Those who have attended a conference or a workshop will know the value of a good introduction. It is helpful to be told by the presenter at the beginning what he or she intends to speak about and what he or she hopes to achieve.
Early in St Luke’s Gospel we have the account of Jesus’ first public engagement. Significantly, he went back to his own home village of Nazareth to launch his ministry. In the local synagogue on the Sabbath day surrounded by family and neighbours Jesus set out his stall, he told his listeners what he was going to do:
“The Spirit of the Lord has been given to me, for he has anointed me. He sent me to bring the good news to the poor, to proclaim liberty to captives and to the blind new sight, to set the downtrodden free to proclaim the Lord’s year of favour.” (Luke 4: 18-19)
From the very beginning Jesus made it clear that his work was about liberation. He had come to free people from the things in their lives that were imprisoning them, burdening them, weighing them down, preventing them from living life to the full. What concerned Jesus was:
- Negative and narrow thinking that cloud the mind
- Selfishness and resentment that hold the heart captive
- Rejection and fear that create hurt and isolation
- Oppression and exploitation that cause conflict and poverty
These were the things that Jesus fought against. These were the things that he sought to heal and to change. These were the things that caused him great suffering and in the end led to his death. The purpose of the life, death and resurrection of Jesus was to liberate humanity from evil in all its forms and expressions.