November 2025: Washing for the Year of Favor

Published on 11/01/2025 by Dr-Shirley-Cheng.

Water. This is the common thread that runs through John 3-4. But it's not any water--it's the Holy Spirit. Let's talk about the "water" that every person requires in order to be a Christian.

In John 3, Jesus told Nicodemus that no one can enter God's Kingdom unless they are born of the Spirit and water. At the opening of his book, the apostle John informed his readers that the right to become the children of God is given by Jesus to anyone who believes in his name. The right to become God's children does not come by any other means--not by one's heritage, nor by anyone's work, however extraordinary it may be. Sonship comes only through active faith in the Christ. When someone accepts Jesus as their Lord and Savior, he sends them the Holy Spirit, and the person is then spiritually reborn--born as a child of God. This is the birth of Spirit and water.

The sending of the Holy Spirit upon a new Christian is the "Holy Spirit baptism." This is what John the Baptizer was speaking of when he told the crowds that Jesus is the One who baptizes people in the Holy Spirit and fire (Luke 3:16). Just as "Spirit and water" refers to only the Holy Spirit (John 3:5), so "Holy Spirit and fire" speaks of only the Holy Spirit. Like water, "fire" is another biblical metaphor for the cleansing effect of God's work. Fire refines silver and gold of their dross. As fire, the Spirit purifies a Christian of their "dross" (sins) upon their acceptance of Jesus as the Messiah.

Once Jesus baptizes a new Christian in the Spirit and fire, the person is "immersed" in the Spirit and is indwelled by the Spirit. The indwelling Spirit acts as a continual guide in the Christian's life, convicting them of their sins when they sin and helping them to live a life that's according to God's will. So the "water" and "fire" effects of the Holy Spirit is lifelong, and comes in two stages:

a) An initial cleansing: This occurs at the moment a person first accepts Jesus as their Lord and Savior. The Spirit baptizes them and cleanses them of all the sins they have ever committed in their lifetime. By this, the new Christian's record is completely wiped clean. They have a new start, like a newborn baby. This is the spiritual rebirth.

b) A progressive cleansing: We dub this "progressive sanctification." Although the Spirit fully cleanses the new Christian of all their sins, the sin nature remains in the person. Due to the sin nature, the Christian will still sin from time to time. They won't sin as much as before prior to their rebirth since the indwelling Spirit helps them to overcome their sin nature. When they do sin and then repent of their sin, the Spirit will cleanse them of their sin. Hence, progressive sanctification is teamwork: The Christian constantly has to follow in the lead of the Spirit. If they follow it, then they won't sin much at all. If they fail once in a while, it's up to them to repent to receive the Spirit's cleansing.

Indeed, the Spirit is vital for a Christian. Without it, there wouldn't be any rebirth. No one would be born again to see the Kingdom of God. Every person who wishes to inherit God's Kingdom needs to be baptized in the Spirit. But spiritual baptism comes only through faith in the Messiah. This is why the right to become God's children is given by Jesus Christ. Only he is the Baptizer of Spirit and fire for those who believe in his name. Only through him is the birth of the Spirit and water possible.

During Jesus' earthly ministry, however, he did not baptize any believer in Spirit and fire. He could only start baptizing after he had sacrificed himself to die for all repentant sinners. Without his death, the penalty for sins wouldn't be paid. No sacrifice, no atonement and no cleansing by the "water" and "fire." So we won't be reading of any account of spiritual baptism in the Gospels.

Now, let us pick up where we left off last month. Jesus had stayed with the Samaritans in Sychar for two days. In this span of time, many of the despised Samaritans believed in him. They seem to be genuine believers, unlike the Jews in Jerusalem who believed only after seeing Jesus perform many signs. The Samaritans were true believers because they came to their faith by interacting with Jesus in hearing what he taught them, not simply by seeing miracles. Signs and wonders often don't produce in people true faith unlike interaction with Jesus does.

After his brief stay with the Samaritans, Jesus headed back home to Galilee. It was at this time that John the Baptizer was captured and imprisoned by Herod Antipas (Mark 1:14). It was at this point that the synoptic Gospels (Matthew, Mark and Luke) began their narration of Jesus' ministry. Unlike John's Gospel, they did not cover his ministry that occurred simultaneously with the ministry of John the Baptizer. Their accounts of Jesus begin in Galilee, rather than in Judea, where the apostle John began his Gospel.

Jesus' early Judean ministry was more private, though he did perform signs in Jerusalem during the week-long feasts. It was after he returned to Galilee for the second time that he took his ministry out in public (the first time he returned to Galilee was when he turned water into wine in Cana, following his baptism by John). It was at this time that he began to preach of the coming of the Kingdom of God. Like John the Baptizer, his main message was, "Repent! For the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand." (Matthew 4:18) Mark's account is fuller, where he recorded Jesus saying, "The time is fulfilled, and the Kingdom of God is at hand! Repent, and believe in the Good News." (Mark 1:15) The time was "fulfilled," meaning that God's appointed time He foretold in the Tanakh had come: the time of salvation. Jesus was now sent into the world, and through his sacrifice, the time of salvation would commence. Thus, it was time for folks to repent of their sins and accept the good news of salvation through Jesus Christ.

The Start of the King's Ministry in Galilee

"Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit into Galilee, and news about him spread through all the surrounding area. He taught in their synagogues, being glorified by all." (Luke 4:14-15, WEB)

After Jesus returned to Galilee in the "power of the Spirit" (being guided by the Spirit and filled with divine power to do miracles), all the Galileans received him because, as fellow pilgrims to Jerusalem to observe the Feast of Unleavened bread, they saw the signs that he performed in the holy city during that week (John 4:45; Luke 4:14). News of him and his miracles spread through all the surrounding region (Luke 4:14). His signs and wonders awed the Galileans, so they likely welcomed him as a mighty prophet of God. Since it appears that God had not sent any prophet to Israel for at least four centuries who performed any miracle (John the Baptizer didn't perform any), the Jews were more than excited to see Jesus's miracles, as they would have taken it as a wonderful sign: that God had not "forgotten" His people but was then showing favor to them again as at old times. What the people didn't know then was that Jesus was no ordinary prophet but the Messiah. It's something that they would know in time.

The Second Sign in Cana

One day, Jesus went to Cana, the town where he turned water into wine for a wedding. There, a nobleman went to him, coming from Capernaum to seek him when he heard that Jesus had just returned from Judea. He implored Jesus to go with him to his home to heal his son who was dying. But being the mighty Son of God who doesn't need physical nearness to heal anyone of their ailment, Jesus told him, "Go your way. Your son lives." (John 4:50) He could heal his son from a distance, and he would.

The nobleman could have protested and insisted that Jesus go with him. He had come from thirteen miles away to seek out Jesus only to be sent away. Yet, he believed in Jesus' words. He believed that Jesus could and would save his son from death despite the distance. We must give him credit for his strong faith in Jesus. He simply took Jesus' word for it and turned around to return home.

As the nobleman was still some distance from home, his servants hurriedly met him on the road and announced excitedly, "Your child lives!" (John 4:51) The nobleman asked them at what time his son began to recover from his illness, and they answered, "Yesterday at the seventh hour [1 PM], the fever left him." (John 4:52) That was the exact time when Jesus told him, "Your son lives." His faith in Jesus was rewarded.

As a consequence of the miracle, the faith of the nobleman strengthened, and his whole household believed in Jesus. This was the second miracle Jesus performed in Cana.

The King's Rebuke of the Galileans

When the nobleman asked Jesus to come with him to heal his dying son, Jesus had rebuked the crowd that was looking on, "Unless you see signs and wonders, you will in no way believe." (John 4:48) He knew that any faith the people had at that time was not firm, and they would not truly believe in him as the Messiah if he didn't perform any miracles. They wanted to see miracles in order to believe. He was rebuking the crowd, as "you" is in its plural form in Greek.

This sin for which Jesus rebuked the people was not unique to them. Many skeptics today bear this attitude. They say, "Unless I see God do something miraculous, I won't believe in Him." They challenge God or Christians to perform signs, or dare God to "show Himself." They claim that if God did so, they would believe. But the truth is that such people often will not believe in God when they do see miracles. Sure, they may admit that God exists, but such belief is the passive belief that is not what God desires. God desires active trust, not simple belief in His existence. Folks who demand miracles often won't come to trust in God or Jesus. Genuine faith usually comes before miracles, and then when miracles do come, their faith is strengthened. The nobleman believed in Jesus without seeing any miracle. This shows that his faith was genuine. When he did witness a miracle the next day, then his faith was made stronger.

In his rebuke, Jesus implied that some people do develop genuine faith by witnessing miracles and that such people require miracles in order to believe. Yet, he much prefers ones who believe without seeing a miracle than those who require miracles in order to believe in him (John 20:29).

The King Fulfilled Prophecy

Back at home in Nazareth where he was brought up, Jesus wasted no time in carrying out his God-given mission. As he customarily did, he entered the synagogue of Nazareth on the Sabbath. Synagogues often invited teachers to read a passage of the Tanakh and share with fellow congregants their thoughts on the passage. In the particular incident that Luke recorded in Luke 4, Jesus stood up and he was handed the scroll of Isaiah. From it, he read:
"The Spirit of the Lord is on me,
because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor.
He has sent me to heal the brokenhearted,
to proclaim release to the captives,
recovering of sight to the blind,
to deliver those who are crushed,
and to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord." (Luke 4:18-19)

After he read this passage, Jesus sat down. All eyes were glued to him, anticipating what insight he might share. To the crowd, he said, "this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing." (Luke 4:21)

How was the passage Jesus read fulfilled that very moment? Let's study the verses he read to find out.

Jesus read a portion of the prophecy found in Isaiah 61:1-3, which says:
"The Spirit of the Lord Yahweh is on me;
because Yahweh has anointed me to preach good news to the humble.
He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,
to proclaim liberty to the captives,
and release to those who are bound;
to proclaim the year of Yahweh’s favor, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all who mourn; to appoint to those who mourn in Zion, to give to them a garland for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they may be called trees of righteousness, the planting of Yahweh, that he may be glorified."

Note that Jesus read only up to "to proclaim the year of Yahweh’s favor [which is the same as "the acceptable year of the Lord"]," stopping in the middle of the sentence. He purposefully read up to this point, and no further, because it's only up to this point that this prophecy of Isaiah was fulfilled in the people's hearing that day. He as the Messiah first came to proclaim the year of Yahweh's favor or acceptance; it will be at his second coming that he will proclaim the day of Yahweh's vengeance. In his first advent, he was sent into the world to bring salvation to the captives and release them from their spiritual prisons; but he will come to judge the world at his second advent, and to complete God's salvation for the righteous. Hence, Isaiah 61:1-3 fulfills in primarily two stages. But no one prior to Jesus' first coming would have known this. Not even the prophets knew when or how their prophecies were to be fulfilled; they simply declared God's Word as they received it (1 Peter 1:10-12).

Indeed, Jesus was not-so subtly identifying himself as the Messiah, whom Isaiah spoke of in this prophecy. He's the promised Messiah, anointed by Yahweh's Holy Spirit, to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord to the Jews.

As you may have noticed, the words that Jesus read are partially different from the text in Isaiah 61:1-3. This is because he was reading from the popular Greek translation, the Septuagint, of Isaiah.

Here, let us study Isaiah 61:1-3 in more depth:

The speaker of Isaiah 61:1-3 is the Servant of Yahweh, none other than Jesus Christ, as the Messiah pointed out that he is the fulfillment of this passage. In it, the Servant of Yahweh describes his divine mission; let us take a closer look:

"The Spirit of the Lord Yahweh is on me;
because Yahweh has anointed me to preach good news to the humble.
He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,
to proclaim liberty to the captives,
and release to those who are bound;" (Isaiah 61:1)

The Servant immediately identifies the source of his empowerment: the Spirit of Yahweh that's on him. Like a human Davidic king who was anointed by a special blend of olive oil that signified Yahweh's choice of him, so the Servant is anointed by Yahweh with His Holy Spirit to appoint him to carry out his divine mission. The Spirit that's on the Servant enables him to perfectly complete what his God commissions him, namely to preach the Good News of salvation to the humble (those who are poor in spirit and who find richness in God), to bind up or heal the brokenhearted (those who are downcast regarding their sins), to proclaim liberty to the captives of sins, and to release the captives from their dungeons of sins and their sins' resulting eternal death penalty.

"to proclaim the year of Yahweh’s favor, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all who mourn;" (Isaiah 61:2)

The Servant is anointed to proclaim the year of Yahweh's favor. The year of favor is believed to be foreshadowed by the Year of Jubilee, which occurs every fiftieth year in ancient Israel, wherein all lands "bought" automatically reverted back to their original tribal holders and wherein all bondservants were released from their creditors to return to their homes. So the year of Yahweh's favor is the ultimate Year of Jubilee for His people: all the captives of sins will be released from their bonds and be sent home to their God in everlasting fellowship. When we accept the Servant as our Lord and Savior, the spiritual bonds on our hands and feet automatically fall off and we're welcomed into God's holy family!

The Servant is also to proclaim the day of Yahweh's vengeance. Yahweh's year of favor is only to those who accept His Servant. Those who reject His Servan will experience the day of His vengeance, where Yahweh will repay all the wicked according to their deeds. The Good News is only good news to those who embrace it; it will be the worst news ever to those who despise it.

"to appoint to those who mourn in Zion, to give to them a garland for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they may be called trees of righteousness, the planting of Yahweh, that he may be glorified." (Isaiah 61:3)

The Servant will comfort those who mourn. These mourners are those who mourn of their sins, not just any mourners. Their comfort will be like receiving a glorious crown in place of the ashes they once sat in while mourning; oil for gladness in place of mourning; and glorious garments of praise instead of a spirit of heaviness. In short, they will put off their sackcloths and don on apparel of festivity instead.

What will be the outcome of the Servant's completed mission? The glory of Yahweh God. God will be glorified when His tender plant becomes a righteous fruitful tree. When His people become the people He intends them to be, it brings Him praise and honor.

Are you flourishing before God like a tree planted by a riverbank? Oftentimes, you may feel like a tender plant, with the storms of life overwhelming you, but if you put your whole trust in our Lord, he'll see you through all your trials! So always trust in him and he'll make sure you will grow into a majestic tree bearing a bumper harvest to the glory and praise of God!


~*~ Q&A with Dr. Shirley ~*~

Question: Where does evil come from? What is the purpose of evil?

Answer: Evil comes from lawlessness, and that lawlessness is the outcome of disobedience to God's laws.

When God's law says, "No stealing," and you steal anyway, then that results in evil.

Evil exists because:
1. God's laws are violated
2. God permits it

Evil is for God to use. God uses anything, both good and evil, to achieve His purposes. So God permits evil for the time being, and He permits evil for some of these reasons:

a) To keep "free will" truly free. Free will is our freedom in making moral choices for ourselves. For example, when God tells us not to steal, we have the free will to either choose to obey or disobey. If God prevents evil in this case (if He keeps you from stealing), then that would cancel out your free will.

This is why we see people doing all kinds of evil deeds (e.g., stealing, lying, committing adultery, killing) because God is allowing us to exercise our free will. Without free will, we would be programmed robots. Do you want the ability to choose, or to live as a robot?

b) To punish people/nations. God allows certain evil acts as a form of punishment. For example, He used the wicked Babylonians to exile His people to punish them for their evil deeds. This is very clearly indicated in books like Jeremiah, Ezekiel and Habakkuk.

c) To serve as witness for righteousness. For example, God permitted the devil to afflict the righteous man, Job. The devil claimed that Job worshipped God only because God blessed him greatly. In short, the devil claimed that righteousness does not exist, that people would never love God if there's no benefit for them. So God allowed the devil to afflict Job to openly disprove the devil and vindicate righteous people. When Job still worshipped God after his great afflictions, it shows righteousness does exist, and that the righteous love God simply for who He is. Evil does not and will not overcome goodness.

Since God permits evil for various reasons, then we can attribute everything in this world, both good and evil, to Him, yet holding the evildoer accountable for their evil because it is the evildoer who does evil by their own free will choice; God did not instill evil in any evildoer. This is why God says He forms light and darkness, peace and calamity (Isaiah 45:7). Darkness exists because people avoid His light and He is permitting it for now. In the end, God will permanently do away with evil.

Do you have Bible questions and want answers? Contact Dr. Shirley and she'll be happy to answer your questions by the grace of God.

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