Scripture Reading: Luke 4:19, 43; 8:10; 9:22-36; 11:20; 17:20-21
Ⅰ
In his Gospel, Luke writes in such a way as to cover different points related to the jubilee—4:19:
A
The proclamation of the jubilee in chapter 4 is a governing principle both for Luke's writing of this book and for our understanding of it; whatever is mentioned in chapters 4 through 24 is related to the jubilee either directly or indirectly.
B
Our understanding of the Gospel of Luke should be governed by the principle of the jubilee.
Ⅱ
The kingdom of God is the reality and content of the jubilee—4:19, 43:
A
Without the kingdom of God there is no jubilee; it is only in the kingdom of God that we have the jubilee—11:20; 17:20-21:
１
The jubilee is a matter of releasing the captives and of recovering the right to the enjoyment of the Triune God; the same is true of the kingdom of God—Acts 26:18; 28:23, 31.
２
The kingdom of God, like the jubilee, is the return of the captives and the recovery of the divine inheritance—Col. 1:12-13.
B
To proclaim the kingdom of God is to announce the jubilee—Luke 4:19, 43:
１
"To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord, the year of jubilee"—v. 19:
ａ
The acceptable year of the Lord is the New Testament age, typified by the year of jubilee—Lev. 25:8-17.
ｂ
The New Testament age is the time when God accepts the returned captives of sin and when those oppressed under the bondage of sin enjoy the release of God's salvation and keep the New Testament jubilee— Isa. 49:8; 2 Cor. 6:2.
２
"I must announce the gospel of the kingdom of God…, because for this I was sent"—Luke 4:43:
ａ
The kingdom of God is the Savior as the seed of life sown into His believers, God's chosen people, and developing into a realm where God can rule in His kingdom in His divine life—17:21; Mark 4:3, 26.
ｂ
The entrance into the kingdom of God is regeneration, and the development of the kingdom is the believers' growth in the divine life—John 3:5; 2 Pet. 1:3-11.
ｃ
The kingdom of God is the church life today, in which the faithful believers live, and it will develop into the coming kingdom as a reward to be inherited by the overcoming saints in the millennium—Rom. 14:17; Gal. 5:21; Eph. 5:5; Rev. 20:4, 6.
ｄ
Eventually, the kingdom of God will consummate in the New Jerusalem as the eternal kingdom of God, an eternal realm of the eternal blessing of God's eternal life, which all God's redeemed will enjoy in the new heaven and new earth for eternity—21:1-5; 22:1-5.
ｅ
The kingdom of God is what the Savior announced as the gospel, the good news, to those who were alienated from the life of God—Eph. 4:18.
C
The Lord's speaking concerning the kingdom of God was the positive aspect of the jubilee—the recovery of the right to enjoy God—and His healing the sick and casting out demons were the negative aspect of the jubilee—the release of the captives—Luke 4:31-43; 8:10; 11:20; 17:20-21.
Ⅲ
For the enjoyment of the jubilee there is the need of transfiguration— 9:27-36:
A
If we have a bird's-eye view of the entire Gospel of Luke and understand it according to the principle of the jubilee declared in chapter 4, we will see that the transfiguration in chapter 9 is related to the jubilee.
B
The Lord Jesus was fully transfigured in His resurrection—Mark 9:2-9.
C
When we are in our old man, we do not enjoy the jubilee; if we remain in the old creation, we cannot enjoy the jubilee—Rom. 6:3-6; 2 Cor. 5:17.
D
Transformation is for the enjoyment of the jubilee; this transformation is depicted by the transfiguration of the Lord Jesus—3:18; Rom. 12:2; Mark 9:2:
１
Only in a transfigured state can we have the enjoyment of the jubilee.
２
The full application and enjoyment of the jubilee require transfiguration.
Ⅳ
If we would be transfigured to enjoy the jubilee, we need to identify ourselves with Christ in His all-inclusive death and live in His resurrection—Rom. 6:6, 8; 2 Tim. 2:11; Luke 9:22-26:
A
We must take up the cross and follow Him by denying the soul-life—vv. 23-24.
B
The jubilee has been carried out by the death of Christ; for us to participate in this jubilee, we need to be identified with Him in His death—Gal. 2:20:
１
The Lord Jesus died to accomplish the jubilee; today in our experience we die with Him in order to enjoy the jubilee—Rom. 6:6, 8; 2 Cor. 5:14-15.
２
First, there was the need for Christ's death to carry out the jubilee; now there is the need for us to identify ourselves with Him in His death so that we may enjoy the jubilee—Luke 9:22-26.
C
Taking up the cross and following the Lord by denying the soul-life are necessary for us to participate in the jubilee; if we would participate in the jubilee accomplished by Christ's death, we must take up the cross and deny the soul-life and then live with Him in resurrection—vv. 23-24; 2 Tim. 2:11.
D
As we are identified with Christ in His death, this death will cross out the natural life and the old creation so that, in His resurrection, we may enter into the new creation, into a transfigured condition, to have the full enjoyment of the jubilee in the kingdom of the Son of God's love—Luke 9:23-36; Col. 1:13.