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Jesus Came to Bind Up Broken Hearts

Jesus Came to Bind Up Broken Hearts
December 16, 2018

Scripture: Luke 4:16-22
Psalm 34:18: “The LORD is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit.”

I. Jesus came to bind up the broken hearts of the poor.

A. Jesus came to preach good news. It was in the preaching of the good news that the broken hearts of the poor would be healed (Luke 4:18). When you think about the people who responded favorably to the message of good news Jesus’ spoke, who was it? The rich or the poor? It was mostly the poor: the 5,000 people who were so poor that they needed Jesus to provide food for them out of loaves and fishes after he had taught them. If you are poor and in need, Jesus comes to you with a message of good news. You are not forgotten. You are loved by God just as much as the rich of this world. And your greatest need for forgiveness can be met by believing the good news that Christ died for your sins.

II. Jesus came to bind up the broken hearts of the captives.

A. When Isaiah spoke His prophecy in Isaiah 61 he was speaking to an Israel who would one day literally be taken captive and into exile by the Babylonians. They would be taken captive because of their sin and rebellion against God. The people that Jesus spoke to in Nazareth in Luke 4 were still in captivity to a foreign power. They were no longer held captive by the Babylonians but by the Romans. They were like slaves. Jesus had a message of liberty for the captives. Sin is like a slave master. And Jesus had an emancipation proclamation for the slaves. He could set them free from both the power and the penalty of sin. How wonderful that freedom would be for those who had suffered under the power of sin for so many years.

III. Jesus came to bind up the broken hearts of the oppressed.

A. By saying that part of Jesus’ work was to set free the oppressed Jesus was referring to a prophecy made about the Messiah made in Isaiah 58:6. God was saying in this verse that a religious ritual without love for people was meaningless to Him: “Is not this the fast that I choose: to loose the bonds of wickedness, to undo the straps of the yoke, to let the oppressed go free, and to break every yoke?” The nation of Israel in Isaiah’s day was supposed to set free those who were oppressed. But they didn’t do that. They just added to the oppression. But Jesus the Messiah will do what Israel was rebuked for not doing. Jesus will meet in love the needs of those who need God. Jesus will set at liberty those who are oppressed.

IV. Jesus came to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.

A. In the Old Testament, the year of the Lord’s favor (Luke 4:19) was something that came along every 50 years. It was the year of Jubilee which is spoken about in Leviticus 25:10: “Proclaim liberty throughout all the land unto all inhabitants thereof.” In that jubilee year in Israel slaves were set free and all debts were cancelled. The year of Jubilee was supposed to be a year of complete joy. It was a year for people’s broken hearts to heal. It was a year which would be a picture of God’s forgiveness and liberation. Jesus the Messiah was going to bring that forgiveness and liberation to the world. That is why he came at Christmas.

Application:
Let 2019 be a year of Jubilee for you as Jesus heals your heart and brings you freedom.

Sources:
The Gospel of Luke
Commentary on Luke by Darrell Bock and sermon by John Piper
“Why Christ Came” by Joel Beeke