The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me
Thu, 29 June, 2006: Today’s Bible readings.
1 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;
2 to proclaim the year of the LORD’s favor,
and the day of vengeance of our God;
to comfort all who mourn;
Isaiah, at the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, writes these words. The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon him, as he is God’s anointed to bring the news of judgment and and of liberty.
What do we learn from this?
Isaiah writes of God’s judgment. All sin is under His condemnation. God will have vengeance against sin. There is a day of great judgment coming, and it is a dark day for all who are under God’s wrath.
But Isaiah also brings good news. Those who humble themselves before God, confessing their sins, and coming to Him in faith will find comfort. He takes away the guilt of their sin, laying it upon Jesus Christ. He binds up their brokenheartedness. God proclaims their liberty from sin and opens the spiritual prison they were held in, freeing them to come to Him.
Just as we should, Isaiah proclaims both the bad news of God’s judgment and the good news of salvation in Jesus Christ. It is important to have both. If we leave out the bad news of our sin and God’s coming judgment, the news of Jesus’ death and resurrection makes no sense. The gospel is not good news unless we understand that we need to be saved from the guilt of our sin. People need to know they need a Savior before they will come to Him for salvation.
But if we leave out the good news of salvation that comes through faith in Jesus Christ, we leave people without hope, trying to be good enough to appease a rightly angered God. There is nothing but despair without the gospel.
It is important that we present both God’s anger against our personal sin, and God’s offer of salvation to all those who come to Him through faith in Jesus Christ. We need to share both the good and the bad news.
Where is Christ in this passage?
Jesus read this passage when He was asked to read the scripture in His hometown, saying that “Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.”
Ultimately, this passage is about Jesus Christ. He is the Anointed One, the Messiah or Christ, sent to proclaim salvation that is found in His name. He is the one who sets us free from our sins by His own life, death and resurrection.
