Title: The Purpose Of His Death I
Memorize: And He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. Mark 16:15 (Nkjv)
Bible Reading: Luke 4:16-20; Isaiah 61:1-3 (Nkjv)
[16] So He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up. And as His custom was, He went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and stood up to read.
[17] And He was handed the book of the prophet Isaiah. And when He had opened the book, He found the place where it was written:
[18] “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;
[19] To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord.”
[20] Then He closed the book, and gave it back to the attendant and sat down. And the eyes of all who were in the synagogue were fixed on Him.
Isaiah 61:1-3 (Nkjv)
[1] “The Spirit of the Lord God is upon Me, Because the Lord 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;
[2] To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord, And the day of vengeance of our God; To comfort all who mourn,
[3] To console those who mourn in Zion, To give them beauty for ashes, The oil of joy for mourning, The garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; That they may be called trees of righteousness, The planting of the Lord, that He may be glorified.”
Message:
In Luke 4:16-20, Jesus read from the Scriptures the reason He came to the earth as prophesied in Isaiah 61:1-3.
There was, however, one surprising thing Jesus did. He started reading the prophecy of Isaiah about His ministry from the beginning, but when He got to the part that said, “to preach the acceptable year of the Lord,” He stopped and closed the book.
That was not all Isaiah said; there was more. However, in announcing the assignment that He had come to do on the earth, Jesus stopped halfway.
There must have been a reason for that, and we can see that reason in Acts 1:8, which says: “But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.”
The Holy Spirit was to fulfil the other part of that Scripture.
My dear child, Jesus saved you so that He can use you to save others. The question is, are you fulfilling the other part of the prophecy in Isaiah 61?
Never forget the assignment the Lord gave to you after He rose from death (Matthew 28:19-20).
Action Point:
Tell someone about Jesus today
HYMN 31 – WONDERFUL STORY OF LOVE
1: Wonderful story of love;
Tell it to me again;
Wonderful story of love;
Wake the immortal strain!
Angels with rapture announce it,
Shepherds with wonder receive it;
Sinner, O won’t you believe It.
Wonderful story of love.
Refrain
Wonderful! Wonderful!
Wonderful!
Wonderful story of love!
2: Wonderful story of love,
Though you are far away;
Wonderful story of love;
Still He doth call today;
Calling from Calvary’s mountain,
Down from the crystal bright fountain,
E’en from the dawn of creation,
Wonderful story of love.
3: Wonderful story of love:
Jesus provides a rest;
Wonderful story of love;
For all the pure and blest,
Rest in those mansions above us,
With those who’ve gone on before us
Singing the rapturous chorus,
Wonderful story of love.
Bible Reading In One Year: Joshua 24:1-33, Luke 21:1-28
Authors: Pastor E. A. Adeboye and Pastor Folu Adeboye