“Jesus saith unto them, ‘My meat is to do the will of Him that sent Me, and to finish His work.'” John 4:34
There came a watershed moment in the life of Jesus, as after His baptism, and returning from the forty days in the wilderness, being tempted by Satan, He stood up in the synagogue in Nazareth. Scripture tells us that He stood up to read from the book of Isaiah, on the Sabbath. The passage He chose to read was a declaration of faith of such magnitude and power, that the message, would begin to stir profoundly the people. However, in that same address, His mention of God’s dealings with two gentiles, at the exclusion of many in Israel, would move the same people to rise up in wrath, seeking to kill him. In other words, that which He read, and said, would be of such contrast to the mindset, concepts, and disposition of the people, that they would reject Him and His message. Jesus would not die at that time, as He would pass through the midst of them. But the dye was cast, the commission was embraced, the position of absolute faith in the Father, and obedience to Him, was irrevocably revealed. Christ had begun His three-year trek towards Jerusalem, and He would not be deterred by any foe, any power of the enemy. He would overcome, accomplish, and finish His work and ministry according to the very words of this, His manifesto. What did this proclamation, and its application to the present circumstance contain, that would cause such a stir, and the eventual declaration in the Apostle John’s words, “He came unto His own, and His own received Him not?” (1:11)
If was first a firm declaration that the Spirit of the Eternal God was upon Him, not only with regard to Him belonging to the Father, but also because the Spirit of God had anointed Him to preach the Gospel. It was a calling that was embedded in the writings of Isaiah, applying to the coming Messiah. This statement sets Christ apart from all other men on the face of the earth, for it makes clear that before those in Nazareth who heard Him read that day, He was declaring that He, the Messiah, had come. He was the One called, and anointed, for the purpose of setting up His kingdom on earth, “…as it is in heaven.” The Eternal God of Abraham, Moses, and the prophets, by these words of Scripture, is declaring in a most simple setting, that the King had come, was standing before them, and that He was endued with the power from on High, to accomplish His mission, to be “…a Savior, which is Christ the Lord.” (Luke 2:11)
The second thing we observe by this declaration of Christ is that He reveals that His mission is directional, clearly defined by the very power that has been given to Him. Jesus declares: “… He (the Spirit of God) hath anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor; He hath sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised.” (Lk.94:18) The Eternal Savior of mankind is declaring that He has received an unction from Heaven, manifested and proven by the power of God, according to the words of God. His ministry is to all men, in particular to those that are poor, broken hearted, enslaved by sin, blind, suffering prisoners in bondage. These He, the King of glory, has come to save. This common carpenter of Galilee, has now become to all concerned, the light of the world, the Savior of all by the power of God. And how will He accomplish this?
Jesus said that He came to “preach,” to declare, the truth of God in the power of the Spirit. Specifically, He came to preach the gospel, which is the power of God to everyone that believeth. The time to preach had come, and also, the day of acceptance of that preaching. His truth believed would truly save.
Dear Father, Give us to see Christ our King, and follow Him by word and deed. In Jesus’ name, Amen.