This morning I have good news and bad news.  “Wait a second Tim, didn’t you preach this sermon last week?  You must have picked up last week’s notes.”  This morning I have more good news and more bad news.  Do you remember last week’s good news, bad news?  Baptism is not the end of it.  It was bad news because baptism leads us to temptation and struggle.  We go from the baptistery to the desert. But it is also good news because we are called to be more than we are.  God wants to use us and mold us and be worshipped by us.  From the baptistery we move to the desert because there we can make the choice to become the ministers God wants us to be.

But that was last week’s good news/ bad news.  This morning I have more good news and more bad news.  Today, though, let’s begin with the good news first.  Today the good news begins way back in the OT book of Leviticus. 

Leviticus 25:10-13  Consecrate the fiftieth year and proclaim liberty throughout the land to all its inhabitants. It shall be a jubilee for you; each one of you is to return to his family property and each to his own clan.  The fiftieth year shall be a jubilee for you; do not sow and do not reap what grows of itself or harvest the untended vines.  For it is a jubilee and is to be holy for you; eat only what is taken directly from the fields.  "'In this Year of jubilee everyone is to return to his own property.

The year of Jubilee was commanded by God in order to restore the land rights and freedom of the Jewish people.  Every seven years was a Sabbath year and the seven Sabbath cycles gave you the year of Jubilee; a year of rejoicing, celebration and the resetting of everything. 

Now I mention the year of Jubilee as good news because of another OT book; Isaiah. Listen to a prophecy of Isaiah.

Isaiah 61 The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is on me, because the LORD has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners,  2 to proclaim the year of the LORD's favor and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn,  3 and provide for those who grieve in Zion-- to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair. They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the LORD for the display of his splendor.  4 They will rebuild the ancient ruins and restore the places long devastated; they will renew the ruined cities that have been devastated for generations.  5 Aliens will shepherd your flocks; foreigners will work your fields and vineyards.  6 And you will be called priests of the LORD, you will be named ministers of our God. You will feed on the wealth of nations, and in their riches you will boast.  7 Instead of their shame my people will receive a double portion, and instead of disgrace they will rejoice in their inheritance; and so they will inherit a double portion in their land, and everlasting joy will be theirs.  8 "For I, the LORD, love justice; I hate robbery and iniquity. In my faithfulness I will reward them and make an everlasting covenant with them.  9 Their descendants will be known among the nations and their offspring among the peoples. All who see them will acknowledge that they are a people the LORD has blessed."  10 I delight greatly in the LORD; my soul rejoices in my God. For he has clothed me with garments of salvation and arrayed me in a robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom adorns his head like a priest, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.  11 For as the soil makes the sprout come up and a garden causes seeds to grow, so the Sovereign LORD will make righteousness and praise spring up before all nations.

Isaiah in the 6th century BC predicts a time is coming when there will be this glorious year of Jubilee when everything will be made right.  Notice some of these wonderful predictions.  There may not be another chapter in the Bible with a higher rate of MPV; that metaphors per verse.
-Good news to the Poor
-Bind up the broken hearted
-Freedom for the captives
-Comfort those who are mourning
-Instead of ashes on their heads there will be crowns
-Oil of gladness
-Garments of praise
-They will be called priests and ministers
-Everlasting covenant
-Double portion
-Like a wedding couple
-This garden will grow up righteousness and praise

This is good news.  When will this eschatological year of Jubilee happen?  I would like to know when.  This sounds wonderful. When did this good news happen? Well, I know when it began and I know when it will end. Would you like to know?  This amazing year of spiritual Jubilee, this good news, began in Luke chapter 4. 

Luke 4:16-21   He (Jesus)  went to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, and on the Sabbath day he went into the synagogue, as was his custom. And he stood up to read.  17 The scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him. Unrolling it, he found the place where it is written:  18 "The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed,  19 to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor."  20 Then he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant and sat down. The eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fastened on him,  21 and he began by saying to them, "Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing."

Jesus was making a name for himself.  He went from baptism to the desert and from the desert throughout the area healing and preaching and doing wonderful-miraculous things.  And then he went back home; where he was raised; where everyone knew his name; where his mom and siblings still lived; where they knew him as the carpenter’s son.  And they too had heard of what he was doing in the cities around them.  And they invited him to preach at church that Saturday morning.  He unrolled the scroll of Isaiah to chapter 61 and read what we read just a moment ago.  And, in what I imagine was a quiet voice, said, “Today is the beginning of that predicted Year of Jubilee.”  Wow. Jesus, himself announced that in his reading of Isaiah he was beginning to inaugurate the Year of the Lord’s favor.  It was New Year’s Day.  And the year was Jubilee! 

That is good news.  It has finally come.  600 years since Isaiah; they had waited for the Year of the Lord’s Favor and it came in Jesus. What better news could there be?  Jesus ushered in the year of Jubilee.  Good News?
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As I said there is good news and bad news.  Let’s get to the bad news. 

Luke 4:22-24  All spoke well of him and were amazed at the gracious words that came from his lips. "Isn't this Joseph's son?" they asked.  23 Jesus said to them, "Surely you will quote this proverb to me: 'Physician, heal yourself! Do here in your hometown what we have heard that you did in Capernaum.'"  24 "I tell you the truth," he continued, "no prophet is accepted in his hometown.

Surely, the people of Nazareth would be thrilled by their own boy being the fulfillment of Isaiah.  Surely, they would be elated that it was the eschatological year of Jubilee.  Surely, they would be jumping up and down with enthusiasm for the year of the Lord’s Favor was to began right then and right there.  Surely it was good news. But as the old joke goes, my name is not Shirley, and it was not good news. 

The bad news was not only were they not thrilled, they instead were skeptical.  They recognized his gracious words but they are having trouble with who Jesus claimed to be.  Remember last week Satan was looking for more opportune times.  Here’s one.  The hometown church wanted Jesus to prove he was who he claimed to be.  “Do what you did in Capernaum. Show us a miracle.  We will believe you are special when you prove it to us.  Do what you did every where else.  Show off for us, Jesus, or we are not going to accept you.  Prove it.”  Once again it’s Satan’s temptation to show off at church.  

Jesus answered proverb with proverb.  “Physician heal yourself,” is answered by, “No prophet is accepted in his hometown.”  They could not accept that he was the Messiah.  He was just Joseph’s boy, he wasn’t any better than they were.  The bad news for Jesus was, “They could not accept who he was.” 
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So, Jesus tells them what is going to happen.  Because they, the people of Nazareth – and symbolically all of  Israel - rejected the Year of Jubilee, so it was going to the rest of the world.

Luke 4:25-27   I assure you that there were many widows in Israel in Elijah's time, when the sky was shut for three and a half years and there was a severe famine throughout the land.  26 Yet Elijah was not sent to any of them, but to a widow in Zarephath in the region of Sidon.  27 And there were many in Israel with leprosy in the time of Elisha the prophet, yet not one of them was cleansed-- only Naaman the Syrian."

Two other prophets – Elijah and Elisha both took their good news to gentiles; Naaman the Syrian and the widow of Zarephath.  The year of Jubilee was going to pass by the town of Nazareth because they would not believe and it was going to… remember the last line of Isaiah 61?

Isaiah 61:11 For as the soil makes the sprout come up and a garden causes seeds to grow, so the Sovereign LORD will make righteousness and praise spring up before all nations.

So the bad news for Jesus was his hometown, where he spent most of 30 years of his life; where he played with the neighbor kids, where he went to Sabbath School and played football and graduated from high school and made furniture for everyone in town, where his sisters were all married, and where his mother endured her shame…  they rejected him.  So, the bad news is baptism not only leads to temptation, but often to rejection. 

Luke 4:28-30  All the people in the synagogue were furious when they heard this.  29 They got up, drove him out of the town, and took him to the brow of the hill on which the town was built, in order to throw him down the cliff.  30 But he walked right through the crowd and went on his way.
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What is the good news?  It is the Year of Jubilee.  I also have a wonderful announcement.  It is still the Year of the Lord’s Favor.  It still is that wonderful 50th year of celebration.  We are still living in the good news to the poor and the freedom of the prisoner.  We are ministers of wonderful news.  Break the chains.  Release the captives.  Bind up the brokenhearted.  We have good news which will last till he comes again. 

But we also are going to experience the bad news of rejection. Our baptism after leading us to temptation may also lead us to rejection, even rejection by those who are closest to us; maybe even our hometown.  So, what do we do?  How do we handle rejection?  If baptism leads to rejection, how do we keep going?  It kind of puts a damper on the Jubilee when those you most love turn it down.  How do you keep on Jubileeing in spite of rejection?

Our temptation is to keep our mouths shut.  We have a nice little church.  Am I right?  Let’s keep this jubilee thing to ourselves.  The rest of our town can go to… Well we don’t think about that. We will just do our own little celebration amongst ourselves.  We will keep the year of the Lord’s favor quiet.  “After all it’s their own fault.” 

How did Jesus keep on jubileeing?  Let’s keep reading excerpts from the rest of chapter 4. 

Luke 4:32   They were amazed at his teaching, because his message had authority.

Luke 4:36   All the people were amazed and said to each other, "What is this teaching? With authority and power he gives orders to evil spirits and they come out!"

Luke 4:41  Moreover, demons came out of many people, shouting, "You are the Son of God!" But he rebuked them and would not allow them to speak, because they knew he was the Christ.

Luke 4:43-44  "I must preach the good news of the kingdom of God to the other towns also, because that is why I was sent."  And he kept on preaching in the synagogues of Judea.

How did Jesus keep on Jubileeing?  How did he continue to release the captives and heal the sick and preach the good news in spite of this devastating dismissal?  How could Jesus keep on when his own so violently rejected him?  How could he keep on going when he knew the ultimate rejection was waiting on the horizon? How could he keep Jubileeing?

Jesus knew who he was playing for.  Jesus knew it wasn’t about what he wanted. It wasn’t about his pride. It wasn’t about his acceptance or his recognition or his worthiness or his approval rating. It wasn’t about what others thought about him.  It wasn’t about who he was, oddly enough as the Son of God.  The year of the Lord’s favor is about…

Luke 4:18-19  preaching good news to the poor… proclaiming freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind… releasing the oppressed… proclaiming the year of the Lord's favor.

He knew who he was playing for? He was convinced that the Year of the Lord’s favor was good news.  He was playing for the people.  He was playing for the souls of all those who would listen.  So, he kept on preaching.

We keep on Jubileeing in spite of rejection because we know who we are playing for!  God has given us good news.  Yes, some will reject us. But that really doesn’t make any difference because others will receive the good news!  And that will make all the difference in the world to them for all eternity.  The year of the Lord’s favor is too good to keep quiet.  We must jubilee!

Prayer: Lord, help us to see Jubilee.  Make us so full of good news that we have to share it.  Convince us to play for others.  Proclaim the Year of the Lord’s favor through us!