Jesus: the Anointed One Prophesied by Isaiah
Today’s Bible reading* includes a passage Jesus quoted about His calling. We often use Jesus’ name and title (Christ) together. Christ means “anointed one”. And that He is!
The Spirit of the Lord GOD is on me, because the LORD has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and freedom to the prisoners; to proclaim the year of the LORD’s favor, and the day of our God’s vengeance; to comfort all who mourn
Isaiah 61:1–2 (CSB)
Soon after returning from the wilderness where He was tempted by the enemy (Luke 4:1-13), Jesus enters the local synagogue, takes the Isaiah scroll, and reads this passage, applying Isaiah’s prophecy and the purpose of His anointing: To evangelize, to heal, to free, to announce the advent of God’s Kingdom, and to comfort. (Luke 4:18–19)
Later, when John the Baptizer’s disciples seek out Jesus, asking if He is the one prophesied about (Luke 7:18–19), He says, “Go and report to John what you have seen and heard: The blind receive their sight, the lame walk, those with leprosy are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the poor are told the good news,” Luke 7:22 (CSB) Jesus fulfills Isaiah’s prophecy of the Anointed One!
Application
Jesus isn’t disconnected from the Old Testament. He’s the central figure of it! As I have stated before, don’t miss the prophecies regarding Jesus as we continue to read through the Old Testament. Jesus is on every single page! You’ll find Him, if you’ll just take a few minutes to look.
Use the cross-references in your Old Testament readings to see how the Old Testament points to Jesus and is applied to Jesus by the New Testament writers.
* Chapters covered in today’s reading:
Isaiah 59
Isaiah 60
Isaiah 61
Isaiah 62
Isaiah 63
This devotional was originally published on July 30, 2021.
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