YouTube Link
Isaiah 61:1-4 The spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me, because the LORD has anointed me; he has sent me to bring good news to the oppressed, to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and release to 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 to provide for those who mourn in Zion — to give them a garland instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, the mantle of praise instead of a faint spirit. They will be called oaks of righteousness, the planting of the LORD, to display his glory. 4 They shall build up the ancient ruins, they shall raise up the former devastations; they shall repair the ruined cities, the devastations of many generations.
Isaiah 61:8-11 8 For I the LORD love justice, I hate robbery and wrongdoing; I will faithfully give them their recompense, and I will make an everlasting covenant with them. 9 Their descendants shall be known among the nations, and their offspring among the peoples; all who see them shall acknowledge that they are a people whom the LORD has blessed. 10 I will greatly rejoice in the LORD, my whole being shall exult in my God; for he has clothed me with the garments of salvation, he has covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decks himself with a garland, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels. 11 For as the earth brings forth its shoots, and as a garden causes what is sown in it to spring up, so the Lord GOD will cause righteousness and praise to spring up before all the nations.
Luke 4:16-21 16 When he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, he went to the synagogue on the sabbath day, as was his custom. He stood up to read, 17 and the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to him. He unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written: 18 “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, 19 to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.” 20 And he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant, and sat down. The eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on him. 21 Then he began to say to them, “Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.”
The Coming Messenger
A while ago an interesting sign was seen hanging in a store window during the Christmas season. The original message stated, “Let’s make this the best Christmas ever.” Underneath, some perceptive person had scribbled a legitimate question: “How will we top the first one?” That person was right; the birth of Jesus Christ, Emanuel, God with us, cannot be topped. The only thing that will top the first one will be when Jesus returns. This is what Advent is all about; celebrating the first coming while waiting for the second coming.
The first week of Advent we looked at Jesus as the coming Lord sent to claim His crown as rightful King. The second week we looked at Jesus as the coming Deliverer sent to reclaim His people from Satan. This week we will look at Jesus as the coming Messenger sent to proclaim the arrival of the Kingdom of God.
Nowadays we no longer think of the importance of a messenger. After all, we have telephones, cell phones, text messaging and email. There is no need for an actual person to come and deliver a message. But go back in history and we can see the importance of a messenger.
The battle of Gettysburg was the turning point of the Civil War. Up to this point in the war the South was winning. They had plans to march up the Shenandoah Valley to Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. On July 1st, 1863 the South and the North met outside Gettysburg. The South won the first day. They sent the Union soldiers fleeing through the town into the hills. Toward evening of that day General Robert E. Lee sent a messenger to one of his leading commanders, General Ewell. The order told Ewell to take a certain strategic hill. In one of the greatest blunders in military history, General Ewell failed to act. He ignored the messenger, he ignored the message. By morning that hill, Culp’s Hill was occupied by Union forces. The South was never able to win that hill and they lost the Battle of Gettysburg and eventually the war.
Messengers are important and Jesus was the most important messenger of all time with the most important message ever. Jesus came to proclaim the in-breaking of the kingdom of God.
The theme of the coming kingdom of God was central to Jesus’ ministry. His teaching was designed to show us how to enter the kingdom of God. His miracles were intended to prove that the kingdom of God had indeed come.
When Jesus taught His disciples to pray at the heart of that prayer was the petition, “thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” We pray this every week. In the kingdom of God every act is within the Father’s will. It is not that way here on earth. We have free will and we often choose to sin. Many times we are injured by the sins others commit. In the kingdom of God we live within the will of the Father.
What is the kingdom of God? According to Jesus it is like a mustard seed or yeast; something that starts small and grows over time. He told the disciples it was already among them. It is open to children but hard to enter for the rich. Jesus told Nicodemus that no one could see the kingdom of God unless they were born of the Spirit. Jesus told parables and said that the kingdom of God is like a treasure or a pearl of great price that one will sell everything else to possess.
Not exactly clear is it? Still find the concept of the kingdom of God confusing? Don’ worry, you’re in good company. The disciples didn’t understand either. Theologians have been arguing about it throughout the centuries. There is no way to fully describe the kingdom, to fully know what it is like. That’s why Jesus kept saying the kingdom of God is like. We are incapable of understanding more.
The gospel of John speaks of Jesus and tells us that the Word became flesh and dwelt among us. The Messenger himself is the Message. Jesus the Messenger is Jesus, the Messiah, the anointed one. That is what the word Messiah means in Hebrew, anointed one. We are more familiar with the word Christ which is the translation of the word messiah into Greek.
When kings were chosen in Israel they were anointed with oil. 1 Samuel 10:1 says, “Samuel took a vial of oil and poured it on his head, and kissed him; he said, “The LORD has anointed you ruler over his people Israel.” Samuel anointed Saul as the first king of the Israelites. He also anointed David as the second king. The other kings were also anointed.
Jesus was not anointed by human hands. He is anointed by the Spirit of the Lord. As we read this morning Jesus said, “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, 19 to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.” Jesus said, “Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.” They didn’t believe Him, many still don’t believe Him but the message still goes out to the far corners of the world.
Jesus came to proclaim the Kingdom of God. The miracles He did, the signs He demonstrated were proof of who He was. When John the Baptist was in prison he sent men to ask, ‘Are you the one who is to come, or are we to wait for another?’ Jesus answered, “Go and tell John what you have seen and heard: the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, the poor have good news brought to them.” Jesus fulfilled the predictions of Isaiah. He did what the Messiah was to do. Jesus healed people wherever He went. On several occasions Jesus raised the dead. The Messiah has come and the kingdom of God is with us.
Isaiah prophesized before the people were taken to Babylon and told them they would become captives. Once there they longed for release from captivity so they could return to their own land. After seventy years they were allowed to go free. We are not in physical captivity here in America but everyone is held captive by sin. Jesus came to release us from this captivity, to set us free so we could turn from sin and choose God instead, to know God’s love instead of our own selfish pride.
Isaiah said the Messiah would bring good news to the oppressed. Jesus is the good news for those oppressed by sin. That is us. We are the oppressed. It isn’t foreign governments who oppress us, it isn’t religious authorities, it is something worse. We are oppressed by our sin and that comes from the brokenness inside all of us.
Isaiah said the Messiah would bind up the broken-hearted. In what ways are we all broken? Sin has corrupted all of us and we have been hurt by others’ sins also. Just as one would bind up a broken arm so would Jesus bind up our broken hearts. Healing from all the ways we have ever been rejected or hated, misunderstood or forgotten. Take this brokenness to God and He will heal it. We are also broken because we live apart from God. We were meant to live in relationship with God, knowing His love.
Isaiah said the Messiah would proclaim liberty to the captives and release to the prisoners. Again, we are the captives and prisoners. We are held captive by sin and are prisoners locked inside our selfishness and pride. Jesus came to set us free. He came to open our hearts so the Spirit of God could live within us.
Jesus came as God’s messenger to tell us that the kingdom of God is here among us. We are to seek the kingdom of God right now, in our lives, it is to be received now, in our present reality.
Jesus came to show us the way to the kingdom. Not a physical road but a path written on our hearts. A path of surrender to God, repentance for our sins and love for God and others.
Gordon McDonald tells this story: “A Nigerian woman who is a physician at a great teaching hospital in the United States came out of the crowd today to say something kind about the lecture I had just given. She introduced herself using an American name. ‘What’s your African name?’ I asked. She immediately gave it to me, several syllables long with a musical sound to it. ‘What does the name mean?’ I wondered. She answered, ‘It means “Child who takes the anger away.”’ When I inquired as to why she would have been given this name, she said, ‘My parents had been forbidden by their parents to marry. But they loved each other so much that they defied the family opinions and married anyway. For several years they were ostracized from both their families. Then my mother became pregnant with me. And when the grandparents held me in their arms for the first time, the walls of hostility came down. I became the one who swept the anger away. And that’s the name my mother and father gave me.’” McDonald concluded, “It occurred to me that her name would be a suitable one for Jesus.”
Child who takes the anger away. I agree with McDonald; that would be a good name for Jesus. Jesus came to bring peace to humanity. Peace between God and humanity. Jesus came to inaugurate the kingdom of God here on earth. In the kingdom there is peace, freedom from brokenness and oppression is overcome.
Yes, when Jesus came, he was the child who took the anger away between ourselves and God. He bridged the great divide between God and people. He brought us together. He was the child who takes the anger away — or as we know him: The Prince of Peace.