The announcement of the Jubilee in the Bible was done with sounding of trumpets throughout the land, similar to the present-day announcements of celebrations through various media. However, in their context, it was not an announcement of their great achievements or past glory but rather it was the announcement of confession and liberation. Leviticus 25: 9 says, ‘Then have the trumpet sounded everywhere on the tenth day of the seventh month, on the Day of atonement, sound the trumpet throughout the land.’ Since the Jubilee is announced on the Day of Atonement, the entire jubilee begins with atonement. The announcement of the Jubilee signifies the proclamation of liberty throughout the land for all its inhabitants. Whether this jubilee was practised among them or not, throughout Israel’s history, there remained an expectation of a jubilee in which people and land would be restored and redeemed. One such passage is Isaiah 61:1&2, which Jesus read in a synagogue in Nazareth, declaring that his mission was aligned with Jubilee. (Luke: 4:4:18-19, 21)
The trumpet was used to announce the jubilee and proclaim freedom and liberation both for the people and for the land. However, since the Jubilee begins on the day of atonement, the call here is for confession and repentance. The message is clear: only through atonement can redemption, restoration and liberation be achieved. The jubilee became essential because of the people’s sin, which led to their exploitation and oppression. People rejoiced when they heard this announcement because they were getting freedom and they could return to their own land. Their joy was rooted in both their present freedom and the future hope, firmly based on the Word of God and His promises.
“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 favour.”
Jesus began by saying to them, “Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.”
The gospel that he preached, demonstrated and lived out is this gospel of Jubilee —the year of the Lord’s favour. This gospel was for the poor, prisoners, blind, oppressed and for all included in Jubilee. Therefore, it represented the restoration and reconciliation of everyone and everything back to God and His original purposes. It was the restoration of the land, liberation for slaves and for who were exploited and oppressed, and healing for the sick. This gospel which Jesus proclaimed was wholistic and all inclusive. It is our reconciliation with God, with others, and everything in this world.
Just like the trumpet announced the jubilee, there were announcements —from heaven right from the birth to his resurrection — declaring that Jesus is the Saviour. His death on the cross, as the atonement sacrifice for all, brings a radical shift of the understanding of the forgiveness of sin, redemption and restoration. Our Lord’s death on the cross, the atonement sacrifice, is the new proclamation of a new Jubilee, where our sins are forgiven and our debts are written off.
God presented Christ as a sacrifice of atonement through the shedding of his blood – to be received by faith.” (Romans 3:25). This atonement does not need to be repeated, it has both personal and universal consequence of redemption and liberation.
“For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross.” (Colossians 1:19-20). This new jubilee, as the good news, is for all nations and for the whole creation and is not just for us alone or for our community. This Jubilee is not for our own kingdoms but for the kingdom of God, where the earth and heaven come together in Christ.
Therefore, we are called to be the people of Jubilee where we participate with Christ in the reconciliation of all things. We must stand alongside those struggling for freedom and liberty from exploitation, slavery, oppression, injustice and poverty. Additionally, we must address both personal and structural sins, fostering true repentance and reconciliation.
Our celebration of Jubilee need not be a onetime event or a series of periodic events, but rather a continual remembrance and recommitment of an ongoing engagement in reconciliation and transformation where we envision the Kingdom of God.
JUBILEE (A Series on Jubilee as TRACI Celebrates 50 years, 1975-2025)
Mathew Varughese serves as consultant in TRACI.
Having served as Director of TRACI, he continues to guide TRACI through theological reflections and critical discussions.