The Lord builds up Jerusalem; He gathers the outcasts of Israel. He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds. He determines the number of the stars; He gives to all of them their names. Great is our God and abundant in power; His understanding is beyond measure. The Lord lifts up the humble; He casts the wicked to the ground. (Verses 2-6)
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 broken hearted, 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
Broken hearted? Ever? Jesus came to wrap wounded hearts in healing, binding the wounds for protection against infection. Broken in Hebrew is shavar. It literally means to burst, to break into pieces, wreck, crush, smash, to rend or tear into pieces. That's quite the train wreck!
Jesus went to Nazareth, where He grew up in the household of Mary and Joseph, played with his half-brothers, James and Jude. He strode one Sabbath into the synagogue where He'd gone each Sabbath all of his young life. Because by that time Jesus had done miracles the hometown crowd heard of, particularly in Capernaum, there was a larger than usual crowd that day when Jesus took a seat. When He stood up to read from Scripture, the elders handed Jesus the book of Isaiah. Jesus rolled the scroll down to Isaiah 61 and read, "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me..." Then He rolled the scroll up again, handed it to the synagogue attendant and sat down. No further comments. Everyone stared at Jesus. No one spoke. Breathless with anticipation that Jesus would do some miracle, the congregation waited for Him to perform as He'd done elsewhere.
"Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing." And they waited again. Waited for Him to go on.
Though the people marveled at the gracious words he spoke, they didn't understand that He was saying, "I am Messiah Who will heal and deliver you; turn your ashes to joy and bind your broken heart." This is Joseph's boy..."Do some miracles here, like you did in Capernaum!" Perform!
Jesus didn't do anything in Nazareth that day. His mission was to come to those who know they are broken. Shattered to pieces, wrecked, crushed, smashed by life and in need of God's love. It's not God's plan to come into the world to perform magic acts to make us wonder. Jesus was serious about taking our carnage and saving us from the addictions that imprison us. He was, and is, intentional about our hearts. We are to be more in wonder of the fact that He can take our brokenness and bandage it with the salve of His love than that the blind can see. Because, really, those of us who know what it means to be undone by the rending in two of our hearts, know that healing is as real as the lame walking and the deaf hearing. The impossibility of the pain we experience when life breaks us in two is at the root of all addictions--the captor that takes us bound into despair. Our broken hearts are the necessary place to start if we will ever know true freedom--physical or spiritual. Jesus didn't do any miracles in Nazareth because they didn't get it, and He wouldn't waste it.
When you think about it, the One Who knows the names of all the stars and the numbers of hairs on our heads, came to Mary the way all of us come into the world. Jesus knew us by name, created Mary to be His mother, chose Joseph to be his stepfather. Knew everyone in Nazareth before they were born yet, looked them in the eyes that morning in the synagogue and chose them as the people to whom He'd proclaim His mission, knowing they would only be able to see Him as Joseph's boy. Jesus knows us that way, too. Proclaims to us salvation by His blood and our release from the bondage of sin by His resurrection. Then He sits down again at the right hand of the throne of the Father (Hebrews 12:2) and looks into our eyes, waiting to see what we will do with Him.
Jesus specializes in brokenness. What breaks our hearts breaks His. It's why He chose to come to the manger. To get up close and personal with the things that make our lives quake with fear and our hearts lose all hope. To touch our leprosy because in our healing we see His love. To turn to the ones who just need to touch His garment and pronounce to them that their faith has made them well. To call a criminal down from a tree and eat at his house that day because Jesus knew the little man was a crook whose heart ached for more. To reach out from His own execution to a thief beside Him and declare the man saved forever because, in his wretched state, the criminal knew Who Jesus was. Our Savior doesn't pretend. Though by His Word the light show that twinkles every night in the heavens came into being, Jesus didn't come to Earth to entertain us with His tricks. No! He came because we are often torn in two, sitting amidst the ashes of our mourning, hopeless and helpless to get up and live. Expect the miraculous from the One Whom the Spirit of the Lord is upon when you cry out to Him for the dressing of your wounds. Though God won't hear the proud, He can't resist the cries of those who need Him. For those who know the train wreck their lives have become and know they need a Savior, God's understands it all. Knows how to fix it. And has omnipotent power to intervene in any way He choses to restore and protect those humble enough to ask.
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 broken hearted, 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
Broken hearted? Ever? Jesus came to wrap wounded hearts in healing, binding the wounds for protection against infection. Broken in Hebrew is shavar. It literally means to burst, to break into pieces, wreck, crush, smash, to rend or tear into pieces. That's quite the train wreck!
Jesus went to Nazareth, where He grew up in the household of Mary and Joseph, played with his half-brothers, James and Jude. He strode one Sabbath into the synagogue where He'd gone each Sabbath all of his young life. Because by that time Jesus had done miracles the hometown crowd heard of, particularly in Capernaum, there was a larger than usual crowd that day when Jesus took a seat. When He stood up to read from Scripture, the elders handed Jesus the book of Isaiah. Jesus rolled the scroll down to Isaiah 61 and read, "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me..." Then He rolled the scroll up again, handed it to the synagogue attendant and sat down. No further comments. Everyone stared at Jesus. No one spoke. Breathless with anticipation that Jesus would do some miracle, the congregation waited for Him to perform as He'd done elsewhere.
"Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing." And they waited again. Waited for Him to go on.
Though the people marveled at the gracious words he spoke, they didn't understand that He was saying, "I am Messiah Who will heal and deliver you; turn your ashes to joy and bind your broken heart." This is Joseph's boy..."Do some miracles here, like you did in Capernaum!" Perform!
Jesus didn't do anything in Nazareth that day. His mission was to come to those who know they are broken. Shattered to pieces, wrecked, crushed, smashed by life and in need of God's love. It's not God's plan to come into the world to perform magic acts to make us wonder. Jesus was serious about taking our carnage and saving us from the addictions that imprison us. He was, and is, intentional about our hearts. We are to be more in wonder of the fact that He can take our brokenness and bandage it with the salve of His love than that the blind can see. Because, really, those of us who know what it means to be undone by the rending in two of our hearts, know that healing is as real as the lame walking and the deaf hearing. The impossibility of the pain we experience when life breaks us in two is at the root of all addictions--the captor that takes us bound into despair. Our broken hearts are the necessary place to start if we will ever know true freedom--physical or spiritual. Jesus didn't do any miracles in Nazareth because they didn't get it, and He wouldn't waste it.
When you think about it, the One Who knows the names of all the stars and the numbers of hairs on our heads, came to Mary the way all of us come into the world. Jesus knew us by name, created Mary to be His mother, chose Joseph to be his stepfather. Knew everyone in Nazareth before they were born yet, looked them in the eyes that morning in the synagogue and chose them as the people to whom He'd proclaim His mission, knowing they would only be able to see Him as Joseph's boy. Jesus knows us that way, too. Proclaims to us salvation by His blood and our release from the bondage of sin by His resurrection. Then He sits down again at the right hand of the throne of the Father (Hebrews 12:2) and looks into our eyes, waiting to see what we will do with Him.
Jesus specializes in brokenness. What breaks our hearts breaks His. It's why He chose to come to the manger. To get up close and personal with the things that make our lives quake with fear and our hearts lose all hope. To touch our leprosy because in our healing we see His love. To turn to the ones who just need to touch His garment and pronounce to them that their faith has made them well. To call a criminal down from a tree and eat at his house that day because Jesus knew the little man was a crook whose heart ached for more. To reach out from His own execution to a thief beside Him and declare the man saved forever because, in his wretched state, the criminal knew Who Jesus was. Our Savior doesn't pretend. Though by His Word the light show that twinkles every night in the heavens came into being, Jesus didn't come to Earth to entertain us with His tricks. No! He came because we are often torn in two, sitting amidst the ashes of our mourning, hopeless and helpless to get up and live. Expect the miraculous from the One Whom the Spirit of the Lord is upon when you cry out to Him for the dressing of your wounds. Though God won't hear the proud, He can't resist the cries of those who need Him. For those who know the train wreck their lives have become and know they need a Savior, God's understands it all. Knows how to fix it. And has omnipotent power to intervene in any way He choses to restore and protect those humble enough to ask.
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