This week we are introduced to the public ministry of Jesus in a dramatic scene in Luke’s Gospel as Jesus returns to his hometown of Nazareth. He has been named as Messiah and Saviour and Lord at his birth, but now that Jesus has grown up, what will he say? What will he do?
Jesus reads a favourite passage from the prophet Isaiah that speaks of a Spirit anointed figure who will announce good news, bring freedom to captives, healing to the blind and usher in the time of God’s favour. After a long pregnant pause, Jesus claims to be this figure.
For Luke, this is the Jesus manifesto, setting out who Jesus is and what will be the priorities and shape of his ministry. A key question for us is – is this manifesto just about Jesus and his ministry or does it also apply to us as followers of Jesus? If so, how is it shaping our ministry in 2019?