Isaiah 61:2
to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor
and the day of vengeance of our God,
to comfort all who mourn (NIV)
Today’s Reading: Isaiah 61:1-3
Jesus stopped reading after the first line of Isaiah 61:2 that day in the synagogue. The next line reads:
“and the day of vengeance of our God.”
Isaiah speaks of the “year” of God’s favor and the “day” of God’s vengeance. We are currently living in the “year” of the Lord’s favor in that we are no longer slaves to sin and our debt has been paid. However, the “day” of God’s vengeance is coming and Jesus will return to proclaim it.
An interesting thing to note is that this verse says that the Messiah will be sent “to proclaim” the year of the Lord’s favor and the day of vengeance. The Hebrew word qārā’ is used here which is the same word used in Genesis 1:
“And God said, ‘Let there be light,’ and there was light. God saw that the light was good, and he separated the light from the darkness. God called (qārā’) the light ‘day,’ and the darkness he called (qārā’) ‘night.’ And there was evening, and there was morning—the first day (Gen 1:3-5).
This word is used again by God to call Moses:
“When the Lord saw that he had gone over to look, God called (qārā’) to him from within the bush, ‘Moses! Moses!’ (Ex 3:4).
This word is used by God to name His creation and to call His servant Moses. It’s also the word used to describe a king’s proclamation:
“It is reported among the nations—and Geshem says it is true—that you and the Jews are plotting to revolt, and therefore you are building the wall. Moreover, according to these reports you are about to become their king and have even appointed prophets to make this proclamation (qārā’) about you in Jerusalem: ‘There is a king in Judah!’ Now this report will get back to the king; so come, let us meet together” (Neh 6:6-7).
Jesus came into the world to “proclaim” the will of the King of kings – God Almighty:
“I have come in my Father’s name, and you do not accept me” (John 5:43).
So the Messiah came into the world to make God’s will known to us. Just as a king sends the herald to announce his message, Jesus came to announce God’s message. And just as the king’s people and subjects should listen up when the herald’s call is heard, we would be wise to pay attention to Jesus’ announcement.
As we discussed yesterday, the “year” of God’s favor isn’t really a calendar year. It has been going on for about 2000 years since Jesus went to the cross. But the “day” of God’s vengeance is likely going to be just one 24-hour day. There is a day when Jesus will return to proclaim the day of vengeance:
“For we know Him who said, ‘Vengeance is Mine, I will repay.’ And again, ‘The Lord will judge His people.’ It is a terrifying thing to fall into the hands of the living God” (Heb 10:30).
“The sun will be turned into darkness
And the moon into blood
Before the great and awesome day of the Lord comes” (Joel 2:31).
“In the days of those kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom which will never be destroyed, and that kingdom will not be left for another people; it will crush and put an end to all these kingdoms, but it will itself endure forever” (Dan 2:44).
“And I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse, and He who sat on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and wages war” (Rev 19:11).
Jesus will return to put an end to all of God’s enemies. He will judge the wicked and the righteous. Take note that those who are found to be righteous through the blood of Jesus will be saved:
“And it will come about that whoever calls on the name of the Lord
Will be delivered;
For on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem
There will be those who escape,
As the Lord has said,
Even among the survivors whom the Lord calls” (Joel 2:32).
If you have not declared Jesus your Lord and Savior, then today should be the day!
Christ in the Old Testament 
Leave a comment