Nov. 26, 2000

Isaiah 61:1-3

Something to Be Thankful For: The Promise of Christ

1. Introduction

1. Illustration – Henry Nouwen, in Seeds of Hope, writes, Compassion lies at the heart of our prayer for our fellow human beings. When I pray for the world, I become the world; when I pray for the endless needs of the millions, my soul expands and wants to embrace them all and bring them into the presence of God. But in the midst of that experience I realize that compassion is not mine but God’s gift to me. I cannot embrace the world, but God can. I cannot pray, but God can pray in me. When God became as we are, that is, when God allowed all of us to enter into the intimacy of the divine life, it became possible for us to share in God’s infinite compassion.
2. Context – Today we’re going to see in what ways God manifested His compassion to us in Christ Jesus. Turn to Isaiah 61:1-3, for it will show us how compassionate God truly is toward us.

1. Scripture Passages

A. Let’s read Isaiah 61:1-3 together - The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is on me,

1. This is the passage Jesus quoted in the synagogue in Nazareth, telling the people that this prophecy was fulfilled in Him. They tried to throw Him off of a cliff.
2. Before we decide what our response will be, let’s take a closer look at what these verses mean, and what they can mean to us.

1. Exegesis of the Passage

1. Isaiah writes that the Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on him through the Lord’s anointing. What is the purpose of this anointing? There are several:

• To preach good news to the poor
• To bind up the brokenhearted
• To proclaim freedom for the captives
• To proclaim release from darkness for the prisoners
• To proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor
• To proclaim the day of our God’s vengeance
• To comfort the mourning
• To provide for the grieving
• To bestow on the mourning and grieving:
• A crown of beauty
• The oil of gladness
• A garment of praise

1. First, let’s look at the context. Much of Isaiah deals with the sins of Israel that caused her to be exiled. Then, in chapter 58, there is a turnaround – Isaiah starts speaking of the Lord as One who will rescue Israel from her troubles.
2. Now let’s look at the purposes for the Lord’s Spirit to be on Jesus:

1. Preaching good news to the poor – the Israelites were poor materially due to the devastation of their land, but more importantly, they were poor spiritually because they had forsaken their God.
2. Binding up the brokenhearted – The phrase "binding up" was used to refer to bandaging up wounds – in this case hearts broken by sin.
3. Proclaiming freedom for the captives – freedom from sin for those enslaved by it.
4. Proclaiming release from darkness for the prisoners – those imprisoned by the darkness and hopelessness of sin.
5. Proclaiming the year of the Lord’s favor – the season that marks the coming of Messiah, whose atoning sacrifice for our sins enables us to regain God’s favor.
6. Proclaiming the day of vengeance of our God – a twofold meaning, referring to both God’s vengeance for those who refuse His Son as well as the day of the Second Coming of Christ, which will herald the Day of Judgment.
7. To comfort all who mourn and provide for those who grieve – in three ways:

• Bestowing them a crown of beauty instead of ashes. The common custom for mourning was to sit in ashes and pour them over your head. God is promising to take away those ashes and replace them with the beauty of His comfort.
• Bestowing on them the oil of gladness instead of mourning. Oil was used to make the hair and skin shine to either prepare for celebration or to show honor to someone. God is promising to pour His gladness over His people to prepare them for a joyous celebration.
• Bestowing a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair. Mourners would put on sackcloth and tear it as a sign of deep distress and despair. God is promising to comfort His people by lifting their heaviness of heart and clothing them with praise erupting from the beauty and gladness He has bestowed on them.

1. Then there remain the final lines: They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the LORD for the display of his splendor. Because of the comfort and deliverance God has provided, His people will be so firmly planted in Him and His righteousness that they will display His glory. God is doing this for them so that they can glorify Him through their lives and their witness to His faithfulness.
2. Illustration – John Piper said, The cost of food in the kingdom is hunger for the bread of heaven, instead of the white bread of the world. Do you want it? Are you hungry? Or are you satisfied with yourself and your television and your computer and your job and your family? If we truly hunger after Jesus, then the implications of this passage will become obvious to us.

1. Implications

1. So what are the implications? What difference does this passage make to us? Let me ask you a question – have you ever needed comfort or deliverance or both?
2. Let’s go through the passage together again. What I’m going to do is paraphrase a little bit while still retaining the meaning of the passage, and replace the word "me" with the name "Jesus" because that is Who this prophetic passage is referring to. Then whenever I pause for a moment, I want you to say your name, either mentally or out loud. Close your eyes and we’ll go through the passage. Allow the Holy Spirit to speak to you as we do this. Close your eyes.
3. The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on Jesus, because the Lord has anointed Jesus to preach the good news to (your name) because I am spiritually poor. He has sent Jesus to bind up the broken heart of ________, to proclaim freedom for ________, a captive, and release from darkness for ____________, a prisoner; to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor and the day of the vengeance of our God, to comfort ___________ in my mourning, and provide for ____________ in my grieving; to bestow on ___________ a crown of beauty to replace my ashes, to bestow on __________ the oil of gladness to replace my mourning, and to clothe ___________ with a garment of praise to replace my spirit of despair. Then __________ will be called an oak of righteousness, a planting of the Lord to glorify His Name. Amen.

1. Conclusion

1. How did God speak to you through this passage? God speaks to us whenever His Word is proclaimed. Let’s take just a few moments of quiet to hear His voice speak to each one of us.
2. What did God say? If God is telling you that you need to accept His comfort or deliverance, then please come forward and pray.
3. Let’s pray together. Lord Jesus, today we have heard Your voice. You want to comfort us. You want to deliver us. But too often we love where we are so much or are so afraid to change that we refuse to listen to that voice. Forgive us for that. We truly want Your comfort and Your deliverance. Work in our hearts to change us so that we can truly be comforted and delivered and so freed to live life the way You intended and to serve You wholeheartedly. Thank You that You have done this in some of our hearts, and are in the process of doing it in the rest of our hearts. Only keep us out of Your way, Lord, so that You can truly change us inside and out. We thank You for coming to earth to save us, deliver us, and comfort us. We worship and glorify Your name, and pledge our lives to this purpose. In Jesus’ Name we pray. Amen.