Divided opinion

The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me to bring good news to the poor; 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;”

Isaiah 61:1 ESV

What a day it must have been, when Jesus was asked to read from the scrolls in the synagogue, he was passed the scroll of the prophet Isiah and turned to this passage. The congregation would have heard these words many times before, but then He proclaims something astonishing. With every eye fixed upon a Him.

““And he began to say to them, “Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.””

Luke 4:21 ESV

What a commotion this was Joseph’s son, the carpenters lad, who did he think he was. Jesus split opinion, how quickly the change from being amazed at His words that were full of grace, to hatred and wanting to kill him as He expands and points out their failings.

Those that were entrapped in their sin, refused to recognise that the deliverer was in their midst, instead of falling to their knees in repentance, they rejected his message. Today the message is still the same, and the same power that raised Jesus from the dead is in us. We too can take His message, because we have been filled with the Holy Spirit.

Some will hear and respond to His call, others will reject it, but we must proclaim the gospel