The Announcement of the Messiah

Well, obviously the passage under consideration this morning is about the Messiah.

Let me give you my outline this morning and we'll walk through it together. Number one, I want you to see the announcement of the Messiah. Number two, I want you to see the anointing of the Messiah. Number three, I want you to see the mission of the Messiah. Then we'll consider the transforming power of the Messiah. And then we'll look finally at a bit of a surprise as we think of what God has for us here. But as we begin, I want us to think about the announcement of the Messiah.

In your mind, will you go with me to Nazareth, a little village 20 miles or so from the Sea of Galilee. It's the Sabbath day. And Jesus as a young man enters the synagogue. Word has spread to this little town where Jesus grew up of miracles that he had done in Capernaum.

The synagogue was full. Jesus is in the midst of the synagogue. He stands and he walks up and he's handed the scroll, the sacred scroll. And Jesus unrolls the scroll to Isaiah chapter 61. And listen to what Luke chapter 4 tells us. He was handed the book of the prophet Isaiah.

And when he had opened the book, he found the place where it was written. This is Isaiah 61 verse 1 and the first part of verse 2. The Spirit of the Lord is upon me because he has anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor. He has sent me to heal the broken hearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord.

And he stopped there. Now obviously I read Isaiah 61. There's 12 verses. Jesus read verse 1 and the first part of verse 2.

And then Luke tells us, then he closed the book, gave it back to the attendant and he sat down. And the eyes of all who were in the synagogue were fixed on him. And he began to say to them, today, this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.

Can you imagine? Isaiah had written about the Messiah 700 years earlier and here Jesus in a synagogue in Nazareth manifests himself and announces that he indeed is the long anticipated promised Messiah. How did the people respond to that? So all bore witness to him and marveled at the gracious words which proceeded out of his mouth and they said, is this not Joseph's son? He grew up among them. He worked on their furniture, built chairs for them. He was the village carpenter. Is this not Joseph's son? He said to them, you will surely say this proverb to me.

Physician, heal yourself. Whatever we have heard done in Capernaum, do also here in your country. Then he said, as surely I say to you, no prophet is accepted in his own country. But I tell you truly, many widows were in Israel in the days of Elijah when the heaven was shut up three years and six months and there was a great famine throughout all the land. But to none of them was Elijah sent except to Zarephath in the region of Sidon to a woman who was a widow.

Many lepers were in Israel in the time Elijah, the prophet, and none of them was cleansed except Naaman the Syrian. Ready for this? So all those in the synagogue when they heard these things were filled with joy.

Is that what it says? They were filled with wrath. They were filled with wrath and they rose up and thrust him out of the city and they led him to the brow of the hill on which their city was built and they might throw him down over the cliff.

Then passing through the midst of them, he went his way. The announcement of the Messiah. What an announcement.

Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing. And there was a mixture of responses. They marveled at him, they were astounded, they'd heard the words. The town was abuzz about Jesus and what he had done at Capernaum.

When he sat down, every eye was fixed on him. And yet, what do we see? We see the heart of unredeemed man and his hatred for God and his right to be God. Now, in all fairness, had you and I been a part of that village of Nazareth? Had you and I been in that synagogue? And we had known Jesus for 30 years. He grew up around us.

We saw him walking, we saw him working, we saw him interacting with the people in this small, obscure village. Would we have anticipated, would we have held views of him and say, you know what, I can't wait until he becomes an adult man and announces to the world that he's the Messiah. Would we have thought that?

No. We wouldn't have thought that. And that's part of the enigma here, that God would come in the person of his Son in such an obscure way, not with fanfare, not as a king, but as a normal man.

Now, a perfect man, by the way. And they couldn't get beyond that. Despite the fact that they had the Old Testament scriptures that prophesied that the Messiah would come. But 700 years is a long time, right? This country of ours is less than 250 years old.

And that seems like a very, very, very long time, right? 700 years since Isaiah prophesied of a Messiah who would come. So, the announcement of the Messiah. Number two, think with me about the anointing of the Messiah. Now we're back in Isaiah 61.

The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me because the Lord has anointed me to preach good tidings to the poor. The anointing of the Messiah. In the Old Testament, men were anointed with oil for key offices in Israel. 1 Samuel 10 and verse 1 tells us of Samuel anointing Saul to be the first king of Israel.

Exodus 30 and verse 30 speaks to us of Moses anointing Aaron and the sons of Aaron for the priesthood. And then in 1 Kings 19 verse 16 we have Elijah anointing Elisha as a prophet. Now, men can anoint other men with oil, but only God can anoint a man with the Holy Spirit. No one in history was so powerfully anointed with the Holy Spirit like the Lord Jesus Christ. And when was that anointing?

Well, you recall at his baptism, the dove descending from heaven, the word that came from heaven. There was that anointing. Peter speaking to Cornelius in Acts chapter 10 and verse 38 says this, God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power and he went about doing good and healing all who were under the tyranny of the devil. The anointing of the Spirit of God. We hear people pray for anointing, but what are people praying for? Oftentimes when I hear people praying for so-and-so to be anointed for God to anoint so-and-so, it's for some miraculous manifestation, some healing power, something out of the ordinary.

Here in Isaiah chapter 61, the anointing of the Messiah. The Lord has anointed me to do what? To preach. He has anointed me to preach good tidings to the poor. He has sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and the opening of the prison to those who are bound, to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord. That brings us, number three, to the mission of the Messiah. The mission of the Messiah. The announcement of the Messiah, the anointing of the Messiah, now the mission of the Messiah. And there is a seven-fold mission that the Father gave to Jesus and it's recorded here in Isaiah 61. The Lord has anointed me to do what? To preach good news to the poor, number two, to heal the brokenhearted, number three, to proclaim liberty to the captives, number four, to recover sight to the blind, number five, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, and number six, to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord.

And finally, to announce the day of vengeance of our God. The mission of the Messiah. In a world with needs as great as they were in the time of Jesus' coming, in a world with needs as great as they are in our day, are we guilty at times of lacking in confidence in the mission that God has entrusted to His church? Do we say, you know, I get this, that we're to preach the gospel, but in light of how great the need is, is there more that God wants us to do? Would His anointing come to accomplish more? What I want you to see here in the mission of the Messiah, it's to preach, preach the good news to the poor, to proclaim, another expression of verbal ministry, to proclaim liberty to the captives. Verse two, to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord.

I think at times we almost are apologetic that all we've got to say to a world that's lost and in darkness and in the chaos all around us, all we've got to do is to preach. We say, really? That's going to get the job done? That's going to break in? That's going to set people free?

That's going to bring deliverance? Yes? Yes? What did you need? Did you need therapy? Did you need a psychiatrist?

Or did you need the life-giving gospel message? That's what this world needs. And we shouldn't despair as dark as things are getting, as difficult as things are, as chaotic as life is, all around us. We shouldn't shrink back.

We shouldn't be apologetic. We shouldn't be silent with the message we've got. If that's the message that God the Father gave God the Son and sent Him into this world as the Messiah, then that's what we need to be about. Preaching the gospel. Anointing comes. And you say, well, that's just so non-spectacular.

Well, I'm not into spectacular. I'm into an anointing from God that is ordained of God, that He has promised to bless, and as we're His representatives and extending the ministry of Christ and His church in this world, this is what we are to be about. Preaching, proclaiming, heralding the message of the good news. We've got a request for Josh Boyd, 30-some-year-old son of Thad and Angela Boyd, who's got some pretty serious medical issues, has had some tests, they've discovered some things, there's more tests needed. But his greatest need is the gospel. So, I simply want to, it's a different name to you, a different person, a different family.

Is your confidence, has it waned any? Do you think, you know what, that person needs more than the gospel? We wouldn't say it. But the fact that we don't have as much confidence in the gospel and its proclamation reveals something about us. Josh Boyd needs some medical help, but that young man needs the gospel of Jesus Christ. Blessed of God, to His heart, to open His blinded eyes and set Him free.

That's the only hope there was for me, that's the only hope there was for you. That's the mission of the Messiah. Think with me, the recipients of this good news, how are they pictured? As we read through Isaiah 61, how are they pictured? They're poor, they're broken-hearted, they're captives, they're prisoners, they mourn, they're clothed with ashes in despair, they live in ruined cities, they're devastated like this for generations, they're disgraced by the mocking nations, they're plundered by robbery and injustice. You say, in the light of needs that great, is the gospel the only message we've got?

Yes. That's the message that we must not abandon. That's the only hope there is for our loved ones, for our cities, for our nation. That's our hope.

That's where our confidence must be. Think with me number four about the transforming power of the Messiah and His mission. This message consoles those who mourn. This message brings beauty for ashes. This message is the oil of joy for mourning.

This message brings a garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness. This message comes to weak captives and makes them trees of righteousness. Notice the end of verse four, that they may be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord that He may be glorified. Trees of righteousness, what a wonderful word picture. Trees of righteousness, it speaks of strength, of stability. And that's what God does to those who are weak and held captive.

They're the planting of the Lord. And why does He do this? He does this that He may be glorified.

That's why He does this. We've got an adversary, the devil, who holds people in bondage. Luke records an account where Jesus met a woman who'd been bent over for, I think, 18 years. And Jesus healed her. But when Jesus healed her, He proclaimed that Satan had bound her and that He had set her free.

Now that's a physical manifestation of Satan's activity. But people are bound. They're enslaved. And the only thing that is going to bring freedom and liberty is the gospel of Jesus Christ.

What else? The transforming power of the Messiah and His mission. You see, God would not send His Son on a mission that was doomed to fail, would He?

No. He sent His Son on a mission that was guaranteed to succeed. Jesus has redeemed everyone for whom the Father gave to Him. We don't need to be wondering, is there enough power in this gospel to save so-and-so? There's enough power in the gospel to save anyone.

Our confidence must not wane. Now, I want you to notice with me that this chapter concludes with the Messiah speaking again. He spoke there at the beginning of Isaiah 61, the Spirit of the Lord God is upon me because the Lord has anointed me to preach the good news to the poor. Luke chapter 4 clearly shows us that Jesus is the fulfillment of Isaiah 61. When Jesus said, today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing, Jesus obviously is the fulfillment of Isaiah 61.

Well, here He's speaking again in the first person at the end of chapter 61. And He says there in verse 10, I will greatly rejoice in the Lord. My soul shall be joyful 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 ornaments. That's a good verse to kind of tuck away for Christmas, isn't it? As we hang ornaments on our trees.

To think about that, as a bridegroom decks himself with ornaments, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels. For as the earth brings forth its bud, as the garden causes the things that are sown in it to spring forth, so the Lord God will cause righteousness and praise to spring forth before all the nations. That's what God intends to provoke us to worship. Jesus said, I will greatly rejoice in the Lord.

My soul shall be joyful in my God. As a bride adorns herself with her jewels, as the earth brings forth its bud, so the Lord God will cause righteousness and praise to spring forth before all the nations. That's what God intends. That's what God is desiring.

That's what God is working towards to produce, to provoke men and women to worship Him. That's why we're here this morning, to acknowledge Him, to give Him the worship that's due unto His name. And that's what God is intending, is we extend ourselves in the work of missions, so the Lord God will cause righteousness and praise to spring forth before what? All the nations.

All the nations. I'm very thankful for what God is doing in our church, that our commitment to this mission, our commitment to this message, our commitment to this life-giving that sets captives free, that liberates men, that promotes righteousness, that we have demonstrated our recommitment to that in our faith promise commitments for 2021. We want to see God extend that to the nations. And we have, by God's help, assembled a missionary family that, first and foremost, is committed to the gospel of Jesus Christ. We support church planters. We support missionaries who are preachers, first and foremost. That's where their confidence is.

That's what our confidence is in. And as they go in the power of the Spirit with God's anointing upon them, to see men and women, boys and girls, brought into the kingdom of His Son. There's something very encouraging here in what Jesus did not say in that synagogue in Nazareth recorded in Luke chapter four. I mentioned to you that Jesus read one verse and he stopped mid-sentence at the end of, not at the end, but mid-sentence at verse two.

Let me take you back there to Luke chapter four. He opened the book. He found the place where it was written. The Spirit of the Lord is upon me because He has anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor. He has sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord. And he stopped there.

He closed the book, gave it back to the attendant and sat down. And the eyes of all who were in the synagogue were fixed on him and he said, today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing. What is the very next thing in Isaiah 61 that Jesus did not say?

Listen to it. The last thing he said was to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord. This is what Jesus did not say. And the day of vengeance of our God. Jesus omitted the reference to the wrath of God. Now is that because God will not visit this world with His wrath because of its rejection and rebellion of Him? No.

He will. But the point is that Jesus came into the world as the Messiah. For what purpose? I printed in your bulletin John chapter 3 verse 17. It says, For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.

That's our message. God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. Jesus stopped mid-verse, mid-sentence and it is as though Jesus would not have anyone distracted from the message of grace, wonderful grace. Now He's coming again and when He comes again, He's coming in wrath. He's coming in judgment. But when He came the first time, He came to rescue, He came to redeem, He came to save.

And this is still the acceptable year of the Lord. Today is the day of salvation. So folks, listen to me.

Tell your friends, tell your family, tell your children, tell your grandchildren, tell your neighbors. This is a day of good news. We've got the best news.

There is no better news than this news. Shall we pray? Father, thank You, thank You, thank You for the giving of Your Son. Thank You for a message that transforms lives. Thank You for a message that brings healing to the brokenhearted, that brings light in the place of darkness, that brings freedom in the place of bondage. Oh God, thank You for the life-giving, life-liberating message of this gospel that we have. We are not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is indeed the power of God unto salvation to everyone who believes. Thank You that there is assembled in this place and those around their internet, trophies of Your grace, evidences of this life-giving, life-changing, life-transforming message that has changed us and we desire to see it change others. Lord, may we recommit ourselves afresh to this mission, to this message. May our confidence not wane, but may it grow. And may You, by Your grace and mercy, break in upon those we know and love and care about. And may we have the joy this coming year of seeing many, many, many come to faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. We pray in Jesus' name, amen.