Day 12: Isaiah 61:1
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.
Jesus declared this verse fulfilled in Luke 4:16-30. At His birth, the angels announced, “I bring you good news of great joy… unto you is born this day… a Savior, who is Christ the Lord” (Luke 2:10-11). The anticipation of salvation, felt since sin entered every human heart in Genesis 3, is realized in Christ. For generations, faithful people lived with this anticipation. Psalm 85:7, “grant us your salvation” is just one Psalm voicing this desire. Jesus came to earth to accomplish Isaiah 61:1 by his cross and resurrection.
Never shying from the good news, Jesus pressed into relationships and encounters with people in order to reveal the truth and grow their understanding of Him. Unfortunately, people rejected the true good news in favor of their own definitions of salvation. Have you ever opened a Christmas gift and it wasn’t what you wanted? Consider the gift of salvation: different than expected, better than anticipated. Do you live in gratitude for this gift, or continue to look elsewhere for satisfaction?