23rd January 2022 (Third Sunday after the Epiphany)
Title: God’s Word and Spiritual Renewal
(Scripture Reading: Nehemiah 8:1–3, 5–6, 8–10 & Luke 4:14–21)
By Heeyoung Lim
Spiritual renewal and vitality do not occur apart from God’s Word. It convicts of sin, affirms grace, and reveals the will of God.
Ezra’s commission was to restructure the Jewish community under God’s word. People gathered to hear the word of God delivered through Ezra. All the people listened attentively to the Book of the Law, and they all stood up when Ezra opened the book. Nehemiah 8 enables the exiles who returned to Jerusalem to not only read but also to understand. Such teaching relies on the attentive hearing of the people.
Deuteronomy 31 commanded the Israelites to gather once every seven years for the reading of the law. Verse 12 says, “so they can listen and learn to fear the LORD your God and follow carefully all the words of this law” Ezra may have had this in mind when the people assembled. The assembly was composed of men and women and all who were able to understand, including children. God wants us to read, listen, learn, and obey His word.
Ezra read the law aloud from dawn till noon as he faced the square before the Water Gate, and the time involved was from five to seven hours. His decision to read the law at this location implied that the Word of God was more valuable than the altar or its sacrifices, that the law was greater than the temple. In a demonstration of respect for the reading of God’s Word, the people all stood up.
In verse 6, Ezra praised the Lord, the great God, and all people lifted their hands and responded, “Amen! Amen!” The raising of hands signified worship and dependence on God. The double “Amen,” which means “it is so,” reinforced the people’s agreements and obedience with the adoration Ezra offered. May we listen carefully to the word of God and respond with Amen.
Then they bowed down and worshiped the Lord with their faces to the ground. It represented humility before a sovereign and expressed once again the people’s devotion and respect. In the power of living God’s word, all the people had been weeping as they listened to the word of God.
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In verse 10, the people were told by Nehemiah, go, and enjoy choice food and sweet drinks, and send some to those who have nothing prepared. He said to them, “This day is holy to our Lord. Do not grieve, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.” While the reading of the law produced genuine repentance, holy days were meant as celebrations of God’s love and mercy. Our worship is a time to give our most precious things to God such as prayer, praise, confession, love, and ourselves. Repentance may follow during worship, and it is also precious, but God made this holy day to be celebrated as a day full of joy.
Nehemiah the governor and Ezra the priest and scribe collaborated for God’s work. They instructed the people to enjoy a feast and to eat the best they had. In addition, they were to share with others. It was a day for rejoicing in God’s mercy and goodness, not for weeping. May we enjoy worship as a feast and celebrate this holy day. Ezra concluded, “do not grieve, for the joy of the LORD is your strength.”
We cannot know God’s will and character without reading His word. May we devote time to read the Bible carefully and thoroughly and go deeply into their meaning so that we will be challenged by its beauty and truth through Bible reading. God desires that all people should know Him and do His will. God’s Word deserves honour and obedience. Great joy comes from obedience to God. May we remember the joy of the Lord is our strength and obey whatever we learn through Bible reading, study, or listening.
Luke is telling us of the Holy Spirit’s involvement in the life of Jesus as He steps forth in public ministry. On the earth, Jesus is dependent upon His God for life, faith, and mission. Jesus begins his teaching by reading a passage from the prophet Isaiah. “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovering sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed” (Isa. 61:1ff. Luke 4:21)
These words were about the description of the Messiah who was to come. The messianic ministry description was already familiar to the synagogue worshipers and was reinterpreted before their eyes. When Jesus rolls the scroll, returns it to the attendant, and sits down. “The eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on Him” (20). Then Jesus speaks from his place of sitting: “Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing”
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The Spirit gives direction in all ministries for God. God’s ministry focuses on those whom the world ignores. Jesus is the fulfillment of God’s promises. Jesus has unequalled authority in his ministry and teaching. Jesus is saying that his life work will be to heal the broken-hearted, announce the release of prisoners, recover sight to the blind, and announce the graceful year of the Lord (14–19). He is the one that they have been waiting for all of their lives.
When Jesus reads Isaiah 61:1–2 in the synagogue in Nazareth, He declares that His ministry in the Spirit as Messiah of God calls Him to be an agent of love and grace to the oppressed and needy. His message will bring much needed healing among the people, and He has come to announce the year of forgiveness, the acceptable year.
Our Lord stood in front of the hometown crowd and started His early ministry, proclaiming liberation, freedom, and salvation in the Jubilee year through the Word of God. He announces that his ministry will be like the year of jubilee. As we know, every fifty years, the fields rested and were reinvigorated for future harvests. In this jubilee year, debts were forgiven. People returned home. Slaves were set free. Some scholars speculate that the very year that Jesus appears in the Nazareth synagogue may have been the year of jubilee. Jesus brings the good news of God that releases, restores, and sets us free.
In what ways do our words and lives spread the gospel? Today’s text affirms that God will help us understand and practice God’s good ways. May we bring good news to the poor, the captives, the spiritual blind, and the oppressed. Under the power of the Holy Spirit, may we convey the love of Christ to the mistreated and those who have failed.
Sports stars and many athletes have been training and practicing, hour after hour and week after week. Many singers and musicians have been playing exercises, perfecting technique for long hours out of the public eye. Their performance can be inspirational, but it is the fruit of long, patient hard work. The role of parents as a life-long job and the role of a mature adult also did not happen overnight but were accompanied by long hours of learning and experience.
Jesus’ life of prayer leading up to His baptism, temptation in the wilderness, and going public with God’s words. There was a silent preparation in Jesus’ life and ministry for a long time too. I hope our eyes fix on Jesus, and we can bear the fruit of time and love in Christ.
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Following Jesus means accepting His mission and His time. I pray we can ask God to show us how to carry out Jesus’ ministry to the poor and needy that Jesus began. The word of God is living and active. May we also review our daily ways of living in Christ and obey God’s word. May we receive the guidance of the Holy Spirit in our life and experience spiritual renewal through the Word of God.
“Do not grieve, for the joy of the LORD is your strength.” Great joy comes from obedience to God.
Thanks be to God! Amen.
(Ref. Bible, commentaries, theological books, UCA materials)
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