When Jesus was on the threshold of His ministry, He went into the synagogue and read aloud from the prophet Isaiah:
The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me,
Because the LORD has anointed me
To bring good news to the afflicted;
He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,
To proclaim liberty to captives
And freedom to prisoners;
To proclaim the favorable year of the LORD
And the day of vengeance of our God;
To comfort all who mourn,
To grant those who mourn in Zion,
Giving them a garland instead of ashes,
The oil of gladness instead of mourning,
The mantle of praise instead of a spirit of fainting.
So they will be called oaks of righteousness,
The planting of the LORD, that He may be glorified. (Isa 61:1-3; NASB)
Then He told them, “This passage is fulfilled today in your hearing.”
I’m sure we’ve all read about this shocking action. Believe it. It was quite shocking to the Pharisees and other learned religious folks, because He wasn’t a priest according to the order of Aaron. No, Jesus was a priest according to the order of Melchizadek: the eternal order in the line of God Himself.
Jesus was a true priest, ordained of the Father and called to ministry.
Did you know we are also called to the priesthood? Scripture tells us we are priests in His kingdom (1 Peter 2:5 and 9). We are allowed to apply this passage to ourselves if we are obedient to follow His directions and mandates.
Are you a child of the Most High God, living in His love and growing in your relationship with Him? The spirit of the Lord is indeed upon you. He has anointed you to bring good news to the afflicted, to bind up the brokenhearted, to set captives free, to comfort those who mourn.
As priests in God’s kingdom we are given the responsibility to minister to God, to represent the people to God and to represent God to the people. Our obedience assists God in His roles of Healer, comforter, and redeemer.
It’s an awesome and blessed responsibility.
And you are qualified! He has made you so.
He has anointed you to proclaim the favorable year of the Lord.
Will you follow through in 2016?
Illustrations courtesy of freedigitalphotos.net