Isaiah 61, Luke 4, and me

Luke 4:14-21

And Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit to Galilee, and a report about him went out through all the surrounding country. And he taught in their synagogues, being glorified by all.

And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up. And as was his custom, he went to the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and he stood up to read. And the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to him. He unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written,

"The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,
because he has anointed me
to proclaim good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives
and recovering of sight to the blind,
to set at liberty those who are oppressed,
to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor."

And he rolled up the scroll and gave it back to the attendant and sat down. And the eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on him. And he began to say to them, "Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing."


It's my understanding that because of the oral culture, and because the Jews often memorized huge amounts of their scriptures, quoting the beginning of a passage would immediately bring to each listener the memory of the entirety of the passage. So when Jesus began to quote Isaiah 61, each person in the synagogue would hear the rest of that passage in their mind. Incredibly, he claimed Isaiah 61 was written about him--and that it was fulfilled in him.

Isaiah 61

The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is on me,
       because the LORD has anointed me
       to proclaim good news to the poor.
He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,
       to proclaim freedom for the captives,
       and release from darkness for the prisoners,
to proclaim the year of the LORD's favor,
       and the day of vengeance of our God;
to comfort all who mourn;
       and provide for those who grieve in Zion--
to bestow on them a crown of beauty
       instead of ashes,
the oil of joy
       instead of mourning,
and a garment of praise
       instead of a spirit of despair.
They will be called oaks of righteousness,
       a planting of the LORD
       for the display of his splendor.


Jesus transforms ashes, mourning, and despair into beauty, joy, and praise--for the display of his splendor. He has done it in millions of lives--including mine.

My eyes are slowly opening to some of the ways my ashes, mourning, and despair can be used "for the display of his splendor"--and then I can view these same bits of brokenness as beautiful, joyful reasons to praise.

So today I praise God for not only saving me, but for personally working each detail of my life into something beautiful.