April 1, 2025

THE ANOINTING OF THE HOLY SPIRIT

TODAY’S SCRIPTURE

When he came to the village of Nazareth, his boyhood home, he went as usual to the synagogue on the Sabbath and stood up to read the Scriptures. The scroll of Isaiah the prophet was handed to him. He unrolled the scroll and found the place where this was written: “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, for he has anointed me to bring Good News to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim that captives will be released, that the blind will see, that the oppressed will be set free, and that the time of the Lord’s favor has come. ” He rolled up the scroll, handed it back to the attendant, and sat down. All eyes in the synagogue looked at him intently. Then he began to speak to them. “The Scripture you’ve just heard has been fulfilled this very day!””

Luke 4:16-21 NLT

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TODAY’S THOUGHT

Jesus comes out of the wilderness ready to launch His public ministry. He begins by going back to His hometown of Nazareth. He was known in town as the forty-year-old carpenter. In the preceding verses to today’s passage, it seems evident Jesus was liked by the people and He attended the synagogues regularly and even did some teaching. These synagogues were the center of local Jewish religious life.

The Temple in Jerusalem was at the heart of Jewish faith. Sacrifices were only made at the Temple. But the teaching of the Torah (first five books of the Old Testament) and the Prophets took place in local synagogues. People gathered to discuss scripture, sing the Psalms, and have communal prayer. 

Jesus had evidently already established Himself as an expert in the scriptures from previous times of reading and discussion. After His time in the wilderness Jesus was ready to launch His public ministry by identifying Himself as the fulfillment of the prophecies of Isaiah concerning the coming Messiah. 

When Jesus made this bold declaration, the people became furious. The following passages of the chapter tell us they attempted to push Jesus over a cliff because of their anger that one of them, a simple carpenter, would claim to be the promised Messiah. Jesus escapes from their efforts and leaves town. 

Jesus uses the words of Isaiah to declare the work of His ministry. He was coming to bring good news to the poor, freedom to those bound, healing for the blind, and deliverance for those who were oppressed. 

It is worth pausing to remember that Paul tells us in Philippians chapter two that Jesus laid aside His divinity when He came to earth. The work Jesus did on earth was not done through His divine ability. Jesus’ work on earth was done because the “Spirit of the Lord” was empowering Him.

This same Spirit is available to us today. We can partner with the Spirit of God and bring freedom, healing, and God’s favor to our world. When we open our lives to the empowerment of the Holy Spirit and begin to share God’s Good News of salvation, freedom, and wholeness we can expect the supernatural transformation of lives to take place.

Let’s be instruments used by God in our world. Let’s live in the anointing of the Spirit of God.

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TODAY’S PRAYER

Holy Spirit, I invite You to work in and through me today. Give me Your wisdom and presence. Help me to listen to You and walk in agreement with Your will for my life. Help me to be an instrument of freedom and healing to others.

“Scroll down to share what you feel God is saying based on today’s reading.”