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March 5 Lesson

Jesus came to set us free from bondage of sin

___Luke 4:16-27 ___16 He went to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, and on the Sabbath day he went into the synagogue, as was his custom. And he stood up to read. 17 The scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him. Unrolling it, he found the place where it is 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 for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed, 19 to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor." ___20 Then he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant and sat down. The eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fastened on him, 21 and he began by saying to them, "Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing." ___22 All spoke well of him and were amazed at the gracious words that came from his lips. "Isn't this Joseph's son?" they asked. ___23 Jesus said to them, "Surely you will quote this proverb to me: 'Physician, heal yourself! Do here in your hometown what we have heard you did in Capernaum.'" ___24 "I tell you the truth," he continued, "no prophet is accepted in his hometown. 25 I assure you that there were many widows in Israel in Elijah's time, when the sky was shut for three and a half years and there was a severe famine throughout the land. 26 Yet Elijah was not sent to any of them, but to a widow in Zarephath in the region of Sidon. 27 And there were many in Israel with leprosy in the time of Elisha the prophet, yet not one of them was cleansed--only Naaman the Syrian."

___By Marv Knox
___Editor
___The only element more pervasive than wind and gritty sand in Sparks colonia is devastating poverty. And the only thing that comes close to penetrating the West Texas "colony" more than poverty and dust is the love of Christ.
___Sparks colonia clings to the Texas/Mexico border on the outskirts of El Paso. It's one of more than 1,400 border settlements that are home to 340,000 impoverished people.
___When you read the Gospel of Luke, you understand that Jesus had a special place in his heart for the poor. And when you walk the barren streets of Sparks colonia, you get the feeling this is a place where Jesus would visit if he came to Texas today.
___On Jesus' behalf, Texas Baptists already are working in Sparks colonia, providing aid and comfort to people in Jesus' name through Buckner Children and Family Services.
___To residents of Sparks, Jesus sounds a lot like Damariz Macias Zuverza, a native of El Paso and coordinator of the Sparks Community Center.
___Poverty and geography isolate Sparks residents, socially and economically shutting them off from the American Dream shared by many of their Texas neighbors. Their isolation is graphic and pervasive: no running water, sewer systems, paved roads and transportation.
___But Texas Baptists are making a difference, thanks to Zuverza and her cohorts.
___Texas Baptists offer a food bank--grocery bags filled with canned goods, fruit, vegetables and bread--as well as a clothes closet and GED training. And they offer hugs, smiles, laughter and the soul-saving message of Jesus.

___An ancient concern
___God's care for the poor was an ancient concept, even when Jesus preached the sermon recorded in this week's Scripture passage.
___"As was his custom," Jesus went to church--the "church" of his earthly family, the local synagogue in his hometown, Nazareth.
___You can imagine why the synagogue leader asked Jesus to read Scripture and speak that Sabbath day. He was homegrown, a Nazareth boy beginning to make his mark in some religious circles. This event takes place early in Jesus' ministry. Perhaps most of the worshipers still thought of Jesus as the local carpenter. But John the Baptist already had started proclaiming Jesus as the Messiah, the deliverer of all Israel. Maybe some in the crowd had heard the tale of Jesus' baptism, when the Holy Spirit descended on him and a voice from heaven proclaimed: "You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased." Maybe the leader of the synagogue and other inquiring minds wanted to know what was on Jesus' mind.
___Unlike the pre-assigned To-rah reading, the selection from the prophets apparently was left to the discretion of the preacher. Jesus chose an ancient passage from the prophet Isaiah.
___Although Jesus spoke at the midpoint of Jewish-Christian history, his words echo from the head of a long line of people who proclaim the word of God for the living of each day:

___"The Spirit of the Lord is on me, ..."
___Jesus read Isaiah 61:1-2. Isaiah began his speech by announcing that he had received a divine appointment and holy power for his task. For Jesus, this proclamation of divine appointment echoes his recent baptism. There, the Spirit visibly touched Jesus in the form of a dove.
___As Jesus demonstrated, the Spirit's touch is not a one-time occurrence. The Spirit has staying power, and Jesus moved forward in his ministry under the power of the Spirit.
___As Christians, we recognize that the Spirit is eternal. Some-times, we're tempted to isolate miraculous events in Bible times. But the same Holy Spirit who was available to Jesus is available to us today, to give us power, wisdom and guidance.

___"because he has
___anointed me ..."
___In Bible times, prophets, priests and kings were "anointed," or set aside for special service. Jesus places himself in this holy tradition. God's anointment signaled both privilege and responsibility. For example, prophets, priests and kings had the privilege of approaching God. They received directions and orders from God. They represented the people to God.
___These were high and holy honors. But they did not come without responsibilities. They were responsible to lead the people. They were responsible to God and to the people to serve both God and the people.
___Baptists historically believe in the doctrine of the priesthood of all believers. It's a belief closely related to our understanding of being God's anointed. We understand that every Christian believer is a "priest" before God. Each Christian has the privilege of approaching God directly and individually. We don't need another human mediator, such as a minister or priest, to speak to God on our behalf. But we also have responsibility. We live in community, and we are responsible to serve God and serve others.

___"to preach good news to the poor ..."
___Put yourself in their shoes: The poor don't hear much that's good, at least for them. But Jesus promised to preach "good news to the poor."
___A while after this Sabbath, Jesus preached a famous sermon in which he offered good news for the poor. "Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God" (Luke 6:20), he promised. Don't you wonder what he meant by that?
___Interpreters often say Jesus promised the poor a better-than-average shot at heaven. Maybe so. But time and again, Jesus said, "The kingdom of God is at hand." Not sweet bye-and-bye, but real here-and-now. Perhaps the poor, who are not self-reliant, have a greater opportunity to focus on God's provision. Perhaps they, who have little if any sovereignty, can embrace God's sovereignty more readily than others can.
___While Jesus was supremely eternal, he also was perfectly practical. He cared about caring for the poor. He fed the poor, healed the poor, encouraged the poor. As Christians--literally "little Christs"--we ought to be doing the same thing.

___"to proclaim freedom for the prisoners ..."
___ "The gospel is directed toward those whose only hope is that God will act on their behalf to accomplish liberation and healing," the late New Testa-ment professor Malcolm Tolbert says of this passage. "Luke shows that Jesus did indeed identify primarily with the so-cially, religiously and economically excluded people."
___Jesus freed the prisoners. How do you define "prisoner"? Of course, a prisoner is a person who has been incarcerated for wrongdoing. Other people are prisoners too. Prisoners of fear, prisoners of poverty, prisoners of ignorance, prisoners of disease. All kinds of people need to be liberated in Jesus' name.

___"and recovery of sight for the blind ..."
___Later, Jesus touched blind eyes and made them see. Throughout his ministry, Jesus also spoke illuminating words, and that gave spiritual sight to blind minds. Physically and spiritually, Jesus enabled the blind to recover their sight.

___"to release the
___oppressed ..."
___Just as Jesus proclaimed freedom for the prisoners, he releas-ed the oppressed. Some were slaves to other people. Others were slaves to addictions and wicked spirits. Still others were oppressed by their own desires, ego, shortcomings, expectations and downright wickedness. Jesus looked past the shackles that bound them and proclaimed them free. Relieved of oppression, they became new people.
___One way Texas Baptists release the oppressed is through Christian Women's Job Corps. Created by Woman's Missionary Union, this program provides education and guidance for some of the state's poorest women, many of them victims of abuse, some of neglect, others of addiction, and all of poverty.

___"to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor."
___Jesus announced the beginning of the messianic age--the long-awaited kingdom of God. In his coming, he concluded the period of waiting and introduced the epoch of God's presence, through Christ and later through the Spirit. It is the age in which we still live.
___We can and do continue to proclaim that Good News of "the Lord's favor." Every Sunday from 6,000 pulpits and countless Sunday School rooms, Texas Baptists share the gospel message of God's salvation in Christ. The good news--freedom, sight and release promised by Jesus--is available to all, to "whosoever will" accept it.

___"Today this Scripture is fulfilled in your
___hearing."
___"They (Jesus' listeners) had been ushered into the messianic age, since they were in the presence of God's Messiah," Tolbert notes. "The time of waiting was over; the time of decision had arrived." The time extends unto today.

___"... All the people in the synagogue were furious when they heard this."
___Like so many times during Jesus' ministry, the church-going folk rejected what he had to say. "They were outraged at his interpretation of one of their favorite texts," explains Ray-mond Bailey, pastor of Seventh & James Baptist Church in Waco. "Jesus interpreted the text in such a way that the grace of God was not limited to the Jews. The good news was for all." And it still is.
___Texas Baptists worship each week in scores of languages and a rainbow of skin tones. We believe the gospel of Christ is Good News for all people. Through our Texas 2000 ministry/evangelism campaign, we're working hard to make sure every Texan has an opportunity to hear the saving story of Jesus in a familiar language.

For thought and discussion
___ How is the message of Jesus "good news" for people today?
___ For whom is the message of Jesus intended? Why?
___ Both Jesus and Isaiah announced that the Lord had anointed them for holy tasks. Whom does God anoint today? What qualifications must a person have to be anointed by God? What would limit a person from being anointed to do God's work? Should issues such as race, age, gender or socio-economic status matter?
___ Identify the modern-day people to whom Jesus came to minister.
___ How can your Sunday School class or church minister to such people today?
___ What do you think "year of the Lord's favor" means? Does it have any bearing on your life? Why? How? How have you experienced "the Lord's favor"?
___ Why do you think the citizens of Nazareth rode Jesus out of town on a rail? Are people who follow after Christ treated similarly today? If so, how?
___ How would your life change if you made Jesus' sermon your vision statement? Is this feasible today? What are the pros and cons of such an idea? Take time to write your own vision/purpose statement.
___ How do you think your church could participate in a ministry similar to the one carried out by Buckner Children and Family Services in Sparks colonia?

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