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He went to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, and on the Sabbath day he went into the synagogue, as was his custom. He stood up to read, and the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him. Unrolling it, he found the place where it is written:\xa0\u201cThe 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\u2019s favor.\u201d Then he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant and sat down. The eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fastened on him. He began by saying to them, \u201cToday this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.\u201d (Luke 4:16-21)

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In Luke\u2019s telling, this is the core of the Gospel that Jesus proclaimed.\xa0 The passages Jesus reads from Isaiah are passages that speak of both the Messiah and the Year of Jubilee coming.\xa0 Jesus declares that both are fulfilled today by his appearance: that he is the Messiah who saves and sets free the people.

Now, upon walking into a room, some of us may have been so bold as to declare: \u201cYou can start the party now, I\u2019m here!\u201d \xa0But to declare that our presence means salvation has arrived?\xa0 That\u2019s pretty insane, actually.\xa0 To say it seriously, you either need to be God himself, a comedian, or out of your mind.\xa0 Indeed the good folks of Nazareth pretty promptly tried to kill Jesus, as we\u2019ll see a bit later on.\xa0

Now let\u2019s say that we believe Jesus is God, and not in need of therapy.\xa0 Even so, salvation is a big word.\xa0 A word we toss around pretty freely in church-y circles, but a word that remains pretty abstract.\xa0 And we like it that way.\xa0 Abstractions don\u2019t demand action.\xa0 So we tend to keep this word abstract by setting it next to similarly abstract words like \u201csin,\u201d \u201cheaven,\u201d \u201csoul,\u201d etc.\xa0 Stir it all up together and you get a tidy formula of abstractions like: \u201cJesus has saved me from my sin so that I can go to heaven.\u201d\xa0 But what does that mean?\xa0 The declaration of salvation should punch you in the gut and offend you such that you\u2019re tempted either to fall on your knees or push Jesus off a cliff, and this cute little Christianese phrase just doesn\u2019t quite do that.\xa0 Because it\u2019s abstract.\xa0

But Jesus doesn\u2019t use abstract words like salvation here.\xa0 He talks instead about concrete things for particular people.\xa0 \u201cGood news for the poor, freedom for prisoners and the oppressed, recovery of sight for the blind.\u201d\xa0 Now: did you hear your own name in those phrases?\xa0 Maybe you should.\xa0 \xa0\xa0\xa0\xa0

For someone to come up and say: nope, you can\u2019t do life yourself\u2014you\u2019re a failure, unsuccessful, unable, not useful enough, guilty of mismanagement, incompetent, you don\u2019t have enough, aren\u2019t strong enough, aren\u2019t smart enough\u2014well that\u2019s pretty offensive.\xa0 Offensive enough to push Jesus off a cliff over.\xa0 But that\u2019s really what it means to be in need of saving.\xa0 And then Jesus follows it up with the equally of offensive statement: that what you can\u2019t do, he can.\xa0 Who on earth would respond to that alter call?\xa0 The folks in Nazareth certainly didn\u2019t.

But perhaps those who found their own situation named by Jesus did.\xa0 The poor, the imprisoned, the blind, the oppressed, the indebted.\xa0 Somehow, when salvation becomes concrete and personal\u2014addressed to us and our real situation: it not only offends, but can also redeem.\xa0 Because then there\u2019s enough relationship for us to entrust ourselves.

So the question is: what do you need saving from?\xa0 In what area of your life are you burdened, shackled, oppressed, blind?\xa0 Where is Jesus at work in your heart and life, inviting you to hear his good news of freedom, recovery, and good favour?\xa0 It is a humbling thing to admit one\u2019s need, but it is the first step toward hearing Jesus\u2019 good news addressed to you.

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