God Displays His Favor Upon His Son
1 The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me,
because the Lord has anointed me
to proclaim good news to the poor.
He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,
to proclaim freedom for the captives
and release from darkness for the prisoners,
2 to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor
and the day of vengeance of our God,
to comfort all who mourn,
3 and provide for those who grieve in Zion-
to bestow on them a crown of beauty
instead of ashes,
the oil of joy
instead of mourning,
and a garment of praise
instead of a spirit of despair.
They will be called oaks of righteousness,
a planting of the Lord
for the display of his splendor.
Faithfully Fulfilled
God has faithfully fulfilled many of His promises to us already in scripture. Jesus Christ fulfilled the first part of this scripture. He has indeed fulfilled it:
- God’s Spirit is upon Him
- Been anointed by God
- Proclaimed the good news*
- Healed the broken-hearted
- Freed the Captives
- Dispelled the Darkness
- Proclaimed the Lord’s favor**
“Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them.”
Jesus proclaimed that He was there to fulfill the Law and the Prophets, not to abolish them. Jesus faithfully fulfilled all that was prophesied about Him, down to the minutest detail. He perfectly fulfilled all scripture about Himself so that the Father could be glorified and so that God would not be mocked, for He is not a liar like men.
Bind the Brokenhearted
Jesus promises to bind the brokenhearted. And oh, how many woes await us each day!
“Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.”
It is a good thing that Jesus has overcome the world!
“I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”
God restores what was broken and lost. Even though there are consequences for our actions, God is able to restore and bring order and peace into chaos and unrest.
Proclaim Parole
God has freed the prisoners! We were held in a prison of darkness, because we could not see the light. Jesus is the light of the world. Now that we have seen the light, we can join Him in displaying the light. Lies and deceit keep us from seeing the truth. Jesus IS the truth:
Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”
Jesus doesn’t just model truth; He IS truth. “The Truth” is a title, not just a reflection of reality. Jesus is the only accurate model of unvarnished truth that we have. God has been gracious to proclaim freedom from darkness by sending The Truth into the world. Now that The Truth has come, we are without excuse.
Value and Vengeance
God has pronounced His favor upon us. By sending His One and Only Son, Jesus Christ, to take the punishment for our sins as He was tortured and crucified, He has given us great mercy and grace – great favor. He has done so much more than we can imagine! We have been blessed with every spiritual blessing! We are more than conquerors in Christ! No weapon formed against us will prosper, and we will refute every tongue that accuses us, since this is our heritage and vindication from God! Regardless of our circumstances, we have been greatly blessed!
But there is a flip-side to this. For those who refuse to accept the Lord’s favor – His mercy and grace, there will be a terrible day of vengeance. God, after doing everything that He could possibly do to win His image-bearers back over to Himself after His enemies try to drag them away, will eventually need to show the next portion of His character – JUSTICE. God is a perfectly just God, and He will rule and reign in righteousness. God cannot abide evil (rebellion against Himself), and He will, after exhausting every effort, bring forth the penalty for disobedience to a perfect and holy God – first, physical death, and finally, eternal separation from Him – complete spiritual death.
Comfort and Console
God greatly desires to comfort and console those who are grieving over their sin. He will give us oil of joy instead of mourning and a crown of beauty instead of ashes (used by the culture at that time to show great anguish in grief, mourning, and sorrow). God has provided us, though the sacrifice of the perfect lamb of God, the promised Holy Spirit as our down-deposit for our inheritance. We have Him to console us, to comfort us, and to guide us.
Towering Trees
God sees us through the robes of righteousness of Christ that have been imputed to us (legally declared to be ours). As such, He sees us as Oaks of Righteousness. He sees the righteousness of Christ rather than our filthy rags. Just like a bank account, we may not see the money, but it is there, registered in our name. Given the vast wealth of righteousness that is afforded to us through Christ, should we not then incorporate more and more of it into how we live? Should we not display this immeasurable (spiritual) wealth just as we show off our homes, cars, jewelry, and other items that we seem to hold dear and treasure?
A Qualifying Question
Let’s ask a question: Do I take the time to try to grasp just how truly rich I am in Christ?
A short prayer of preparation:
Father in Heaven, Your generosity is beyond my comprehension. You have given us uncountable wealth in Your Son, Jesus Christ, through His sacrifice for us. Help me to better grasp just how far and wide Your love is for me. Help me to internalize it, and to rejoice in it, as the cares of this world continually claw at me to drag me down to its depths. Give me a right understanding of Your word, that I may embrace it more and more each day. Help me to display to the world Your righteousness, for You have declared me to be an Oak of Righteousness. Thank You for this and for all things, in Jesus’ Name, Amen.
Want more? Why not try A. B. Simpson or A. W. Tozer?
Notes:
*The word used elsewhere in the scripture for the Gospel means “Good News”.
**During the year of Jubilee, the captives were set free, and land was supposed to be returned to its rightful owners. Jesus may very well have been declaring that particular year a year Jubilee as God was freeing the captives.
CHRIST ALLIANCE CHURCH 