Monday, January 25, 2010
Luke 4:18 The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me ... to proclaim freedom for the prisoners
OUR MESSIAH-KING: ANOINTED TO ANNOUNCE FREEDOM FOR PRISONERS
When Jesus was baptized by John in the Jordan the Holy Spirit descended on Him in the form of a dove. The Father bestowed on Him a special measure of the Spirit and extra strength for fulfilling His Savior-mission. Because Jesus had emptied Himself of the full use of His divine prerogatives to function as our servant, it was necessary for Him to have His Father "power Him up" (so to speak) by the Spirit. Only so could He carry out His Savior-mission successfully.
What special tasks did the Father assign to His Son during His ministry? One was to announce freedom for prisoners. As He visited various cities of Palestine on His preaching tours, Jesus proclaimed this message to the townsfolk: "You are slaves by nature to the harsh taskmaster, Satan, from whose prison house you cannot set yourselves free. Your situation is dire. There's no way you can improve your lot by your efforts. I am your Messiah, sent from heaven, to do what you can’t do. I am going to free you from Satan's power, from the guilt of sin and its consequence, death, so that you may be Mine and live under Me in My kingdom and serve Me in everlasting righteousness, innocence, and joy."
Our Messiah-King continues to preach this sweet Gospel message to you and me. By nature we too were slaves to sin. Satan had his choke hold on us. There was no way we could work ourselves free. But our Savior came from heaven to emancipate us. He has brought us under His gracious rule and made us citizens of His eternal realm. We are privileged to serve Him in love here and hereafter in heaven.
Hail to the Lord's Anointed, Great David's greater Son!
Hail, in the time appointed, His reign on earth begun!
He comes to break oppression, To set the captive free,
To take away transgression, And rule in equity.
