{"id":21046,"date":"2020-08-28T23:07:28","date_gmt":"2020-08-28T21:07:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.cantonuovo.org\/luca-4-lo-spirito-del-signore-e-su-di-me\/"},"modified":"2026-06-05T19:52:00","modified_gmt":"2026-06-05T17:52:00","slug":"luca-4-lo-spirito-del-signore-e-su-di-me","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.cantonuovo.org\/en\/luca-4-lo-spirito-del-signore-e-su-di-me\/","title":{"rendered":"Luke 4 \u2013 The Spirit of the Lord is upon me"},"content":{"rendered":"
In Isaiah 59:20,<\/em> God announced through the prophet Isaiah that He would send a saviour, using the Hebrew word ga\u2019al<\/em>,<\/strong> which is normally used to refer to a relative or kinsman who took on a specific role: that of a redeemer<\/em>.<\/strong><\/h5>\n\n

From the Bible we know, in fact, that the ga\u2019al<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

was the one who could redeem a family member from slavery (Lev. 25:48). He was responsible for ensuring that the murderer of a family member received the just punishment for the murder committed (Numbers 35:19). He was the one who, as the \u2018next of kin\u2019, had the power to redeem property sold by his \u2018brother\u2019 (Leviticus 25:25) and was responsible for carrying on the family name by marrying his sister-in-law who had been widowed but had no children (Deuteronomy 25:5\u201310).<\/p>\n

In short, the ga\u2019al<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

was the relative or kinsman considered the closest in the family who had the power and responsibility to redeem people, property and the family\u2019s posterity; restoring what had been lost, those who had been taken captive, or the name not passed down due to death, to the point of having the right to be the \u2018avenger\u2019 of the blood of a family member killed, with the power of redemption!<\/p>\n

Our Ga\u2019al<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

is Yeshua<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

, the Messiah. He is our next of kin because, whilst He was truly God, He was at the same time truly man, like us, as if He were not God. It is He who has redeemed us from the bondage of sin, reopening the doors of God\u2019s family to us; who has avenged us for the wrongs suffered at the hands of the devil, the murderer; who has restored us to our inheritance and blesses and preserves the name of our descendants in faith in God and in him. The promise in Isaiah 59:20 could be paraphrased as follows: \u2018I will send my Messiah, the Redeemer of all mankind, Yeshua of Nazareth!\u2019<\/p>\n\n

To whom is the Redeemer sent?<\/strong> To those who turn away from transgression. The Ga\u2019al<\/strong><\/em>, in fact, acted only on behalf of those who sought his intervention, knowing they needed him.<\/h5>\n\n

The Ga\u2019al<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

of mankind is the promised Messiah, and his restorative work is described in Isaiah 61. For this, says the prophet, the Messiah was consecrated by the Spirit of Yahuah who, \u2018anointing\u2019 him for this purpose, as was done for kings and priests, sent him to: (i) proclaim the kingdom of God to the poor; (ii) heal the broken-hearted; (iii) set free those who, in the great conflict between the kingdom of darkness and the kingdom of God, have been taken captive by the enemy and thus exiled from their destiny; (iv) restore sight to the blind; and (v) open the prison to those who are imprisoned, that is, oppressed, torn apart by sickness and sin.<\/p>\n

One Sabbath, Yeshua went to the synagogue in Nazareth. He was given the scroll of the prophet Isaiah to read, containing the words we now find in chapter 61 of that book. Yeshua read it. Then he sat down and, amidst the general, silent embarrassment of those present, said that Isaiah was speaking of him and that he was therefore the Ga\u2019al<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

sent by God for humanity, the promised Messiah, the Redeemer. In saying this, he affirmed that the Spirit of God was upon him and that He had anointed and sent him to redeem people from poverty, affliction, captivity, exile, blindness, sickness and sin (Isa. 61: 1\u20132) for the glory of Yahuah (Isa. 61:3). That through him, God would faithfully establish an everlasting covenant with the people whom he had brought home at great cost (Isa. 61:8). His faithful would be priests of Yahuah, ministers of God (Isa. 61:6).<\/p>\n

In Nazareth, on that Sabbath, Yeshua announced the beginning of God\u2019s great Jubilee, the year of grace, the year of Yahuah\u2019s favour and vindication, during which the Most High\u2019s restorative mercy, justice, grace and truth would be universally and fully manifested in the history of mankind, as already foreshadowed in Lev. 25.<\/p>\n

On that day, Yeshua raised the curtain on history. The time had come to mark the beginning of the new era of reconciliation with the Father and with life for those who were captive, afflicted, blind and oppressed. The Father would accept them back into his family, as justified, despite everything. And it was precisely this reality that would bring about the fulfilment of our God\u2019s vengeance upon the infernal enemy.<\/p>\n\n

But Yeshua\u2019s fellow citizens, clouded by the inner turmoil of each individual present and yet collective, driven by an inexplicable, excessive, unnatural and illogical hatred, despised their ga\u2019al<\/strong> <\/em>to the point of wanting to kill him. And they almost succeeded.<\/h5>\n\n

Have you ever found yourself despising someone who brought you comfort, liberation, revelation, healing or forgiveness because of your shared familiarity?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Have you ever gone from being a victim of life to becoming a persecutor of those who offered to help you, simply because you saw them grow up alongside you, or in your own city, or in your own environment, or in your own Christian community?<\/p>\n

May God enlighten our minds so that we may see the truth. May God heal our hearts so that we may have gratitude and be freed from the selfishness and self-righteousness that make us slaves to the prince of this world. May God deliver us from the oppression of sin and the sickness that embitters life. May God restore us to the destiny He has designed for each of us in eternity.<\/p>\n\n

Hail Yeshua, our Ga\u2019al<\/em>, our Redeemer, the Messiah of God!!<\/h5>\n\n
Luke 4:14-30<\/span><\/h5>\n