“and He began by saying to them, ‘Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.’” Luke 4:21
Jesus’ first sermon was in the synagogue in his home town of Nazareth. He was handed the scroll of the prophet Isaiah, and read the passage in Isa. 61:1-2, “The Spirit of the Lord is on Me, because He has anointed Me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent Me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favour” (Luke 4:18-19). And indeed, this is what Jesus did during His first coming.
However, if we actually read Isaiah 61, we find that it says, “to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favour and the day of vengeance of our God” (Isa. 61:2, emphasis added). It’s critical to note where Jesus stopped. At His first coming, He came to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favour, the time of God’s grace being made available to all who would simply come to Him in faith. This is not a time of God’s vengeance – but that time is coming. When Jesus comes again, it will be to judge the nations who rejected Him. So the first part of the prophecy has been fulfilled. But it was Jesus Himself who split it into two – something that the people were largely unaware of, that Messiah would come twice: as the suffering servant, and as the reigning king.
No comments:
Post a Comment