Feb 25th 2021 -
"and the day of vengeance of our God..." (Isaiah 61:2) Throughout the Old Testament, there are many references to a specific day. A day when the Lord, the mighty God, would come to earth and pass judgement on humanity. The Old Testament writers describe this as a day of destruction for wicked people, a moment when all the enemies of God would be...
Feb 24th 2021 -
"o proclaim the year of the Lord’s favour..." (Isaiah 61:2) In order for us to understand the significance of these words in Isaiah 61, we need to understand two things. Who is ‘me’ and what is ‘the year of the Lord’s favour.’ The first is simple to answer, ‘me’ is Jesus, the son of God. The second needs a bit more explanation. You...
Feb 23rd 2021 -
"and release from darkness for the prisoners..." (Isaiah 61:1) One of my favourite films of all time is the 2000 Aardman animation classic ‘Chicken Run’. Chickens desperately trying to escape their pie-based fate on a farm that resembles a prisoner-of-war camp. The tale of escape is as old as time itself. Other films like The Shawshank Redemption and The Great Escape manage to...
Feb 22nd 2021 -
"to proclaim freedom for the captives..." (Isaiah 61:1) We’ve been locked down. For some of us, the physical lockdown has revealed a more potent spiritual lockdown. Proverbs 5:22 says ‘an evil man is held captive by his own sins; they are ropes that catch and hold him’. We’ve been waiting for the day where we ‘have our freedom back’ and can resume our lives of...
Feb 20th 2021 -
“He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,” (Isaiah 61:1) Take a moment. Before you begin reading this. Invite the Holy Spirit to meet you right now. I am praying that Jesus who was sent to bind up the brokenhearted will bind yours too. "He has sent me…" There is conviction in the words Isaiah writes about Jesus. He. Has. Sent. Me. The...
Feb 19th 2021 -
"to proclaim good news to the poor..." (Isaiah 61:1) No matter how many times I read Isaiah 61, it’s still the end of the first sentence that arrests my attention the most. “...good news to the poor.” Of all that God could choose to proclaim through Isaiah, he starts with good news. Of all that Jesus could choose to quote as he declares what his...
Feb 18th 2021 -
"Because the Lord has anointed me..." (Isaiah 61:1) The prophet Isaiah is referring here to Jesus - the Messiah, the Holy and “Anointed One” who was destined to come to save humanity and redeem the earth. The anointing of Jesus was not like the external anointing of oil in the Old Testament, it was the indwelling of the Holy Spirit and it...
