Make Me a Servant
DDG, Unit 21, Session 2, Day 1 – Isaiah 61:1-7 In Luke chapter 4, Jesus takes a stop in the early days of his preaching earthly ministry to return to Nazareth. He is in the synagogue on the Sabbath and, as is customary, he is offered a scroll from which to read; in this case Isaiah. Jesus turns to what we call chapter 61 (the chapter and verse designations in scripture were not added until the mid-16 th century). It is part of a beautiful section of Isaiah’s prophecy. The chapters leading up to chapter 60 are a lament of the sins of Israel and God’s silence in response to their cries for relief. Chapter 59 ends with God’s promise that He maintains His covenant with Israel, His Spirit is on them, and His words are in their mouths. Out of that promise, begins a description of how God will bless Israel and restore her glory. It is from this section that Jesus read: 18 “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, ...