“The Messiah’s Mission”

Tuesday, March 16, 2021

The Spirit of the Lord God is upon Me, because the Lord has anointed Me to preach good tidings to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, And the opening of the prison to those who are bound;” (Isaiah 61:1)

Imagine a man walking into a religious assembly, opening the Bible to this passage, reading it, then proclaiming he was the fulfillment of this prophecy. Yet this is what Jesus did in the synagogue in Nazareth 2000 years ago. Luke says those who heard marveled at his gracious words.

Isaiah, 700 years before the time of Christ, spoke about the mission of the Messiah. Under the law, priests and kings were anointed as a sign of the appointment to a high office or commission by God. According to Isaiah, just what was God‘s mission for this Messiah-King?

Jesus did not come into the world to condemn it, but to save it. (John 3:17) The angels announced the birth of Christ proclaiming peace and good tidings. The Messiah’s forerunner declared that “all flesh would see the salvation of God“ (Luke 3:6)  During his earthly ministry, Jesus plainly stated that he came to seek and save the lost. (Luke 19:9) There is no better good tidings than this.

The brokenhearted are the target of the Messiah‘s message. The main thrust of this proclamation is to those broken by the burden of sin. Christ made atonement for sin and secured a means of forgiveness. The Lord’s life, death, and resurrection was a declaration of God‘s mercy.

In addition, the Messiah came to free the captives.  All of Satan’s prisoners are slaves of sin. Christ not only offered freedom from the guilt of sin, but freedom from its bondage. “Likewise you also, reckon yourselves to be dead indeed to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 6:11) Men are slaves of lust and habit. But Christ has opened the prison doors and cast off the fetters.

These marvelous blessings are not offered to the “rich“ and “noble“ – to those who solely pride in human accomplishment. They are offered to the meek and humble; to those so crushed by hopelessness, that their primary longing is the joy only found in fellowship with God. Have you given him your life?

By George Slover

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