The Perfect Storm! | Dr. Conrad Vine

1. The Nazareth Manifesto & Jewish Expectations

Luke 4:18-19 (Quoting Isaiah 61:1-2)

“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”
Isaiah 61:5-7 (The portion Jesus did not read)

“Strangers shall stand and feed your flocks; foreigners shall till your land and dress your vines. You shall be called the priests of the Lord; they shall speak of you as the ministers of our God; you shall eat the wealth of the nations, and in their glory you shall boast. Because your shame was double, and dishonor was proclaimed as your lot, therefore you shall possess a double portion; theirs shall be everlasting joy.”

2. Prophecies of God’s Return to Zion

Malachi 3:1

“The Lord whom you seek will suddenly come to his temple.”
Isaiah 40:5 (Referred to as Isaiah 45)

“The glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together.”
Isaiah 52:8

“Your watchmen lift up their voice; together they sing for joy; for eye to eye they see the return of the Lord to Zion.”

3. The Triumphal Entry Prophecy

Zechariah 9:9, 16

“Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout aloud, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your king is coming to you; righteous and having salvation is he, humble and mounted on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey… On that day, the Lord their God will save them… for like the jewels of a crown they shall shine on his land.”

4. The Announcement of the Kingdom

Mark 1:15

“The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.”

5. The Kingdom’s Power and Platform

Luke 11:20

“But if it is by the finger of God that I cast out demons, then the kingdom of God has come upon you.”
Mark 2:5-7 (The Paralytic)

“Son, your sins are forgiven you… Why does this man speak like that? He is blaspheming! Who can forgive sins but God alone?”
Mark 2:27-28 (The Lord of the Sabbath)

“The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath. So the Son of Man is lord even of the Sabbath.”
Mark 3:4-5 (Healing on the Sabbath)

“And he said to them, ‘Is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do harm, to save life or to kill?’ But they were silent. And he looked around at them with anger, grieved at their hardness of heart, and said to the man, ‘Stretch out your hand.’ He stretched it out, and his hand was restored.”
Luke 13:16 (Satan’s Captives)

“And ought not this woman, a daughter of Abraham whom Satan bound for eighteen years, be loosed from this bond on the Sabbath day?”
John 5:17

“But Jesus answered them, ‘My Father is working until now, and I am working.’”

6. The New Creation and Our Citizenship

2 Corinthians 5:17

“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.”
Philippians 3:20

“But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.”

7. The Glory of God in Creation

Habakkuk 2:14

“For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord as the waters cover the sea.”
Psalm 19:1

“The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork.”

On Citizenship:

“Your citizenship is really important… you represent that nation or that kingdom as you go around the world.”
“When we were baptized, we pledged allegiance to the kingdom of God, not to any earthly kingdom.”

On the “Perfect Storm” Metaphor:

“The Perfect Storm really is a metaphor for the triumphal entry of Jesus into Jerusalem… There were already two elements at play… the Jewish gale and the Roman storm. But it was the triumphal entry of Jesus [that] turned the gale and the storm into the perfect storm that we now call the kingdom of God.”

On Jesus’ Kingdom Platform:

“The first word that Jesus says in relation to the kingdom of God is we need to repent. That entry into the kingdom of God is conditional upon repentance. It’s not conditional upon birth.”
“Wherever the kingdom of God in the person of Jesus comes into contact with disease, that disease is healed.”
“Jesus was, as the Pharisees said, a friend of sinners. They meant it as a curse. It’s the best name Jesus could have had.”
“When the kingdom of God comes to town, it brings forgiveness. Forgiveness is a kind of healing, a spiritual healing that removes the most significant burdens in life.”

On Transformed Reality (Time, Space, Matter):

Space: “Jesus redefines sacred space… ‘No, I am the one in whom God and man meet. I am that sacred space from now on.'”
Time (Sabbath): “The Sabbath is a day divinely set apart by God for the lifting of burdens, the easing of suffering, setting Satan’s captives free, and bringing glory to God.”
Matter: “When the kingdom of God comes to town, physical matter now sings and tells of the glory of God… In Jesus, God’s matter, his new creation, transforms our fallen bodies and our fallen minds.”

Historical & Cultural References:

Roman “Gospel”: “The arrival of the emperor into a city was hailed as good news (euangelion)… The gospel of Jesus was a direct competition with the cult of Rome.”
Virgil’s Aeneid: “He wrote Novus Ordo Seclorum… a new order of the ages.” (Note: This phrase is on the US dollar bill).
Desmond Tutu: “The slogan was this: ‘No future without forgiveness.'”