“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 3:18-19
It was my first semester in seminary and I sat on the front row of class. I was determined to be a good student. The professor handed out the syllabus. It was on that first day of class that we learned what our final was going to be. We would have a written exam for the final and the first question would be for us to write Luke 3:18-19 by memory. I recited that scripture to myself all semester. I still have it memorized to this day.
In the third chapter Luke records that Jesus is led into the wilderness, by the Holy Spirit, to be tempted. After forty days of fasting and successfully withstanding the temptation, Jesus returns the region of Galilee. This is beginning of his recorded ministry. He teaches in the local synagogues sharing about God’s hope for God’s children. Jesus eventually arrives in his home town of Nazareth. He reads from the scroll of Isaiah, the passage recorded in Luke 3:18-19. It is, in many ways, the purpose statement of Jesus’ ministry on earth. He had arrived to bring good news. He was the active embodiment of God’s grace and through him life was going to be redeemed.
I spent that entire semester memorizing this passage of scripture. I often think about it to this day. The work of God, in Christ Jesus, is a powerful force in the world. Through Jesus we find restoration, redemption and new life. Through Jesus we also find the strength, the power and the grace to be the people who continue to share good news to the world and hope for those who have yet to experience and embrace the good news that is present in Christ for them.
I hope that you will take a moment to reflect on this passage for the Gospel of Luke. What does it tell you about the nature and work of Jesus? How has Jesus been good news for you? How can you join Jesus in bringing “good news” for the world?
Rev. Keith King, Online Campus Pastor
