The Work of the Ministry

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, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor.

Luke 4:18-19

Jesus began His ministry in the cities around the lake of Galilee. He then made an extensive journey into Judea where he did many miracles. He soon gained a reputation throughout the land as a doer of good deeds and a worker of miracles. Word had come back to Nazareth, his hometown, of the remarkable things he had been doing. Now he has returned and everyone in town knows that he will be in the synagogue on the sabbath day. They all turn out to hear him for they are anxiously hoping that he will do some of the miracles he has done in other cities.

But in the synagogue, he calls for the scroll of the prophet Isaiah and unrolls it to what we know as Isaiah 61. How can other people tell when the Spirit of God is at work in a person's life? Will it be by the display of some strange phenomenon, or by a miraculous manifestation? No, the Spirit-filled ministry will be the kind of ministry described by Isaiah. First, the work of the ministry is to proclaim the good news that God has not left the human race to struggle hopelessly in bewilderment, pain, and darkness. God has done something about our condition. He has acted to deliver us from darkness to light through his Son. The Lord of the Universe has gone to the cross and taken our sins upon him. Through the resurrection, he has given us his own life, which empowers us to truly live. To tell this story is to preach the good news. To preach it to the poor doesn't mean only those who are below the poverty line. The rich and the wealthy need to hear this good news too! Obviously, the prophecy goes beyond mere physical poverty, penetrating to the spiritual poverty of men and women.

Then we are to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight to the blind. Release and recovery of sight. Liberty and light. Do you know any captives, any people who are bound by outlooks and attitudes which hold them in captivity? Do you know anyone who is struggling to free himself from hurtful habits which hold him in a vise-like grip? Do you know any people who are locked into a pattern of poisonous hate or possessive greed which they seem powerless to break? Are you such a person yourself? There is good news! Jesus Christ is able to set you free and give you sight.

The final element of a Spirit-filled ministry is to set at liberty those who are oppressed. At first glance this seems similar to proclaiming release to captives. It is true that the end result is the same: liberty. But the problem of oppression is a much deeper and more serious one than mere captivity. Oppression has a demonic element about it. It is more than mere tyranny, there is also a terrible cruelty involved. It results in a sense of burden, of dejection and depression, coupled with hopelessness.

Father, reveal your liberty and light. Save us from captivity and oppression. Make us free indeed!