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. (ESV)

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. (NIV)

The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is upon me, for the LORD has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to comfort the brokenhearted and to proclaim that captives will be released and prisoners will be freed. (NLT)

Dive Deeper:

Jesus’ attention is on “the least of these.” Time and time again Jesus proves this is His mission, and not just by what He said. It’s where He ate, who He talked to, who He healed, and who followed after Him. 

He ate with tax collectors and sinners, He wandered off the path to meet with outcasts, He placed His hands on the unclean to make them clean, and called fishermen and a tax collector to be His closest allies and friends. 

Jesus opens actual prison doors and heals those who were physically broken, but His true mission is beyond this world. His desire is for these realities to be eternal. For the prison of our flesh that takes captive our heart to be opened, for us to have joy in the midst of our darkest hour, and for us to experience eternal peace in His Kingdom. 

So what must we do to have this? We must recognize we are the captives that need to be set free, the poor that need good news, and the broken-hearted that need comfort. We must understand the only person who can save us, is Jesus.

Turning all the way to the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus doesn’t beat around the bush. He tells us straight forward what type of people “get in” to the Kingdom of God, and it’s a beautiful parallel to Isaiah 61. It’s not “those who did all the right things,” “those who obeyed all the commandments,” or “the most religious and devoted leaders.” Rather, this is how those who are truly saved by Jesus live: They feed Jesus when He is hungry, when thirsty they give Him a drink, when a stranger they invite Him in, and when in prison they visit Him. 

You may be wondering “when will I see Jesus like this and be able to serve Him?” Those in Matthew 5 asked the very same thing and Jesus’ response was this: “As you see and do to the least of these, you do also to Me.” 

When we understand that we are spiritually the poor, prisoner, and needy that Jesus came to save, then the only result and response of our life is proclaiming Good News to the poor, comforting the stranger, visiting the prisoner, and feeding the hungry, so they too may find Jesus. We are beggars who show other beggars where to find Bread.

Jesus’ mission of redemption has become our ministry of reconciliation.

Written by Blake Stanley