I have been blessed, challenged, and encouraged by preaching from the Gospel According to Luke. Yesterday we were in chapter 8 and examined the correlation between fear and faith. Yesterday’s premise was incredibly impactful. I said, “When you trust the Living Word as revealed in the Written Word your faith grows, and fear goes.”  One of the main questions Luke is dealing with in the first ten chapters is “Who is the man?”  Who is the man they call Jesus? To trust in Jesus, we must know who He is. Luke is very helpful in revealing who Jesus is.

The first nine chapters are coming to a crescendo in chapter 9:51. Luke writes, “When the days  were coming to a close for him to be taken up, he determined to journey to Jerusalem.”  I have often thought of this verse as one of the most extraordinary testimonies of Christ’s love for us. In verse 18, Luke begins the discourse between Jesus and His disciples that end with Peter’s powerful declaration and confession of Jesus being “God’s Messiah.”  We know this transaction took place at Caesarea Philippi (see Matthew 16:13). Why does the location matter? It was about 25 miles north of the Sea of Galilee. I asked Siri, and she told me Caesarea Philippi is about 81 miles north of Jerusalem. Consider how easy it would have been for Jesus to stay far away from Jerusalem. Notice the verse says, “When the days were coming to a close for him to be taken up …” Jesus knew His time on earth was fast approaching. He also knew the type of death He was walking to (See Luke 9:22, 44,45). Jesus knew he would be going to His death. Luke 10-23 is quite simply a story of a dead man walking. How much does He love you? 

However, the point of the Gospel is not a good man died for you, but God Himself died as a substitutionary atonement. It’s not that 2000 years ago, a man named Jesus courageously and gallantly took a flogging, was crucified, and died. But the truth of the Gospel is Jesus, the Son of God, the promised Messiah, our Passover Lamb died as our atoning sacrifice. Do you see the importance of knowing who Jesus is? Furthermore, if a man died for us, we would still be in our sins, but if God Himself died, we can be reconciled to the Father by faith in the Son. The Gospel is relatively simple: God saves sinners through the death, life, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. The most important question you can answer is who is this man?

Luke helps us in this fact. Throughout the birth narratives, the angels announce who this child was (see 1:30-33; 35; 2:11). Note how Luke combines the genealogy with the Messiah legacy. In 3:38, he finishes with “Adam , son of God.”  In 4:3, the devil asks, “If you are the Son of God…”  Jesus, not Adam, is the true Son of God. Luke continues, in 4:22, the people ask, “Isn’t this Joseph’s son?”  Well, yes, He is, but He’s so much more. In chapter 5, the Pharisees show up for the first time. In verse 21, they ask, “Who is this man?”  Luke shows us that Jesus is sovereign over nature, disease, demons, illness, and even death itself. In chapter 7, it is said, “A great prophet has risen among us, and God has visited his people” (Luke 7:16). They are getting closer. He is more than Joseph’s son and even more than a prophet. 

There is great irony in chapter 8. Notice two things. First, in verse 28, demons knew exactly who Jesus was. According to the demons, He was “Jesus, Son of the Most High God.”  Also, notice when the demon-possessed man comes into his senses, he acknowledges Jesus as God. In verse 39, Jesus says, “Go back to your home and tell all that God has done for you.” And Luke tells us, “And off he went proclaiming throughout the town how much Jesus had done for him. Did you notice the subtle way Luke affirms the deity of Jesus? Jesus tells the man to go tell everyone about what God had done, and Luke says the man went and told everyone all that Jesus had done. Cleverly, Luke calls Jesus God. Do you see the irony to this pointt? The demon-possessed man was from a Gentile area. That means a demon and a Gentile knew who Jesus was, but the Jews are still trying to figure it out. Until that is, Peter dramatically confesses Jesus as “God’s Messiah” (Luke 9:20).

After this confession, Jesus began to teach about His impending suffering and death. It was against this backdrop that Jesus turned his head like flint and began the 81-mile journey to the cross. Who is the man they call Jesus? He is the promised Messiah. He is the one who was promised in the Garden. He is our Passover Lamb; He is the God/Man our atoning sacrifice. He is the worthy one. Allow your affections for Jesus to grow. Believe in Him. Trust Him, and join in the chorus in heaven and say, “Worthy is the Lamb who was slaughtered to receive power and riches and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and blessing” (Rev 5:12). This Easter season ask yourself, “Who is this man?”  When you figure it out, worship Him. He is ”the atoning sacrifice for our sins and the sins of the world” (1 John 2:2). Jesus is none other than “Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world” (John 1:29). Praise His name forever. Trust in Him, and your faith will grow, and your fear will go.

As was His custom, Jesus entered into the synagogue. As a guest rabbi, he was handed the scroll for the morning’s reading and read from Isaiah 61,

“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 release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to set free the oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.” (Luke 4:18-19 CSB).

 He rolled the scroll up and sat down. Expecting teaching from the Rabbi, the people heard a bold, audacious, and even arrogant claim. “Today, as you listen, this Scripture is fulfilled” (Luke 4:21). The people knew Isaiah 61 to be a Messianic passage promising the Messiah would usher in the year of Jubilee at his coming. He would free the captives and set the people free.

Besides the assurance that Jesus is the Messiah, Jesus is also teaching us a few things about His ministry. The year of the Lord’s favor corresponds to the year of Jubilee in Leviticus 25. It was in the 50^th year and became a year of rest. It was a time to release people from debt, set slaves free, return property, and in a general sense, a year to restore and renew.   

What lessons can we learn from Jesus’ words?

1. Jesus is so much more than Joseph’s son.

When the audience heard Jesus’ bold claim, they asked, “Isn’t this Joseph’s son?” Since it was a Messianic claim, it would be arrogant and utterly wrong if he were only Joseph’s son. However, Luke has spent the first four chapters teaching the reader that Jesus is so much more. He is the God/Man; He is the eternal Son of God. For more information on this topic, see my message from February 6^th at https://www.facebook.com/fsbcsalina.

2. To set us free, Jesus must be our atoning sacrifice. 

Even at that moment, Jesus knew His work would lead to Calvary. He knew He was born to die. The year of Jubilee was ushered in with a trumpet blast on the Day of Atonement. Jesus would enter into the Holy of Holies with His blood to free the captives and give us life. 

3. The time is now!

Also, as you read this, you can’t miss what else Jesus was doing. He stopped the verse in mid-sentence. Isaiah’s text goes on to say that the day will also bring “God’s vengeance” (see Isaiah 61:2). Why did Jesus leave this off? The first advent of our Lord means a year of favor. He was coming to set you and me free from the bondage of sin. To do that, he would innocently die on a cross like a goat on the Day of Atonement. His first advent ushered in the Year of Favor. Make no mistake, His second coming will usher in the vengeance of God.

Therefore, act while there is still time. Last night at our Life Group, we read Colossians 2:13, where Paul reminds us that Christ “made us alive and forgave all our trespasses.” This is the year of favor. This is the release of captives. How did Jesus do it? Paul writes, “by nailing it to the cross” (Col 2:14b). In Jesus’ atoning death, he forgave all my sins. He set me free. He has ushered in the year of favor. You may not feel as if you are living in a year of favor, but the promise of the Messiah is eternal. There is always a present reality, that often is hard and difficult but God always promises future grace and glory. His promises are sure. Learn to look beyond your present pain and see God’s future promises through Jesus, the Messiah.