Nehemiah 8: 1 all the people came together as one. They told Ezra the teacher of the Law to bring out the Book of the Law of Moses, which the Lord had commanded for Israel.
2 So Ezra the priest brought the Law before the assembly, which was made up of men and women and all who were able to understand. 3 He read it aloud from daybreak till noon in the presence of the men, women and others who could understand. And all the people listened attentively to the Book of the Law.
5 Ezra opened the book. All the people could see him because he was standing above them; and as he opened it, the people all stood up. 6 Ezra praised the Lord, the great God; and all the people lifted their hands and responded, “Amen! Amen!” Then they bowed down and worshiped the Lord with their faces to the ground.
8 They read from the Book of the Law of God, making it clear and giving the meaning so that the people understood what was being read.
9 Then Nehemiah the governor, Ezra the priest and teacher of the Law, and the Levites who were instructing the people said to them all, “This day is holy to the Lord your God. Do not mourn or weep.” For all the people had been weeping as they listened to the words of the Law.
10 Nehemiah said, “Go and enjoy choice food and sweet drinks, and send some to those who have nothing prepared. This day is holy to our Lord. Do not grieve, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.”
Today’s lectionary readings present a common theme: the reading of scripture to God’s people. In Nehemiah 8, Ezra the priest reads and explains the Law to Israelites returning from exile. We’re told that as Ezra reads, the people are deeply moved, weeping and mourning. Why? Being a people who had just returned from exile in Babylon, when confronted with God’s Law, they must have been reflecting on their ancestors’ broken covenant with God and their own hardships in exile. “(The community) is faced with a sense of loss and shame, for the land of the promise is no longer theirs in truth. So, a profound sadness and guilt are the first reaction to their understanding of what is read to them.”[i]
In reading the OT passage, I’m reminded of how we did a similar sermon series on the Law just last year. Yet, despite reading and explaining the same laws as Ezra, I can’t seem to recall any weeping and mourning from the congregation. Did any of you cry when I was preaching on the 10 commandments? Maybe we can take a moment to reflect on why our reactions are so different from the Ezra’s audience. Why was there no sadness, loss, shame or guilt?[ii] Truth be told, we did not experience the same events as they did. So we maybe that’s why we reacted differently from them.
But if I may probe a little bit more, did we react just differently, or is it that we reacted indifferently? Is our difference actually a form of indifference to the word of God.
I do think it is a concern if we are so emotionally detached when we listen to the teaching of God’s law. In our lectionary reading of the Psalms, we are reminded in Psalm 19: 7 The law of the Lord is perfect,
refreshing the soul.
The statutes of the Lord are trustworthy,
making wise the simple.
8 The precepts of the Lord are right,
giving joy to the heart.
The commands of the Lord are radiant,
giving light to the eyes.
So, even if we can feel less guilt listening to the 10 commandments since our Singapore society is relatively free from oppression and violent crime compared to ancient Israel, but based on Psalm 19, the laws of God should still have an emotional impact on us. We may not be weeping and mourning, but perhaps we should have at least responded to the reading of the Law as described in Psalm 19 with tears of joy and feel spiritually refreshed as we listen to them. To be honest, that is my aim in the second half of the sermon today. We have seen how Ezra’s audience responded, and now we will be the responders this time. We will next be looking at the New Testament reading of the lectionary. However, I hope that this time, through the Holy Spirit, you will be moved by God’s vision in his Law. I’ll give you some time to prepare your tissues. May the words of God enlighten and transform you.
Luke 4: 14 Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit, and news about him spread through the whole countryside. 15 He was teaching in their synagogues, and everyone praised him.
16 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, 17 and the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him. Unrolling it, he found the place where it is written:
18 “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,
19 to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”
20 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. 21 He began by saying to them, “Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.”
In the synagogue in Nazareth, Jesus read from Isaiah 61:1-2. Isaiah 61 describes the year of Jubilee, where the Law states in Leviticus 25, in every 50th year, all debts are forgiven, ancestral lands would be returned to the original families, and those who have sold themselves to slavery would be set free. In the context of ancient Israel, every tribe was allotted a portion of the Promised Land, divided among families to ensure self-sufficiency. However, life doesn’t always go as planned. Misfortunes like bad weather or personal struggles could lead families into financial trouble, forcing them to sell their land or even themselves into servitude. The law does allow a kinsman-redeemer to buy back the land or free the person to keep property within the tribe and family. But without a willing redeemer, redemption was often an unreachable goal.
So, the laws of the Jubilee year served as a reset button. Every 50 years, families regained their ancestral land, offering a fresh start despite prior hardships. In a way, God becomes the redeemer. Even if some may not live to see and experience the Jubilee year, they will at least have the hope that their descendants would begin anew one day. In a world where the rich often get richer and the poor get poorer, the Jubilee year symbolized a promise of restoration and a chance to break the cycle of poverty. Out of all the laws, I think we should be familiar with the laws of the Jubilee year since we are the Jubilee Church.
So, dear Jubileans, do you like the idea of Jubilee? They are great right? Amen? How should we respond and apply them? Unfortunately, there are few who believe that these laws of the Jubilee year were ever implemented in history. The main reason is that for much of the history of Israel and Judah, there wasn’t any righteous leadership that lasted long enough to execute something like this. If you don’t even have basic justice, how can you expect any grace and mercy?
And after the kingdoms fell, they lost the rights to the land. That made it virtually impossible for any ancestral land claims to be reinstated in a Jubilee year even if they wanted to. Yet Jesus declared that “Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.” Since it is no longer possible to take the Jubilee year laws literally, there are two ways in which the fulfilment of the Jubilee year can be interpreted.
The first way is to interpret that in a spiritual sense. The liberation of the Jubilee year now refers to the salvation that Jesus brings to those who are imprisoned by their sins which sets them free from the clutches of death. As Paul declared in Colossians 2: 13 And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with (Jesus Christ) having forgiven us all our trespasses, 14 by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross. The new beginning of the Jubilee year now refers to the new birth in the Holy Spirit. Again, Paul declares in 2 Corinthians 5: 17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!
But since we are talking about good news to the poor in Isaiah 61:1, even though a spiritual new life is good, surely it would be better if this newness is also experienced in a material sense. Otherwise, it would be telling someone needy, “don’t worry about all your sufferings, you now have eternal life.” Jesus’ inclusion of Isaiah 58:6 in his reading underscores that this liberation is holistic, addressing both spiritual and material needs:
7 Is it not to share your food with the hungry
and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter—
when you see the naked, to clothe them,
and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood? (Isaiah 58:7)
So, besides the spiritual way to interpret the Jubilee year, there must be a second way. A material meaning on top of the spiritual meaning: a dual focus that challenges us to embody the principles of Jubilee in our daily lives, bringing both spiritual and tangible hope to those in need. However, we need to be careful. There are those in Jesus’ time who thought that Jesus’ form of Jubilee year, would be to overthrow the Romans, so that the land can be restored to the people of Israel once again. Again, in the 1960s and 70s, Christians known as liberation theologians, who thought that actualizing God’s salvation for the poor means supporting Marxism to overthrow the rich and powerful. But Jesus did not fulfil the Jubilee year in that way. Jesus rejected being actual revolutionary to fulfil his interpretation of God’s laws.
Justo L. González, a well-known Latin American theologian, had this simple but powerful message: don’t be a Christian revolutionary, be a revolutionary Christian.[iii] He meant that following Jesus isn’t just about what we do in church; it’s about showing God’s love in real-life spaces like schools, workplaces, and communities. He encouraged us to serve others, especially those who are struggling, because that’s how God works through us to make a difference.[iv]
González suggests a balanced way to interpret the Jubilee year laws—not only as spiritual salvation but as a vision for renewal in every area of life. The Jubilee year is about the divine promise of a new beginning. No matter how bad things can be, God can bring about a new beginning. So, to be a revolutionary Christian means to practice our faith in new beginnings in our daily lives. As members of Jubilee Church, we carry a unique calling of a Jubilee year, to live out this vision of renewal and liberation. What does this look like in practice? Allow me to suggest three examples.
First, I want to talk about society at large. Jesus fulfils the Jubilee year spiritually and materially by reaching out to those are marginalized. He touches the lepers and the blind. He sits with the prostitutes and the tax collectors. He went out of his way to a mad man possessed by a legion of evil spirits. He did that because he is bringing them a new beginning. In our society today, a new beginning means that we support all programs that enables people to escape the poverty cycle, such as housing subsidies or educational bursaries for poor children, or organisations that help people to restore their lives, such as yellow ribbon projects for ex-convicts. So, you can volunteer or support organisations like ReadAble[v] or Helping Hand. This week, reflect on one way you can contribute in giving a fresh start to someone.
Second, I want to talk about those who are around us. Jesus forgave the woman caught in the act of adultery. Jesus forgave the man lowered from the roof by his friends. We never knew what sins he committed. But after meeting Jesus, he can walk again. To those who are around us, a new beginning means that we take forgiveness for real. Sometimes we claim to have reconciled. But we continue to hold grudges, or we bring up past wrongs when we argue. If we say we can forgive but we cannot forget, if our forgiveness is never complete, how is a new beginning possible? A new beginning should mean restarting the relationship afresh.
Three, I think we can apply a new beginning to our walk with God. Our debts are forgiven, and we have returned to the Promised Land. What’s next? If it was an actual Jubilee year, I believe the family being restored with their ancestral land would be so happy that they would cherish and fully develop the land. I imagine that they will work in the land all the time if they could, since they know what grace this is. They will not squander this new beginning and ever lose it again and wait for another 50 years for the next Jubilee year. What about us? I return to my concern about indifference when listening to God’s word. Today, you understand what Jubilee means. How would you respond? Now that we are reconciled with God, let us cherish this relationship and truly walk closely with God every day.
As we close, let us remember that Jubilee is more than a name—it is our calling. It’s the vision of renewal, liberation, and grace. Let us pray that God empowers us to live this out.
Prayer.
So, dear Jubileans, if anybody asks you, why are you in Jubilee, you should answer this is the place of liberation, where people can have a fresh start. This is the place where we heal the broken-hearted and set the captives free. To anyone who is tormented and think they are stuck in a rut, yes, in Jesus Christ you can walk again. He’s able. To those who feel lost, yes, in Jesus Christ, you can see. He’s able. For this is the place of good news that our Lord Jesus Christ is able to carry you through. Let’s respond with the song: He’s Able.
