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. 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:“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; To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord.”
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. And He began to say to them, “Today this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.” Luke 4:16-21.
Jesus the Messiah started His ministry in His own town with a prophetic word, which is probably the most important passage in the Old Testament. In this letter, I will share the importance of this prophecy with you: Jesus the Messiah is the Lord and the Word. His words were not only teaching words, but also a proclamation of fulfillment. We must understand that, when Jesus the Messiah came to this Earth, He came to fulfill all that had been spoken in the Old Testament. To fulfill means to make something work or to put it into action, and therefore, from the time when He began to proclaim His word, the word became reality in its message, its power, and its destiny.
Can we understand this truth today? The word of God is alive and powerful, like a two-edged sword, as it says in the Book of Hebrews. It works for those who accept it and toward those whom it was written about.
When the book of the prophet Isaiah was handed to Yeshua, He opened to the 61st chapter and began to read. Interestingly enough, He didn’t read the whole chapter. He stopped at the beginning of Verse 2, even though the 61st chapter of Isaiah contains eleven verses. Let’s look at why Jesus stopped at Verse 2.
The prophecy contained in this chapter refers to the first and second comings of the Messiah. When Jesus was reading this passage in the synagogue, He was teaching them or proclaiming to them that He had come for the first time. God anointed Yeshua to come to earth to preach good news, to heal people, to proclaim liberty, and to open prison doors by setting people free from sin.
These things have already happened, and are in effect today. The rest of the 61st chapter is going to take place in the near future. I believe that the rest of this chapter refers to Israel, because the rest of the 2nd verse says; (Isaiah 61: 2-4) “2…And the day of vengeance of our God; To comfort all who mourn, To console whose who mourn in Zion, To give them beauty for ashes, The old 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.”
These verses are about Israel, because they mention that Yeshua will console those who mourn in Zion, which means Israel. This event will take place when He is about to come to Earth for the second time. Their sins will be forgiven, and all of these promises will take place in their lives.
The Gentiles who have accepted Jesus are already enjoying these promises. They have received beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness, and they are called trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord. God’s perfect plan is to bring Jew and Gentile together. His perfect plan is that Jew and Gentile will be the planting of the Lord so that He may be glorified. Right now, He is being glorified among the Gentiles; and at the end, He will be glorified by the Jews as well, when they accept Jesus as their Messiah.
We see another interesting prophecy in the next verse: the rebuilding of Israel. Verse 5 says: “Strangers shall stand and feed your flocks, And the sons of the foreigner Shall be your plowmen and your vinedressers.”
From the time Israel was reborn, God began to bring the Jewish people back to His land. Along with the Jewish Immigration, Gentiles have been led by God to immigrate to Israel, and the purpose of this is what it is written in these verses: “Strangers shall stand and feed your flocks.” In the Israeli army today, there are many immigrants from Russia who are not Jews, but who are fighting for Israel. Russia has released its people, and many very well educated non-Jewish Russian immigrants have entered into Israel.
God is using the Gentiles to come and be a blessing to the Jewish nation today. Tour groups support humanitarian aid and other forms of help coming from various parts of the world, especially the United States of America and Canada. Why do you think there is such an outpouring of attention and such a desire to help the Jewish nation today? It is the hand of God moving upon the Earth, bringing these things to pass according to His word. And there are more wonderful things yet to come. Let’s continue.
Israel will take its place in the very near future, and God is preparing the ground for this. The Gentiles are already being blessed beyond measure by carrying the Gospel throughout the world. The Gentiles have been enjoying the benefit of the Gospel for centuries, and they will carry on in this manner until Jesus comes.
We must understand that the Jewish people have a special place in God’s plan. They are the only nation in the world, from among all nations, who have such a specific calling from Adonai.
Therefore, the time is coming nearer and nearer, and the day is fast approaching when the Jewish people will all be gathered in their own land to fulfill God’s plan. Verse 6 speaks about this very plainly: “But you shall be named the priests of the Lord, They (Gentiles) shall call you the servants of God. You shall eat the riches of the Gentiles, And in their glory you shall boast.”
Verse 9 says: “Their descendants shall be known among the Gentiles, And their offspring among the people. All who see them shall acknowledge them, That they are the posterity whom the Lord has blessed.” This event will take place when Yeshua the Messiah comes back to Earth again.
Now you understand why Yeshua could not quote or pronounce these prophecies when he was reading them in the synagogue: the time had not yet come for them to be fulfilled. However, it is coming. Revival will take place among the Jewish people, and I believe that many Jewish people will be saved even before the second coming of the Messiah. Let me explain why I believe this.
If you look at Christian history, there have been several revivals throughout the centuries. Since 300 BC, thanks to the influence of Constantine, the church has failed greatly it’s purpose and calling, but God has been faithful to leave a few faithful people for himself, just like in the time of Elijah, when God spared 7,000 for himself.
God allowed the church to go through the Dark Ages because of their rebellion, disobedience, and unfaithfulness. In the 16th century He rose up Martin Luther to begin to bring the light back into Christianity. Luther’s message was that we cannot be saved except by the forgiveness of our sins through the blood of Jesus.
Then there was the Welsh revival, where God began to move with the spirit of sanctification and holiness; and in 1904, there was the Azusa Street revival, where God began to baptize the church in the Holy Spirit again. In the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s, the church began to experience another move of God: the charismatic and prophetic movement that saw the restoration of intimate fellowship with God.
As you can see, the church went through the waves of revival in order to be sustained. Let me say that Israel is also going to go through a revival, and I believe that this will happen before the second coming of the Messiah. God will bring the light of the Gospel before the eyes of the Jewish people so that they may see it, with signs and wonders following.
In concluding my teaching, let me bring your attention to verses 10 and 11. The prophet Isaiah foresaw this event in the spirit, and was rejoicing greatly. This is what he said: (Isaiah 61:10-11) “I will greatly rejoice in the Lord, My soul shall be joyful in my God; For He has clothed me with the garments of salvation, He has covered me with the robe of righteousness, As a bridegroom decks himself with ornaments, And as a bride adorns herself with her jewels. For as the earth brings froth its bud, As the garden causes the things that are sown in it to spring forth, So the Lord God will cause righteousness and praise to spring forth before all the nations.” |
