ESOCS Devotional 18 October 2024 – The Good News
MEMORY VERSE: “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 [a]heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound.” Isaiah 61:1
TEXT: ISAIAH 61:1-6
“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;
2 To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord,
And the day of vengeance of our God;
To comfort all who mourn,
3 To console those who mourn in Zion,
To give them beauty for ashes,
The oil of joy for mourning,
The garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness;
That they may be called trees of righteousness,
The planting of the Lord, that He may be glorified.”
4 And they shall rebuild the old ruins,
They shall raise up the former desolations,
And they shall repair the ruined cities,
The desolations of many generations.
5 Strangers shall stand and feed your flocks,
And the sons of the foreigner
Shall be your plowmen and your vinedressers.
6 But you shall be named the priests of the Lord,
They shall call you the servants of our God.
You shall eat the riches of the Gentiles,
And in their glory you shall boast.
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Isaiah prophesied about 700 years before the arrival of Jesus. Providing context to this prophecy, Isaiah was proclaiming a message of restoration and hope. The people of Israel had broken God’s covenant. Therefore, Isaiah prophesied that the people will be captured and carried away into Babylonian exile and Jerusalem will be destroyed. But the hope for the people was not over and God’s plan to save the world and draw people to Himself had not been thwarted. Hope was being pictured.
If you grew up in the pews, this text may sound familiar. In Luke 4:18-19, Jesus read this part of Isaiah’s scroll in the synagogue and declared that it had been fulfilled through Him. Jesus is the picture of Isaiah 61:1-2. The Spirit of the Lord was upon Jesus, for He was anointed to bring the good news to the poor, to bind up the broken hearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favour, and to proclaim the day of vengeance. These were pictures of what Jesus would do when we came. This should be the witness of any who seeks to proclaim the gospel.
Jesus commissioned His disciples to go into the world and preach the gospel. He told them to first wait in Jerusalem until they were endued with power from heaven: “For you will receive power from on high … You shall be witnesses unto Me …” We cannot be effective for God without the power of the Holy Spirit. Many churches have sought to substitute man’s programs for God’s Spirit. The work of the Holy Spirit cannot be accomplished in the ability or energy of the flesh. To attempt to do so leads to defeat, ineffectiveness and frustration. Jesus said, “The Lord hath anointed me to preach good tidings.” What are the good tidings that we preach? Liberty to captives, freedom from prison, binding up broken hearts, beauty for ashes, oil of joy for those that mourn and garment of praise to replace the spirit of heaviness. The ultimate end of the gospel is “that he might be glorified.” Are you doing the work of evangelism?
- How busy have you been teaching and preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ?
- Lord, grant me the Spirit to be zealous and committed in matters of the gospel.
Further Reading: Isaiah 55:1-end; Luke 20:29- end; Colossians 4:7-end
ESOCS Devotional 18 October 2024
