My Favorite Verses - Vol III (Aug 16 to Nov 16)

Luke 1:76-77 … The Prophet of the Most High
(11/09/2016)
“And you will be called Prophet of the Most High; for you will go before the
Lord to prepare His ways; to rekindle an awareness in the forgiveness of their
sins.” ~ Jesus (Luke 1:76-77)
Note first & foremost that this prophecy was not given by Jesus himself, nor
was it even given about Jesus. Rather, these words were uttered by Zechariah for
his son (John the Baptist) shortly after his birth. That having been said, this
prophecy does reflect the words uttered by Jesus in Luke 4 – the only time in the
Bible we see him reading from the Old Testament scrolls directly – when he says,
“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring good
news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovery
of sight to the blind; to let the oppressed go free, and to proclaim the year of the
Lord‟s favor” (Luke 4:18-19 – quoting from Isaiah 61) …
Note also that John‟s
purpose was to prepare God‟s
ways (a la “make the way
straight” from Isaiah II, Jesus‟
favorite Old Testament scroll –
see Isaiah 40:3), not to prepare
humanity for any subsequent
"savior" … Note as well, and
far more importantly, that this
particular prophecy succinctly
(and quite brilliantly) reflects
Jesus‟ ministry as a whole –
quite accurately reflects his
focus on a Love that was
wholly unconditional and a
Grace that was to be given to all
without end … And finally,
please note that the call herein
was not for the direct
forgiveness of sins from a
celestial Judge "on high", but
rather was offered to rekindle
an awareness of the innate
ability we all have to forgive
others their sins – and thereby
cleanse our own as well.
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