Isaiah 61:1-4

B. REJOICING OF ZION, CHAPTER 61
1. FREEDOM

TEXT: Isaiah 61:1-4

1

The Spirit of the Lord Jehovah is upon me; because Jehovah hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the broken-hearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound;

2

to proclaim the year of Jehovah's favor, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all that mourn;

3

to appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto 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 Jehovah, that he may be glorified.

4

And they shall build the old wastes, they shall raise up the former desolations, and they shall repair the waste cities, the desolations of many generations.

QUERIES

a.

Who is me in verse one?

b.

What is the year of Jehovah's favor?

c.

How shall the desolations of many generations be rebuilt?

PARAPHRASE

The Servant says, The Sovereign God will send Me in all the fulness of His Sovereign Spirit because His mission for Me is to deliver the message of the good news of redemption. The Spirit of God upon Me will be the sign that I come with His authority. My mission is to heal men who have been broken in heart and spirit by sin, to declare liberation for all those who have been made prisoners of sin and to announce that the time Jehovah has set in His schedule to be gracious and conciliatory toward sinful man has arrived. Yes, I am to be sent to comfort and strengthen all who are mourning in Zion for spiritual help. I am going to give them a crown of beauty in exchange for the ashes of affliction they have had to suffer, anointing of My Spirit for joy in exchange for their mourning; I am going to wrap them in divine praise and take away their heaviness of heart. I am going to do this so that My New Zion may be established and stabilized like firmly rooted trees. After I have done this no winds or storms of affliction shall uproot them. The ancient house of Israel which for hundreds and hundreds of years has been in ruin and disarray will be rebuilt by these people whom I will liberate from the prison-house of sin.

COMMENTS

Isaiah 61:1-2 MESSAGE: The me of verse one can be none other than the Servant of Jehovah, the Messiah. We have divine sanction for that verified by the Servant Himself in the synagogue of Nazareth (Luke 4:21). Jesus read these verses from the scroll of Isaiah and applied them directly to His own incarnate ministry by saying, Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your ears. The Greek peplerotai is perfect tense for has been fulfilled and would read more literally, has been and is continuing to be fulfilled. From the moment Jesus was born until the Christian dispensation shall close and the gospel cease to be preached, what Isaiah wrote in these verses is being fulfilled. And the Servant is the source of it all. The Hebrew reads, ruach adonay yehoih, or literally, spirit of Lord Jehovah. Adonay is the Hebrew word which suggests Judge or Master. It is like kurios in Greek. Yehoih is translated Jehovah and suggests Covenant-Revealer. This combination of divine character was the ruach (Spirit) which was upon Jesus. God gave His Spirit to Jesus without measure (John 3:34). The reason Jesus needed this full anointing of the Godhead was His mission to a world of rebel prisoners enslaved by a supernatural devil. God anointed Jesus with the Holy Spirit (Acts 10:38) so that in Jesus dwelt all the fulness of the Godhead bodily (Colossians 1:19; Colossians 2:9). To anoint (the Hebrew word mashah is anoint and is the word from which we get Messiah) meant to crown as kingto give authority. Jesus-' authority to proclaim good tidings from heaven was demonstrated by the miracles and signs confirming His deity. He demonstrated He had authority on earth to forgive sins by making the lame to walk and giving sight to the blind and raising the dead.

The Hebrew word for meek is -anah and means afflicted, oppressed, ravished, miserable, poor. This is an excellent word to describe those who know they are in need of help. It indicates the kind of person who would be glad to hear good news from God. Jesus pronounced a blessing upon those who were poor in spirit (Matthew 5:3-12). Brokenhearted is from the Hebrew shavar meaning fractured, distressed, sorrowing. This is why the Servant is sent to those who are mourningsin has fractured their livesthey are disintegrating. Jesus was sent to bring them wholeness and to bind them up.

The Servant came to announce liberty to the captives and release to those who were bound. The Hebrew word for liberty is deror and was used in connection with the Year of Jubilee (Leviticus 25:10; Ezekiel 46:17, etc.) when bond-slaves were set free and land taken in payment for debts was returned to its original owners. The Mosaic Year of Jubilee was evidently intended to typify the messianic time. Christ came to bind our jailor (the devil) and free us (Matthew 12:25-30; Hebrews 2:14-15; 1 John 3:8-9; Revelation 20:1-6). We have allowed Satan, by choosing sin, to imprison us in falsehood, lawlessness, fear and selfishness. The Servant of God sets us free from that prison (see Special Study on Liberty Is Not License). The Hebrew word for Jubilee is yovil, from yaval, which means, protracted sound of the trumpet, signifying that a very important, once-in-a-lifetime announcement is about to be made.

Of course, most of the Jews expected Jesus in the synagogue at Nazareth (Luke 4:16-30) to interpret this physically. That was the traditional interpretation of the rabbis (see comments on Isaiah 53). When Jesus talked of food they wanted bread and fish; when He talked of wholeness they wanted limbs restored; when He talked of freedom they wanted foreign rulers driven from their land. But circumstances are not what constitute the Kingdom of Godit is character, (Romans 14:17).

Hebrew qara means proclaim, call out, shout, cry, summon. The Servant became The Prophet, The Apostle. He was sent not only to live a godly life and to do miraculous things; He was sent to preach and teach the will of God for every other individual in the world. That was really His fundamental missionaccomplishing atonement and preaching the gospel. His miracles were simply means to that end. The Hebrew word ratzah is translated favor (or acceptable) and means delightful, pleasurable, gracious. The Servant came to announce the precise time God chose in His divine schedule of redemption to accomplish His grace toward man. In the fulness of time God sent forth His Son. (Galatians 4:4). The Servant of the Lord was anointed to summon all men to the year (or appointed time) of the Lord's pleasure or conciliation. And the day of vengeance was part of the Servant's announcement. All through the O.T. prophets, in highly figurative language, God promises (in the last days of the O.T. dispensation) He is going to defeat His foes in one great battle (Joel 2:30 to Joel 3:21; Ezekiel 38:1 to Ezekiel 39:29; Zechariah 9:9 to Zechariah 10:12; Zechariah 12:1-14; Zechariah 14:1-21; etc.), and give His people victory. That great battle was at Calvary and the great victory over Satan was there and at the empty tomb. The principalities and powers were triumphed over publicly and shamed at the cross (Colossians 2:15).; when He ascended on high He led captivity captive (Ephesians 4:8). Of course, the final and consummate vengeance of God will come at the end of this year of grace (end of the Christian dispensation, which are the last days, or end of all ages, 1 Corinthians 10:11). But this year is the only year God has sent His Servant to announce. Now is the acceptable time. Today is the day of salvation! (cf. 2 Corinthians 6:1-2). The defeat of God's enemies and His victory is the source of comfort for Zion. The Hebrew word nakham (translated comfort) is very appropriate here for it means consoled, eased, freed.

Isaiah 61:3-4 MISSION: The Hebrew word phe-'er, translated garland. means more precisely, an ornamental headdress, or adorning tiara. The Servant-Messiah accomplishes more than conquestHe brings coronation to His people (cf. Romans 8:31-39). He makes it possible for believers to sit with Him in the heavenly places (Ephesians 2:6). His followers are crowned and reign with Him over death and all other circumstances. (cf. 1 Corinthians 5:9-13; Hebrews 11:7; 1 Corinthians 3:21-22; Revelation 5:10). The Servant anoints His followers with the oil of gladness by the anointing of the Holy Spirit (cf. 2 Corinthians 1:21; 1 John 2:26-27) which is the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit and the down payment on the believer's future inheritance (cf. Ephesians 1:14), The ma-'eteh is from the root -ataph meaning to cover for protection, or, cloak, veil. A man may, so to speak, wrap himself in his human moods as a defense mechanism. Human moods and emotions are no protection; they are capricious, vulnerable to circumstances and temporal. Instead of human moods which are so manipulative and conducive to despair, the Servant will wrap His followers in a protective cloak of praise. If our lives are wrapped in praise to Jehovah we are protected from the manipulative capriciousness of human emotions which are so subject to circumstances. The object of our heart's desires and hopes is The Almighty, Never Varying, Always Faithful God and so we do not ever need to despair (cf. 2 Corinthians 1:8-11). The Servant will dress His people up richly like the father dressed the prodigal son when he returned home (cf. Luke 15:22-24). All the despair and heaviness will be forgotten when the Messiah brings God's sons home! The Messiah will give His followers beauty (righteousness) and stability (trees, planting of Jehovah) (cf. Psalms 1:1-3). The messianic people are going to be established as God's people and nothing can snatch them out of the Shepherd's hand (cf. John 10:27-28). No human, no spiritual power, no circumstance can take away their beauty. All this, of course, brings glory to the one so clothed, but ultimately to the One doing the dressing. The real glory went to the father of the prodigal because he exhibited such mercy, love and forgiveness.

The Servant's followers will build up the ancient ruins. The house (tabernacle, dynasty, family) of David was in ruins. David's house was the house of messianic destiny. David's throne was the throne reserved for the Messiah. But those who were sitting on David's throne in the days of the prophets scorned and usurped its messianic destiny. They violently rebelled against God's purposes for this throne of David and had brought it to shame and ruin. Amos predicted that the house of David (tabernacle of David) would be rebuilt (Amos 9:11-12). Amos-' prophecy was fulfilled when the Gentiles were brought into the messianic kingdom (the church) (cf. Acts 15:12-21). We have already commented on this rebuilding (cf. Isaiah 59:10, etc.). The church is built as a dwelling place of God in the Spirit (Ephesians 2:22); Christians are living stones built into a spiritual house (1 Peter 2:4-8).

QUIZ

1.

What proof do we have that this is a messianic prophecy?

2.

What character is suggested in the Spirit by which the Servant is anointed?

3.

Who are the meek?

4.

What kind of liberty will the Messiah bring?

5.

What is the garment of praise?

6.

How will the Messiah's followers rebuild the ruins of generations?