This is Spoken Gospel.

We’re dedicated to seeing
Jesus in all of scripture.

In each episode, we see what’s
happening in a Biblical text

and how it sheds light
on Jesus and his gospel.

Let’s jump in.

Jesus begins his ministry
in his hometown synagogue

and announces, “The Spirit
of the Lord is upon me”.

By the Holy Spirit’s power, Jesus drives out
demonic spirits and heals those sick with
fever, paralysis, and leprosy.

As he travels from town to town, he
summarizes his ministry by saying,

“I must proclaim the good news of the
Kingdom… for that is why I was sent”.

But not everyone welcomes
Jesus’ ministry and message.

His hometown tries to kill him after he suggests
that God will save and heal Gentiles before Israelites.

Jesus escapes, but the opposition
has just begun.

The Pharisees and teachers of the law confront
Jesus because he eats with sinners and tax collectors.

They accuse him of blasphemy when he
heals a paralyzed man and forgives his sins.

Later, the Pharisees
begin plotting to kill Jesus.

Usually, disciples of a rabbi would
follow him and request him to train them.

Instead, Jesus goes out and selects disciples
himself—and not the kind you would expect.

Luke highlights a fisherman and a tax
collector, two men on opposite ends of
an economic and political spectrum.

In both stories, Luke tells us that these
men “left everything” to follow Jesus.

Jesus begins his ministry by
announcing the coming of God’s favor.

His words from Isaiah 61 and 58 are connected
to the Year of Jubilee, an event that was supposed

to happen once every fifty years in Israel’s history
when all debts were forgiven and slaves set free.

Jesus comes to bring a new
and better Jubilee.

His body and blood are the
cost for total forgiveness,

and his resurrection is the power
over the bondage of sickness and sin.

Jesus demonstrates this power even before
his death as he heals the sick and forgives sins.

He forgives the sins of a paralytic and then
heals the man to validate his authority to forgive.

Jesus tells the accusing Pharisees that he came, not
for those who claimed to be righteous, but for sinners.

His reputation as a “friend of sinners”
is meant to shame Jesus because religious

leaders prided themselves in
being separate from corrupt people.

But rather than becoming defiled himself,
Jesus brings holiness and hope

with him as he interacts
with sinners of all kinds.

From Simon Peter to Levi, we see a Savior
who doesn’t deal with sinners from a distance.

He meets us where we are
and calls us to follow him.

May the Holy Spirit open your eyes to see
the God who shows favor to his people.

And may you see Jesus as the Spirit-
filled Savior who heals and forgives.