The Chosen + BibleProject | Season 3 Reading PlanSýnishorn

Joining the Jubilee

It can be exciting to imagine Heaven or a utopian future world, the possibilities of a world shaped by God’s love and mercy. But those thoughts can also be disheartening—this is a reality wildly different from our modern context. Things in our world are nowhere near thatworld. And even if we’re moving in that direction on our best days, our ongoing troubles and conflicts suggest our progress toward that world is slow.

In this scene from Luke 4, we hear the human longing for peace and rest. Jesus quotes from Isaiah’s words captured in Isaiah 61, proclaiming the “year of the Lord’s favor.” But Jesus isn’t talking simply about a 365-day period of time. The “year of the Lord’s favor” in the Hebrew Bible refers to the year of Jubilee, an ancient Israelite practice of setting right what is wrong and entering into a time of rest.

The Jubilee is supposed to happen every seven-times-seven (or 49) years. It’s a time when everything resets. Slaves and prisoners are set free, financial debts are forgiven, and families receive back their ancestral lands. All of this is a way to experience a taste of the world to come, where there are no prisoners, slaves, or debts. In this scene, Jesus is proclaiming that a new age is dawning. God has arrived on Earth, and it changed everything.

Imagine what it would have been like for the people in that Nazareth synagogue. Jesus was declaring that God’s future Kingdom was no longer out there in the future but was being, as Jesus said, “today … fulfilled even as you heard it being read.” The people were hoping for God to once again join them and set things right, and Jesus is telling them that both are in play—God is with them, and he’s setting captives free, restoring life, and bringing about the goodness of Jubilee.

However, this renewal of all creation did not happen at the snap of Jesus’ fingers. Jesus chose the longer path of true heart transformation. He invites us to join him by living like we’re already in the future Kingdom of God—to become healers instead of punishers, to become generous instead of stingy, and to live freely like it’s the year of Jubilee. We can rest from our worries and trust that God’s way of love is our destination. We’re already experiencing the Kingdom because Jesus has shown us true, indestructible life.

We can join Jesus in his ways, encouraging and blessing the poor, comforting the brokenhearted, and helping people find freedom from bondage. We can trust that even through our own suffering and death, Jesus is restoring us and leading us to our promised home, and we do not have to fear because he is with us.

Reflection Questions

1. In Luke 4:23-28, Jesus addresses angry listeners by recalling two stories about Elijah who experienced rejection by his own people for speaking and living in the true ways of God, particularly by serving “outsiders.” Have you ever felt compelled to live out the love of Jesus toward people on the margins but also felt fear about the way religious authorities or others might react? Why are Jesus’ words difficult for the religious “experts” in his day to accept?
2. When you consider what it will take for God to set this world right and free it from all evil and corruption, what kinds of things do you imagine him doing?
3. The Church has historically understood Jesus as fully human and fully God. So when Jesus talks about what he’s doing, he’s talking about what God is doing to heal creation. He’s proclaiming good news to the poor, freeing captives, healing people, forgiving sins, and casting out evil spirits, and he is noticeably not harming, shaming, or condemning anyone. Does this surprise you? If we are going to be Christ-like in the way we relate to others, what specifically would need to change?