History. Jesus, now full of the power of the Spirit, announces his public ministry in his hometown of Nazareth. Jesus quotes Isaiah 61:1-2 as he defines his mission from the father: “The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor” (Luke.4:18-19). Jesus was now on a rescue mission to the poor, the prisoners, the blind and the oppressed. He came with the power and authority to radically transform lives. Jesus Christ would bring good news, freedom from oppression, new sight, release from bondage and favor with God. The Holy Spirit empowered him to reveal the new spiritual kingdom of God that overcomes all the oppression of the kingdom of darkness. His kingdom is for anyone who will receive it by faith. But that has been the problem for many people – trusting God. Jesus spotlights two examples from Israel’s history where God provided dramatically for foreigners who trusted Him rather than for Israel who would not. That irritated the hometown crowd against Jesus. “All the people in the synagogue were furious when they heard this” (Luke 4:28). Highlighting a person’s prideful unbelief is not always a popular thing to do. But it is the most merciful thing to do. Only by faith will you and I ever receive all the benefits of God’s grace. There is absolutely nothing too difficult for God; he can overcome any trace of spiritual darkness. The issue will be our willingness to trust Him to overcome the spiritual poverty, blindness and oppression in our lives. What can you learn from your own history of trusting or not trusting God?

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