Jesus the Spirit-filled Servant of the LORD, God’s glorious kingdom comes by Him
61
📚“The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me,because the LORD has anointed me
to preach good news 📖 to the meek.
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,
61:1 Old Testament prophets, priests and kings were those who were anointed. Here the ministry of prophet is in view. In Luke 4:16-21 the Lord Jesus applied these verses to Himself. He is the great prophet foretold in Deut 18:17-19. The Spirit of God had anointed Him for His ministry before that (Luke 3:21-22; Acts 10:38). Jesus, speaking in Nazareth, meant that the fulfillment of Isaiah’s words was in progress that day.⚜
2 📚To proclaim the acceptable
year of the LORD,
and the day of vengeance
of our God,
to comfort all who mourn,
3 📚To transform those
who mourn in Zion,
to give them beauty
in place of ashes,
the oil of joy in place of mourning,
the garment of praise in place
of the spirit of heaviness,
so that they might be called
‘Trees of Righteousness 📖’,
‘The Planting of the LORD’,
that he might be glorified 📖.
61:2-3 After reading the first sentence of verse 2, Jesus stopped reading (Luke 4:18-19). The year of the Lord’s favor is not a literal year but the whole time of His favor (2 Cor 6:2). The day of vengeance had not come (Isa 34:2, 8; 35:4; 63:4), nor had the time to comfort all who mourn in Zion (Isa 40:1-2; 49:13), nor to transform those who grieve in Zion. The things mentioned in v 3 – beauty, joy, praise – signify the complete redemption and restoration of the nation Israel (Isa 12:1-6; 26:1-4; 35:1-10; 51:3.). Is there no spiritual application of these things in this age of grace? Of course there is. The Lord Jesus now gives them to those who turn to Him in trust and obedience. But this does not exhaust the meaning of the passage (note on Isa 66:1-22).⚜
4 📚“And they will build up 📖
the old ruins;
they will raise up the former
desolations,
and they will repair the ruined cities,
the desolations of many generations.
5 📚And foreigners 📖 will stand
and feed your flocks,
and the sons of aliens will be
your plowmen and your vine dressers.
6 📚But you will be named ‘The Priests 📖
of the LORD’;
people will call you
‘The Ministers of our God’.
You will eat the riches 📖
of the Gentiles,
and in their glory you will boast.
7 📚Instead of your shame you will have
a double amount,
and instead of disgrace
they will rejoice in their portion.
So in their land they will possess
a double amount.
They will have everlasting joy.
61:7 Zech 9:12. Israel was like God’s “firstborn” (Ex 4:22; Jer 31:9). The firstborn among Israelites received a double portion (Gen 25:31; Deut 21:17).⚜
8 📚“For I, the LORD, love justice.
I hate robbery in the burnt offering;
and I will direct their work in truth,
and I will make an everlasting covenant 📖
with them.
9 📚And their descendants will be known
among the Gentiles 📖,
and their offspring 📖 among
the peoples.
All who see them will acknowledge them,
that they are the offspring
whom the LORD has blessed 📖”.
10 📚I will greatly rejoice 📖 in the LORD.
My soul will be joyful 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
with ornaments,
and as a bride adorns herself
with her jewels.
11 📚For as the earth brings forth
its sprouts,
and as the garden causes what is sown
in it to spring up,
so the Lord God will cause righteousness
and praise to spring up before
all the nations.