Proclaim Freedom to the Captives

Isaiah 61:1-3 ESV

“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;

to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor,

    and the day of vengeance of our God;

    to comfort all who mourn;

to grant to those who mourn in Zion—

    to give them a beautiful headdress instead of ashes,

the oil of gladness instead of mourning,

    the garment of praise instead of a faint spirit;

that they may be called oaks of righteousness,

    the planting of the Lord, that he may be glorified.”

Who is the person speaking here? It is certainly Isaiah who is writing this, but who is the speaker? Could it be Isaiah was writing this about himself? It could be. Isaiah was a prophet of God, and it appears to me that at least half of the book of Isaiah are prophecies with regard to the last days about Jesus Christ, the Messiah, and the Messianic age. And certainly Isaiah was anointed of God and empowered by God’s Spirit to bring forth the messages of God and to turn the people from darkness to the light of God.

But then we read in Luke 4 where Jesus applied these words to himself, only he stopped reading after he read, “to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.” And then he said, “Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.” And then we read in Isaiah 42 where it appears God was speaking about Jesus Christ, for he said, “I will give you as a covenant for the people, a light for the nations, to open the eyes that are blind, to bring out the prisoners from the dungeon, from the prison those who sit in darkness.”

So, is Jesus Christ the only one anointed of God to bring the “good news” of our salvation to the poor in spirit, or to the people of this world? Is he the only one to bind up the brokenhearted and to proclaim liberty to the captives and the opening of the prison to those who are bound? Is he the only one to open the eyes that are blind, to bring out the prisoners from the dungeon, from the prison those who sit in darkness? No, he isn’t.

For we read in Acts 26 where Jesus Christ assigned the apostle Paul (then Saul, a persecutor of Christians) the task or responsibility “to open their eyes, so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me.”

[Parallels to Isaiah 61: Luke 4:17-21; Isaiah 42:6-9; Acts 26:14-18]

So, does this only apply to Isaiah, perhaps, and to Jesus, definitely, and to the apostle Paul, at least in part? Are we not, as servants of the Lord, to also open blinded eyes so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in Jesus Christ? Surely, we are, for that is the essence of the message of the gospel of our salvation.

We are to be those who are proclaiming to the people that Jesus Christ died on that cross that we might die to sin and live to righteousness, that we might now live for him and no longer for ourselves, and that he might buy us back for God (redeem us) out of our lives of sin so we would now honor God with our bodies. He died to deliver us out of our lives of slavery to sin so we will now be slaves of God and of his righteousness, and that we might now walk in conduct according to the Spirit and not according to the flesh.

For it is not enough to just make a profession of Christ as Lord of our lives, but we must walk in obedience to our Lord and to his commands under the New Covenant. Sin must no longer be our practice, but righteousness, holiness, and godliness must now be our practice. Now our bodies are to be living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God, and we must no longer be conformed to the ways of this sinful world. We must put off our former lives of living in sin and now put on Christ and his righteousness.

For the grace of God, which is bringing us salvation, trains us to renounce ungodliness and fleshly lusts and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives while we wait for our Lord’s soon return. For if sin is what we practice, and if righteousness and obedience to our Lord are not what we practice, we not only do not know God, and we are not in fellowship with God, but we are not born of God, and so we will not inherit eternal life with God regardless of what faith in Jesus Christ we profess with our lips.

[Matt 7:21-23; Lu 9:23-26; Rom 6:1-23; Rom 8:1-14; Rom 12:1-2; 1 Co 6:19-10,19-20; 2 Co 5:10,15,21; Gal 5:16-21; Gal 6:7-8; Eph 4:17-32; Eph 5:3-6; Titus 2:11-14; 1 Pet 2:24; 1 Jn 1:5-10; 1 Jn 2:3-6; 1 Jn 3:4-10]

But for those who receive Jesus Christ as Lord in truth, and in righteousness, who have forsaken their former lives of living in sin and for self to now walk in fellowship with the Lord in obedience to his commands (New Covenant), they are blessed of God. They have been delivered from their lives of slavery to sin, and they are now empowered of God to live righteously. And now they are comforted by the Lord, for they have been turned from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God and so they have received forgiveness of sins and a place among those sanctified by faith in Christ.

But this is not a one-time deal and then we are “in” guaranteed. The Scriptures teach that daily we must die to sin and to deny self and to walk in obedience to our Lord’s commands. Daily we must say “No!” to the flesh and to sin and “Yes!” to God and to his righteousness. Daily we must walk by the Spirit and not by the flesh, and we must continue in these walks of faith until the very end if we hope to receive salvation from sin and eternal life with God. For our salvation is progressive and it will not be complete until Jesus returns for his bride and he takes us to be with him for eternity.

[Matt 24:9-14; Luke 9:23-26; Rom 8:1-24; Rom 13:11; 1 Co 1:18; 1 Co 15:1-2; 2 Tim 1:8-9; Heb 9:28; 1 Pet 1:5; Jn 8:31-32; Jn 15:1-12; Rom 11:17-24; 1 Co 15:2; Col 1:21-23; 2 Tim 2:10-13; Heb 3:6,14-15; 2 Pet 1:5-11; 2 Pet 2:20-22; 1 Jn 1:5-10; 1 Jn 2:3-6,24-25; 1 Jn 3:4-10] 

Seek the Lord  

An Original Work / July 20, 2012

Based off Isaiah 55

“Come to Me all you who thirst; come to waters.

Listen to Me, and eat what’s good today,

And your soul will delight in richest of fare.

Give ear to Me, and you will live.

I have made an eternal covenant with you.

Wash in the blood of the Lamb.”

Seek the Lord while He may be found; call on Him. 

Let the wicked forsake his way, in truth.

Let him turn to the Lord, and he will receive mercy.

Freely, God pardons him.

“For My thoughts are not your thoughts,

Nor are your ways My ways,”

declares the Lord, our God.

“My word that goes out of My mouth is truthful.

It will not return to Me unfulfilled.

My word will accomplish all that I desire,

And achieve the goal I intend.

You will go in joy and be led forth in peace.

The mountains will burst into song… before you, 

And all of the trees clap their hands.”

https://vimeo.com/379408296