Isaiah 61
“Empowered by the Spirit for Gospel Ministry”
Pastor Jason Van Bemmel

¹ The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me,
    because the Lord has anointed me
to bring good news to the poor;
    he has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,
to proclaim liberty to the captives,
    and the opening of the prison to those who are bound;
² to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor,
    and the day of vengeance of our God;
    to comfort all who mourn;
³ to grant to those who mourn in Zion—
    to give them a beautiful headdress instead of ashes,
the oil of gladness instead of mourning,
    the garment of praise instead of a faint spirit;
that they may be called oaks of righteousness,
    the planting of the Lord, that he may be glorified.
⁴ They shall build up the ancient ruins;
    they shall raise up the former devastations;
they shall repair the ruined cities,
    the devastations of many generations.

⁵ Strangers shall stand and tend your flocks;
    foreigners shall be your plowmen and vinedressers;
⁶ but you shall be called the priests of the Lord;
    they shall speak of you as the ministers of our God;
you shall eat the wealth of the nations,
    and in their glory you shall boast.
⁷ Instead of your shame there shall be a double portion;
    instead of dishonor they shall rejoice in their lot;
therefore in their land they shall possess a double portion;
    they shall have everlasting joy.

⁸ For I the Lord love justice;
    I hate robbery and wrong;
I will faithfully give them their recompense,
    and I will make an everlasting covenant with them.
⁹ Their offspring shall be known among the nations,
    and their descendants in the midst of the peoples;
all who see them shall acknowledge them,
    that they are an offspring the Lord has blessed.

¹⁰ I will greatly rejoice in the Lord;
    my soul shall exult in my God,
for he has clothed me with the garments of salvation;
    he has covered me with the robe of righteousness,
as a bridegroom decks himself like a priest with a beautiful headdress,
    and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.
¹¹ For as the earth brings forth its sprouts,
    and as a garden causes what is sown in it to sprout up,
so the Lord God will cause righteousness and praise
    to sprout up before all the nations.

• Isaiah 61, ESV

How Can We Shine the Light of Christ to the Nations?

Have you ever been told very clearly what you are supposed to do but were still left wondering how to do it?

Last week, in Isaiah 60, we saw that our calling from God is to arise and shine the light of Christ to the nations. We saw that we have no other light to shine but the light of Christ, who alone is the true Light of the World. We saw that we need to forsake gimmicks and worldliness in order to shine more clearly, and that we need to trust in what God has promised.

Sometimes the question of how to do something isn’t a matter of directions or instructions but rather a matter of energy or strength. I can watch a video on proper deadlifting technique and understand it well, but that still won’t allow me to deadlift 500 pounds. I lack the strength, the power needed to move the weight.

What we see in Isaiah 61 is that the Lord Jesus was anointed by the Holy Spirit, who empowered Him to fulfill His earthly ministry, and that He empowers us with the same Holy Spirit, who lives in every believer and is the strength we need to do the work God has given us to do.  

Jesus Empowered by the Spirit, vv. 1-4

The opening of Isaiah 61 is the passage of Scripture Jesus read in the synagogue at Nazareth at the beginning of His earthly ministry:

 ¹ The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me,
    because the Lord has anointed me
to bring good news to the poor;
    he has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,
to proclaim liberty to the captives,
    and the opening of the prison to those who are bound;
² to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor,
    and the day of vengeance of our God;
    to comfort all who mourn;
³ to grant to those who mourn in Zion—
    to give them a beautiful headdress instead of ashes,
the oil of gladness instead of mourning,
    the garment of praise instead of a faint spirit;
that they may be called oaks of righteousness,
    the planting of the Lord, that he may be glorified.
⁴ They shall build up the ancient ruins;
    they shall raise up the former devastations;
they shall repair the ruined cities,
    the devastations of many generations.

Luke 4 records Jesus as reading the first verse and the first line of the second verse of Isaiah 61. These first seven lines of this beautiful chapter are a great mission statement for Jesus’ earthly ministry as our Messiah, our Christ, the Anointed One. We even have the word Messiah at the end of the second line. Jesus was anointed by the Holy Spirit at His baptism, and the Spirit empowered Him to

1. Bring good news to the poor
2. Bind up the brokenhearted
3. Proclaim liberty to the captives
4. Proclaim the opening of prison to those in bondage
5. Proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor

If we continue to the end of verse 2, we see two more things:

6. Proclaim the day of God’s vengeance
7. Comfort those who mourn

I think we could understand that Luke left out these last two lines because these aspects of His mission will be fully executed by Jesus when he comes again to judge the world and make a final end of all evil and suffering. But we can see that Jesus has guaranteed these things by the work He has already accomplished. So, in His earthly messianic ministry . . .

1. Jesus brought good news to the poor, that is, to the afflicted and oppressed.
2. Jesus came to bind up the brokenhearted, the dress the wounds of our broken hearts.
3. Jesus came to proclaim liberty/freedom to those held captive.
4. Jesus came to proclaim the opening of the prison doors to those held in bondage.
5. Jesus came to proclaim that the time of the Lord’s favor had now come.

He did not do these things in the way people expected. People’s expectations often focus on the superficial, the physical, the political, the temporal. Jesus came to bring good news that goes deeper and lasts forever. They wanted a political Messiah who would overthrow Rome and then lead Israel to geo-political greatness, to worldly political dominance over her neighbors and her enemies. But such a Messiah would bring only temporary, limited, earthly relief and would not address the deepest needs that cause people to be afflicted, oppressed, brokenhearted, captive, imprisoned, and out of favor with God.

And, of course, you probably won’t be surprised to hear me say that the root cause of all of these problems for people is sin. But before your eyes glaze over and you think I’m just saying what all pastors say, hear me out. One of the earliest miracles of Jesus recorded in all three synoptic Gospels – Matthew, Mark, and Luke – is the healing of a paralyzed man whose friends had to tear a hole in the roof and lower him down in front of Jesus for his healing. The Gospels accounts tell us that Jesus saw the man and his friends, and, seeing their faith in action, He said to the man, “Your sins are forgiven.” Only when His authority for forgive sins was challenged by the religious leaders who were looking on in judgmental unbelief did Jesus say, “Which is easier to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven” or “Rise, take up your bed and go home.’?” Then, Jesus healed the paralyzed man’s physical paralysis, and the man left and went home.

Our temptation when we read that miracle story is to think that the physical healing of the man’s paralysis is the real miracle. After all, it is the more difficult thing to say because it’s the easier thing to see and either prove or disprove. But the real miracle, the true freedom and favor Jesus brings the man when He sees his faith, is the forgiveness of his sins.  

And this is the pattern of Jesus’ earthly ministry. He heals and feeds and casts out demons, primarily as a way of demonstrating His authority as God’s Messiah. Yet the greatest work He came to do, the work that required the greatest sacrifice, was bringing the kingdom of God to His disciples by securing our forgiveness from sin and our victory over death by His death and resurrection. The forgiveness of sins and the gift of eternal life are not abstract, spiritual concepts that are somehow less real and less powerful than temporary physical healing or temporary political deliverance. They are the blessings of the kingdom that transform our hearts and lives forever!

Verse 3 describes the transformation Jesus brings into the lives of His people, and then verse 4 describes what His people then go on to accomplish through Him –

³ to grant to those who mourn in Zion—
    to give them a beautiful headdress instead of ashes,
the oil of gladness instead of mourning,
    the garment of praise instead of a faint spirit;
that they may be called oaks of righteousness,
    the planting of the Lord, that he may be glorified

⁴They shall build up the ancient ruins;
    they shall raise up the former devastations;
they shall repair the ruined cities,
    the devastations of many generations.

Notice who receives these benefits from Christ: Those who mourn in Zion. Amos prophesied at the same time as Isaiah, and he condemned those who are at ease in Zion. So, biblically, there are two kinds of people in Zion: Those who are at ease and those who mourn. Jesus pronounced in His Beatitudes: “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.” If we mourn over our sin and over the state of the world in rebellion against God, Jesus comes to us with comfort, with a beautiful headdress – the garment of a beloved bride – instead of ashes. Gladness and praise and strength from being loved and belonging to God instead of ashes and mourning and a faint spirit from being overwhelmed with sorrow from our sin.

So, which characterizes you? Do you believe that if you belong to Jesus, you do not need to carry the heavy heart and deep regret over your sin? Do you believe that you are forgiven and free, dearly loved and strong in the Lord?

God’s People Made Priests and Ministers, vv. 4-7

And then, through His grace, Jesus makes His people powerful rebuilders and restorers of what has been broken and lost because of sin. Now, it’s critical that we understand what verse 4 is describing and what it’s not describing. Building up the ancient ruins and restoring the devastations of many generations is something much deeper and more profound than bringing back some perceived age of national of cultural greatness from 50-60 years ago. No, it goes much deeper than that.

At the heart of the ruin and devastation in our world is our alienation from God and from His creational purposes for us. And so, the only real and lasting restoration comes from being reconciled to Him.

But how can we be part of this? How can we be those who rebuild and restore what the fall has ruined and stolen from the world?

Verse 6 is the heart of this passage and gives the answer –

⁶ but you shall be called the priests of the Lord;
    they shall speak of you as the ministers of our God;
you shall eat the wealth of the nations,
    and in their glory you shall boast.

All believers in Christ are made to share in Christ’s anointing by the Holy Spirit and are made priests and ministers of God. The Holy Spirit, who anointed Jesus as Messiah at His baptism, unites us to Jesus by faith, and makes us share in the blessings of union with Christ. Christ makes us priests and ministers – priests of the LORD, so we can intercede, and ministers of our God, so we can serve Him. Being is priest is a mediatorial office; being a minister is an office of service.

It is only as Spirit-anointed priests and ministers that all believers are empowered to bring life to a dead and dying world, truth to a world of lies, hope to a world of despair, forgiveness and love to a world of vengeance and hate.

Verse 6 also repeats promises from Isaiah 60 about the righteous receiving benefits from the wealth of the nations. True, Biblical Christianity has been a profoundly positive influence in the world. Hospitals, orphanages, schools for poor children, the abolition of slavery (twice!), the development of Just War theory and of universal human rights are just some of the positive, restorative influences Christians have brought to the world.    

What God Promises, vv. 8-9

God makes even more precious promises to His people as they serve as His priests and ministers in the world –

⁸ For I the Lord love justice;
    I hate robbery and wrong;
I will faithfully give them their recompense,
    and I will make an everlasting covenant with them.
⁹ Their offspring shall be known among the nations,
    and their descendants in the midst of the peoples;
all who see them shall acknowledge them,
    that they are an offspring the Lord has blessed.

The ”everlasting covenant” in verse 8 is the same as the covenant mentioned at the end of chapter 59 that we saw two weeks ago –

²¹ “And as for me, this is my covenant with them,” says the Lord: “My Spirit that is upon you, and my words that I have put in your mouth, shall not depart out of your mouth, or out of the mouth of your offspring, or out of the mouth of your children's offspring,” says the Lord, “from this time forth and forevermore.”

These are both prophecies of the New Covenant, which is brought in Jesus. Notice that both of these promises of the New Covenant include promises for believers and their descendants or offspring. This is an everlasting and generation-to-generation covenant.

Years after Isaiah, Jeremiah would also prophesy about this New Covenant in very similar language to the language of Isaiah –

I will gather them from all the countries to which I drove them in my anger and my wrath and in great indignation. I will bring them back to this place, and I will make them dwell in safety. ³⁸ And they shall be my people, and I will be their God. ³⁹ I will give them one heart and one way, that they may fear me forever, for their own good and the good of their children after them. ⁴⁰ I will make with them an everlasting covenant, that I will not turn away from doing good to them. And I will put the fear of me in their hearts, that they may not turn from me. – Jeremiah 32:37-40, ESV

Notice the gathering in of God’s people from all countries and the generation-to-generation benefit of this everlasting covenant.

All of this is background to what Peter said when He stood up and preached the first truly Holy Spirit-empowered sermon of the New Covenant age at Pentecost in Acts 2. Peter powerfully preached Christ –

³⁷ Now when they heard this they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?” ³⁸ And Peter said to them, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. ³⁹ For the promise is for you and for your children and for all who are far off, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to himself.” - Acts 2:37-39, ESV

Repenting and being baptized is how those who were believing in Christ would identify with Him and receive the blessing and benefits of the everlasting covenant. You can hear the words of Isaiah and Jeremiah in Peter’s words about the promise – “for you and for your children and for all who are far off (those in all the nation), everyone whom the Lord our God calls to Himself”. 

The generational nature of the new covenant promise explains why half of the baptisms in the New Testament were household baptisms. In fact, it is more accurate to say that in every case where the new believer was the head of a household, the whole household of the believer was baptized - Cornelius' household (Acts 10:48), Lydia's household (Acts 16:15), the Philippian jailer's household (Acts 16:31-34), Crispus' household (Acts 18:8), and Stephanas' household (1 Corinthians 1:16). 

In the case of the Philippians jailer, Luke explicitly tells us that is was only the jailer himself who came to faith in Christ, yet the whole household was baptized. Moreover, Paul teaches in 1 Corinthians 7 that children are made holy by having one believing parent. This doesn’t mean they are automatically saved, but it means they are set apart and they receive the blessings of the promise of the covenant given to the offspring of believers.    

God makes precious promises for our children, and that should motivate us to bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord and to trust God for their salvation by His grace.

How We Respond, vv. 10-11

How are we to respond to God’s amazing covenant and His precious promises? Verses 10-11 show us that we should rejoice, exult, and trust –

¹⁰ I will greatly rejoice in the Lord;
    my soul shall exult in my God,
for he has clothed me with the garments of salvation;
    he has covered me with the robe of righteousness,
as a bridegroom decks himself like a priest with a beautiful headdress,
    and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.
¹¹ For as the earth brings forth its sprouts,
    and as a garden causes what is sown in it to sprout up,
so the Lord God will cause righteousness and praise
    to sprout up before all the nations.

We are to greatly rejoice – to exult means to rejoice to the point of trembling – because of what the Lord has done for us.

And then, we need to trust that the LORD will do what He has promised to do.

So, we cannot live in shame or despair. We must live in joy and in confident hope!

Are You Growing in the Spirit?

All of this comes to reality in our lives by the Holy Spirit. We grow in the Holy Spirit as we read, meditate on, and pray the Word of God, as we gather in worship with God’s people, as we listen and respond to the Word of God preached, and as we share in the sacraments as means of grace from God, empowered to be effective in our lives by the Holy Spirit.

So, will we rejoice and exult and trust as we seek the Lord and grow in Him?