The Hope of Christ's Return (Isaiah 61)

Isaiah 61:1 “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;”

Jesus the Messiah

Each and every one of the 535 times that Jesus is called “Christ” in the New Testament it is a witness to what He will do when He returns!

Joel 3 describes a day when “a boy will be sold for a harlot and a girl for a glass of wine”

Each and every time it speaks straight to the core of every injustice in the earth and marks a sure end to it

Luke 4:17-21 “And the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to him. He unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written, “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.” And he rolled up the scroll and gave it back to the attendant and sat down. And the eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on him. And he began to say to them, “Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.””

Notice that when Jesus quotes the text from Isaiah he stops in the middle of a sentence.

Why? He was saying that His earthly mission at His first coming was to inaugurate the the kingdom of God by setting free spiritual captives.

The “day of God’s vengeance” part of the text still awaits a future day when Christ comes again on the clouds of heaven in the glory of His father and all His holy angels!

The rest of the text describes a day when Israel, who was once a byword among the nations, is now the centerpiece of the earth from where Jesus will cause “righteousness and praise to spring up before all nations” (v.11).

300 Sermon Illustrations from Charles Spurgeon Be Hungry for the Gospel (Proverbs 27:7; Isaiah 55:2)

It does one good to see a hungry man eat his food. To him even every bitter thing is sweet. He does not turn over his food and cut off every little bit of gristle, as some of you do because of your delicate appetites.

The true gospel hearer hearkens to the text, “Eat what is good, and let your soul take pleasure in rich food” (Isa 55:2). He does not play the critic and cavil at this expression and that. He is too sharp-set to be particular about the dishes and the carving.

We marvel sometimes at the capacity of hungry men. There is no end to it, and it is the same with spiritual as with natural hunger.

In 1 Thessalonians 1 Christ’s return is hope for the persecuted saints

At the end of Philippians 3 Christ’s return is hope for believers as it marks the end of war with sin and sickness in their bodies

In Luke 18 Christ’s return is hope for a praying church that has been calling on the Lord day and night for justice, and it is hope for every widow left without an advocate

In 2 Tim 4 Christ’s return is hope for all who love His appearing and await the righteous judge to reward the saints

In 1 John 3 Christ’s return is hope for the children of God who long to see Him and be like Him

How should we “pay attention” to the days leading up to Christ’s return?

Luke 21:34-36 ““But watch yourselves lest your hearts be weighed down with dissipation and drunkenness and cares of this life, and that day come upon you suddenly like a trap. For it will come upon all who dwell on the face of the whole earth. But stay awake at all times, praying that you may have strength to escape all these things that are going to take place, and to stand before the Son of Man.””