Luke 4.14-21

The Beginning of the Galilean Ministry

Note for Preachers:

Jesus’s cradle of ethical life was the synagogue: congregation of prayer and hearing and interpreting the marvellous Torah, definition of God-given freedom. Here he is unrolling the scroll of the prophet Isaiah and taking to himself the One Covenant, proclaiming the eternal ‘now’, the year of the Lord’s favour: ‘the release of captives, the recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free’.

Every recital of the unique Covenant is a new (renewed) testament, when it is understood and written on the fleshy tablets of the heart. Jesus speaks to the entire human person, who is part of a reforming communion. The perpetually renewed Covenant of justice and mercy affirms all life and opposes the destruction of life.

• Luke 4.14-21 (PDF document)