The Coming and Present Good News
Photo by Taylor Wilcox on Unsplash
What good news do you anticipate in the face of so much bad news? What are you hoping the future holds?
We are surrounded by such sadness, poverty, broken-heartedness, captivity, imprisonment and oppression, injustice, disaster, death, peril and distress. We need the deliverance, relief, rescue, and restoration of God.
When Jesus stood up to read the scriptures in the Synagogue in his home town of Nazareth, he read from the scroll of the Prophet Isaiah, which promises reprieve from our current fallen, sinful, and broken state of being.
Jesus read from the Prophet Isaiah, saying, “The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me to bring good news to the poor; 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; to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all who mourn; to grant to those who mourn in Zion—to give them a beautiful headdress instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, the garment of praise instead of a faint spirit; that they may be called oaks of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that he may be glorified.” (Isaiah 61:1-3, ESV).
Through Jesus, God is binding up our brokenness, setting the captive free, opening up the prisons and releasing those who are bound, ushering in God’s favor, comforting those who are grieving and mourning, brining beauty out of the ashes of destruction, bringing about a reinstitution of joy and worship, and God is bringing about stability for his children—all to the glory of God.
May we be encouraged by this coming and present good news of Jesus Christ, and may we eagerly await God’s present and coming kingdom spoken about by the Prophet Isaiah and fulfilled by Jesus of Nazareth.
In Christ alone, Robbie
Prayers For The Burial Of The Dead: “Lord Jesus Christ, by your death you took away the sting of death: Grant to us your servants so to follow in faith where you have led the way, that we may at length fall asleep peacefully in you and wake up in your likeness; for your tender mercies’ sake. Amen.” (Book of Common Prayer, 2019).
Photo by Taylor Wilcox on Unsplash
