The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed.  Luke 4:18 ESV

     Luke’s gospel gives more details concerning Jesus’ life and ministry than any of the other three individual gospels. Luke’s gospel is also the longest of the four gospels. Luke gathered his information concerning Jesus as would a detective or one that studied history, because he never met Jesus. I appreciate the additional accounts concerning the details of Jesus’ life which give us a glimpse into the fact that he did more than could ever be contained in just four gospels.
Another interesting fact concerning Luke is that he was the only Gentile writer in the Bible. This is important because it points to the fact that salvation in Jesus is for all people…. Jews and Gentiles. In Luke 4:18, Jesus was reading in the Synagogue on the Sabbath from the scrolls of the prophet Isaiah. He was reading concerning himself, even though he knew he would be rejected by his own. The fact is, this message is as true today as it was when it was written by Isaiah, and then read hundreds of years later by Jesus.

He has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor:
     The good news is that Jesus came to save sinners from their sins. There is poverty from a physical standpoint; but spiritually, we are bankrupt. Every person on the face of the earth is poor spiritually and in need of Jesus’ saving grace to pay a debt we could never pay…. The debt of sin. To come into God’s presence someday thinking you could pay your debt of sin would be like a child going to a banker in an attempt to pay a million dollar debt. To understand what Jesus did for us on the cross, you must realize you are poor, broke, and without any means to pay your debt of sin. It is this person that will be saved and receive all the riches God has for such a person. Jesus said, “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” Matthew 5:3 ESV

He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind:
     A blind person is captive to the darkness, and except a person receives the message of hope from these words of Jesus, they are doomed to continue to live in the darkness. They are captive to their own deceptions and fooled by Satan as in the garden when he deceived Adam and Eve. Paul, on the road to Damascus, was blinded by the truth/light that overpowered the darkness in his life. It was then that he heard the words of Jesus confirming the fact that He desires to open blinded eyes by sending him, “….to open their eyes, so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins.” Acts 26:18 ESV  We have the same assignment today, as the message of the gospel has not changed from that day; nor will it ever, until this world comes to its end.

To set at liberty those who are oppressed:
     Where does oppression come from? The simple and obvious answer – the devil. Jesus overcomes this oppression today just as He did when he walked upon the earth in the flesh.  God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power. He went about doing good and healing all who were OPPRESSED BY THE DEVIL, for God was with him. Acts 10:38 ESV   Oppression comes in many forms, but they are always lies from the devil. One such lie of oppression is that God could never forgive you for all you’ve done. This is one of the worst oppressions, for it will keep you in bondage as long as Satan can convince you that it is true. You must ask the question, why did Jesus come to die and then rise again? He did so that everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. Acts 2:21 ESV  The truth Satan doesn’t want you to believe is, if the Son set you free, you will be free indeed. John 8:36 ESV

     Let us believe and understand the truth that Jesus is the Son of God. That He came to seek and to save the lost, and He is the Savior of the world. There is salvation in no other, and we can be more than conquerors in Christ Jesus, for greater is He that is in us than he that is in the world. (Mark 1:1… Luke 19:10… 1 John 4:14… Acts 4:12… Romans 8:37… 1 John 4:4)

Because of His Grace ~ Pastor David