The Spirit is on Me!
Scripture reading for March 20th: Luke 4:1-30
The Holy Spirit that came on Jesus at His baptism by John immediately led Him to the desert for a time of testing. Jesus withstood each test over the forty days by quoting Scripture. “Man does not live by bread alone” was Jesus’ word to the Devil. (Deuteronomy 8:3) Jesus returned from the testing in the desert by Satan in the power of the Holy Spirit. (Luke 4:14)
Jesus then went to his home town of Nazareth and went to the synagogue on the Sabbath. He stood up to read and the scroll of Isaiah the Prophet. He unrolled it to find the Scripture He wanted to share with them. “The Spirit of the Lord is on Me, because He has anointed Me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent Me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed, to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord.” (Luke 4:18-19)
The Holy Spirit in a person brings power to witness to God’s love and grace. Jesus announced in His home town the focus of His life as He was now empowered by the Spirit. The Spirit anoints a person, just like oil poured over a king brings empowerment to do the work called of them, the Spirit empowers. The Spirit would empower Jesus to preach the ‘Good News’ to those lost and bound by sin, sickness and disease. He would open eyes that were blind and enable them to see. Because of the Spirit, prisoners would be set free in glorious liberty.
The best news was the ‘acceptable year of the Lord’. This spoke of the year of Jubilee that God had proclaimed in the Law for every fiftieth year. On the year of Jubilee, land was to be restored to original owners, slaves were to be set free, and debts were to be forgiven. Each person would receive a new start! It was a little picture of God’s restoration process in action. (Leviticus 25:8-54) Jesus proclaimed that in the Holy Spirit’s anointing, He announced the ‘acceptable year of the Lord’.
This ‘good news’ is something to get in on for yourself. Jesus is our ‘Jubilee’! In Him we are set free, healed, and delivered from bondage. In Him we have an eternal inheritance that cannot be stolen or lost! The Holy Spirit is the down-payment!
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