Isaiah Chapter 61 – Our Mission
“The Spirit of the Lord God is upon Me,
Because the Lord has anointed Me
To preach good tidings to the poor;He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted,
To proclaim liberty to the captives,
And the opening of the prison to those who are bound;To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord,
And the day of vengeance of our God;To comfort all who mourn,
To console those who mourn in Zion,
To give them beauty for ashes,
The oil 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.”Isaiah 61:1-3 NKJV
A hopeful chapter, Isaiah 61 opens with the essence of what Jesus’s mission is: to make beautiful and joyful the lives of those who suffer through His gospel.
The cause-and-effect relationship explaining why the Holy Spirit was upon Jesus is clear: it is because God had anointed Jesus to preach.
We too share in Jesus’ mission. And indeed He has sent us, because He has given us the Holy Spirit too.
The Holy Spirit was vital in Jesus sending out His disciples, especially after He had resurrected. The disciples would play a vital part in His salvation plan of forgiving sins, but they had to receive the Holy Spirit.
Jesus told His disciples: “Peace to you! As the Father has sent Me, I also send you … Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.” (John 20:21-23)
We do not receive the precious Holy Spirit today merely to while away our time on earth, entertaining ourselves. Neither is it for us to be Christians only in the chapel, shedding this skin-deep identity the moment we walk out of the church compound.
We have the Spirit of the Lord upon us because God sends us out to share His gospel.
Our church communities often bustle with vivid life. Is Jesus’ mission at the focus of our activities, or do we focus more on our own fun?
Are we bringing Jesus’ salvation to the poor? Comforting the broken-hearted? Sharing the freedom Christ promises with those trapped by sin? Bringing God’s joy to those who are repentant?
Before all that — are we allowing God’s good news to free us from sin?
In our weaknesses, we may want to push these missions to others around us in church who appear stronger in faith.
After all, we each carry our own brokenness and struggles, and we also want the Lord’s comfort.
But remember that the disciples of Jesus were themselves ordinary men. Their self-assured cries to follow Christ to the end abruptly dissolved in the face of an angry, weapon-wielding mob ready to bring Jesus to His death. How many of them stood with Jesus as blood coursed down His skin, dripping on the ground beneath Him?
Additionally, the parable of the sower tells us 3 reasons why we fail in our God-given mission:
1. We don’t understand God’s word
2. We have shallow roots in our faith and stumble when difficulties come
3. We’re too caught up in our worries of this world and our greed for money
But Jesus understands our weaknesses. He still loved these weakness-ridden disciples to the end, and gave them power from on high to be transformed (John 13:1, Acts 1:8).
From cowardly men overcome by fear, they became true disciples who clung on to their cross and endured for the sake of the gospel, even to death.
In our weaknesses, we can be made strong.
It is not the minuscule might that you and I worms possess which helps us finish God’s work. (Yes worm: David recognised this of himself in Psalm 22:6, and God calls His people this in Isaiah 41:14.)
It is by Almighty God’s power and grace that Jesus could, and now we can (2 Corinthians 12:9; Philippians 4:13).
Just as Jesus received power from the Holy Spirit to resist temptation and complete His mission (Matthew 4:1; Luke 22:42-43), we can receive spiritual strength from the Holy Spirit to overcome obstacles and finish God’s work.
His mission is not a burden. As we seek to spread God’s joy of salvation to others, remember that He also extends this joy to you and me. His joy lightens the load.
It’s an immovable joy that comes from being in God’s presence (Psalm 16:11). Joy that comes from knowing our Saviour. Joy from trusting our Father’s compassion.
He forgives us, loves us, walks with us, and frees us from sin.
This joy is what He calls us to share.
Turn your eyes upon Jesus as you fulfil His mission for you.
