Do you know who you are?
Jesus did.
In Luke 4:18-21, we find Jesus in the synagogue. He is handed a scroll and he reads Isaiah 61.
This is what Jesus is quoted as saying:
“The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me,
Because He anointed Me to bring good news to the poor.
He has sent Me to proclaim release to captives,
And recovery of sight to the blind,
To set free those who are oppressed,
To proclaim the favorable year of the Lord.”
This is how this portion of scripture is written in Isaiah:
"The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me,
Because the LORD anointed me
To bring good news to the humble;
He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,
To proclaim release to captives
And freedom to prisoners;
To proclaim the favorable year of the LORD
And the day of vengeance of our God."
I have noticed in these two passages, that Jesus did not quote Isaiah exactly as it was written. Notice how Jesus excludes, “He has sent me to bind up the broken hearted,” and "the day of vengeance of our God."
He also adds, “recovery of sight to the blind.”
Now, I don't know if these things were merely a translation error, or if they were intentional. There are many great commentaries and papers that debate and explain these issues. There are even translations of the Bible that have added them back as they believed them to be transcribed errors.
I don't know for sure, but the best explanation, that seems fair to me, is that Jesus was quoted correctly, and that he intentionally said what he said to include and exclude what His ministry was and wasn’t about. It is thought that he quoted what was to be fulfilled in his time of ministry from Isaiah and left out what was not to be fulfilled during his time on earth. It is also speculated that what he added was an addition of what he was to accomplish.
This is a very interesting topic to study, and what I have read increased my insight and understanding greatly as to why Jesus did what he did. What captivates my attention even more is Jesus' action after he read the scroll.
Luke states in verses 20 and 21 that:
"And He rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant, and sat down; and the eyes of all the people in the synagogue were intently directed at Him. Now He began to say to them, 'Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.'”
From what I understand, it was custom for families to read certain parts of the scrolls, and then the scribes and Pharisees would sit at a shrine-like stone chair called "the seat of Moses" to interpret and teach what was read. So, it wasn’t unusual that Jesus was handed a scroll to read, and it probably wasn't unusual if someone didn’t get the reading just right, however, what was unusual is this:
Not only did Jesus read the scroll, but he proceeded to sit down at the seat of Moses afterward, leaving no room for the scribes and pharisees to interpret.
Jesus was making a statement by sitting down at the seat of Moses, and an even a greater statement by saying, “Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.”
Jesus was saying that He was the fulfillment of the prophecy that Isaiah was talking about. That He was (and is) the Messiah.
Can you imagine the look on the religious leader's faces as Jesus made these statements and did not allow anyone to have a seat next to him?
He didn’t open it up for debate either. He went on to say many things that caused the people to speak well of him, but they still were in doubt of Jesus' deity as they only knew him as Joseph’s son.
However, the great thing is that Jesus didn’t doubt his deity. He knew who he was. Despite the anger, rejection, and violence he experienced at the hands of others for claiming to be the Messiah.
Despite the praise he received from those who followed him, and the temptation from Satan during his time in the wilderness, Jesus never succumbed to being anything less than the Son of God. He knew who he was and he knew his mission.
He did everything he said he would do in Luke four.
What about you?
Are you brave enough to embrace who you are and what you have been assigned? Can you handle the praise of men, or worse, their criticism, as you carry out your mission?
Can you withstand the efforts of the enemy to elevate you beyond your assignment, or to tear you down? Both can destroy you, but there is one saving grace, and that is grace itself. Grace empowers us to walk in humility.
True humility is being nothing more than you are, and doing nothing more than you have been assigned, but also not being or doing anything less. You are the only you in the world. It doesn’t matter what you have been called to do, whether you believe it is big or small, the key is to do it with the grace of God upon you.
The truth is, none of us can withstand the fickleness of men, or the craftiness of the devil without the grace of God to sustain us.
Here’s the final part.
As brothers and sisters in Christ, we must extend grace to each other. Grace to let our co-heirs walk in their salvation and follow the calling God has placed over their lives. Grace for them to try again, to feel loved, and to cover a multitude of sins.
This too is humility.
The humility to say, "I don’t always get it right so why would I expect you to?"
Today is a new day and God’s mercies are new every morning. I pray for God’s grace to be upon you so that you may be all that he has designed you to be; nothing more and nothing less.
You may be surprised at what you are capable of as you settle into the gifts he has given you, and as your brothers and sisters encourage you to step into your calling.
Have a blessed day,
Dean