Has this ever happened to you? You know that you have a specific job or task to accomplish on a certain day or over a specified period of time, but you get distracted and sidetracked by other things. The time passes, and the mission you wanted or needed to fulfill only gets partially accomplished, or perhaps not even at all. Or perhaps you are not really clear in understanding exactly what your mission is, or should be, you’re confused about where to start and what to do, so little gets done. This was not the problem with the Lord Jesus, as we see in our Scripture today. As we read in St. Luke’s Gospel, we see that the Lord Jesus had a clear understanding of His mission, and did not waste time in achieving His goal.
As our Scripture opens, Jesus has returned to Galilee following His baptism in the Jordan River in the territory of Judea (vs. 14). Galilee is where He had grown up and had spent the early years of His adulthood. Now Jesus returns here, being guided and led by the Holy Spirit, to begin His ministry. As He traveled around the territory of Galilee He followed the practice that had developed over many years since the return from the Exile, where the men who attended the Sabbath services in the local synagogues were invited to speak and comment on the Scripture readings (vs. 15).
Making His way through Galilee, Jesus made a visit to His own hometown, Nazareth. Jesus had lived in Nazareth from the age of a young toddler till around the age of 30 when left to be baptized by John the Baptist and commence His ministry. He did not change His usual custom of attending worship services each week. As we read, when the Sabbath day came, He went to the synagogue as was His custom (vs. 16). Regular attendance in worship service was important to the Lord Jesus, and should be for us, as well. Not only did Jesus attend, but He participated, and took an active part, being engaged with the Scripture. He studied and knew His Bible, an example we should follow.
At the synagogue service the Lord Jesus was given the Scripture scroll that contained the Book of Isaiah, and He promptly found the passage of Isaiah 61:1-2, which He read to those assembled in attendance (vs. 17-19). After reading the Scripture, Jesus handed the scroll back to the attendant. Everyone was paying attention. Many there had heard that Jesus was beginning to get a reputation as a good speaker. Many also knew Jesus from His days of working in the family carpentry shop. He had not been gone too long, perhaps several months. The congregation knew Him, His mother, and family. They wanted to hear what the local young man had to say. Was the early reputation He was getting true?
As Jesus sat down, He proceeded to make some comments about the passage from Isaiah that He had just read aloud to the congregation. The first thing that He told them was that this Scripture was now fulfilled, and not just fulfilled in general, but fulfilled in their hearing, in their presence (vs. 20-21).
Jesus knew His mission, the task, the job that He had to do in the next 3 ½ years. From the passage of Scripture that He read in the synagogue of Nazareth, which He proclaimed to fulfill, His mission was to bring salvation and healing to the people. He wasn’t confused or in doubt about what He was to be doing, nor did He get sidetracked with other issues, such as local or international politics at the time, or setting about starting a revolution. Jesus knew His ministry was to proclaim the Gospel of salvation, heal the sick, and bring deliverance to those oppressed by Satan.
As questioned at the start, is there a job, a task, a mission that the Lord has given you to do for Him, to help spread the message of Jesus, but which you have either been sidetracked from doing, or having a difficult time in getting started? Perhaps you are afraid to get going. Jesus knew that He would be under attack from the devil, yet He continued. He knew the Father had called Him, as He heard His commission at His baptism. Jesus did not get sidetracked when many wanted to make His ministry political and Him a king. Like Jesus, we need to know our Bibles, and find our inspiration and encouragement from its Words. Then we can fulfill what the Lord would have us do for Him in our life.
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