“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.”

Luke 4:18–19

This Sunday our gospel text features Jesus returning to his hometown and reading from the prophet Isaiah.

The passage he chose reads like the job description of the Messiah: bring good news to the poor, release the captive, heal the blind, etc.

All is fine and good until Jesus proclaims that this scripture is being fulfilled in him.

Next week we will hear more about how the crowd responded to Jesus, this week we will focus on the how Jesus understands his ministry and how it informs the work of the church today.

Message delivered by Pastor Ben Sandin.