Thursday, December 11

Isaiah 61:1
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
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In Jesus' time, in the synagogue a person would stand up, take the scrolls of the scriptures, roll it out to reveal the passage, read it outloud and then sit down to teach.  Jesus did that one day and read this passage from Isaiah.  There was the pause of waiting for him to sit down and begin to speak.  This was an ancient passage that spoke in poetic phrases and hopeful dreams. Jesus sat down and said, "Today this scripture is fulfilled at your hearing."  I imagine the room exploded with shock and anger.  Who is he to think this scripture is about him?  Those who were oppressed, brokenhearted, captive and in prison, would drink in these words pulled through Jesus and find a freedom that no one, no law, no nation can ever suppress. 
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Holy God, Gimme Jesus. Amen.