Isaiah 61:1 English Standard Version

The Year of the Lord’s Favor

The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me to bring good news to the poor;^{[the afflicted]} he has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound;^{[blindfolded]}

The first thing that is addressed here is the most important part in any relevant understanding. It the Spirit of the Lord in us or upon us?

This is one of those conditional situations where we must determine if our anointing is a seasonal condition or a lifelong pursuit. More will be said about that matter in Isaiah 61:2. For now, we should come to terms with what is present in this opening verse.

When it comes to anointing we must accept that there is a difference between the Lord’s anointing and man’s anointing.

The Lord’s anointing is performed without assistance from man. There is no ceremonial display that is a sign of a changing in to the one being anointed. Man’s anointing is a sign to others that this person is acceptable within the church to perform service to others. The anointed one is to be trusted and a source of help for those who are afflicted.

The second issue is seen as evangelism. At the time of Isaiah’s writing the gospel was only a promise. The Good News did not come into being until after Jesus Christ ascended to His throne. We live in the church age and the Good News is on our lips. That does not make us all evangelists.

Ephesians 4:11 English Standard Version (ESV) And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers,

Evangelist is just one of the service gifts granted by our Lord, His anointing.

Matthew 13:24 English Standard Version

The Parable of the Weeds

²⁴ He put another parable before them, saying, “The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a man who sowed good seed in his field,

Jesus tells His disciples that we can compare these parables to the kingdom of heaven. What can be seen in the comparison is that what is gleaned out of any of these parables must not contradict what has been gleaned from another. This parable was told shortly after the parable of the sower. The parable of the sower came first and should be seen as a standard bearer for the ones that follow.

When reading Matthew 13 note the order of the parables and their titles.

The Parable of the Sower, The Purpose of the Parables, The Parable of the Sower Explained, The Parable of the Weeds, The Mustard Seed and the Leaven, Prophecy and Parables, The Parable of the Weeds Explained, The Parable of the Hidden Treasure, The Parable of the Pearl of Great Value, and finally The Parable of the Net.

Matthew 13:51-52 English Standard Version

New and Old Treasures

⁵¹ “Have you understood all these things?” They said to him, “Yes.” ⁵² And he said to them, “Therefore every scribe who has been trained for the kingdom of heaven is like a master of a house, who brings out of his treasure what is new and what is old.”

Jesus reveals to His disciples here that some of them will be scribes, gospel writers. Of the twelve we only have Matthew and John to thank. They are not the only disciples of Jesus nor disciples of our risen Lord.

What is important to note is the Lord’s order in bringing out both old and new.

One builds upon the other without contraction in purpose or understanding of the others.