The Year of Jubilee: Hope for Modern Burnouts

Welcome to another Thursday UNFILTERED substack article, the only substack newsletter that wonders why no one warns that the older you get, the more the weather app becomes part of your daily routine.

Here's something that'll mess with your head: thousands of years ago, ancient Israel practiced something we modern humans are still desperately trying to learn—how to hit the reset button.

The Year of Jubilee, celebrated every 50 years in Israel, wasn't just some religious ceremony.

It was a radical reboot. Debts were forgiven. Slaves were freed. Land was returned to original families. It was Forgiveness and Restoration writ large.

The Year of Jubilee was when every piece of the Monopoly board went back into the box and you started again at GO. It was the great redo or “do over.”

The Year of Jubilee provided the following:

Freedom

Forgiveness

Deliverance

Equality

Restoration

Release

Rest

Renewal

Provision

Security

If you’re a believer (you follow Christ), Jesus is your Jubilee (Luke 4:15-21; 2 Corinthians 6:2). He offers all of His people a hard reset.

In Jubilee, what we lost gets restored, a theme that runs throughout the Old Testament:

Job 42:10 - "After Job had prayed for his friends, the Lord RESTORED his fortunes and gave him twice as much as he had before."

Joel 2:25 - "I will RESTORE to you the years the locusts have eaten…"

Psalm 126:4-6 - " RESTORE our fortunes, Lord, like streams in the Negev. Those who sow with tears will reap with songs of joy. Those who go out weeping, carrying seed to sow, will return with songs of joy, carrying sheaves with them."

Zechariah 9:12 - "Return to your fortress, you prisoners of hope; even now I announce that I will RESTORE twice as much to you."

Because of Christ, shame doesn't have to define you, and regret doesn't have to control you.

You can move past both, praise God.

And even though many who profess to follow Jesus ironically fall short on extending forgiveness, restoration, provision, and security to other Christians, the Lord is always available to grant these things to those who have entrusted themselves to Him.

All of this recalls Peter who went back to fishing after he failed his Lord. He returned to his old job because he was uncertain if restoration was possible for him.

Even though Jesus had risen, Peter withdrew from his apostolic calling due to shame. He felt disqualified from ministry so he retreated to his former identity. He was still carrying the burden of his denials, questioning his worthiness as an apostle, let alone a disciple. His self-confidence was fractured, and he thought it was over for him.

But Jesus forgave and restored him. The Lord re-commissioned him to ministry. Beyond that, Simon Peter became the greatest apostle of the Twelve according to many scholars.

Now that’s mercy. That’s grace. That’s Jubilee. And that’s our Lord.

So if you’re feeling like Peter, Jesus is your Jubilee—offering forgiveness, restoration, and a new commission.

Incidentally, divine forgiveness has two dimensions: redemptive forgiveness that opens heaven's doors, and remedial forgiveness that undoes sin's earthly toll.

In Jubilee, both take place. Ultimate forgiveness (granting access to eternal life) and temporal forgiveness (removing the earthly consequences of our wrongdoing).

Jubilee, then, is hope for the modern burnout who loves God.

(If you’re looking for a footnote, you can find it in Leviticus 25 and John 21.)

If you haven't done so yet, be sure to check out the new Untold Story of the New Testament Church video podcast. Ten short visual videos in a series of 10 episodes. Watch them in order.