Jesus Was on a Mission
Isaiah 61:1-2 (ESV)
The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me, because the LORD has anointed me to bring good news to the poor; he has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound; to proclaim the year of the LORD’s favor, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all who mourn;
What a lot of truth, blessing, doctrine, and theology is found in these two verses.
The Anointed One (Jesus) was sent
To bring good news to the poor,
The angels proclaimed good news of great joy to all the people.
All who through Adam have given up their dominion over the earth are poor.
To bind up the brokenhearted,
Those who realize their fallen state are heartbroken. They try everything they can think of to be reconciled to God, but none of it works, and they know it.
To proclaim liberty to the captives,
Before we believed, we were captives to the god of this world.
We were slaves to sin and its consequence—death.
To free those who are bound,
As slaves we were bound to living according to the flesh.
We were slaves to our mind, will, and emotions, because our spirit was disconnected from the source of life.
To proclaim the time of the Lord’s favor,
Jesus proclaimed that the Kingdom of heaven was at hand.
He proclaimed that all who looked to Him would be forgiven and reconciled to God—for free.
To proclaim the day of vengeance, or judgement,
Jesus also warned of the consequence of continuing to live in the flesh.
He warned that rejecting His offer of love and forgiveness left no way out of death and eternal separation from God.
To comfort all who mourn.
The result of learning this was mourning and grief.
Every person needs rescue and Jesus brings deepest comfort.
The meek and humble God loves tenderly and faithfully. He guides gently and with great tenderness. He provides everything needed for life and godliness.
This is the God we love.
This is the Father we cling to.
This is the Friend who is closer than a brother.
