No wonder that the angel announced to the shepherds that it was tidings of great joy, which should be to all people! No wonder that the multitude of the Heavenly Host came down and joined in the Song of Praise, on that night when the glory from Heaven shone round about them all, and the earth received the Gift of the only begotten Son of the Father.
PROPHECY OF CHRIST'S MINISTRY.
Isa. lxi. 1.—Luke iv. 21.
When the Lord Jesus began His ministry on earth He went into the synagogue at Nazareth, and stood up to read. The attendant handed Him the Roll containing the Prophecies of Isaiah; and the Lord found the place, and this is what He read:—
"The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me; because the Lord hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; He hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound; to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord."
And Jesus closed the book, and He gave it again to the attendant, and sat down. And the eyes of all that were in the synagogue were fastened on Him.
And He began to say unto them "This day is this Scripture fulfilled in your ears."
The Prophecy in Isaiah was written more than seven hundred years before! That day it was fulfilled!
The King of Glory had taken our human nature upon Him, that He might taste death for every man; and His first words as to His mission were, that He would preach the Gospel to the poor, and heal the brokenhearted!
Think how full of mercy His days were! How He gave the widow's only son, who was dead, back to her alive; how He healed the Roman soldier's servant, who was dear to him; how He touched the lepers and made them well; how He forgave the sins of the palsied man, and healed him; how He forgave Peter and restored him.
No wonder St. John in his Gospel says: "If all the things which Jesus did should be written every one, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that should be written!"