THE MESSIAH’S MISSION

“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” – Luke 4:18a

Luke 4: 18-19 spell out THE MESSIAH’S MISSION: “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” (Ref: Isa.61: 1-2).

The Lord Jesus was convinced of His Mission because He had been anointed by the Holy Spirit. Thank God for the Saviour! His primary mission was to save the lost, a salvation that was and is directed toward every of humanity’s area of need and problem. By nature, man lives separated from God, steeped in problems and misfortunes, urgently in need of Christ’s Love, Grace, and Favour. The Messiah’s Mission was to address the unique needs of at least five categories of people, namely:

The Poor: the needy and helpless; destitute of wealth, power, influence, position, and honour. Jesus came “to preach to the poor” (v.18). Poverty could be spiritual, moral, social, or economic. Jesus had compassion on a poor widow and raised her only son from the dead, being the source of support for the mother’s future (Lk.7: 11-17). He healed the lepers, so they could return to their work (Lk.17: 11-19). He warned against exploiting the poor and idolising wealth (Lk.14:12-14). However, Jesus praised the action of a poor widow who placed all that she had in the offering plate. The materially poor are often rich in faith: “Listen, my beloved brethren: Has not God chosen the poor of this world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom which He promised to those who love Him?” (Jam. 2:5). Whoever follows Jesus and trusts Him is not poor even if lacking materially!

The Brokenhearted: the dejected, depressed, and disappointed are the Messiah’s candidates for healing.

The Captives: Jesus was anointed to proclaim freedom for prisoners – those being held captive or captured, and unable to free themselves. Beyond physical prisoners are prisoners of the devil, demons and the occult, of sin, addiction, and other vices, of wealth, of tradition and legalism, and of envy, hate, greed, hypocrisy, and violence. Jesus says, ‘Most assuredly, I say to you, whoever commits sin is a salve of sin…Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed” (Jh.8:34).

The Blind: physical or mental blindness and spiritual darkness. The root word can also mean to be clouded by pride. The Lord healed and still heals from all forms of sicknesses – physical and spiritual, and delivers from blindness and darkness.

The Oppressed: those who are beaten, broken, distressed, grieving, weighed down, or shattered into pieces. Jesus came “to set at liberty those who are oppressed.” People are oppressed: socially (outcasts); by sin and destructive lifestyles (like the prodigal son); by life’s challenges and difficulties such as childhood abuse, pain and hurts of the past, marital infidelity, and financial injury; and by fear and worry. Sadly, even some Christians are oppressed by current evil, fear of what is to come, and fear of what others will say. But Jesus gives hope and encouragement to broken hearts and wounded spirits.

We live in a needy, messed up, and broken world, and may imagine that Christ’s Mission pertains only to some strangers in obscure lands! Not quite! To varying degrees, it relates to each of us. As for me, apart from Jesus: I was needy and helpless; held captive with no way of freeing myself; blind and in darkness, without clarity or direction; beaten, broken, and incapable of putting myself back together. Faith in my Lord rescued me from sin and its consequences – poverty, captivity, blindness, and oppression. I desperately needed God to intervene in my life through His Son who died on Calvary’s cross and rose that I may live! And He said to His Father, “As You sent Me into the world, I also have sent them into the world” (Jh.17:18).