WEEK THREE : Lead me in your love to those around me
“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, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor “
Isaiah 61:1-2a
“The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He
has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the
oppressed free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”
Luke 4:18–19
Sunday//Rest
Listen to the song Oh the Deep Deep Love of Jesus adapted by Audrey Assad and meditate on the
love of God for you. Access the song here.
Monday// Day 1: We have a Mission
Welcome to Holy Week, the final week of Jesus’ journey to the cross.
On this journey, we’ve asked God to show us who He is by meditating on His self-revealed Name in
Exodus 34:6, we’ve asked to be a people filled with His heart as seen in Ephesians 3, and this week
we turn our attention to being led in His love to the people around us. Over the next 6 days we will
take a little different approach, giving more space for contemplation and prayer as we meditate on
Isaiah 61:1-2a together.
The book of the prophet Isaiah reminds us that Israel has a mission to the nations - to make it
possible for them to see Yahweh’s glory, to live in His Presence, and to share His character.
John Oswalt goes on to explain, “This is the foundation thought; this is why God called them (Israel)
and redeemed them: that the world might know Him. But in fact, Israel has been sinful; they have not
displayed the character of God; moreover, they seem unable to do so. What is to be done? The
Warrior will come from heaven and with his own righteousness defeat the power of sin in His people’s
lives. What will be the result? Like a lantern whose lenses and globe have been stringently cleaned,
the Light will shine out of them for all the world to see. Who is the Warrior who makes this possible?
None other than the Spirit-anointed Messiah of whom the book has been speaking throughout.
Salvation is not just about us; it is about the world. As followers of Jesus, knowing who our Father is and being filled with His heart, we have a mission to those around us - to make it possible for them to see Yahweh’s glory, to live in His Presence, and to share in His character.
Ask the Holy Spirit to focus your mind on this reality as you read the passage in various translations.
I encourage you to read aloud and take your time and simply sit with the text.
Isaiah 61:1-2a (NIV)
1 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, 2 to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.
Isaiah 61:1-2a (ESV)
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; 2 to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor,
Isaiah 61:1-2a (NLT)
1The 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. 2 He has sent me to tell those who mourn that the time of the Lord’s favor has
come.
Prayer:
Holy Spirit, lead me in your love to those around me. Salvation is mine because of You, Jesus; and
You mean for me to share it for the sake of the world. Help me to make Your glory seen and Your
Presence known to those around me. Amen.
Tuesday//Day 2: Seeking Favor
“Isaiah 61:1-2a opens our eyes to a breathtaking vista of the person and work of the Holy Spirit.
Isaiah the prophet comes through again, with the word of the Lord. This Old Testament passage lies
at the center of a pivotal moment in Jesus’ ministry in the Gospel of Luke, and reveals just how the
Spirit behind the Good News works.” - Dan Wilt, The Spirit Behind the Good News
Take a moment to be still, breathe deep, and ask the Holy Spirit to help you remove distractions and
focus on His voice.
Imagine this scene as you read slowly and intentionally.
Jesus is invited to read from Isaiah in his local synagogue in Nazareth where he grew up (Luke 4:16-
21). The room is packed. News about his teaching and miracles has been spreading. It’s possible that
the room is filled with the faithful, the curious, and the cynical. “Maybe a miracle or two would
determine which of us is right about Jesus? I’ve heard he performs them in other places; I’d like to
see one myself!”
Jesus, a hometown boy in a hometown synagogue, is handed the scroll. He opens it, and Isaiah 61 is
his passage of choice. It is a prophecy about the Holy Spirit resting on God’s Messiah. He knows the
stir it will cause if he reads it. But he has just come out of the desert having fasted and faced down
the Accuser of all of our souls. He is filled with the power of the Spirit after that encounter (Luke
4:14)—he is filled with resolve . . . with focus. Jesus didn’t come this far to turn back now simply
because he is being quietly scrutinized by his entire hometown.
“The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the
poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind,
to set the oppressed free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.” He finishes the passage.
Can you feel the drama? You could have heard a pin drop. He sits down. The room is silent, and
staring. Then, he says it: “Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.”
Imagine what is happening in the room after Jesus’ proclamation. What are the reactions and feelings
of the faithful? The curious? The cynical?
How does this encounter end? Luke 4:28-30, “All the people in the synagogue were furious when
they heard this. They got up, drove him out of the town, and took him to the brow of the hill on which
the town was built, in order to throw him off the cliff. But he walked right through the crowd and went
on his way.”
Dan Wilt continues, “The Spirit of God, through Jesus, proclaims good news. But the good news the
Spirit brings doesn’t always feel good to everyone. If you’re rich and content and don’t consider
yourself poor, the good news (“to the poor”) might not sit well with you. If you are a heart-breaker, the
good news (“to bind up the broken-hearted”) will call you out. If you are someone who traps people,
making them captive to you and your will, the good news (“to bring freedom to the captives”) will
reveal your manipulation and deception. And if you are a person who savors the favor of people and
the public, then God’s favor—favor that gives grace to the humble, that will resist your pride until you
are shaken, trembling, and ready to let go—is a favor that may break you before it builds you.”
In order to be led by the love of Jesus to the poor, prisoners, blind, and oppressed around us, we
must first seek only the favor of God. Jesus models for us that the Spirit behind the good news will
give us the grace to handle the rejection, as well as the accolades, that come with the Spirit’s work.
What does it mean to you to have the favor of God in your life? How does that differ from having the
favor of people?
How does knowing and living in the favor of God empower you to proclaim the good news of Jesus?
Prayer:
Holy Spirit, lead me in your love to those around me. I let go of my need to have favor with others. I
want to live a life that has favor with you. Come, Holy Spirit, show that favor to me and us, your
church. Awaken us to your heart of love, beating behind the good news you’ve given us to share.
Amen.
Wednesday// Day 3: The Lord has Anointed Me
The prophet Isaiah spoke these words of his mission and Israel’s mission. Jesus repeated these
words and proclaimed himself as the fulfillment of them. As Jesus’ followers, we are filled with power
to imitate Him and join His work in fulfilling these words.
Today, we carve out time to see ourselves in the passage.
Begin by fixing your mind on Jesus, ask the Holy Spirit to direct and guide you. Take as much time
as you need here. When you’re ready, simply pray: Speak Holy Spirit, for I am listening.
Read Isaiah 61:1-2a
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, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.
Now read it again aloud inserting your name in the blank spaces.
The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on ___________, because the Lord has anointed
___________ to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent ________________ to bind up
the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the
prisoners, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.
Let’s look at those represented here. The poor, brokenhearted, captives, and prisoners.
The poor = destitute, lacking resources, spiritually poor
The brokenhearted = crushed, suffering extreme sorrow, shattered
The captives = carried off, driven away, captured
The prisoners = those who are bound
Now ask the Holy Spirit to show you someone in your life (friends, family, acquaintance, co-worker, or
even random strangers) who is poor.
Now someone who is brokenhearted.
Now someone who is held captive physically or spiritually.
Now someone who is a prisoner physically or spiritually.
Re-Read Isaiah 61:1-2a again, inserting your name in the blanks and the name of the person God
gave you in the parenthesis.
The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on ___________, because the Lord has anointed
___________ to proclaim good news to ( ). He has sent ________________ to bind up ( ), to proclaim freedom for
( ) and release from darkness for ( ), to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.
End by simply praying: Holy Spirit, lead me in your love to those around me.
Thursday// Day 4: Our Proclamation
In Luke 4:16–21, we encounter the remarkable story of Jesus standing up in his hometown
synagogue and reading from Isaiah 61:1–2: “The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has
anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the
prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free, to proclaim the year of
the Lord’s favor.” (Luke 4:18–19).
Using the language of Isaiah 61, Jesus proclaims Himself as God’s Spirit-anointed agent of
redemption in the world. Clearly, for Jesus the Spirit was not only the initiator of His existence, but the
one who empowered, sustained, and defined His mission. If Jesus is God’s Spirit-anointed agent of
redemption, the Church is a Spirit-anointed community of redemption.
What does this redemption look like?
● The poor hear good news.
● Prisoners hear word of their freedom.
● The blind recover their sight.
● The oppressed are set free.
● The year of the Lord’s favor is announced.
Rev. J.D. Walt of Seedbed, Inc. explains it this way:
“The Kingdom of God means the reversal of misfortune; the righting of injustice; the recovery of
wellness, the release of flourishing and the renewal of all things broken. This is power all right, but it
is power of a particular nature. There is a word to describe the nature of this kind of power. The word
is Love—not a soft, fluffy, sentimental feeling kind of love but a hard, strenuous, stretching, active
kind of love.
This kind of love is not born in the streets through political activism or do-good-ism activity. This Love
is of another order. It is born from on high into the hearts, minds and bodies of those who will get low
enough to the ground to join that place of sacred intercession where the groaning of the broken
Creation mingles with the groaning of the Holy Spirit. Through this kind of praying, the very Kingdom
of God is sown like seeds in the fertile soil of our broken hearts and across the tortured landscape of
our broken world.”
Yesterday we sought the Holy Spirit regarding the people He longs to reach with this redemption.
Today, let’s clear space to meditate on the abundant life we carry into our community.
Read Luke 4:18-19 slowly and prayerfully.
“The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the
poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind,
to set the oppressed free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”
Now take time to imagine, wonder, empathize, and be curious with Jesus.
Ask the Holy Spirit to show you what “good news” would be to you if you were poor (physically and
spiritually). What might it look like for you to join Jesus in proclaiming good news?
Ask the Holy Spirit to show you what it would feel like to be a prisoner set free (physically and
spiritually). What might it look like for you to join Jesus in proclaiming freedom?
Ask the Holy Spirit to show you what recovery of sight would mean to you if you were blind (physically
and spiritually). What might it look like for you to join Jesus in proclaiming recovery of sight?
Ask the Holy Spirit to show you what the oppressed need to be set free from (physically and
spiritually).
What might it look like for you to join Jesus in setting the oppressed free?
What is Jesus asking you to do right now?
Prayer:
Holy Spirit, lead me in your love to those around me. I stand in agreement with Jesus’ prayer, “Your
Kingdom come, Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.” Birth those words in me from a place
of love, which is the place where your power turns everything around. Right here, Jesus. Right now,
Jesus. Amen
Friday// Day 5: Good Friday, The Lord’s Favor
Today is Good Friday. The day we reflect on the crucifixion, death, and burial of Jesus.
You can read the whole account in John 19. Today we sit with verses 28-30.
“Later, knowing that everything had now been finished, and so that Scripture would be
fulfilled, Jesus said, “I am thirsty.” A jar of wine vinegar was there, so they soaked a sponge in
it, put the sponge on a stalk of the hyssop plant, and lifted it to Jesus’ lips. When he had
received the drink, Jesus said, “It is finished.” With that, he bowed his head and gave up his
spirit.” John 19:28-30
Jesus started his mission in Nazareth by reading from Isaiah 61 and announcing the favorable year of
the Lord is fulfilled in Him (Luke 4:19).
The “year of the Lord’s favor” is also known as the Year of Jubilee and is one of the most radical
ideas in the Bible found in Leviticus 25. Every 50 years, no matter how bad things got and no matter
how many things a clan or family had to sell, everything—every portion of land—had to be returned to
its original owner. It was a complete socio-economical refresh that would have effectively prevented
cycles of intergenerational poverty, making Israel unique among all nations.
Scholar John Bergsma states, “Since it occurred usually only once a lifetime, an impoverished
Israelite would spend most of his life anticipating this event of restoration.”
There are no narrative stories about Israel actually observing this Year of Jubilee but Jesus launched
his ministry by declaring that it had arrived in Him.
As an Israelite and disciple of Jesus, what would be the impact of His proclaiming to be the fulfillment
of the Year of Jubilee?
In light of that proclamation at the beginning of His ministry, what do you imagine is going on in the
hearts and minds of the disciples after Jesus’ crucifixion and death.
Sit with that for a moment.
How does knowing that Jesus’ resurrection is coming bring new insight to His proclamation of
Jubilee?
In what ways have you experienced a spiritual Year of Jubilee?
How can we, His church, partner with Jesus in proclaiming that to our community even as we reflect
on His death?
Prayer:
Holy Spirit, lead me in your love to those around me. May your sacrificial death empower me to lay
down my life for the sake of others. May I be a bearer of Jubilee to my community. Amen.
Saturday//Day 6: Waiting
Today is a day of mourning and waiting. Jesus has been crucified and buried.
We read this account in Luke 23:50-56.
“Now there was a man named Joseph, a member of the Council, a good and upright man, who
had not consented to their decision and action. He came from the Judean town of Arimathea,
and he himself was waiting for the kingdom of God. Going to Pilate, he asked for Jesus’
body. Then he took it down, wrapped it in linen cloth and placed it in a tomb cut in the rock,
one in which no one had yet been laid. It was Preparation Day, and the Sabbath was about to
begin.
The women who had come with Jesus from Galilee followed Joseph and saw the tomb and
how his body was laid in it. Then they went home and prepared spices and perfumes. But they
rested on the Sabbath in obedience to the commandment.”
On our final day in this journey together, we intentionally choose to wait in silence and solitude by
practicing the centering prayer.
Centering prayer is a simple practice of silent prayer which focuses us on the Indwelling Presence of
God. It’s a non-striving prayer that helps you rest in God.
“Be still and know that I am God.” Psalm 46:10
“For God alone my soul waits in silence, for my hope is from Him.” Psalm 62:5
Find a quiet place and choose a calming word (examples: “Jesus”, “peace”, “stillness”) or a Name for
God that draws you in. Set a timer for 10-20 minutes and patiently walk through the following steps
created by Mary Albert Darling.
Step 1: Pray for protection: “I claim the powerful blood of Jesus Christ to shield and protect me as I
yield to the One True God I the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen.”
Step 2: Come into God’s loving Presence. Saying “be still” as you breathe slowly and evenly. Close
your eyes to help focus you on Jesus’ loving presence in and around you.
Step 3: Become quiet and peaceful. Say your word silently from time to time. Do not get down on
yourself if you get distracted; instead, just say you word when and if distractions come. Stay in this
place of silence and centering until the time ends.
Step 4: End with the Lord’s Prayer
Our Father in heaven
Hallowed be Your Name
Your Kingdom come, Your will be done
On earth as it is in Heaven
Give us today our daily bread
Forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors
Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil
For Yours is the Kingdom and the power and the glory forever
Amen
