Scripture fulfilled
While I was visiting family in Florida a couple of weeks ago we attended worship at their “winter” church. They are snow birds. I was blessed to enjoy their hospitality and the warmth of the sun for a week. The service that particular Sunday was an explanation of the Passover meal as taught by a Jewish believer who has received Jesus as his Messiah. I have always found the symbolism and explanation of the Passover Seder to be very interesting and enlightening. If you have never experienced learning about the Passover Seder I would definitely recommend it. Anyway most of what he shared I was familiar with but he did mention something that I don’t think I had ever noticed before. I love when God does that takes Scripture that you have read time and time again and shows you something new. The speaker stated that a particular portion of the Torah was read each Sabbath similar to the lectionary readings of the Christian Church. Imagine Jesus standing to read, the verses are familiar to those in attendance but then He says “Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.” Luke 4:19 NIV
Wow, that had to be mind blowing to anyone who truly heard. My sister-in-law and I agreed that we both love the idea of the Lectionary – knowing that fellow believers all around the world are reading the same words. I found it so interesting that people of the Jewish faith had a similar system with the Torah. I did a little research to make sure the idea of a Torah portion was truly similar to a lectionary cycle and found the following information in Sermon Writer Resources for Lectionary Preachers Luke 4:14-21 Bible Commentary:
“and stood up to read. The book of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him” (v. 16c-17). This is our oldest detailed account of synagogue worship. The language would be Aramaic, the language of ordinary Jewish people during Jesus’ lifetime. A portion of the Torah would be read in Hebrew, and a Targum or explanation would be given in Aramaic, followed by a reading from the Prophets with explanation. Other elements of worship would include the recitation of the Shema (Deuteronomy 6:49), the Eighteen Benedictions, a psalm, and a benediction (Evans, NIBC, 73; Bock, 88; Stein, 155)
There is some question whether Jesus follows a lectionary or selects his own text. There is some evidence that the Law is read in a cycle, but that the reader chooses the reading from the Prophets (Gilmour, 90). “He…found the place where it was written” (v. 17) sounds as if Jesus chooses his own reading.”
Whether it was the assigned reading for that day or Jesus chose those verses as his reading from the Prophets, what an amazing thing this was. The speaker of the words is the person of whom the words were written.
“He went to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, and on the Sabbath day he went into the synagogue, as was his custom. He stood up to read, and the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him. Unrolling it, he found the place where it is written:
“The Spirit of the Lord is on me,
because he has anointed me
to proclaim good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners
and recovery of sight for the blind,
to set the oppressed free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”Then he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant and sat down. The eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fastened on him. He began by saying to them, “Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.” Luke 4: 16-21 NIV
“He came to Nazareth where he had been reared. As he always did on the Sabbath, he went to the meeting place. When he stood up to read, he was handed the scroll of the prophet Isaiah. Unrolling the scroll, he found the place where it was written,
God’s Spirit is on me;
he’s chosen me to preach the Message of good news to the poor,
Sent me to announce pardon to prisoners and
recovery of sight to the blind,
To set the burdened and battered free,
to announce, “This is God’s year to act!”He rolled up the scroll, handed it back to the assistant, and sat down. Every eye in the place was on him, intent. Then he started in, “You’ve just heard Scripture make history. It came true just now in this place.” Luke 4:16-21 The Message
Powerful.
God’s Word remains to be powerful. I also find the history of the Torah and the Jewish religious traditions to be interesting.
I find learning the history and traditions brings another level of understanding.
Thank you so much for sharing the insight on the Torah, and the Jewish tradition.