Advent 2019 - Day 14

Read Isaiah 61.1-4; 10-11​

The Spirit of the Lord God is on me, because the Lord has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and freedom to the prisoners; to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor, and the day of our God’s vengeance; to comfort all who mourn, to provide for those who mourn in Zion; to give them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, festive oil instead of mourning, and splendid clothes instead of despair. And they will be called righteous trees, planted by the Lord to glorify him. They will rebuild the ancient ruins; they will restore the former devastations; they will renew the ruined cities, the devastations of many generations.

I rejoice greatly in the Lord, I exult in my God; for he has clothed me with the garments of salvation and wrapped me in a robe of righteousness, as a groom wears a turban and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels. For as the earth produces its growth, and as a garden enables what is sown to spring up, so the Lord God will cause righteousness and praise to spring up before all the nations.

What an incredible passage! This was written somewhere in the ballpark of 700 years before Jesus would be born. And yet, Isaiah is very clearly referring to Jesus. Jesus is to come and preach into existence His new, liberated people, who will pray into existence His new, redeemed world.

All along, God’s perfect plan was to send Jesus to die for us, so that we may be His ambassadors to a dark, fallen world. It is by no means our responsibility to save another human. That is the work of the Holy Spirit. However, we are God’s messengers. We proclaim, we sow the seed, we go out and tell the truth of the gospel. The truth of a Savior born into our world, who is coming again.

​REFLECT:

How does it make you feel that God’s plan all along was through Jesus’ birth, death, and resurrection?

How does it make you feel that you were a part of that plan as well?