Messiah’s message

"The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon Me, Because the LORD has anointed Me To preach good tidings to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, To proclaim liberty to the captives, And the opening of the prison to those who are bound; - Isaiah 61v1

I always pause when I get to this passage because it is the one scripture that Jesus used in the synagogue to reveal to the Jews that He was the one prophesied by Isaiah. After standing in before the crowd Jesus ‘… closed the book, and gave it back to the attendant and sat down. And the eyes of all who were in the synagogue were fixed on Him. And He began to say to them, "today this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.’

His statement was quite a shock to His hearers. They all knew Isaiah. They knew this was referencing Messiah, and yet here Jesus, the son of a carpenter, was claiming that He was the one fulfilling this ancient prophecy.

I am intrigued by the message He chose. Of all the things He could have said He chose one that was full of hope and healing. He could have talked about wrath and judgement. Instead He talked about preaching good tidings to the poor, healing the broken-hearted, proclaiming liberty, and opening prison doors.

Jesus’ focus was on those we so often forget. His message was for all, but here He focuses on those we often forget. His message was for the poor, the broken-hearted, the captives, and the bound.

Why is it that the people Jesus focused on are often so far down our priority list?