Why The Spirit Was On Jesus
Isaiah 61:1 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.
In these verses of Isaiah's Messianic prophecy, we discover the motivation and outcome of Jesus' ministry. We discover why Jesus was so anointed and what that anointing came to establish.
His mission involved bringing into existence specific things,
Proclamation of Good News.
Binding up the brokenhearted.
Proclaim freedom to captives.
Release prisoners from darkness.
Proclaim the year of the Lord's favor.
Proclaim the day of vengeance of our God.
To comfort all who mourn.
Provide for those who grieve.
Bestow crowns of beauty instead of ashes
Give the oil of joy instead of despair.
The number 10 represents the Holy Spirit, so I think it is no coincidence that these ten specific goals describe the ministry purpose of Jesus.
What is the intended outcome of these ten objectives of His ministry?
That we might be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the Lord for the display of His splendor.
I think it is no coincidence that number 6 involves the vengeance of our God, and the number six is the number of man.
The vengeance this speaks of is not judgment on mankind. It is the judgment of God against the enemy, death, and the grave, and the source that gives them their power, which is sin. Christ overcame all of it for our sakes that we might enter into His story as redeemed, reconciled, fully righteous children of God. I know this issue of vengeance is of that sort because of the promised comfort that follows. It is a comfort to know that the power of the enemy has been stripped from Him and the source of His power has been judged because we have been declared righteous with the very righteousness of God in Christ. It is why the next portion of Isaiah should light a fire of rejoicing and praise in us.
Isaiah 61:10 I delight greatly in the LORD; my soul rejoices in my God. For he has clothed me with garments of salvation and arrayed me in a robe of his righteousness, as a bridegroom adorns his head like a priest, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels. 11 For as the soil makes the sprout come up and a garden causes seeds to grow, so the Sovereign LORD will make righteousness and praise spring up before all nations.
Everything about the ministry of our Lord and Savior Jesus was positive towards us. Everything He came to offer is glorious, beneficial, and uplifting. His ministry purpose was not to point out our faults and failures. He came to do for us what we could not do for ourselves. He is the reason we are a blessed people on this earth!
