The Year of the LORD’s Favor

The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is on me, because the LORD has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners, to proclaim the year of the LORD’s favor and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn and to provide for those who grieve in Zion–to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair.

- Isaiah 61:1-3

It’s been about a year since my first and only post, but I was inspired to write something after reading this verse.

This is the same verse that Jesus read when he began his ministry. To break it down a bit, we see:

1. Spirit of God is on Jesus, because he has been anointed by God.

2. That anointing is to preach good news (the gospel) to the poor.

3. Jesus is sent to the brokenhearted, captives, prisoners, and to those who mourn.

Messiah (gr. Christos/Christ) is literally the “chosen one” or someone anointed for a particular task. Anointing is the process where oil is poured directly on the head of the person being anointed. In the Old Testament only kings, priests or prophets were ever anointed. Anointing signifies a “setting apart.” When Jesus came, he came as a fulfillment of not only prophecy, but the roles of priest, king, and prophet. He was all three.

What does this tell us about ourselves? We, being disciples of Christ and following in his footsteps are “sent” to the poor, the marginalized, the broken, the hurting, the outcasts of society. Notice how in Luke and Acts the types of people that are being healed, set free–the blind, lepers, demon possessed, the lame to name a few.

The gospel (good news) is for them! What’s the good news? Healing for the brokenhearted, freedom for prisoners, comfort for those that are mourning, and justice! How can the vengeance of God be good news? Because the vengeance of our God means justice for those treated unjustly, it is basically payback on the unjust. In other words, “God is going to fight for you!”

We see that we are sent as Christ’s ambassadors to bring healing and restoration. Being saved (gr. sozo) doesn’t just mean salvation, it means wholeness for the entire person. Does that include physical hurt? Yes! Does that include emotional hurt? Yes! Does that include relational hurt? Yes! Yes! Yes!

So in application to our lives…who should we be sharing the gospel with? Specifically people who are in dire need. I know everyone around us is in need, but those specifically needing God’s intervention are the ones who need to hear the good news the most! We need to listen for the “ashes” in other people’s lives and preach and demonstrate (not just talk about) the good news!