The Jesus Manifesto

[18] “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, [19] to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor.” [20] And he rolled up the scroll and gave it back to the attendant and sat down. And the eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on him. [21] And he began to say to them, “Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.” (Luke 4:18-21 ESV)

Some authors call this passage the "Jesus Manifesto". When he enters the synagogue in Nazareth, it is his turn to read from the prophet Isaiah. He chooses this passage to announce his arrival and his work. His audience would have clearly understood Jesus' intentions when he spoke to them and said "Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing." He was claiming to be the Messiah who would deliver Israel from their oppression.

In this passage Jesus gives his job description:

1. Proclaim the gospel message about God's Kingdom;

2. Free those that are enslaved to sin;

3. Heal the sick, and cast out and deliver those who are oppressed by demons;

4. Provide hospitality and peace to those who are the least, last, and lost of society;

We as Christians have the same job description to do the same stuff as he did. Vineyard Pastors call this "being able to play" and not merely being a spectator, but actually being part of the game. The apostle Paul says in Ephesians that,

[11] And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, [12] to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, (Ephesians 4:11-12 ESV)

The key is works of ministry for the building up the body of Christ. It is exciting to be part of a church where everyone gets to serve and minister to enhance the Kingdom of God.

Luke 3

[21] Now when all the people were baptized, and when Jesus also had been baptized and was praying, the heavens were opened, [22] and the Holy Spirit descended on him in bodily form, like a dove; and a voice came from heaven, “You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased.” (Luke 3:21-22 ESV)

In the above verses out of Luke, we see a picture of the Trinity. First, Jesus, the Son is being baptized by John, second, God the Holy Spirit descended upon God the Son, and lastly, God the Father proclaimed that Jesus is his beloved Son whom he is well pleased. We also can observe that the Holy Spirit in this passage of scripture proceeds from the Father. Another more practical point is that God loves his son when he proclaims him as his beloved son. We too, are sons and daughters of the Father since we have a right with adoption. It says in Galatians 4 that, "[4] But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, [5] to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons. [6] And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba! Father!” [7] So you are no longer a slave, but a son, and if a son, then an heir through God." (Galatians 4:4-7 ESV)

Devotional

“The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. Therefore, the holy One to be born will be called the Son of God."  (Luke 1:35 HCSB)

For our devotions during the season of Lent, Westerville Christian Church, where I attend church, are going through the books of Mark and Luke.  Today's chapter is Luke chapter 1.  The above quoted verse is how the Holy Spirit was present during Jesus conception.  I love how this verse is translated when the angel Gabriel proclaimed to Mary, "the Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you."  The Greek word for overshadow is episkaizo which literally means to "fall upon".  Thus the Holy Spirit empowered Mary to conceive, and since the Holy Spirit was the agent of conception, Jesus was truly the Son of God.

How does God's involvement in Jesus conception through the Holy Spirit show his divinity?  How does Jesus being born of a woman show his humanity?

It has been quite a while

Hello blogworld, I haven't wrote in a long time.  So here I am back from the past.  Let me introduce to myself.  My name is Scott Sloan, and I have a beautiful daughter, Lily, age 3, and a wife Rebecca whom I have been married to for 6 years.  My interests are theology, music, especially heavy metal, and I am currently working on my Masters in Theological Studies from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School.  I love God, and love people, and I am passionate about people coming into a saving relationship with Jesus Christ.