Luke 4:14-5:39

What’s Happening?

Jesus begins his ministry in his hometown synagogue and announces, “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me” (Luke 4:18). Quoting from Isaiah, Jesus declares that he has come to bring good news to the poor, liberty to the oppressed, and release for the captives—a picture of the promised “Year of Jubilee” when God’s people would be set free and debts forgiven (Leviticus 25:10).

By the Holy Spirit’s power, Jesus begins to enact this Jubilee. He drives out demonic spirits and heals those sick with fever, paralysis, and leprosy. He even forgives the sins of a paralyzed man, showing that he has the authority to release people not only from sickness but also from sin (Luke 5:20–21).

But not everyone welcomes Jesus’ Jubilee mission. His hometown tries to kill him after he suggests that God’s favor will extend to Gentiles before Israelites (Luke 4:27–28). And the Pharisees are scandalized that he eats with tax collectors and sinners, and they begin plotting to kill him (Luke 5:30).

Usually, disciples asked to be trained by a rabbi, but Jesus goes out and calls followers himself—and not the kind you’d expect. Luke highlights a fisherman and a tax collector, men on opposite ends of the social spectrum. Yet both “leave everything” to join Jesus in the freedom of his Kingdom (Luke 5:11, 28).

Where is the Gospel?

Jesus begins his ministry by proclaiming that God’s long-awaited Jubilee has come. What Israel practiced every fifty years as a foretaste of God’s freedom, Jesus fulfills in himself. In him, sins are forgiven, captives are released, and the poor are lifted up.

Jesus demonstrates this Jubilee power throughout his ministry. He heals the sick and frees the demonized. He forgives sins and validates his authority to do so by restoring the paralyzed man (Luke 5:23). And he declares that he came not for the righteous, but for sinners (Luke 5:32).

His reputation as a “friend of sinners” was meant as an insult, but it was actually the clearest sign that Jubilee had arrived. Unlike the Pharisees, who separated themselves from the unclean, Jesus brings holiness and hope with him, transforming everyone he touches. From Simon Peter to Levi the tax collector, Jesus meets people where they are and invites them into God’s new era of freedom.

See for Yourself

May the Holy Spirit open your eyes to see the God who brings true Jubilee. And may you see Jesus as the Spirit-filled Savior who heals, forgives, and sets his people free.