The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me, because the Lord has anointed me to preach 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 blind, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favour and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn, and provide for those who grieve in Zion - to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of gladness 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 splendour. Isaiah61:1-3
When Jesus began His public ministry He read this passage from Isaiah in the synagogue service in Nazareth. It was the announcement of His Mission and Purpose.
Let's look at it more closely:
His FOCUS is the broken, the captives, the blind, and the grieving.
His MESSAGE is freedom, favour, comfort, and hope.
He has come to make three vital EXCHANGES:
- A crown of beauty instead of ashes
- Oil of gladness instead of mourning
- A garment of praise instead of the spirit of heaviness or despair.
Let's look at these exchanges more carefully...
1. Life leaves us broken and in the lurch. We feel or are told that it is _our_ fault. That we are to blame. Our self-images are on the ash-heap of life and we find it hard, if not impossible, to love ourselves. But Christ has come to take away the ashes of brokenness and give us new life instead. Paul writing to the Corinthians says "If anyone is in Christ, he or she is a new creation." He crowns us with beauty - He makes me His child!
2. The oil of gladness is the hope of restoration and renewal in the midst of our suffering and sorrow. When one anointed someone with oil, their faces shone with the slickness of the oil, the aroma of the oil wafted around them, and their dry skins softened with the touch of the oil. It is a luxurious picture of blessing and equipping and nurture. It is the intervention of the same Spirit who enabled Jesus who enables us and equips us for our tasks - even in the midst of our trouble.
3. Despair can be a bulky jacket weighing heavily on our shoulders in the midst of the summer heat. It saps us, drains, slows us down, and inhibits us as we get sucked into the humdrum and the slog of life. Life is without direction or purpose and it is only when we can turn our eyes to what God has done that we put on a lighter, freer, more colourful garment that replaces the straitjacket of the dreary drudgery that our lives have become.
These are three wonderful exchanges and Jesus came to show us that it was possible and He came to pay the price to cover the cost-difference between what He takes from us and what He gives us in their places. His death funds this divine exchange!
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Theo Groeneveld theo@emmanuel.org.za
You can see past EmmDevs at http://emmdev.blogspot.com/
