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.