I. A THREE-FOLD MESSAGE
I want to look at God’s Word in a three-fold way. First, I want to read a scripture in the Old Testament and see what the Bible says. Then, I want to look at the reference to it in the New Testament. Finally, I want us to look deep within and see how this scripture applies to us as individuals.
A. THE OLD TESTAMENT
1. Read Isaiah 61:1-3
B. THE NEW TESTAMENT
Think about the three-dimensional drawings of the human body that can be found in encyclopedias and school books. The bottom picture is simply a picture of a skeleton. The next page is drawn on clear plastic and might have a picture of the intestines. As you turn the page it fits into place so that you can see where they should be sitting in the human body. After that you might have the circulatory system or the muscles. Eventually you end up with a complete picture of the human body. The Old Testament is like that first page. It tells part of the story, but until we look at it together with the New Testament we might only see the skeleton instead of the whole body.
1. Read Luke 4:16-19
We see some very important things about Jesus in this scripture.
a. The Spirit of the Lord was upon him because the Lord anointed him (v.18).
Oil would actually be rubbed or smeared on the person. When speaking about a prophet it signified that the anointed individual was separated for God’s service and chosen by him. It was firmly believed that the Spirit of God would accompany that person wherever he went.
b. He was sent to preach the gospel to the poor (v.18).
Jesus came to preach the gospel to the poor. Who are the poor? Anyone who doesn’t know the gospel. What is the gospel? 1 Corinthians 15:1-4 says this:
Christ died for our sins.
He was buried.
He rose again the third day.
c. He was sent to heal the broken hearted (v.18).
What does it mean to be broken hearted? Look at Psalm 51:16,17. God isn’t really interested in something physical that we can set before him. He wants us to come before him humbled and broken. That’s when we can listen to him and he can do business with us.
d. He was sent to preach deliverance to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind (v.18).
What is it that we as humans are held captive to? Our sin. What is it that we are blind to? Our sin. What was Jesus sent to do? Deliver us from our sin and open our blind eyes.
e. He was sent to set at liberty them that are bruised (V.18).
Sin bruises us. There is no doubt that this scripture is talking about setting at liberty those who have been bruised by the sin in their lives. But there are other things that bruise us also. Throughout time we are bruised by many things. Some have faced rejection, abuse, failure. Others have dealt with death of loved ones, divorce, or the pain of watching children stray away from God. I couldn’t possibly name everything that everyone has had to deal with. But I do know one thing that is true. The bruise of sin and whatever else it is that has caused you pain can be healed by Jesus Christ.
f. He was sent to preach the acceptable year of the Lord (V.19).
Greek translation of acceptable – Elected, acceptable, one of whom there has been a favorable decision of the will. Particularly used of the sacrifice to distinguish it as the object of divine approval.
Jesus was sent to be the ultimate sacrifice for humanity. When Jesus died upon the cross the sacrifice came with divine approval and was acceptable to God. Jesus was able to “preach” this lesson to us by allowing himself to be placed upon the cross. No message in words could ever have the impact of that action.
C. HOW DO WE APPLY THIS TO OURSELVES?
1. As Christians the Spirit of the Lord is upon us and we have been anointed by him.
2. We have the responsibility to preach the gospel to the poor.
3. We have the responsibility to heal the broken hearted.
4. We have the responsibility to preach deliverance to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind.
5. We have the responsibility to set at liberty those who are bruised.
6. We have the responsibility to preach the acceptable year of the Lord
CONCLUSION
Like a 3-D drawing in the encyclopedia the Old and New Testaments need to come together to show us the entire picture. The thing we have to remember is that we are an integral part of the process. Although God’s Word is powerful, he expects us to become actively involved and share it with others.
