Untitled Sermon (25)

Intro

Anointed

Anointing reserved for Kings and Priests, unusual for prophets to be anointed

Anointing was a sign of favor and divine calling

Anointing has physical and spiritual marks (baptism by water and spirit)

Election = Anointing (but not in Calvinist sense!)

Anointing is for a purpose, i.e. a task

Sent

The task Isaiah is sent for is seven things:

to bring good news to the oppressed

to bind up the brokenhearted

to proclaim liberty to captives

to release those in bondage

to proclaim the time of God’s favor and day of vengeance

to comfort those who mourn

to turn mourning into joy for God’s people

In short, Isaiah is sent to bring Joy to the world.

He is sent to be a beacon of joy in a joyless world

Joyful News

The news Isaiah brings is joyful

Ruins will be rebuilt

Those who suffered will receive a double portion of joy

The first will be last and the last first

Isaiah’s joyful news is that of an upside down kingdom

It is joy to those who mourn, but terror for those who rejoice

Though this news is of the future, Isaiah encourages us to find joy in it today

The joy of heaven fills our hearts, visions of New Creation carry us through to the end

The Anointed One

Jesus is the ultimate anointed one

He is sent, like Isaiah, to bring joyful news to a joyless world

Has Anointed Us

The anointed one has now anointed us

We too are sent to bring joyful news, to be a beacon of joy in the midst of mourning

God’s people, like Jesus, are called to minister to the poor and oppressed