Christ's Manifesto

CHRIST'S MANIFESTO

One of the main objections to the (British) government's intention to allow same sex marriages, is that it was not in the manifesto upon which they were elected.

A manifesto is a public declaration of policy and aims, to be pursued by a candidate or government up for election.

This is something Jesus could never be accused of. From the minute he officially commenced his ministry, he declared publicly his own manifesto. He did this in the context, not of a political husting, but in a place of worship, namely, a synagogue in his home town of Nazareth. This is described in Luke 4.14-21.

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Synagogues were places of worship, education, and centres of Jewish religious life. They were managed by a board of elders. They had no paid religious leaders, but an attendant who combined the functions of a janitor, beadle and school teacher.

The order of Jewish synagogue worship started with the recitation of the Shema, which is a summary of the Jewish Law. This was followed by two scriptural readings. The first reading was fixed by a lectionary and came from the Law, in other words, the first five books of the Old Testament. The second reading was flexible and chosen by the reader from the Prophets.

The readings were followed by a sermon, which sought to explain the readings. These would have been in Hebrew

and translated into the everyday language of the worshippers. In this case, it would have been Aramaic. The sermon would be given from a seated position. [This is the origin of lecturers at universities having a 'chair' of whatever their particular subject.] The service concluded with a blessing.

We are told in Luke 4.15-16 that Jesus regularly attended the synagogue with his disciples. This is a point I am always keen to point out to those who think they can be a Christian without going to church!

Seeing a 'local boy made good" the synagogue attendant invited Jesus to choose the second reading and to interpret

it.

We are told that Jesus stood up and unrolled the scriptural reading. Don't forget, there were no books in those days and Jesus opened it at the sixty-first chapter of the prophet Isaiah, and read:

'The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,

because he has anointed me

to bring good news to the poor''

Jesus was obviously referring to his Baptism in the River Jordan at the hands of John the Baptist.

He then proceeded to announce his personal manifesto:

'He has sent me to proclaim

release to the captives,

and recovery of sight to the blind,

to let the oppressed go free,

to proclaim the year of the Lord's favour.'

Having given the scroll back to the attendant, Jesus sat down again and began to teach, pointing out: "Today this

scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing''.

In other words, Jesus is saying that the Messiah of whom Isaiah had written was indeed himself, and that the

message of that manifesto of the Messiah would be fulfilled in his ministry.

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So let us now briefly look at the four aspects of his manifesto.

Firstly, Jesus says that he has come 'to proclaim release to the captives'. This does not mean that he is about to go

around Palestine opening up all the prisons and letting the prisoners go free. Much rather, he would seek to free those who are held captive by sin, by offering them forgiveness. Forgiveness releases a person from captivity and enables the person to go free.

One recalls immediately the healing of the paralytic who was let down through the roof to the feet of Jesus, because the house was so crowded that he could not get near him. To the man Jesus says: "Your sins are forgiven" and we are told that the person was instantly healed and got up and went on his way. The forgiveness of his sins had released him.

Secondly, Jesus would give 'recovery of sight to the blind'.

A person who is blind obviously cannot see where they are going and, as a result, becomes disorientated and lost in

the darkness which surrounds them.

Throughout his future ministry, Jesus would meet men and women who were also lost, confused and disorientated.

People who did not see where they were going in life. People who drifted aimlessly along getting nowhere.

So Jesus would remove the scales from before their eyes, and open up to them new possibilities, new opportunities

and new challenges. He would give them a new sense of direction thereby 'giving sight to the blind'.

Thirdly, Jesus would 'let the oppressed go free''. The oppressed were those men and women who were worn down through worry and anxiety. Jesus would lift the weight of their personal burdens from their shoulders and enable them to walk tall once again.

One recalls his promise that 'My yoke is easy and my burden is light'. Here he is using an illustration drawn from

his days as a carpenter in Nazareth where he made yokes that fitted comfortably around the necks of oxen.

Finally, Jesus would seek 'to proclaim the year of the Lord's favour'.

This probably refers to the jubilee year. It was an occasion which occurred every fifty years when slaves would be given back their freedom, lands returned to their owners, debts would be cancelled and land laid fallow.

In other words, Jesus would encourage his followers not to become burdened down with material possessions, which are here today and gone tomorrow. This is probably the most difficult aspect of the gospel to follow, namely to become detached from material possessions so that one can become attached to God.

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"To proclaim release to prisoners, and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free and to proclaim the

year of the Lord's favour" was the manifesto of Jesus. I would suggest that that is a good Christian manifesto for you and me as we live out the Christian life.