Epiphany II -- To shine forth

[msethsmile]

Epiphany: Shine forth, manifest, reveal what? Answer: Christ's divinity. Usually the New Testament is credited with giving us the Holy Trinity; Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Not so fast, the Old Testament has the Trinity too. Pay attention to verse 1--all three members of the Trinity are mentioned:

Isaiah 61:1-3

The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me,
because the Lord has anointed me
to proclaim good news to the poor.
He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,
to proclaim freedom for the captives
and release from darkness for the prisoners,^[a]
2 to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor
and the day of vengeance of our God,
to comfort all who mourn,
³ and provide for those who grieve in Zion—
to bestow on them a crown of beauty
instead of ashes,
the oil of joy
instead of mourning,
and a garment of praise
instead of a spirit of despair.
They will be called oaks of righteousness,
a planting of the Lord
for the display of his splendor.



V. 1---"anointed me", Christ means 'anointed one' as does Messiah. Christ is speaking.

V. 1---"prisoners", We are/were prisoners of sin. We are/were the spiritually poor.

V 2.---"day of vengeance"; Against sin, death, devil, hell

V. 2---"comfort all who mourn", Over their sins. This passage is almost all Gospel, sweet Gospel.

V. 3--- notice the flip-flops; beauty instead of ashes, joy instead of mourning, praise instead of despair (The benefits of a new life in Christ start now--not just in Heaven)

[msethsmile]

Having a tough time when sin, death, devil and hell are against you? Join the Sons of Korah who wrote Psalm 84:

Better is one day in your courts
than a thousand elsewhere;
I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God
than dwell in the tents of the wicked.
¹¹ For the Lord God is a sun and shield;
the Lord bestows favor and honor;
no good thing does he withhold
from those whose walk is blameless. ¹² Lord Almighty,
blessed is the one who trusts in you.

[msethsmile]

Who were the 'Sons of Korah'? Korah rebelled against Moses (and therefore God) during the 40 years Israel wandered in the desert. He and his immediate family were swallowed up alive by the earth. His surviving offspring learned a lesson that day and became pillars of the community--to the point of writing some of the Psalms (under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit). A common theme in Scripture--restoration. God restores us. "Peter, do you love me?...feed my sheep." Even Peter was restored, us too.