Being on Mission with Jesus – Pastor David Tsai

Luke 4:16-21
 
At the end of the 2008 blockbuster film Iron Man, Tony Stark is conducting a press conference. He is reading from a carefully produced script in which he will deny unequivocally that he has any connection with the mysterious superhero called Iron Man. Yet, at the press conference, Stark is confronted with unanticipated questions. He tries to explain that he could not be a superhero: “That would be outlandish and . . . fantastic. . . . I’m just not the hero type, clearly.” Then, after reflecting for a moment, Tony Stark goes on, “The truth is . . . [pause] . . . I am Iron Man.” Pandemonium breaks out and the movie ends.
Yes, it was quite a shocking confession for Stark to admit to being Iron Man. Jesus did something even more astounding in Luke 4. One Sabbath day, He was in his hometown’s synagogue. Jesus read from the beginning of Isaiah 61, “The spirit of the Lord is upon Me. . . .” At the time, this passage was treasured among Jews as a prophecy of the coming anointed One, the Messiah. He would be empowered by God’s Spirit to transform the world, especially for the poor, captives, blind, and oppressed. Many Jews in the first century yearned for the coming of God’s special representative, who would set them free from Roman oppression and establish the "year of the Lord’s favor.”
Reading from Isaiah 61 was not particularly stunning. But what He said next was truly shocking: “Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing” (v. 21). In effect, Jesus said, “I am the anointed One from Isaiah’s prophecy. I am the One who will bring freedom, salvation, and favor. I am the One.” At first, the listeners were impressed. But, before long, pandemonium showed up as they tried to throw Jesus off a cliff (Luke 4:28-30). Jesus’s neighbors were ultimately shocked by what He had said, and they were not happy.
Let Jesus’s reading from Isaiah sink in. Throughout the centuries, followers of Jesus have tried to figure out exactly how Jesus fulfilled the messianic words of Isaiah and other Old Testament prophets. Jesus did not, after all, do what many expected him to do: raise up an army to expel the Romans from Judea so that He might reign over God’s earthly kingdom. What, then, did He accomplish? How did He fulfill the messianic job description found in Isaiah?
As we study Scripture carefully, especially the Old Testament prophets, and the teachings and works of Jesus, we see that Jesus certainly offers salvation to those who are spiritually poor, captive, blind, and oppressed. But Jesus also proclaimed and inaugurated the reign of God on earth. He came to offer deliverance to those who were physically poor, captive, blind, and oppressed. His messianic work was not limited to a spiritualized or metaphorical way. It was far more widespread and far more invasive. Ultimately, as Jesus broke the power of sin through His death on the cross, He brought not only individual salvation, but also the full peace of God, including justice, reconciliation, and restoration. (i.e. Ephesians 2)
To be sure, the world-changing work of Jesus has begun. We not only rejoice in this work, but Jesus continues to do these works today through those who follow Him. The complete reign of God will come only through God’s own effort. We don’t make God’s kingdom come. But, as we wait for the fullness of the kingdom, we can and should join in the life-changing, world-changing, kingdom-extending mission of Jesus today.
The mission of Jesus has everything to do with liberating people in today’s world. Wherever people are victims of prejudice, racism, and/or unjust systems, Jesus and those who follow Him faithfully are working for their liberation and flourishing. There are still poor who need good news, captives who need release, blind who need to see, and oppressed who need freedom.
The work before us isn’t finished. Yes, the flagrant evil of sin was abolished, but “freedom for prisoners and the oppressed” is still very much a work in progress. Recent events in our country have pointed out just how far we have to go when it comes to defeating racism and its permeating implications.
Through His death on the cross, Jesus conquered sin and brought us into new life. Individually, we are saved by God’s grace through Christ and received in faith. Yet the death of Christ also brought peace to a broken world. It forged reconciliation between divided and hostile peoples. It made possible the experience of God’s peace in this world, a peace infused by justice, shaped by love, and embodied in unity. We who follow Jesus celebrate what He accomplished on the cross. We also commit ourselves to join His mission on earth until God’s kingdom is complete and all things and all peoples are united in Christ. Today, we follow Jesus both in our celebrating and our striving.
 
Lord Jesus, thank You for Your gift of salvation. Help us, Lord, to also follow You in Your mission. Help us to finish what You have begun. Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Through us. For Your glory! Amen.