The Messiah - Part 22

Ministry to the brokenhearted:

The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me; because the LORD hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound;
To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all that mourn;
To appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the LORD, that he might be glorified.
And they shall build the old wastes, they shall raise up the former desolations, and they shall repair the waste cities, the desolations of many generations. Isaiah 61:1-4

Partial fulfillment in the New Testament:

The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised,
To preach the acceptable year of the Lord.
And he closed the book, and he gave it again to the minister, and sat down. And the eyes of all them that were in the synagogue were fastened on him.
And he began to say unto them, This day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears. Luke 4:18-21

When Jesus entered the temple and quoted the above scripture from Isaiah, He left off the very last part about vengeance. He didn't quote all of Isaiah 61 verse 2. The original scriptures were not separated into chapter and verses. That was added years later to help us find passages easier. So leaving out part of a verse really isn't something to be that concerned about unless by doing so the whole meaning is changed. In this case though, it was because that part of the scripture was yet to be fulfilled. That is for the future at the Second Coming of the Lord. That day will surely come, but when Jesus came the first time, it was not for vengeance.

The Messiah was to come to preach the gospel to the poor. The destitute and needy are more likely to receive the gospel than the rich because they are looking for hope. This also refers to the humble or poor in spirit which are also more likely to receive the gospel because they are
not lifted up with pride. Pride will hinder us from receiving help from anyone. In order to receive the gospel we need to recognize that we need help. If we have plenty and get along good we are less likely to see our need to repent and accept the gospel. We must realize, however, that unless we do repent and receive the gospel we cannot ever enter Heaven and into eternal life.

He preaches good tidings to the meek. Meekness is a quality that is the opposite of pride. Meekness is patience, waiting, and humble. It is not being assertive and it is a willingness to receive help. This is why a meek little child can receive the gospel easier than an adult. They are meek and dependent upon the stronger for help. We need to recognize that WE NEED GOD. We can't get along without him. We cannot be saved by our own good works. This is so hard to get across to people. It is faith in Jesus Christ the Messiah that saves not good works.

He came to bind up the brokenhearted. These are those than are sorry for sins, that grieve over bad that happens to people. These are people that are hurting. If someone loses a someone by death, being jilted, by being betrayed or forsaken, Jesus came to heal that hurt and replace that hurt with His comforting Spirit. We may be brokenhearted over the wars, sin, abortion, rape and murder going on in the world. Jesus came to comfort by His Spirit. We may be brokenhearted over many things but no matter what it is, Jesus has the answer and the comfort to heal.

To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord. Now is the time of salvation and the time to Receive the gospel. From the day Jesus first appeared until now is the day of salvation. It will not close until the gospel is preached unto all the world.

He came to comfort all that mourn. He will comfort all that are burdened for the lost and grieve for sin. Sin should grieve us at the present time. We need to have a strong desire to see people delivered from sin and saved. A church needs to have ministries that help the needy but we have to remain focused on the greatest need first and that is to save the lost. We cannot get away from this. This has to come first and then take care of the other needs which should not be neglected.

The day of vengeance is the part of the scripture that Jesus did not quote in the New Testament. The reason was that this part is not yet fulfilled. This will come at the Second Coming of the Messiah. Vengeance will be poured out on those who persecute Israel, persecute believers in Jesus, reject the gospel after the tribulation period, and those who defy God and sin even after warning from prophets, preachers and anyone who warns of the judgment to come for disobeying the gospel.

His first coming though was to proclaim liberty to the captives. First of all, when we are in sin and receive Jesus Christ, we are set free from sin and are no longer under bondage. This is true liberty. For those who are in a literal prison they have hope in Jesus Christ immediately. When they repent of sin and come to Christ even though they are in prison, they immediately become free from the bondage of sin and they actually have more freedom than a sinner who is not in a literal prison. Things can work out that the prisoner can be delivered from prison by a miracle from God. That has happened. It would be according to the will of God, but no matter whether they are literally delivered in this present time or not, they will be delivered at the moment they depart from this life and go to be with the Lord.

Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same; that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil;
And deliver them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage. Hebrews 2:14-15

We no longer have to fear death. The moment a believer dies, his soul goes to be with the Lord. Jesus came into the flesh and became one of us. He went through literal death so that He can now destroy him that had the power of death, the devil. Now He can deliver all of us who believe from the fear of death which before held us in bondage.

Therefore we are always confident, knowing that, whilst we are at home in the body, we are absent from the Lord:
(For we walk by faith, not by sight:)
We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord. 2 Corinthians 5:6-8

The beautiful part of these scriptures is that we don't have to face judgment. We can be saved now and set free from sin. Eternal life will come into us now. Whether you are in prison, in school, at work or at home, whether you are a child, an adult, man or women, whether you are sick, healthy, weak or strong, whether you are religious, atheist, or nothing, you can be saved at this moment. It doesn't matter what religion, race or what country you live in, the gospel is for you. Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you shall be saved. DC

Messiah Index

Messiah part 23