For if because of one man’s trespass (lapse, offense) death reigned through that one, much more surely will those who receive [God’s] overflowing grace (unmerited favor) and the free gift of righteousness [putting them into right standing with Himself] reign as kings in life through the one Man Jesus Christ (the Messiah, the Anointed One). Romans 5:17 (Amplified Bible)
In Luke chapter four we see the account of Jesus returning to his home town synagogue just after He had been anointed by the Holy Spirit and won back the keys of authority after He had been tempted of the Devil in the wilderness for forty days. Because He had been so respected by His community as Mary and Joseph’s son, it had been common for the priests to hand Him the scrolls to read from the Old Testament Scripture. As He began to read from Isiah 61, He was reading the very prophecy about Himself.
What is interesting is where He stopped reading. Isiah 61:2 says, “To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD, And the day of vengeance of our God; To comfort all who mourn.” Jesus ended his reading, according to Luke 4:19 by saying “To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD.” Could He have intended not to mention the part about “the day of vengeance of our God”? I believe so. Jesus was actually proclaiming the beginning of a new age and an age that we are still in even to this day, the “Age of Grace.”
The Greek word for “Acceptable” here is dektos and it means “that most blessed time when Salvation and the free favors of God profusely abound.” The word “Salvation” here is the Greek word Sozo and Soteria which means to be saved, healed, delivered, preserved, protected, to be made prosperous (fully supplied) and to be made whole.
Jesus was saying that He had come to establish a new era in which anyone could freely receive the favor and blessing of God. Judgement would have to wait until His second coming. Today we are living in the most incredibly, blessed time that there has ever been on planet earth and it’s not because we deserve it. This is the “Good News,” that when we receive Jesus, we receive “Everlasting Life” which is “the God kind of life” that Jesus later spoke of in John 10:10, that is abundant life past, present and future.
You can know today, that God wants to pour out nothing but His favor on you, your business, your job, your children, your family, your dog, your cat and anything else, all because of Jesus. It may sound to good to be true, but that’s why He calls it the “Good News.” Is that acceptable to you? For something to be acceptable to us, means that we are willing to receive it. Accept this “Good News” for your life today and allow God’s favor to flow in every area.
Today’s Thought: The favor of the Lord secures our eternal destiny and destines us to reign in this life.