HELP FOR THE BROKENHEARTED
It’s probably a good thing, but sometimes it seems like specialties get overdone. At the same time, when you have certain medical conditions, you certainly want to be talking to the proper people, right? You want the specialist then!
Has your heart ever been broken? Perhaps it was broken by another person, perhaps by a tragic loss, or perhaps you are one of those compassionate people whose heart breaks anytime you see the suffering of others in our world. There are lots of folks who could sure use a broken heart specialist! I know there are plenty of times I have needed one.
So, just as individuals share the name of a good specialist when their friends need one, I thought maybe I’d refer you to the broken heart specialist I found, in case you or someone you know needs one.
Because the Lord has anointed me
To bring good news to the afflicted;
He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,
To proclaim liberty to captives
And freedom to prisoners;
To proclaim the favorable year of the Lord”
Isaiah 61:1-2a NASB
Now, there is a very good chance that this was the reading that came naturally in the cycle of biblical readings for synagogue services. (notice in this passage that Jesus is handed the Isaiah scroll), which means he chose to make his announcement coincide with the day that passage was scheduled. Although is is also possible that Jesus, as the guest speaker, chose this passage himself to read for the day’s exposition as a guest speaker. Either way, he chose this selection out of all the possible messianic prophecies he could have chosen. I believe this is a significant point. Just as a medical student reaches a point in which he or she must choose his or her specialty, so God also chooses this manner to announce a specialty that includes assistance for the brokenhearted.
I often think about King David, and the multiple times he faced betrayal and abandonment in his life. His heart must have been broken and aching so many times. But what did David do about it? He turned to the specialist…he sought God’s healing, and as a result, we have the book of Psalms, the great heritage of the Jewish people and a Messiah who came through the lineage of David. In my opinion David's specialist was pretty good.
Jesus did not choose to read the prophecy about the descendent of David
who would sit on the throne forever, though he fulfilled that one as well.
Jesus did not read the passage about the seed of Eve who would bruise
the head of the serpent of old and his ministry certainly fulfilled that
one too.
Jesus did not read about coming with power, or being the prophet
who would follow in the footsteps of Moses, nor the suffering servant of
Isaiah 53, nor about the virgin birth and not even about the coming of a
shepherd who would care for the people of Israel.
There are a lot of other messianic prophecies that he did not choose as well. Significant as all those things are, they were not what he felt was the key to the announcement of his life’s work.
In other words, he chose this passage about compassion and healing as the identifying hallmark of his ministry from the very start.
I appreciate that Jesus made this his first priority.
And as you read about how he invested his time, you indeed find the story of one whose life was filled with great compassion. He had time for lepers that were shunned from society, individuals bound in poverty, for other outcasts such as women of poor reputation, Roman soldiers, wild party guys, even tax collectors (and THAT must have required great compassion!).
He was at the side of those in mourning, blind beggars and lots of individuals who today would have disabled stickers on their windshields. He just cared about people. And, of course, that was most profoundly demonstrated by his sacrifice on the cross to give us the opportunity to be lifted out of the worst bondage of all, the bondage to a sinful lifestyle and the resulting eternal penalty.
Take your broken heart and give him a call; he is always willing to take on new clients and patients in need of his expertise.
In a world filled with brokenhearted people, it’s good to know there is someone who can help.
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