The power of Jubilee
Passages: Mark 1:9-11, Luke 4:16-19, 1 Corinthians 2:1-5
Preacher: Mark Kingston
Jubilee. The year of the Lord’s favor. Forgiveness. Freedom. Restoration. Provision.
It’s beautiful. Stunning, breathtaking, and so so needed.
We long for it, but we can’t seem to make it happen. We see the brokenness. The addictions that won’t let go. The relationships that won’t heal. The systems that keep people trapped. But no matter how hard we try, we can’t force forgiveness. We can’t manufacture freedom. We can’t will restoration into being. It’s impossible. For us at least.
But not for Jesus.
Here’s the mystery: though He was fully God, when He walked the earth, He didn’t operate out of His own divine power. He set that aside (see Philippians 2:5-8) and lived like us. Dependent on God for everything. So how did Jesus do it?
Well, remember His baptism? The sky rips open. The Spirit descends like a dove. And the God the Father speaks out: “This is my Son, whom I love.”
Before Jesus heals a single person….before He preaches a single sermon….before He proclaims good news to the poor or sets any captives free, He is told by His Father how much He is loved.
That comes first. That always comes first!
Secure in His identity as God’s beloved son, Jesus is empowered and directed by the Holy Spirit. It is the Holy Spirit who leads Him into the world’s brokenness. It’s in the power of the Holy Spirit that he declares, “Jubilee has arrived! The year of God’s favour is here!”
This is the pattern. Jesus lived from a place of belovedness. He didn’t just know this at the beginning of his ministry. He maintained it by regularly withdrawing to pray, to listen and just to be in God the Father’s presence. And from that deep relationship, the Holy Spirit led Him and empowered Him.
So…what if we’ve been doing it backwards? What if we’ve chased God’s direction and longed for His power, but we have skipped the part where we take time to know the God who loves us?
What if we’re trying to bring Jubilee - trying to heal, restore, and set free - without first being with the One who does the healing, restoring, and freeing? Remember, Jubilee isn’t our idea. It’s a God thing. His timing. His power.
So, what’s the invitation to us? It’s not to try harder. Not to fix everything ourselves. But to be like children again. To get to know - deep in our bones - that we are His deeply loved children. To hear His voice. To rest in His presence.
It’s from that place that we’ll be empowered and guided. It’s from that place that Jubilee will flow!
Questions
Before Jesus did anything - before healing, preaching, or setting people free - God told Him, “You are my Son, and I love you.” Why do you think that had to come first? What changes when we live out of a deep conviction that God loves us, instead of living out of an insecurity that we need to earn His love?
We want to see people healed. Relationships fixed. Freedom where there’s addiction or oppression. But no matter how hard we try, we can’t make it happen on our own. Have you ever felt that struggle? What happens when we push and push but don’t see the results we’re hoping for?
The good news is, we don’t have to come up with the big plan to fix the world. God is already at work (remember that line in the song we sometimes sing called “Waymaker”: “even when I don’t see it you’re working!”). How does that change the way we think and feel about things like justice, healing, or making a difference in our community?
Jesus said we need to receive the Kingdom like children. What do you think that means? And how could you practice being more like a child when it comes to trusting God and resting in His love?
Have you had any experiences of seeing a jubilee-style breakthrough flow from a place of rest and child-like dependence?
