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The Spirit of the Lord is Upon Me
Luke 4:18 The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, 19 To preach the acceptable year of the Lord. After being tempted by Satan for forty days, Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit to Galilee. He had great success and acclaim when He taught in their synagogues. Things were not as rosy when He returned to His hometown of Nazareth. In keeping with His custom, He went to the synagogue on the Sabbath day (Luke 4:14-16). Jesus could have claimed superiority over these locals and worshiped God in solitude, but He chose to show unity with even two or three who would gather in the name of the Lord (Mt. 18:20). That is a good example for us to remember! Jesus was asked to read from the prophets (Luke 4:17) and the text was Isaiah 61 which was considered to be a prophesy of the Messiah. The people of the region still suffered the after effects of their earlier captivity in Babylon and Assyria. Ignorance and poverty abounded and they were under the domination of the hated Romans. The expectation was that when the Messiah appeared, He would drive out the Romans and restore Israel to it’s former glory. Jesus didn’t read the text in a dry humdrum manner, He read it with the anointing of the Spirit. When Jesus spoke, people listened. We read in John 7:46, “Never a man spake like this man.” and in Matthew 7:29 that “He taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes.” Jesus read, “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, to preach the acceptable year of the Lord.” Jesus closed the book and all eyes were fastened on Him. The folks marveled at the gracious words that came from His mouth. Jesus claimed Messiahship by saying, “This day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears.” The mood of the people changed quickly. Surely their Messiah would not be this local boy, the son of a carpenter? Jesus began to challenge their supposed superiority over all other people on earth, as God’s chosen. He reminded them that during the time of Elijah when it didn’t rain for three and a half years, many were starving in Israel but Elijah was only sent to a gentile widow. Likewise, their were many lepers in the time of Elisha, but Naaman the Syrian was the only one to receive relief (Luke 4:25-27). At this, those who had marveled at the words of Jesus, carried Him out of the synagogue and tried to kill Him. These people missed the mark because they looked at scripture through the lens of their own self interest and made no spiritual application whatsoever. I wonder if we don’t often do the same thing? How then do we apply this scripture spiritually? Here are a few thoughts for starters. I'm sure that you have many more. The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; There are untold numbers of hurting people in this world. Most have no knowledge of a God who condescended from heaven and gave His human life as a sacrifice . The may have great earthly wealth, but without Jesus they are the poorest of the poor. He hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted How many people do we know who are suffering from the effects of broken marriages, betrayal by friends, sickness and disease, the effects of sinful habits, etc. The list is endless, but so is the power of our God. to preach deliverance to the captives, How many people do we know who are struggling with addictions from drugs and alcohol? and recovering of sight to the blind, How many do we know who are simply spiritually blind? We by the anointing of the Spirit can help open their understanding. to set at liberty them that are bruised, How many people do we know who are bruised? They can’t get over deep hurts. They are hesitant to trust anybody for fear of being hurt further. To preach the acceptable year of the Lord. How many do we know who know the word, but they put off making a commitment to the Lord? We need to make it known that today is the day of salvation (II 6:2). Jesus was anointed by the Spirit to address all of these situations and so are we. We have been given the same anointing that He had. John 15:5 I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing John 15:16 Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and [that] your fruit should remain: that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give it you. Jesus said the when we received power from on high i.e. the baptism of the Holy Spirit, we would be His witnesses to the uttermost parts of the earth (Acts 1:8). He gave us a commission found in Mark 16:15 and Matthew 28:19-20 to preach the gospel to all nations. Believers would lay hands on the sick and see them recover and cast out evil spirits. No, we can’t do these things by our own power but we can by the anointing of the Lord. II Corinthians 10:4 (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;) 5 Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ; I John 2:20 tells us that we have an anointing from the Holy One. In conclusion: There are people whom we see everyday who are spiritually blind and suffering from the effects of sin. If their salvation depends solely on them entering a church building, they will be lost. Just by setting a godly example or by speaking an anointed word, we can speak to the hearts of suffering individuals and cause them to turn to the Lord. Each of us has an anointing and a commission to live and preach the gospel. We had best be doing so! Keep Looking Up! Don and Marie Spooner About Him! Ministries
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