LIVING on MISSION with GOD so that HE gets the GLORY
August 5 Bible Reading: Isaiah Chapters 61-63
LIVING on MISSION with GOD so that HE gets the GLORY
"The
Spirit of the Lord God is upon Me, because the Lord has anointed Me to preach
good tidings to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim
liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound;
to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord, and the day of vengeance of
our God; to comfort all who mourn, to console those who mourn in Zion, to give
them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for
the spirit of heaviness; that they may be called trees of righteousness, the
planting of the Lord, that He may be glorified." (Isaiah 61:1-3)
Although
these are words of prophecy spoken by God’s servant Isaiah, the words take on
greater meaning when Jesus reads from this section (vs.1-2a) during His visit
to the synagogue in Nazareth and closes His reading with the statement, “Today
this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing” (Luke 4:21). Thus, He
applies these verses to Himself. This prophecy was literally fulfilled in the
ministry of Christ. Isaiah is included (62:1) as a shadow or forerunner of
Jesus.
Jesus
Christ was anointed with the Holy Spirit at His baptism and His earthly
ministry was concerned with bringing the good tidings of salvation to the poor,
binding up the brokenhearted, proclaiming liberty to sin’s captives, and
opening the prison of those who were bound. The reference to “liberty” and “opening
of the prison” allude to the Year of Jubilee, during which all debts
and obligations were erased (Lev. 25:8-10).
These
words of prophecy also describe the character and office of the Messiah. We
should note that Jesus ended the quotation with the words “to proclaim
the acceptable year of the Lord” because what follows, “the
day of vengeance of our God” will not be fulfilled until His Second
Coming. At His glorious appearing He will proclaim the day of God’s judgment.
Then He will comfort those who mourn in Zion, granting to them a garland in
place of ashes on their heads, the oil of joy instead of mourning, praise
instead of a spirit of heaviness. His chosen people will then be called trees
of righteousness, planted by the Lord, and bringing glory to Him. They will
rebuild the cities of the Promised Land that have lain in ruins.
What were
God’s purposes for anointing Jesus with His Spirit? We can see that there
are six purposes from Isaiah 61:1-3:
- To preach good tidings: This refers to the proclamation of the gospel
and to the priority of evangelism.
- To bind up the brokenhearted: This refers to placing the ‘balm of
Gilead’ (Jeremiah 8:22) to heal the hearts that have been broken by sin
and guilt.
- To proclaim liberty: This refers to freeing slaves in
captivity of sin, addictions and sickness.
- To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord: This refers to announcing
the “year of the Lord’s favor”. Through His death and resurrection,
Jesus inaugurated the “day of salvation” (2 Cor. 6:2) in which
the gospel is preached all over the world, and those who are bound in sin and
sickness can be liberated through Him (Eph. 2:12, 13; 3:5; 2 Tim. 1:10).
- Christ would comfort all that mourn after His great and awesome
judgments: (To be
fulfilled in the future.)
- Christ would exchange the evidences of mourning with the evidences
of rejoicing: (Also to be fulfilled in the future.)
Through
this anointing, the end result would be that God gets the glory (61:3c).
Like Jesus, the purpose of anointing of God’s Spirit in our lives is that
through His power we can also be a witness of the gospel, heal people from
sickness, deliver them from bondage, comfort the people who are broken hearted
and plant God’s Word in their hearts. Let us live on mission with God
being anointed by His Spirit so that He gets the glory!
"But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth." (Acts 1:8)
