Week 2: Ministry

Year of the Lord's Favor

In many ways, Jesus' ministry in and around Galilee was not unexpected or new. It was the culmination of what God had always tried to do for and through his people. In Luke’s account of the Gospel, Jesus initiates his ministry not by pointing forward to the things he will do but by pointing backward to what God has always been doing. He leans into the great expectation of the year of the Lord’s favor described in Isaiah 61.

In this fantastic passage, the Gospel is proclaimed for all people and by all people. The poor receive abundance, the blind can see, and the captives are released all in the great and glorious day of the Lord! When we encounter passages like this, we must be reminded that the good news did not begin with Jesus’ birth. God has always longed to bring good news to his people, and he wants to accomplish this through his people.

Jesus says that the promises of Isaiah 61 “have been fulfilled in your hearing.” Though Jesus is the bringer of the good news, he is not the only prophet of good news. Jesus fulfills the prophetic expectation of a year of the Lord’s favor. Likewise, the same Spirit of the Lord that fills Jesus will fill Jesus’ church. We are called to the same fulfillment of this great and glorious day.

As you read through Isaiah 61, meditate on how Jesus fulfills God's promises. How does he fulfill each promise in Isaiah 61? How do we as God's church fulfill these promises as well?