Shalom,
We should be grateful that we are still able to participate in worship. Who are we so that God will take care of us and save us? But after being saved, will we remain complacent and silent even though there are still many souls who are bound by various kinds of sins, evil and uncleanness? Let us, with the help of the Holy Spirit, move out in search of lost souls and tell the great deeds of God that have lifted us from a life of darkness to light so that they may believe in God and gain salvation as well.
These days we study the Gospel of Luke which tells about Jesus as a man, being proved that He was conceived and born by Mary, circumcised on the 8th day, dedicated to God on the 40th day, attending the Passover celebration in Jerusalem when he was 12 years old, baptized to fulfill the whole will of God, entered into ministry when he was 30 years old, tempted by Satan and became an example in overcoming temptation because He was full of the Holy Spirit and the Word of God. But don't forget, Jesus is also the Son of God as reported by the angel Gabriel, to Mary (Luke 1:32).
Is it true that Jesus was the fulfilment of the prophecy of the Word as stated in the above theme? And how did He get the response? Luke 4:16-21 say, “He came to Nazareth where He grew up, and according to His custom on the Sabbath day He entered the synagogue and stood up to read from the Bible. He was given the book of the prophet Isaiah and upon opening it He found the scripture where it was written: “The Spirit of the Lord is on Me, because He has anointed Me to tell the good news to the poor; and He has sent Me to preach liberation to the captives and visions of the blind, to deliver the oppressed, to proclaim the year the Lord's grace has come On this day this scripture is fulfilled when you hear it.”
Clearly Jesus fulfilled the prophecy of the prophet Isaiah which was written ± 700 years earlier (Isa. 61:1- 2). What is the purpose of Jesus being sent to this world by His Father?
• To tell the good news (= the gospel) to the poor.
The COVID-19 pandemic having hit almost all over the world has had a major impact in health, economic, and social sectors for both the rich and the poor. Be grateful if your condition and position are not affected by this pandemic. Maybe you are facing another problem that needs help from Him?
• To preach liberation to the captives and visions to the blind, also to deliver the oppressed.
Is it true that we are free, not being held captive by anyone or anything? As a man, Paul admitted that there was nothing good about him. If he wanted to do good, what was bad was what he did. It’s because his body was held captive by sin (Rom. 7:18-20). That is why he complained what a wretched man he was (vv. 23-24a), facing death as the wages of sin (Rom. 6:23) but thanks to God that through the Lord Jesus (Rom. 7:25) he got deliverance.
We know that Saul (later known as Paul) was very strict in keeping the law. He hated Jesus' followers who had different view of faith from his, and tried to kill them (Acts 9: 1-2). But on the way to Damascus, he met Jesus and was converted. Jesus loved people but hated sin. Paul received forgiveness from Jesus who was sent by God. He was then used as an instrument for His glory.
Are we better off than Saul because we don't feel as violent as he was? The Bible affirms that no one is good, everyone has sinned and falls short of the glory of God (Rom. 3:12, 23).
Maybe we can escape poverty, feel free and not be held captive by sin, but can we escape from the oppression of fear facing this pandemic as well as other deadly diseases?
• To proclaim that the year of the Lord's grace has come.
Truly Jesus has fulfilled the prophecy written by Isaiah, the prophet, hundreds of years earlier; the problem is do we believe it? We read the prophecies written in the Old Testament, some of which have not been fulfilled until now; do we still believe in the Bible that prophesied Jesus’ second coming? Notice, faith comes from hearing the Word of Christ (Rom. 10:17). Faith is the basis of everything that we hope for and proof of things that we do not see (Heb. 11: 1) and be assured that not a single point of the law is void (Luke 16:17) which means all will be fulfilled.
How do you respond to prophecies that were fulfilled by Jesus?
⊕ The Virgin Mary was approached by a messenger of God, the Angel Gabriel, who told her that she would become pregnant and give birth to a son and that she was to call Him Jesus (Luke 1:31). At first Mary did not believe the reason why she could be pregnant because she was not married (v. 34). However, after being given further explanation, she gave up and said, "Behold the maidservant of the Lord! Let it be to me according to your word" (v. 38). The Virgin Mary believed. She then conceived and gave birth to baby Jesus, because with God nothing is impossible (v. 37).
⊕ Joseph, a just man, intended to secretly divorce Mary, who was not yet his wife but was already pregnant. However, he was reminded by God's messenger, the angel of God, through a dream not to be afraid of taking Mary as his wife because the child she was carrying was from the Holy Spirit. The boy who was going to be born should be called Jesus because He would save His people from their sins (Matt. 1:19-21). Apart from the name of Jesus, the child should be called Immanuel which means God is with us (v. 23). Joseph woke up and believed, then married Mary.
⊕ The angel of the Lord approached the shepherds in the fields while tending the flocks, and told them that a Savior, Christ the Lord, had been born in the city of David. The baby was wrapped in swaddling cloths and laid in a manger (Luke 2: 8-11). They believed and went to Bethlehem to find Mary, Joseph and the baby Jesus lying in the manger (vv. 15-17).
⊕ The wise men from the East saw the stars and went looking for the new born king of the Jews to worship Him (Matt. 2:1-2). They finally met Jesus, the Son of God, with His parents in their home (vv. 9-11).
It is true that only with the testimony of two or three witnesses a case is declared valid (2 Cor. 13:1). Actually what the angel said was prophesied by the prophet Isaiah (745 BC). It is clear that the prophecy of the Word of God (Isa. 7:14) must be fulfilled and the fulfilment could be hundreds of years later.
Was Jesus' fulfilment of the prophecy well responded by all who witnessed or heard it?
The people of Nazareth listened to Jesus' explanation in the synagogue about the book of the prophet Isaiah. They confirmed Him and were amazed at His beautiful words but said, "Is this not Joseph's son?" (v. 22).
It is proven that they believed Jesus' words because they were in accordance with what was written in the Scripture, but then they questioned about His origin as the son of Joseph, the carpenter. For this, Jesus replied, "Assuredly, I say to you, no prophet is accepted in his own country” (v. 24).
Then He continued that Elijah was sent not to all the widows of Israel, who were starving when it did not rain for 3½ years, but only to the widow of Zarephath in Sidon. How did it happen? Israel was blessed by God during the reign of King Ahab, but as soon as he turned to worship Baal and made many images, he made God angry that He sent the prophet Elijah to warn King Ahab and his family. Unfortunately they hardened their hearts. Israel was then punished with no rain for 42 months. As a result, there was drought and poverty everywhere. Unlike King Ahab who responded badly to God’s Word, the widow of Zarephath responded well by obeying the prophet Elijah, so she was preserved during those 42 months’ draught. (1 Kings 17:7-16).
There were also many lepers in Israel, but Elisha cleansed only Naaman, the Syrian. Naaman was the commander of the Aramaic Kingdom who had leprosy. The Israel servant of his wife told her mistress to let her master (Naaman) go to Elisha the prophet in Samaria to get healing from his illness. Naaman believed and went to Samaria. At Elisha's door, a messenger told Naaman to bathe seven times in the Jordan River. Naaman believed and responded positively to the words of the prophet (= those who speak in the name of God). After leaving the river Naaman's body recovered like that of a child and became clean (2 Kings 5: 1-14).
Because of their unbelief, Jesus could not perform a miracle in His home town. He then went to Capernaum and performed miracles of healing a demon-possessed man (Luke 4:31-36). It was also in Capernaum that Jesus healed the servant of a Roman (non-Jewish) centurion who was very sick and nearly died (Luke 7:1-10). This officer greatly appreciated his servant. He also loved the Jewish nation and paid for the construction of their synagogue. When he heard Jesus passi ng by, he sent some Jewish elders to ask Jesus to come and heal his servant. Before Jesus arrived at his house, he told his friends to deliver a message to Jesus not to go to his house because he felt he did not deserve it and said that it is enough for Jesus just to say a word and his servant will be healed. Hearing the message, Jesus was very amazed at the officer's faith and said He had never encountered such great faith among the Israelites. Immediately, his sick servant was healed.
Introspection: Don't we also often judge the preachers by their degrees and experiences and then belittle young speakers who don't have theology background? Beware, the Bible is closed to people who are stubborn and bound by idols (high position, good background etc.).
After all, God did not fail to send His Son to earth. If His people reject Him, the gentiles will receive His grace of salvation. It turns out that either a positive response (believing and accepting God) or a negative response (rejecting Him) does not depend on the duration someone has heard the preaching of God's Word.
Jesus was sent to look for His lost sheep but most of the Israelites did not believe in Him; on the contrary, lead Him to be crucified on Mount Golgotha. He took it all alone because the disciples left Him. After rising from the dead, He preached the Kingdom of God for 40 days before returning to Heaven. He also instructed His disciples to preach the gospel to the whole world (Mark 16:20).
After being filled with the Holy Spirit, the disciples shared their Master's teachings starting from Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and to the ends of the earth. As a result, many people were saved. When Peter preached, 3,000 souls were converted (Acts 2:41). When Peter and John spoke to the crowd, 5,000 people believed (Acts 4: 4). Paul and Silas preached to the Jewish congregation in Berea, whose hearts were better than the Jews in Thessalonica, because they accepted the word willingly and searched the Scriptures to find out its truth. Many of them believed (Acts 17: 10-12).
Introspection: Have our hearts been freed from the captivity of sin so that we can believe and accept every explanation of God's Word preached according to what is written in the Bible?
How do we respond to the prophecies of God's Word? If we do not believe, miracles will not happen to us. On the other hand, if we believe or convinced on every verse of the Word, no matter what problems we face today – financial hardship, illness, fear of the future, etc. – God will keep His promises (Immanuel) to help us right on His time to experience the year of grace.
God has the main reason to help sinful man, whoever he is, namely because of love, that He is willing to send His only begotten Son into the world so that those who believe in Him are saved (John 3: 16-21). He also grants His infinite Spirit to those who are sent to deliver His Word (v. 34) and speak according to the Bible. Therefore we must not sort out who is preaching because God can use anyone to convert someone.
Last but not least, after believing in the prophecies of the Word, we repent and are saved, do we feel content with our own salvation? What about husbands, wives, children, family and friends who have not yet known God? It is our duty and obligation to carry out His great commission to be messengers to proclaim His Kingdom so that Heaven will be full of joy with our loved ones. Amen.