Let God Be Magnified

“And Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit, and news about Him spread through all the surrounding district. And He began teaching in their synagogues and was praised by all. And He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up; and as was His custom, He entered the synagogue on the Sabbath, and stood up to read. And the book of the prophet Isaiah was handed to Him. And He opened the book and found the place where it was written,

‘The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me,
Because He annointed 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,
To proclaim the favorable year of the Lord.’

And He closed the book, gave it back to the attendant and sat down; and the eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on Him. And He began to say to them, ‘Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.’” – Luke 4:14-21

It was customary in the synagogues of Jesus’ day that a guest speaker would give the lesson to all those present. First a section of the Law and the Prophets was read and then the speaker would sit down to give the lesson that might tie them both together. This was the case in which our Lord found Himself on this day. It is obvious that Jesus was highly thought of within the Jewish circles since He was “being glorified” in the synagogues in which He taught and it seemed that He was a consistent attender to these synagogues since it was His custom (verse 16).

While what the Lord proclaimed is amazing – “Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing” – what I find rather interesting is why He stopped where He did. For notice what the next verse is from Isaiah 61 in which He read:

“The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me,
Because the Lord has anointed me
To bring good news to the afflicted;
He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,
To proclaim liberty to captives
And freedom to prisoners;
To proclaim the favorable year of the Lord
And the day of vengeance of our God;” – Isaiah 61:1,2

Ahhhhhh. Why did He stop there? Judgment is reserved for the Son as the Father has given it to Him as Jesus testifies:

“For the Father judges no one, but has committed all judgment to the Son, that all should honor the Son just as they honor the Father.” – John 5:22,23

When Jesus came to this earth, He came to set up His kingdom as promised in the Old Testament prophets. Do you remember what John the Baptist proclaimed before Jesus’ ministry began?

“Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!” – Matthew 3:2

He didn’t come for the cross. As J. Dwight Pentecost so effectively says,

“Jesus Christ’s ministry up the point of His death was not to provide a sacrifice for sins because we were not saved by the life of Christ by by His words and His works. Jesus was revealing the Father.”

“And His fullness we have all received, and grace for grace. For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth were realized through Jesus Christ. No one has seen God at any time; the only begotten God, who is in the bosom of the Father, He has explained Him.” – John 1:16-18

So Jesus was revealing the Father as He desired to set up His Kingdom. However, Israel rejected, once again, a prophet of God as He testifies:

“But as for Israel He says, ‘All the day long I have stretched out My hands to a disobedient and obstinate people.” – Romans 10:21

What Jesus showed by stopping short from finishing off Isaiah 61 was that His work would be divided into two advents. In His first advent He would do those things written in Isaiah 61:1-2a and in His second advent He will accomplish those things in verses 2b-3. Make no mistake Jesus will return in victory and for judgment. For His holiness demands judgment. Oh what a glorious day it will be when these words come true:

“And I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse, and He who sat on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and wages war. His eyes are a flame of fire, and on His head are many diadems; and He has a name written on Him which no one knows except Himself. He is clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called The Word of God. And the armies which are in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean (note: that’s us!), were following Him on white horses. From His mouth comes a sharp sword, so that with it He may strike down the nations, and He will rule them with a rod of iron; and He treads the wine press of the fierce wrath of God, the Almighty. And on His robe on on His thigh He has a name written, “KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS.” – Revelation 19:11-17

Amen! Hallelujah! It will be a great day. But in His grace, He marks out a day that those who do not know Christ can escape His righteous and just wrath: Today (Hebrews 4:7). For with regards to Jesus,

“there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must be saved.” – Acts 4:12

If you truly believe that, then tell others about Jesus. Share with then the Gospel. Proclaim to the captives that there is liberty in Jesus Christ and that we can find rest in Him. God is wonderful and awesome and gracious and kind. Let others know what you know.

later Eriek