To change the world is Jesus’ mission and the mission of those who claim to follow Him

To change the world is Jesus’ mission and the mission of those who claim to follow Him

This happened at the very start of Jesus’ public ministry - immediately after his baptism by John the Baptist and the forty days in the wilderness wrestling with the devil.

Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Holy Spirit and the news about him spread through the whole countryside.

He went to Nazareth, where He had been brought up and on the Sabbath day He went to the Synagogue, as was His custom. And He stood up to read. The scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to Him. Unrolling it, He found a place where it is written:

 “The spirit of the Lord is on me because He has anointed me to preach the good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom to the prisoners, the recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed, to proclaim the year of God’s favor”.

 Then He rolled scroll and give it back to the attendant and sat down. The eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fastened on him and He begun by saying to them, “Today, this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing” (See Luke 4: 14-21).

The passage Jesus read is a messianic prophecy that envisioned a future messiah who would be both king and servant.

In all probability, this is Jesus’ first public statement of his identity as a Messiah. What He said is a declaration of who He is and why He had come. It laid out the great promises of God to those who receive the Messiah and his coming kingdom, just as Jesus promised in the Beatitudes.

Here, we could see that the recipients of the Good News Jesus proclaimed, are first and foremost, the poor, indicating that the proclamation of the “Good News” includes the compassion for the sick and the sorrowful. Jesus is concerned not just for our spiritual condition, but for our physical well-being as well. Time after time in his ministry He healed the diseased and the lame. He showed empathy for the poor, the hungry, and restored sight to the blind. Jesus came to bind the broken hearted. He cared about addressing poverty, disease, and human brokenness in tangible ways.

Also, He came to proclaim freedom to prisoners, to release the oppressed, and to proclaim the year of God’s favor, to liberate the victims of injustice – political, social or economic. In the Old Testament, during the “Year of God’s Favor” slaves were set free, debts were forgiven, and all land was returned to its original owners. It was a way of protecting the rich to become too rich, and the poor, too poor. (see Luke 4: 18-19).

Evangelization, then, is more than a verbal proclamation of the “Good News” of salvation and how it can be received by anyone by asking God’s forgiveness and committing his or her life to Christ.  Evangelization, also encompasses tangible compassion for the sick and the poor, as well as well as biblical justice. It encompasses   efforts to right the wrong that are so prevalent in our world. God is concerned about the spiritual, physical and the social dimensions of our being.

The Gospel is truly the “Good News” for the poor. It is the foundation for a social revolution that has the power to change the world. To change the world was Jesus’ mission. It is also the mission of all who claim to follow Him. It is my mission. It is your mission. It is the mission of the Church.