Good News to the Poor
Isaiah 61:1-6
What’s this season really about? Jesus. It’s not so much what he taught as it is about who he is. In Jesus’ first sermon, he chose this Biblical text and in it, he gives his mission. When Jesus read this Scripture, he closed the book and dropped the bombshell and said, “Today, this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.” The people got so mad that they took him and attempted to throw him off the cliff at the edge of Nazareth because of the declaration. We do what we do not because of what Jesus taught but because of who he was and is. When Jesus said, The Lord has anointed me, that fired up the Jews. The word anointed in Hebrew is mashach which means messiah. Mashach indicates the act of taking olive oil and smearing it on a person’s forehead. The remaining oil would be poured over their head so that it ran to their feet showing total consecration or setting apart for God’s purposes. The purpose was two-fold - to set the anointed person apart as holy unto God and to commission them for service unto Him and His people. In the OT times, the prophet, priest, king or even weapons of battle and items of use in the Temple were anointed. This is the nature of the anointing on Jesus.
Now the Jewish people had been looking for centuries for their messiah. In fact, it had been more than 800 years since Isaiah when Jesus arrived. Yet, they still long and hoped for the Messiah because they knew that when the Messiah would come, it would signal the presence of the kingdom of God and the restoration of all things broken.
Now Christianity stands and falls on the identity of Christ. It’s how Christianity is different from every other religion in the world. Every other religion taught a moral code, a way of following God. But the primary core of Jesus’ teaching was his identity, who he said he was. CS Lewis was the first to point out that people can’t just say that Jesus was a good man. He said, that you have to be more than a person of moral character. If Jesus wasn’t the Messiah then he lied about his most important teaching. So CS Lewis said we have only three options. Jesus was either who he said he was, the Messiah, or he was a liar or a lunatic. And if he was not the Messiah, then he was not a good man but a fake. Yet the core of Jesus’ teaching for was, “I am the way, I am the truth, I am the life. No one can come to the Father but through me.” Everywhere you look, it’s about his identity. He said, to see me is to see God. To know me is to know God. To love me is to love God. To obey me is to obey God. To deny me is to deny God.
Jesus is anointed Messiah and he says it’s for three purposes. First is to proclaim Good News to the poor. The poor are those who lack knowledge, food or physical provisions or opportunities for for a better life. This often means there is a lack of hope in their life that the future will hold anything better than what today held for them. The poor are often those who are despised by affluent society yet Jesus centers his minsitry on the poor. Too often we think that if people can just get their physical needs met they will be all right. But notice that Jesus doesn’t say he came to clothe or feed or provide shelter for the poor. He came to proclaim Good News.
Too often we view the poor as those who are lack knowledge, food or physical provisions. Sadly, this leads us to think that if people can just get their physical needs met they will be all right. However, the poor are more than those who are economically challenged. The poor are also those who are not rich toward God. Let us realize that the poor are people who are more than those who live in human poverty. Those who are really poor are the ones who are yet to be enriched with all the spiritual blessings of having a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.
Second is to proclaim freedom to the captives. When the people of Judah were taken captive by the Babylonians it was a very traumatic thing. They lost their homes, their loved ones, their beloved city and temple. They lost everything! In captivity, they longed to hear that the day of their freedom is at hand. The picture Isaiah paints is of a King – God Himself coming to fight and take back His people from the enemy. The King will be victorious and so He sends His messenger to tell His people that their freedom has been won. The enemy is utterly vanquished. It is a message that God loved them enough to fight for their freedom and save them. This is the good news that they are favored by God. And the greatest thing is that this Messenger whom God uses as His Servant also happens to be the very One who won the freedom for you with His own blood.
The Red Indian Chief Maskepetoon was a very violent young man who thought the purpose of life was to steal horses and scalp his enemies. Deep down in his heart was a hatred for his father’s murderer. But then he gave his life to Jesus. With that came a change in the purpose of his life. After years he made peace with the enemy tribe of his father’s killer. At the time when he was sealing this peace, he saw the old warrior - his father’s killer, approach with the others. He ordered his best horse saddled and brought to the tent, then ordered the culprit to stand before him. The old man expected to be killed. Instead he was asked to be seated. The Chief handed him his best, richly decorated robe. Then Maskepetoon spoke, "You killed my father. The time was when I would have gloried in drinking your blood, but that time is past. You need not fear. You must now become a father to me. Wear my clothes, ride my horse. Tell your people that this is the way Maskepetoon takes revenge." And with that the old man broke down crying. What freed Maskepetoon of his hatred? Who gave Him new purpose in life? Jesus and Jesus alone!
What are you in bondage to this day? Is it your habits? Is it your past? Anger or pain? What’s holding you back from fulfilling the purposes of God in your life? When the Bible is talking about poverty, it’s talking about something much wider than economic poverty. Poverty is any brokenness in a person’s life which keeps them from living fully for God and His kingdom. Whatever darkness that keeps a person from living for Jesus. The Good News of Jesus is that He has come to set you free. There is no pit so deep nor no chain so strong that He cannot break it. He is God’s anointed – it is His purpose to set you free.
Third, The servant is anointed to console you (vs.2c-3b) Whether you are facing tragedy, betrayal, failure or death, God is there for you. Corrie Ten Boom was interned at a concentration camp north of Berlin. She writes, “Far away from my home in Holland, my sister Betsy and me were within the shadow of a crematory. Everyday about 600 bodies were burned there while they were yet alive. When I saw the smoke go up in the air I asked myself, “When will it be my time to die?” I have looked death in the eye not once, but several times. When you see death within people’s eyes, you wake up to the reality that the next one could be your own death. But then she writes, “What a joy it was that Jesus was with me and that I knew that He had died on a cross for all the sins of the whole world and also for my sins as well.’ I was not afraid! I knew that when they killed me I would go to the Father within heaven.”
How can we know how rich we are in Jesus and his abiding presence? By looking at the cross.’ Within her darkest moments Corri ten Boom didn’t loose her joy thanks to Jesus. Who among you is weeping and broken-hearted today? Hear the good news – Jesus is here to comfort you. Never forget that you are held in the arms of the One who knew tears and suffering. He knows your needs and fears. He knows pain, he knows what loss means, he knows suffering and betrayal, hunger and thirst. This is the Jesus who is here to help you and turn your sorrow into joy.
Fourth, the servant is anointed to restore the broken (vs.3c-7) The primary mission of Jesus isn’t getting people into heaven but getting heaven into earth. Verse 4 says, “They will rebuild the ancient ruins and restore the places long devastated; they will renew the ruined cities that have been devastated for generations.” What will happen when the messiah comes? The focus will be on restoring, renewing and rebuilding anything that is broken and devastated. When John the Baptist began to have doubts o the identity of Jesus, he sent his disciples to Jesus and told them to ask, Are you the one we have been looking for? The Messiah? Are you the one who the prophets said we should be looking for or should we keep looking? “Go back and report to John what you hear and see. The blind receive their sight, the lame walk, those with leprosy are cleansed, the dead are raised and the Good News is proclaimed to the poor.” How can you tell the kingdom of God is upon you? Everything that is broken is restored. Everyone who is being oppressed is being set free.
God is at work in us so that we may glorify Him. How do they do that? (Put all answers on one slide) First is recognize his Messiahship. Second is by committing to His mission. Third, become a minister servant who is charged with the responsibility to carry out this mission. Verse six says, “And you will be called priests of the LORD, you will be named ministers of our God.” We glorify him by going out and building up the broken and by restoring the ruins to grand beauty. We will also be His priests and ministers – people called to serve God and others. We are now free to serve. They were condemned to misery but now they are called to responsibility. Their shame has been removed and honor has been restored to them. They used to sigh and mourn but now they will shout in victory and joy that cannot be removed forever! What a promise!
So how do we recognize His authority in our lives? How do we express our faith and our love to Him? By committing ourselves to His mission. Jesus doesn’t say anything about saving sinners and getting them into heaven. The primary priority of his mission is to preach good news to the poor, to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners.” So why do we do what we do? Not just because it’s a good thing but because Jesus is the mashach, the Messiah. The way we recognize His Messiahship is that we give ourselves to him and his mission.
Elizabeth English tells the story of Christmas 1949 when she and her husband Herman locked the doors to their small town appliance store at 11 PM. They were dead tired and ahd sold out of everything including record players, bicycles, dollhouses and games. They had only one lay away package left and the person never came for it. The next morning, Elizabeth, Herman and their 12 year old son Tom woke up and opened their gifts. But it just wasn’t the same. Tom was growing up and all he asked for was clothes and a few games. His childish exuberance of past years was gone. As soon as breakfast was over, Tom went next door to paly, Herman mumbled that he was going back to sleep and Elizabeth found herself cleaning up the aftermath of breakfast and the opened gifts. And the holiday doldrums set in.
It began to sleet with snow mixed in and the wind rattled the windows. Suddenly, she had a feeling hit her that she should go on a walk. That was crazy whe though, loking out the window and she fought it for an hour but finally gave in. She told her husband she was going to walk to the store. That was crazy he said but she put on her coat, gloves and scarf and went anyway. She shivered as she tucked her hands in her pocket. When she got to the store, she was surprised to see two small boys, exclaiming, “There she is. See, I told you she would come.” They were half frozen and one of the boy’s face was wet with tears. “What are you children doing here? You should be home on a day like this!” They were poorly dressed with no hats or gloves and shoes that barely fit. “We’ve been waiting for you. My little brother Jimmy didn’t get any Christmas gifts and we want to buy skates. We have $3, see.” It broken Elizabeth’s heart to tell them that they had sold out of everything. But then the layawy package came to mind. “Wait a minute” as she went to the shelf praying that they would be the right size. And miracle upon miracle, they were. They were a perfect fit. When they handed the money over, Elizabeth refused to take it and she was rewarded with awe and wonder and joy in the boy’s eyes when they realized she was giving them the skates. “Now take that money and get some gloves!” she said.
Then she said to the boys, How lucky you were that I came.” I knew you would come, the older boy said. “How?” I asked Jesus to send you. And upon hearing that tingles went down Elizabeth’s spine. God had planned this. And then she writes, As we waved goodbye, I turned home to a brighter Christmas than I had left. Family and friends soon arrived and we had a delicious diner and a wonderful time. But the one thng that made that Christmas really joyous was the one thing which makes every Christmas wonderful- Jesus was there. Amen and Amen.
