The Spirit of the Lord is upon me

FRIDAY 10 JANUARY (Lk 4,14-22)

What Jesus reveals in the synagogue of Nazareth is not a revelation, it is not even a statement, it is instead a testimony made on a solid historical foundation, also attested by John the Baptist: “After all the people had been baptized and Jesus also had been baptized and was praying, heaven was opened and the holy Spirit descended upon him in bodily form like a dove. And a voice came from heaven, “You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased””  (Lc 3,21-22). The next day he saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world. He is the one of whom I said, ‘A man is coming after me who ranks ahead of me because he existed before me.’ I did not know him, but the reason why I came baptizing with water was that he might be made known to Israel.” John testified further, saying, “I saw the Spirit come down like a dove from the sky and remain upon him. I did not know him, but the one who sent me to baptize with water told me, ‘On whomever you see the Spirit come down and remain, he is the one who will baptize with the holy Spirit.’ Now I have seen and testified that he is the Son of God”” (Jn 1,29-34). Jesus does not receive the Holy Spirit to accomplish a mission like that of Moses or Joshua or Samson or David or Elijah or others who preceded him in the Old Testament. The mission that Jesus will have to accomplish is that of Christ of God or Messiah of the Lord. This is why the Spirit was given to him.

But Jesus, until the moment of interrogation in the Sanhedrin, never revealed himself as the Messiah or Christ, but always as a true Prophet or Son of man. Revealing himself as the expected Messiah would have meant the immediate end of his mission. For this motive or supernatural and not human, not earthly reason and not even of fear, in the synagogue of Nazareth, He also reveals himself, but only as a man of God, as his prophet, as a person sent to carry out a spiritual and divine ministry. No word on the kingdom of God to be rebuilt, no mention on David’s hut to be reconstructed. In the mission to be carried out, all the true and divine messianism is also contained, but it is not in evidence. For this reason Jesus makes use of this prophecy and not of others, in which messianism was strongly manifested. In this truly Jesus attests to be full of the Holy Spirit. Only the Spirit of the Lord knows the hearts and only He knows what words to say in the assembly, in which there are people who are also waiting for a tiny spark to ignite a great forest and ruin millennia of patient and meticulous work of the Lord.

Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit, and news of him spread throughout the whole region. He taught in their synagogues and was praised by all. He came to Nazareth, where he had grown up, and went according to his custom  into the synagogue on the sabbath day. He stood up to read and was handed a scroll of the prophet Isaiah. He unrolled the scroll and found the passage where it was written: “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring glad tidings to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, and to proclaim a year acceptable to the Lord.” Rolling up the scroll, he handed it back to the attendant and sat down, and the eyes of all in the synagogue looked intently at him. He said to them, “Today this scripture passage is fulfilled in your hearing.” And all spoke highly of him and were amazed at the gracious words that came from his mouth.

If Jesus is the true prophet of the Most High God, he must not make any sign. The sign of the truth of the prophet is the Word uttered by him. Always speaking the prophet in the name of the Lord and saying only his Word, this must necessarily be fulfilled. Having been fulfilled, it is the Word that attests to the truth of the prophet. However, in the promises of the Father Jesus is not only the Prophet. He is also the King and Priest. The Prophet says the Word. The King governs the people according to the Word. The Priest offers himself as a sacrifice and holocaust from the Father to atone for the sin of the world. Three ministries are the ones that say the totality of the ministry and mission of Christ the Lord. But, today, in the synagogue it was the right thing that he revealed himself only as the true prophet of the Most High.

Mother of God, Angels and Saints, make us in Christ, with Christ and through Christ, wise in the Spirit.