“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 broken-hearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound; to proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all who mourn . . .” Isaiah 61:1-2

In Hebrews 6:18-19 it says, “. . . we who have fled for refuge might have strong encouragement to hold fast to the hope set before us. We have this as a sure and steadfast anchor of the soul.” The only anchor of hope in our soul that can resist both the small and large tribulations of life is Jesus; He is the personification of hope. In Isaiah 61 He testifies how the salvation He offers us will right every wrong, and what a message this is for today! You don’t have to be a prophet to realise that the age we are living in is witnessing an enormous collapse of biblical values, increased violence, indifference, selfishness and the breakdown of relationships.

As Jesus’ witnesses, we have to confront these developments in our society with the good news that God makes all things new. He transforms fear into confidence, resignation into hope, guilt and bitterness into forgiveness and healing, mourning into joy, and death into life. Isaiah 61 expresses the message of the year of the Lord in such an impressive manner: God turns toward His people Israel, as well as toward the whole of creation, through Jesus, the Messiah. He invites us to start afresh: debts will be acquitted, prisoners will be set free, relationships will be healed, and mercy will be granted before law and court.