The Lord opens the eyes of the blind.
The Christmas story opens with the birth of two second cousins who are miraculously born to two women who could not possibly have children. John the Baptist, son of Zechariah and Elizabeth, and Jesus, born to the virgin Mary, the cousin of Elizabeth, who was engaged to be married to Joseph.
Later in life John is wondering if Jesus really was what was prophesied? So he sends two messengers to Jesus, and Jesus answers from Psalm 146.
22 Then he told John's disciples, "Go back to John and tell him what you have seen and heard--the blind see, the lame walk, the lepers are cured, the deaf hear, the dead are raised to life, and the Good News is being preached to the poor. 23 And tell him, 'God blesses those who do not turn away because of me.'"
Can you see that this answer of Jesus parallels the Psalm?
You might think that Jesus was done with the parallels after His brief reply to cousin John, but Jesus in Matthew 11 goes on to tap the riches of this great Psalm from verse 8. Here Jesus makes one of His most famous promises, and you can see it comes right from the promise of Psalm 146. Jesus is saying He is the Lord.
The Lord lifts up those who are weighed down.
28 Then Jesus said, "Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy to bear, and the burden I give you is light."
The Lord will reign forever.
The Lord is God. We can see that in verses 2, 5, and 10 of Psalm 146.
The Lord is a king who will reign forever, which is clear from verse 10.
So Jesus is saying He is the king who will reign forever.
Jesus did all the things of Psalm 146 and more. He fed the hungry, He released the captives, He cared for orphans and widows. And Jesus is still doing this through His body, the church, of which He is the head. In fact there is no real religion that doesn’t do this, according to Jesus’ brother, James.
And the angels that spoke to the shepherds, they too used the language of this Psalm, when they
10 but the angel reassured them. "Don't be afraid!" he said. "I bring you good news that will bring great joy to all people.
People talk about the real meaning of Christmas, but is your Christmas filled with praise for the Lord, the King, the God of Israel who revealed Himself as Jesus the humble, servant-hearted, giving healer who alone is worthy of praise, who gives joy, who helps, who made all things, who feeds the hungry, gives justice to the oppressed, who sets the prisoners free, who opens the eyes of the blind, and cares for the orphans and widows?
This is Jesus, whom we celebrate this Christmas day.
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| Handwritten Psalm 146 |
Praise the Lord!
Let all that I am praise the Lord.
2 I will praise the Lord as long as I live.
I will sing praises to my God with my dying breath.
3 Don’t put your confidence in powerful people;
there is no help for you there.
4 When they breathe their last, they return to the earth,
and all their plans die with them.
5 But joyful are those who have the God of Israel[a] as their helper,
whose hope is in the Lord their God.
6 He made heaven and earth,
the sea, and everything in them.
He keeps every promise forever.
7 He gives justice to the oppressed
and food to the hungry.
The Lord frees the prisoners.
8 The Lord opens the eyes of the blind.
The Lord lifts up those who are weighed down.
The Lord loves the godly.
9 The Lord protects the foreigners among us.
He cares for the orphans and widows,
but he frustrates the plans of the wicked.
10 The Lord will reign forever.
He will be your God, O Jerusalem,[b] throughout the generations.
Praise the Lord!
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