 |
|
Reading: Luke 4:16-29, 42-43. "To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord" (v.19). "All... wondered at the words of grace which proceeded out of his mouth" (v.22). It may interest you to know that that word 'acceptable' and that word 'grace' are identical in the original. Verse 19 ought really to be translated "to proclaim the year of grace of the Lord". These were words of grace which were proceeding out of His mouth. We are brought back to re-emphasize that word 'grace'. For some reason the Lord is stressing that note at this time, and this whole chapter is a chapter which circles round that one thing - grace. It introduces the whole of this age, this dispensation, from the coming of the Lord Jesus in the first place, to His coming again, which may not be long. Between those two comings is the year of grace. It is a long year, but it is the year of grace. It is therefore the acceptable year of the Lord. This particular time in which we live is peculiarly the age of grace. I think we ought to be profoundly grateful that we are born and are living in the age, the day, of grace, and that the Lord keeps strictly to the nature of grace in this dispensation. That is something for which to be very thankful and something which we must not violate in our hearts. If we do, we do so at our peril and to our loss, and we can only really glorify God - this is what comes out here - and please God and be in the way of the light of His countenance, His blessing, when we really do come into perfect harmony with the note that He has struck for any given time, and we are attuned to that keynote. If we ever get on to any other line than that of grace, things will begin to go hard with us; there will very soon be discord and friction, but so long as we remain on this line of grace, we are in oneness with Him, we are in tune with Him. Now the day was introduced, the acceptable year of the Lord came, with the Lord Jesus as the Anointed, the Spirit of the Lord upon Him for this very purpose - to announce that the day of grace had come. The Holy Spirit rested upon the Lord Jesus for the purpose of introducing the day of grace. The Holy Spirit is working in relation to the Lord Jesus right through that day according to the nature of the day, that is grace. Well, it is announced. Then it is demonstrated, and from the Old Testament two incidents are taken, in order to bring the nature of grace home to this people. |
