At Odds With The World

The beliefs of the world are often times at odds with God. The world, in fact, will misuse God’s Word to make Christians feel guilty or even unloved. This is true today and was true 2,000 years ago.

An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth, sometimes called the Law of Retaliation, is known today to mean “the punishment should fit the crime.” At the time of Christ, however, the Pharisees had convinced many Jews differently. They said sick and poor people were being punished because they were terrible sinners.  The Pharisees taught that God was retaliating against them. This also perpetuated the myth that the Pharisees were more righteous than others.

Today’s reading, Isaiah 61:1-7, corrects this, and many other, misconceptions. Written about 700 BC, Christ is speaking through the prophet Isaiah. He is telling the world that he will appear in the future to set up his Kingdom, and his Kingdom is not what the world expects.

In his Kingdom, Christ will bind up the brokenhearted, proclaim freedom for the captives and proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor. He will bestow on his people a crown of beauty. Those in the kingdom will inherit a double portion and will have everlasting joy.

Although these are things the world does not accept, nonetheless they are good news indeed! Christ did this because God loves us so much.

While addressing the Pharisees, Jesus quoted Isaiah 61 and said, “Today this scripture is fulfilled on your hearing.” (Luke 4:14-31). The Pharisees, threatened because their power was at risk, plotted to kill Jesus. They rejected Christ, God’s provided scapegoat for our sins!

The world rejected Christ 2,000 years ago and is still at odds with his Kingdom today. The world sometimes tells us that our predicaments are of our own making and that God does not love us. It sometimes tells us there are earthly powers more important than God. It sometimes even tells us that there is no God.

Nothing could be further from the truth. As Isaiah predicted, Christ’s Kingdom is here. We belong, we are blessed and we are loved. What great joy that is for us!

No matter what the world says.