Are you Ready To Party With Jesus?
Good Morning Friends,
Time and time again Jesus reached out to rejected people to help them experience the party of life. Think of Zacchaeus. Think of the story of the prodigal son. Jesus really wants each of us to join in the party. But Jesus realized first hand that people will rob others of the joy of the experience. People will be tight fisted. He experienced this himself in his own hometown. After Jesus was tempted by the devil and was victorious over the enemy He begins to teach in the synagogues. So He comes to Nazareth and goes to the place of worship and takes the scroll of Isaiah and reads a portion of scripture. It is a message of a prophetic view of the coming Messiah. It is Jesus proclaiming that He is the Jubilee…the good news to the broken hearted. He announces that He has come to set the captives free, to release those in bondage. The story is told in Luke 4. It is an invitation to see in a new way. It is an invitation for us to transfer our trust to God…for us to renew our minds and for us to discover peace. It was not familiarity that bred contempt in the hearts of the people of Nazareth that day when they saw and heard Jesus in synagogue as he began his Galilean Ministry. They loved what he had to say. They were happy with him preaching good news to the poor. They were pleased and captivated by what he said until he said that the scripture had been fulfilled in their hearing of his reading. That meant that he was declaring himself the Messiah and that debts were to be forgiven and that meant that they were going to be called to help pay for the party out of their own pocketbook. Are you Ready To Party With Jesus?
Scripture: The spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me; he has sent me to bring good news to the oppressed, to bind up the broken-hearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and release to the prisoners; to provide for those who mourn in Zion— to give them a garland instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, the mantle of praise instead of a faint spirit. They will be called oaks of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, to display his glory.
Isaiah 61:1, 3 (NRSV)
Then Jesus, filled with the power of the Spirit, returned to Galilee, and a report about him spread through all the surrounding country. He began to teach in their synagogues and was praised by everyone. When he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, he went to the synagogue on the Sabbath day, as was his custom. He stood up to read, and the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to him. He unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written: ‘The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.’ And he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant, and sat down. The eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on him. Then he began to say to them, ‘Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.’
Luke 4:14-21(NRSV)
But thanks be to God that you, having once been slaves of sin, have become obedient from the heart to the form of teaching to which you were entrusted,
Romans 6:17 (NRSV)
Then they said to him, ‘What must we do to perform the works of God? ‘Jesus answered them, ‘This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent.’
John 6:28-29 (NRSV)
And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.
Matthew 6:12 (NRSV)
Message: Pope Francis has declared this year, 2016, to be a Jubilee year of Mercy. As set forth in the Bible the Jubilee year contains many of the pictures of our salvation. Just as the land, the people, and all the property was released, so we too have been released from a debt that we could not pay (our sins). We were once slaves to sin but now we’ve been released, once held captive but now set free. Believing in Jesus as the Messiah comes with the understanding that our debts were to be forgiven. Jesus delivers on the promise in a surprising way. In today’s scripture we read from Isaiah parts of the same text that Jesus read in Nazareth. The text reminds us that we are in bondage because of our sins. It reminds us that the person that Isaiah talked about, this Prophet, Priest and King…the one who proclaims and heals and delivers is Jesus. And we cannot help but think He is coming back to finish the prophecy and throw a great party for those who not only believe but follow.
Pray we are open to hear Jesus tell us who He is. Pray we let Him heal our wounds. Pray we let Him set us free. Pray our minds are changed and we are enlightened by the good news. Pray we are encouraged by the Holy Spirit. Pray we help others escape bondage. Pray we exchange beauty for ashes as we surrender our lament and Jesus replaces our sorrows with joy and a peace that covers us as a garment of praise so we might rejoice in the Lord in all things. Pray we find ways to put Jubilee into practice. Pray we get ready to party with Jesus on earth as in heaven.
Blessings,
John Lawson
Daily Devotionals 