INTRODUCTION
With my last blog, I entered the general area of healing! We looked at Isa. 61,1-3, and the role of the Messiah. Today I want to continue, by looking at Luke 4,18. And I will end with a later blog on Acts 10,38.
I am thus holding these three scriptures together as summarising the ministry of Jesus: Isaiah 61,1-3, Lk. 4,18 and Acts 10,38.
But before I get onto Luke 4,18, I need to clear the way for some understanding. So bear with me!
THE LOCUS AND THE SCOPE OF SALVATION
I want to start by making a comment on New Testament theology in general. Since the Reformation and Martin Luther, Protestantism has had a great emphasis on the writings of St. Paul. As this has come across in the church´s teaching the Christian faith has predominantly been about the personal justification before God of the sinner; and for many this has amounted to the salvation of the soul. I do not for one minute dispute that the themes of justification, redemption and reconciliation are central to the theology of Paul! NEITHER DO I DISPUTE HOW IMPORTANT THESE THEMES ARE FOR OUR CHRISTIAN FAITH!
GOD IS CONCERNED WITH THE WHOLE MAN
However, what complicates our understanding of Paul is our reading into his theology of the idea of man as a bipartite being (body and soul; the soul being immortal) – theologians understand this, but I am not sure that the general public always do! We have inherited the body-soul concept from Greek philosophy (Plato). It was imported into the church after the apostolic age. When the Christian faith after the passing of the apostles, established itself in the Graeco-Roman environment of the Roman Empire, its theologians and intellectuals were largely Greek-speaking, Greek-educated individuals. It was I suspect unavoidable that Greek philosophy should thus find its way into both the defence of the faith against heresy, and also in the establishing of sound doctrine. It has followed us ever since, and had an immense impact on the way we think about many things in the West. This has often lead to the interpretation that salvation is for the soul. The body takes second place, if at all any place, in the plan of God for eternal life. But the Semites, the Hebrews did not think like this at all – they thought of man holistically. When Paul uses the tripartite formula of body, soul and spirit (1 Thess. 5,23), he does not mean that man has three parts; these terms describe the whole man as he relates to God, the world and his emotional and rational existence. And God is interested in the whole man body, soul and spirit; salvation encompasses all. The end goal of our existence will not be an existence as naked souls without a body (an idea abhorrent to the Jews). Read 1 Corinthians 15 on this. We are to receive transformed bodies in the resurrection.
According to the New Testament, the body matters to God! Both what we do with it in the present, and its general health matter to God! Salvation is for the whole man, and encompasses our bodily, mental/emotional and spiritual existence.
THE LOCUS OF SALVATION
It is my impression that with this powerful focus on Paul, as the interpreter of the Christian message, the 4 gospels have taken a second place, a back seat. Yet it is undeniable that they shed important light on Jesus and his ministry, and on what salvation is all about – that is why they were written! We should also remember that they are all generally dated after the letters of Paul. The Christian church was evolving. It cannot be excluded that here and there, in these texts there may be a corrective to the way Paul was being interpreted at the time of their writing. They all bear apostolic authority and must be taken fully into consideration in our understanding of what the gospel message is all about!
It is easy when reading Paul to get the impression that salvation happened for us on the Cross. Jesus Christ was set forth to be a propitiation by his blood for our sins, thus placing us by faith in a right relationship with God. This teaching of Paul is of course of vital importance for us. But reading the gospels teaches us to see, I believe, that in fact salvation was being revealed long before that. It was being revealed throughout Jesus´ministry.
The early church had a saying: “What he has not taken upon himself, he has not healed!” There is a sense in which that healing process started with the fact of the Incarnation. He took humanity upon himself; he bore our sins; he took upon himself our sicknesses and carried our diseases (Mt. 8,17/Isa. 53).
AN INSIGHT FROM HEBREWS
In the letter to the Hebrews we read:
“In as much as the children have partaken of flesh and blood, he himself likewise shared in the same, that through death, He might destroy him who had the power over death, that is the devil.” (Heb. 2,14)
And then in verse 16:
“For verily he took not on him the nature of angels; but he took on him the seed of Abraham.”
That was the KJV from 1611.
I want to look at the translation of this verse, as the ESV, and other English translations have it:
“For surely it is not angels that he helps, but he helps the offspring of Abraham.” ESV
“For surely it is not angels he helps, but Abrahams descendants” (NIV)
“For indeed He does not give aid to angels, but He does give aid to the seed of Abraham” (NKJV)
Notice the words that are emphasised.
The verb in both parts of the sentence, is the Greek verb επιλαμβανεσθαι/epilambanesthai. This is a compound of the preposition επι/epi, which by itself generelly means upon, and the verb λαμβανεσθαι/lambanesthai, which means to take. Different things can happen when prepositions are joined to verbs, but generally the sense of the verb is modified in some way. One of these ways is to intensify the meaning of the verb – so here, with επιλαμβανεσθαι. And it is the translator who must try and decide how much the verb is to be intensified, so as to make good sense! He should also seek to document this use from other ancient literature.
So intensifying take, you can get the sense which most translators use today; to take into ones care, to help, to aid. And that does make sense in the context.
However, I believe the translators of the KJV in 1611 hit the nail on the head when they took the sense even further.They translated επιλαμβανεσθαι with to take upon oneself (there is at least Hellenistic evidence for the meaning take hold of, see also Heb. 8,9 and Mt. 14,31). This also takes into account επι, meaning upon.
Thus, the KJV translation of Heb. 2,16 is:
“For verily he took not on him the nature of angels; but he took on him the seed of Abraham.”
To me, this makes not only good contextual sense taken with verse 14, but also deep theological sense!
Jesus took us upon himself. He took upon himself our sins, our suffering, our pains, whether it be physical sickness or mental/emotional trauma, he took it upon himself. That is why dear friend he is able to heal!
So, my last blog was on the healing of the broken-hearted. I didn’t explain there why that is possible, just that it is – the Lord will heal the broken-hearted. Here is the reason: He took us upon himself, and was victorious from the dead! See Heb. 2,14.
SO DO WE READ PAUL OR THE GOSPELS? – CONCLUSION
With regard to salvation, Paul’s letters focus on justification by faith; which is foundational for us. They are also for many other reasons vital for us to read. The gospels on the other hand help us to see Jesus the Messiah, and his ministry including the Cross, and that the totality of his words and deeds have significance for our salvation, for our redemption! Is it a matter of choosing either to read Paul or the gospels? NO!! I AM NOT SAYING THAT! WE REALLY NEED THEM BOTH! They shed light on each other!
SALVATION AND THE WRITINGS OF LUKE
Looking now at Luke! If you want to check out Luke as a gospel writer, and also the author of Acts, you can read my blog “The Nativity of the Christ” here: https://bibleandfaith.com/luke-the-nativity-of-christ/
It has been strongly argued (Howard Marshall) that the central theme of Luke in both the gospel and Acts, is the theme of salvation (Luke – Historian and Theologian, I. Howard Marshall 1988). What form does this salvation take? Suffice it to say, that though it culminates in the events of Calvary, it is broader than just the Cross. Indeed, Luke is said not to have worked out any theory of atonement (ibid. p. 209), though he is certainly aware of the necessity of Christ’s sufferings (LK. 24,13-35). For Luke, salvation is revealed in the person and the ministry of Jesus (ibid. p. 216).
Luke is concerned to show Jesus´compassion for the poor, the downtrodden, the outcast. As a physician he is concerned with the sick (as are the other gospels); see e.g. 9,11, which adds a “Lukan touch”, a doctor’s concern, not present in that way in the other gospels; “he (Jesus) cured those who had need of healing”. Luke shows that Jesus came to bring salvation to all of these groups; to bring the grace, the mercy, the forgiveness, the restitution, the healing and the love of God to them all – and to put them in a right relationship with himself. Think of the wonderful parables of Jesus which only Luke records (e.g. see Lk. 10: the Good Samaritan; Lk. 15: The Prodigal Son). And he was anointed with the Holy Spirit and power (Acts 10,38) to bring the salvation of God, and then to suffer (Lk. 24,13-27).
LUKE 4,18
Having said all this, let us now turn to Lk. 4,18; which as was mentioned in the last blog, is a citation from Isa. 61,1-3 read in the synagogue at Nazareth at the inauguration of Jesus´ministry:
“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed,”
Luke 4:18
You will notice that in modern translations of Luke 4,18, the phrase ἰάσασθαι τοὺς συντετριμμένους τῇ καρδίᾳ/to heal the broken-hearted, is dropped. Whether it is to be read in the original text of Luke or not, it is impossible to say for certain. It is not in the best (earliest) manuscripts we possess. The text from Isaiah has the verb ίαεσθαι, to heal. Of the 26 times this verb is used in the New Testament, 20 of them are in Luke´s writing. He reserves it for physical healing (see e.g. Lk. 5,17). Perhaps he thought he would save it for that, and not use it for healing of the mind and emotions? Perhaps that is why he dropped the phrase: “to heal the broken-hearted?
But he includes a phrase from Isaiah 58,6, which is not included in 61,1-3: ἀποστεῖλαι τεθραυσμένους ἐν ἀφέσει/to set at liberty those who are downtrodden, the oppressed.
In the phrase “to set at liberty those who are oppressed (“ἀποστεῖλαι τεθραυσμένους ἐν ἀφέσει”) the verb for oppressed, θραύειν/thrauein is used.
It’s meaning: 1. to break in pieces (of pottery) 2. to weaken, to oppress
I want to look at these two expressions:
ἰάσασθαι τοὺς συντετριμμένους τῇ καρδίᾳ/to heal the broken-hearted
and
ἀποστεῖλαι τεθραυσμένους ἐν ἀφέσει/to set at liberty those who are downtrodden, the oppressed/ the crushed
Both expressions start with an infinitive: to heal: ἰάσασθαι, and to to set at liberty: ἀποστεῖλαι ἐν ἀφέσει, which is not particularly significant
But the “broken-hearted: “συντετριμμένους, and the downtrodden, those who are crushed: τεθραυσμένους are both perfect passive participles in Greek!
The significance of these verbal forms, is to understand what they express, which is that the state of the broken-hearted, of the crushed/downtrodden/oppressed is the result of external forces and pressures. It is these states, that the Messiah came to reverse, through his ministry. In the case of physical sickness, certainly Acts 10,38 will attribute these forces to the devil!
TO PREACH GOOD NEWS TO THE POOR
It is to the poor that the gospel is preached (4,18)! The above participles relate to them. These are not just people with few material resources, but people of low social status. Shepherds would be an example. It is among them that the broken-hearted and the downtrodden ones; the ones who are crushed, are to be found! It is the spiritually poor who know their need of divine help and who wait upon God to hear his word. Note here the link to Mt. 5,3: Blessed are the poor in spirit, for their’s is the Kingdom of Heaven.
That the Messiah will liberate, points in the gospel to forgiveness and restoration both spiritually and socially (see 5,27-32 and 7,36-50). The oppressed are to be restored physically, spiritually and socially; they are to be brought into the community of the Kingdom of God. They belong in His house! The Messiah was anointed to destroy the work of the devil in all its forms!
THE LORD JESUS IS KING!😀👍
PSALM 46
I want finally to share with you psalm 46! Such a wonderful psalm.. Note the words I emphasise!👍
46 God is our refuge and strength,
a very present help in trouble.
2 Therefore we will not fear though the earth gives way,
though the mountains be moved into the heart of the sea,
3 though its waters roar and foam,
though the mountains tremble at its swelling. Selah
4 There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God,
the holy habitation of the Most High.
5 God is in the midst of her; she shall not be moved;
God will help her when morning dawns.
6 The nations rage, the kingdoms totter;
he utters his voice, the earth melts.
7 The Lord of hosts is with us;
the God of Jacob is our fortress. Selah
8 Come, behold the works of the Lord,
how he has brought desolations on the earth.
9 He makes wars cease to the end of the earth;
he breaks the bow and shatters the spear;
he burns the chariots with fire.
10 “Be still, and know that I am God.
I will be exalted among the nations,
I will be exalted in the earth!”
11 The Lord of hosts is with us;
the God of Jacob is our fortress. Selah
The holy habitation of the Most High is now within us! We are the temples of the Most High God. There is a river in our midst (the Spirit), which shall deliver, which shall make glad. We shall not be moved. 😀👌👍
PS:
In the text, I forgot to note that in the phrase ἰάσασθαι τοὺς συντετριμμένους τῇ καρδίᾳ/to heal the broken-hearted, the verb behind broken hearted is συντριβείν/syntribein. The main meanings of this verb are to shatter, smash, crush! So there you have it!😊
I should also say the saying in the Early Church “What he has not taken upon himself, he has not healed!”, of course is not based on a particular translation of Heb. 2,16 – that is just me seeking to illustrate it. It is no doubt based on a totality reading of the New Testament. 😊