Rethinking Lent: Fixed
Last week our word was Broken-hearted. And we saw the One who was to come. He comes with comfort, crowns of beauty, restoration, and the Spirit of God upon Him.
We read an Old Testament prophet's vision of someone coming to bind up the brokenness in our hearts.
And this week: we see Who claims this passage that was written so long ago. We see a 30 something year old wood-worker stand up and read this same passage. We see it read with authority. We see it read with gusto. We see it read with grace and truth.
We see Jesus read it and say: I Am He.
“And the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to him (Jesus). He unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written,
“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,
because he has anointed me
to proclaim good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives
and recovering of sight to the blind,
to set at liberty those who are oppressed,
to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”
And he rolled up the scroll and gave it back to the attendant and sat down. And the eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on him. And he began to say to them, “Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.””
The eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on him.
Fixed.
Fastened securely in position. Unmoving. Locked in. Not one eye was distracted. No one was looking elsewhere. No one was on their phones. No one was divided in attention.
What He said was captivating; who He was captured hearts. He fulfilled this scripture in their presence and you could hear a pin drop.
When was the last time we fastened our heart, mind, soul and strength securely in position on Jesus? Lent is a time to watch in wonder. To sit quietly before Him and take Him in. To recover sight for our blind spots and freedom from our prisons.
Today, lets Lent together, fixing our eyes on Jesus. Tell Him what you find amazing about this fulfillment. Take an extra moment to let yourself be fixed and fascinated.
“Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.”