Isaiah 61 Click here for Bible Verses
Hi GAMErs!
Today’s passage is Isaiah 61. Let’s go!
Isaiah 61:1-4 (NIV)
1 The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is on me, because the LORD has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners,
2 to proclaim the year of the LORD’s favor and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn,
3 and provide for those who grieve in Zion– to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair. They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the LORD for the display of his splendor.
4 They will rebuild the ancient ruins and restore the places long devastated; they will renew the ruined cities that have been devastated for generations.
On verses 1-4: Who is speaking in Isaiah 61:1? It’s the Servant, the one whom God will send to deliver His people from their captivity to sin.
According to Luke 4, one day Jesus went to the synagogue in his hometown of Nazareth. He was asked to read Scripture and was given the scroll of Isaiah. So Jesus found Isaiah 61 and read out verses 1-2, stopping right after reading “to proclaim the year of the LORD’s favor”. Then he said, “Today this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.” What did Jesus mean by that? Jesus was saying that Jesus and His ministry are the fulfillment of Isaiah 61.
Indeed Isaiah 61 is a wonderful and accurate description of what Jesus would do. Some scholars believe that Jesus was very deliberate in stopping his reading after “to proclaim the year of the LORD’s favor” and not reading “the day of vengeance of our God” (v2). These scholars think Jesus at that time was making a distinction between what he would do at his first coming (show God’s favour) versus what he would do at his second coming (exercise judgment). That’s an interesting take and might be true. Keep in mind that the rest of Isaiah 61 is also an accurate description of what Jesus would do at his first coming. In fact, you could say that, like one coat of paint placed on top of another, Jesus’ first coming and second coming will both accomplish what Isaiah 61 describes, the second doing so with even more finality than the first.
Whichever way you cut it, Isaiah 61 is a picture of Jesus’ ministry. Notice that not only does Jesus bind up the broken-hearted, free captives, and comfort the grieving, but even more he makes them into a blessing to others. As verse 3 says, the very people that Jesus heals will be called “oaks of righteousness, a planting of the LORD for the display of his splendor”. Continuing with the theme of rebuilding what was ruined (58:12), verse 4 says that the people whom Jesus restores will become restorers themselves: “They will rebuild the ancient ruins and restore the places long devastated; they will renew the ruined cities that have been devastated for generations.”
It shows that Jesus doesn’t just want to bless you, save you and restore you. Jesus blesses you so that you can be a blessing. He saves you so that you serve in His kingdom. He restores you so that you can restore others.
If, as many scholars suggest, the theme of Isaiah 60-62 is the New Jerusalem (which we discussed yesterday in Isaiah 60), then Isaiah 61 shows that the centrepiece of this New Jerusalem, the one who will make this New Jerusalem possible, is the Servant Jesus Christ. Without this Servant, there is no new city that God’s people can live in forever. It’s for this reason that some scholars consider Isaiah 61 to be the climax of Isaiah 56-66.
Isaiah 61:5-6 (NIV)
5 Aliens will shepherd your flocks; foreigners will work your fields and vineyards.
6 And you will be called priests of the LORD, you will be named ministers of our God. You will feed on the wealth of nations, and in their riches you will boast.
On verses 5-6: Why would aliens and foreigners be in charge of shepherding flocks and working the fields? Pastor David Pawson suggests that it is because the Jewish people will serve the aliens and foreigners as priests in the New Jerusalem, and so that is how the division of labour will work. That’s an interesting take. However, it seems to run counter to the idea preached in the New Testament that in God’s kingdom all of us, whether Jew or Gentile, are priests (Revelation 1:6; 1 Peter 2). So perhaps verses 5-6 are not making a distinction between believing Jews and believing Gentiles but between believers and unbelievers. Perhaps what Isaiah is saying is that one day God will cause unbelievers (aliens and foreigners to God’s kingdom) to serve the believers (the priests and ministers in God’s kingdom).
Isaiah 61:7-9 (NIV)
7 Instead of their shame my people will receive a double portion, and instead of disgrace they will rejoice in their inheritance; and so they will inherit a double portion in their land, and everlasting joy will be theirs.
8 “For I, the LORD, love justice; I hate robbery and iniquity. In my faithfulness I will reward them and make an everlasting covenant with them.
9 Their descendants will be known among the nations and their offspring among the peoples. All who see them will acknowledge that they are a people the LORD has blessed.”
On verses 7-9: After the Servant speaks of what He will do in verses 1-7, the LORD says two things in verses 8-9: first, He reaffirms who He is, a God who loves justice and hates injustice (v8a). Second, He promises to make an everlasting covenant with His people that others will recognize as God blessing His people (v8b-9). Once again, just like in Isaiah 59:21, we encounter the idea of God making a new covenant with His people.
Isaiah 61:10-11 (NIV)
10 I delight greatly in the LORD; my soul rejoices in my God. For he has clothed me with garments of salvation and arrayed me in a robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom adorns his head like a priest, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.
11 For as the soil makes the sprout come up and a garden causes seeds to grow, so the Sovereign LORD will make righteousness and praise spring up before all nations.
On verses 10-11: It seems that Isaiah himself may be speaking at this point. Isaiah proclaims in verses 10-11 what we as Christ followers can all proclaim:
– that we delight and rejoice in the LORD;
– that He has clothed us in garments of salvation and robed us in righteousness with as much glory as a couple getting married;
– that His plan is for all nations to see His righteousness and praise Him.
All of this we can proclaim along with Isaiah because of what Jesus the Servant has done for us.
Thank You Jesus for being the Servant who fulfilled Isaiah 61 for the benefit of all people and all nations for all time. Thank You that I can rejoice in You today and that because of You I too get to be clothed in salvation, robed in righteousness, with a double portion of Your favour, and everlasting joy. Thank You for serving me so that I can serve in Your kingdom too. In Jesus’ name, AMEN!
