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-16th 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,
    because he has anointed me
    to proclaim good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives
    and recovering of sight to the blind,
    to set at liberty those who are oppressed,
19 to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor.” (Luke 4:18-19, ESV)

            Sometimes, we make the living out of the gospel hard and intimidating. Jesus identified His ministry with this passage. If we go back to the passage in today’s reading, the practical nature of the work of Messiah makes it something in reach with the help of the Holy Spirit and vitally necessary in these times especially. Look at some snippets:

Bind up the brokenhearted

Proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners

Comfort all who mourn

Bestow…the oil of gladness…and a garment of praise

Some of the verbs that follow are: rebuild, restore, renew

Shame and disgrace will be replaced

            We are servants of King Jesus, continuing His work in the world. You are uniquely prepared to be a blessing to someone else in a way that represents Jesus to a hurting world. 



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