Never Lose Hope In Ministry

 WORDS OF LIFE

Monday 12 January 2026

LUKE 4:14-28

Rejected (1)

'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 favour' (vv 18-19)

MANIFESTOS are two a penny these days. Many companies have a stated manifesto for why and how they operate. Schools and colleges across the world also have something similar. Perhaps most commonly, whenever there is a general election all the political parties produce them in the hope of swaying the opinions of the voters.

Isaiah's words, opened and read in the synagogue by Jesus, were his 'manifesto for mission'. Jesus had returned from his time in the wilderness stronger than ever, and had now commenced his ministry. Such is the fickle nature of the human heart that attitudes changed towards him very quickly. In Galilee, he taught in its synagogues and everyone praised him, but not so in Nazareth.

In the Nazareth synagogue, Jesus read from the words of Isaiah (61:1-2), and then he declared he was the fulfilment of that prophecy. This was hard for his listeners to take, and we find a similarity with Jesus' third temptation. The people wanted proof. They sought to put Jesus into the same position as that which Satan had tried, but again Jesus resisted.

Jesus declared what his ministry would be: preaching the gospel, helping people to be free to really live, performing acts of mercy, working for social equality and fairness, and celebrating God's grace to disheartened people. But he was just a local boy; in their eyes, simply the son of Mary and Joseph. How could he have such authority? And in seemingly just a few moments, his popularity dissipated, and 'all the people in the synagogue' became furious with him.

The praise of other people should never be the goal of the follower of Jesus because it can change in an instant. Rather, we should seek the approval and pleasure of God alone, who is consistent and trustworthy.

PRAYER

Lord, may I live and act for an audience of just one. Amen.

#RootedInPrayerAndCommitment  - Salvationist online