SCRIPTURE: The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me to bring good news to the poor [or afflicted]; he has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound [or the opening of the eyes to those who are blind]. Isaiah 61:1 ESV
THOUGHT: Jesus was announcing what many call “the age of grace,” to his listeners the day he opened his public ministry with a little sermon on Isaiah 61:1. It was good news for the poor (or afflicted), a binding up of the brokenhearted, liberty to the captives, open eyes where there were none before.
When I think about the way Jesus’ life changed things for us, I almost always think back to what the angels said at his birth. “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased (Luke 2:14)!” It’s a holy God who will be at peace with us through Jesus…a peace he extends to us as a king extends his scepter. The age of grace flowing into a world at odds with God.
The kingdom Jesus ushered in was what God had planned since sin entered the picture at the beginning of the human story. Jesus was “the last Adam (1 Cor. 15:45);” God’s plan to redeem all the wreckage that sin and death had wrought. But, as is often true in spiritual realms, we who are reading the words of good news are still struggling with matters of earth: poverty, affliction, broken-heartedness, captivity of various kinds, blindness, and death.
So what exactly changed? The way God sees us who believe. No longer does he see us through sin, which he cannot look on or be in the presence of. He sees us through the blood of Christ as righteous. He can welcome us into his presence in a way we were never able to come before (Heb. 4:15-16). He can exchange our heart of stone for a heart of flesh and live inside us as never before (Ezekiel 36:26).
I can personally testify to have wounds and broken-heartedness bound up, having prison doors and blind eyes opened. God has spoken peace to me, and – even though I struggle and am not perfected – I am so grateful for the age of grace.
PRAYER: Thank you for declaring peace on earth – the age of grace – among those with whom you are pleased. It’s a peace treaty I need to remember everyday with gratitude.
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