Did you ever play “Stuck in the mud” as a child? It is a game of tag. The way it works is if you get tipped, your feet become stuck in the mud, and you cannot move. To be set free, you need someone to get down in the mud and crawl through your legs to release you so you can keep running. In Luke chapter 4, Jesus tells his home synagogue in Nazareth that he has come to do the same thing, to release those who are stuck. Jesus stands in front of the synagogue and is handed the scroll of the Old Testament prophet Isaiah. He then finds these words to read:
18 “The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free, 19 to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favour.”
Jesus is not random in what he reads out loud. He chooses very carefully to read the words of an important character that appears in Isaiah called the Anointed One. This Anointed One is the promised future king that everyone is waiting for to arrive. A future king who will bring in God’s kingdom and rescue and release God’s people. The coming of this king is good news for all people who are suffering and oppressed because he will set them free.
Amazingly, after reading about this promised king, Jesus said to everybody who was listening in the synagogue that he is the fulfilment of this promise. Jesus declared that he is the anointed king who has come low to set them free again. It is the sad truth that our sin and moral mess has bankrupted us and made us blind. However, because of his kind grace and deep love, Jesus the king, became our sin and died so that he could release us from sin.
How beautiful is this good news of Jesus that the king has come, that all those who enter his kingdom are loved and are made beautiful. The good news is that you have a future. No matter what comes your way, you are held tightly in his hand. The justice you long for will come and one day, the hurt and the pain and tears will end. Why? Because Jesus the risen king has come. Today, he invites you to come and crown him as your king and enjoy his good news.