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Tuesday 1 January 2002 - Jesus declares Jubilee

(Summary of sermon by Rev Erlo Stegen)

Lk 4:14 - 19

Firstly, we see that Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit into Galilee. Where had he been? He came from the wilderness where he had been fasting and tempted by the devil. The temptations we read of were just some of many others.  In verse 13 we read that when the devil had finished all his temptations, he left Jesus. The devil emptied all his arsenal on Jesus, but was conquered, and had to leave defeated. "He had to go on sick leave."

This is when Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit into Galilee. So too, with us, the devil might decide to finish us off and make us his target, but if we continue to walk with Jesus, we will overcame and be more than conquerors.

When the Book of Isaiah was handed to Jesus, Jesus stood up out of reverence for God's Word, as the custom of their time was. The portion that He read, was the appointed portion for that time. Jesus could not pick and choose what to read. Here again we see God's exact sovereign timing. This was also the exact day when the Israelites were delivered from Egypt.

The first words that Jesus read was: "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me ..." He declared here how that the Lord ruled and ordered His life. Woe to anyone who is not driven and ruled by the Lord. Such a person is bound to go off the way.

In verse 19 Jesus read that He was sent to preach the acceptable year of the Lord - the year of Jubilee or deliverance. In the law of Moses the Jews had a Sabbath year every seventh year. In this year they did not plow or sow, but rested, and so too their lands. After 7 seven years, that is the 50th year, they had the year of Jubilee. In this year all Jewish slaves were set free. All lands that were lost through debt were returned to their owners. It was the year of freedom and deliverance.
In the same way we have debts towards God. We have lost our property and are slaves of sin and Satan. But Jesus came to preach the year of God's deliverance from sin and Satan. All the stolen property Satan took from us must be returned by the blood of Jesus.

He sets us completely free - let us therefore live in the Jubilee freedom of the Lord.

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