I would like to hear HIS answer, too. Until then allow me to put on my "Captain Obvious" hat ...
When Jesus said "Today this Scripture has been fulfilled while you are present and hearing." it means that Jesus was acknowledging some things from that scripture He just read were TRUE about HIM:
- "The Spirit of the Lord [is] upon Me"
- "He [GOD] has anointed Me" [Jesus IS the Messiah/Christ ... Jesus left no ambiguity].
- Jesus the Messiah was here "to preach the good news (the Gospel) to the poor"
- "He [GOD] has sent Me [Jesus] to announce release to the captives" ... people will need to listen to other sermons to understand what this REALLY means, since they will probably have Rome on their minds.
- "recovery of sight to the blind" ... as Jesus did do.
- "to send forth as delivered those who are oppressed [who are downtrodden, bruised, crushed, and broken down by calamity]" ... as Jesus did do, just ask the woman at the well or any of the former demoniacs.
- "To proclaim the accepted and acceptable year of the Lord [the day when salvation and the free favors of God profusely abound.]" ... I am no expert on such matters, but THIS seems like a load too heavy for any MAN to lift; I think that "salvation profusely abounding" is going to require something spectacular ... like God Incarnate! But that is above my pay grade.
Yes!
All of that is true and because it is all true, we can understand the provocation it caused (especially among any who believed Jesus was conceived illegitimately). However, my query is intended to get to the reality that (more big words coming
) soteriology does not inform the entirety of Jesus' Christological ontology because Jesus is more than merely Savior. In more common vernacular, Jesus being the person by, though, and for whom salvation from sin is accomplished does not fully inform the entirety of who and what he is. In General, the New Testament is about salvation. However, Jesus is pre-existent. He existed long before and long after the NT was even thought of in God's revelation of Himself to humanity. Jesus is just one aspect of God revealing Himself. His Son is only one aspect of God revealing Himself. As far as Jesus' role in salvation goes, that is why we read new language of "
Father," "
Son," and "
Separated Spirit for Sacred Purpose" (Holy Spirit) predominantly in the NT. In the OT God is God and sometimes He is close (God of heaven
and earth) and sometimes far away (God of heaven). In addition, to the degree soteriology overlaps eschatology, Jesus is the agent of bringing about the end, and the end is not all warm and fuzzy, salvation, a wedding, and a huge feast. Just a short distance away (eternally speaking) is a big pit with a lot of folks screaming in endless agony. The same guy who walked to Calvary in silence like a sheep to slaughter is the same blood-covered guy who is coming back with as word in his mouth. Jesus is both Lord
and Savior. Jesus is both Judge and Servant, Priest and King, vassal and Conqueror, man and God
.
He's a pretty big guy, ontologically speaking
.
Jesus visited synagogues on the Sabbath day. In Sabbath services, various men would read portions of the Old Testament, then sit to begin speaking about what those Scriptures meant. This is the way Jesus approaches a passage in Isaiah.
That is true, but his reading of Isaiah that day in Nazareth wasn't exactly that.
During the intertestamental period it was common practice for the Jewish men of any given local to read from Torah on the sabbath, Mondy, and Thursday. This practice became more generalized to include the other books of the Tanakh beside just the Pentateuch. In a religious service or ceremony, there would typically be a rabbi or someone else with formal training ho would read and what we would call a layman or layperson (because the lay reading was not restricted only to adult males), as long as they were adults. What bottom of the op describes is more like what happened when Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem at the end of Luke 2.
Luke 2:41-50
Now his parents went to Jerusalem every year at the Feast of the Passover. And when he became twelve, they went up there according to the custom of the Feast; and as they were returning, after spending the full number of days, the boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem. But his parents were unaware of it, but supposed him to be in the caravan, and went a day's journey; and they began looking for him among their relatives and acquaintances. When they did not find him, they returned to Jerusalem looking for him. Then, after three days they found him in the temple, sitting in the midst of the teachers, both listening to them and asking them questions. And all who heard him were amazed at His understanding and His answers. When they saw him, they were astonished; and his mother said to him, "Son, why have you treated us this way? Behold, your father and I have been anxiously looking for you." And he said to them, "Why is it that you were looking for me? Did you not know that I had to be in my Father's house?" But they did not understand the statement which He had made to them.
A bunch of old guys and a twelve-year-old sitting around discussing scripture. Eighteen years later he stood in the synagogue and told everyone he was the guy about whom God had spoken and Isaiah had written
.
It's worth noting that the Isaiah 61 txt states he came to declare the year of the LORD
and the day of vengeance. Same Jesus. They had little, if any clue, what that meant. I wonder how much the twelve-year-old explained to them while they were chewing the proverbial fat
.
"I'm going to come back here in about 20 years,
and everyone is going to celebrate my return
but you guys with the fancy robes
are going to conspire with the Roman occupiers to murder me.
It says so right here in.....
and here in.....
and here in...."
They weren't so amazed at his answers the second time around.
Today this Scripture has been fulfilled while you are present and hearing.
