RAP SHEET Luke 4:13-21

REVIEW

This week, we reached a significant milestone in Luke — after 25 weeks of preparation, we finally see Jesus begin His public ministry.

Luke says,

“Then Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit, and news about him spread throughout the entire vicinity.” (Luke 4:14 CSB)

That phrase — “in the power of the Spirit” — is key. Throughout this chapter, Luke keeps emphasizing how Jesus is filled, led, and empowered by the Holy Spirit.

To help us picture that, we looked at a powerful analogy: We often think of being “filled with the Spirit” like a cup being filled with water — we have some, then lose some, and then need to refill. However, Scripture uses the word Pneuma, meaning Spirit or Wind. So, we’re not like cups that need more water — we’re like sailboats.

The Spirit is always blowing, always moving. The question is not “Is there wind?” but “Have I raised my sails?”When our hearts are open and surrendered, we catch the wind of the Spirit and move in His power. When we close off our sails — through pride, distraction, or self-reliance — we drift, stuck and powerless.

That’s exactly what Jesus models here: He moves in complete surrender to the Father’s direction, “in the power of the Spirit,” and begins proclaiming good news to the world.

He goes to His hometown synagogue, takes the scroll of Isaiah, and intentionally reads this passage:

“The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to set free the oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.” (Luke 4:18–19 CSB)

Then He sits down and says:

“Today, as you listen, this Scripture has been fulfilled.” (v.21)

This is Jesus’ public announcement that He is the promised Messiah — the one anointed to bring freedom, healing, and hope.

But notice what He doesn’t read. Isaiah’s prophecy continues: “…and the day of our God’s vengeance.”Jesus stops before that line, declaring that right now is not a day of judgment — it’s the era of grace, what He calls “the year of the Lord’s favor.”

We are living in that same era — the Church Age — a time when God’s favor and Spirit are poured out through His people. Jesus started His ministry in the power of the Spirit, and now His followers are called to live and move by that same wind.

APPLY

Use these questions to help your group reflect on Jesus’ declaration and how it impacts their own lives:

1. What does it mean that Jesus proclaimed “the year of the Lord’s favor”?

• How does knowing you live in a time of grace and invitation change the way you see God?

• How does it affect the way you see people who are still far from Him?

2. The Holy Spirit is the wind — we are the sails.

• Where have your “sails” been raised — open and responsive to the Spirit’s movement?

• Where have you kept them closed — resistant, distracted, or trying to control your own direction?

3. Jesus’ mission was to bring good news to the poor, sight to the blind, and freedom to the oppressed.

• Where have you seen that good news at work in your own life?

• How can you carry that same message of freedom and favor to others this week?

What is ONE WAY you will raise your sails and let the Spirit move you this week — at home, at work, or in your relationships?

PRAY

• Thank God for sending Jesus to proclaim “the year of the Lord’s favor.” Thank Him that we live in an era of grace, not judgment.

• Take a moment to confess where your “sails” have been closed — where fear, pride, or distraction have kept you from catching the wind of the Spirit.

• Ask the Holy Spirit to fill your life, guide your direction, and move you with His power.

• Pray that MetaChurch would live wide open to the Spirit’s movement — proclaiming freedom, hope, and favor to the people of San Antonio and beyond.