Thursday, April 12, 2012

importance of Isaiah 61

Luke 7

When Jesus was in His hometown, he quoted Isaiah 61, clearly identifying Himself as the Messiah:

4:17 The scroll of Isaiah the prophet was handed to him. He unrolled the scroll and found the place where this was written:

18 "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,
    for he has anointed me to bring Good News to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim that captives will be released,
    that the blind will see,
that the oppressed will be set free,
19     and that the time of the Lord's favor has come."

20 He rolled up the scroll, handed it back to the attendant, and sat down. All eyes in the synagogue looked at him intently. 21 Then he began to speak to them. "The Scripture you've just heard has been fulfilled this very day!"


When John the Baptist wanted to confirm if Jesus really was the Messiah, Jesus responded by explaining that He was fulfilling the mission of Isaiah 61:

7:21 At that very time, Jesus cured many people of their diseases, illnesses, and evil spirits, and he restored sight to many who were blind. 22 Then he told John's disciples, "Go back to John and tell him what you have seen and heard—the blind see, the lame walk, the lepers are cured, the deaf hear, the dead are raised to life, and the Good News is being preached to the poor. 23 And tell him, 'God blesses those who do not turn away because of me.'"

It seems to me that we as followers of Christ should be able to be identified as followers of Christ because we are carrying on the mission of Isaiah 61.

Heavenly Father, please help me be focused on you and your Kingdom.  Lord Jesus, I want to serve in the Body where and how you want me to.  Please help me be attentive to how you are leading me so that I may be useful to you.  I love you, Lord, and I want to participate in your mission.  I ask in the name of Jesus.

1 comment:

  1. Nate Ingle12/4/12 9:46 AM

    The cool thing about this is the Jewish culture behind this incident of scripture reading by Christ.
    There are daily Law and Prophet readings by Scribes, and these become "your" scripture for the day you were born. The interesting thing is that these readings are not repetative, meaning they are not the same for that day every year.
    There are some scholars (Jewish and others) that believe the Isaiah 61 scripture read by Christ in the synagogue was his Prophet reading the day and year He was born; which may be a reason why He said "The Scripture you've just heard has been fulfilled this very day."

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