two, but all nations...

Isaiah 49:6 NIV

he says: “It is too small a thing for you to be my servant to restore the tribes of Jacob and bring back those of Israel I have kept. I will also make you a light for the Gentiles, that my salvation may reach to the ends of the earth.”

Prayer

As we spend next few moments of silence, I ask you, where have you heard God’s calling upon your life and how much have you full accepted the mission that god has placed into your heart? If you are answering that mission and calling upon your heart, where else might God be calling you in this world? If you have not heard God’s voice, then I urge you to listen and listen hard…God might just be whispering in your ear…

Let us pray…God we long to be able to shout from the rooftops that we are yours and live out your will perfectly in our lives. But we cannot because we do not. We know that through Christ we are assured that where we fall short, it is OK because your love knows no bounds. So God, when we fall short of loving and showing compassion as Christ showed, help to not hold onto our guilt but release it so that we can do better in the future. And God, help us to hear your voice above the din of all the other voices in our hearts and minds, so that we can live out our mission in the world, just as Jesus did all those years ago, Amen.