Jesus was NOT a good man.

He was NOT a guy who did some awesome things.

He was NOT a prophet.

As John Duncan proclaimed, we have a trilemma.

“Christ either deceived mankind by conscious fraud, or He was Himself deluded and self-deceived, or He was Divine. There is no getting out of this trilemma.”

The point is this:  Jesus was either God as He claimed … or He was crazy.

Isaiah 61 1 The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me, because the Lord has anointed me to preach 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 …

Isaiah 61 is an incredible word:

Preach Good News To The Poor

Bind Up The Brokenhearted

Freedom For Captives

And it goes on from that.  It is the story of a new hope.  And Isaiah wrote this passage so that 750 years later, Jesus could walk into the temple and say:

Luke 4  14 Jesus returned to Galilee … 16 He went to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, and on the Sabbath day he went into the synagogue, as was his custom.  And he stood up to read.  

17 The scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him. Unrolling it, he found the place where it is written:

18 “The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor.  He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed, 19 to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”  20 Then he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant and sat down. The eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fastened on him, 21 and he began by saying to them, “Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.”

It is totally understandable why they got mad at this.  He ruined church.

But we know something different now.

Jesus was bringing life to the Bible, He was bringing life to the people, and He was bringing life …

TO YOU.

Because in His appearance, we got a new deal.

And that deal saves us.

We get forgiveness.  And hope.  And new life.

Romans 17 As it is written: “I have made you a father of many nations.” He is our father in the sight of God, in whom he believed–the God who gives life to the dead and calls things that are not as though they were.

Take advantage of this offer.  Isaiah 61 tells His story before he came to be.

The New Testament relives it with eyewitness accounts and instructions for a new era.

And 2023?  This is the new story.

It is the story of you and where you are going.

Never doubt your importance.  He put His life on giving that to you.

In The Name of the Father and the 

Son and the Holy Spirit.  Amen.

Know anyone who might like these?  Encourage them to jump on to 2minutewarning.blog and hit the FOLLOW button!!!

Coach J