Isaiah 61:1 - Meaning and Application

The best interpreter of Scripture has also given us the best explanation of these verses, our Lord Jesus himself. He read this passage in the synagogue at Nazareth, perhaps because it was the reading for that day, and applied it fully to himself. He said, “Today this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing” (Luke 4:17-21). The gracious words that came from his mouth as he opened this text amazed everyone who heard them.

As Isaiah was sent to announce freedom to the Jews in Babylon, Christ, God’s messenger, was sent to bring an even better jubilee to a lost world. Here we are told how Christ was fitted for this work. “The Spirit of the Lord God is on me” (Isaiah 61:1). The prophets sometimes had the Spirit of God come on them, teaching them what to say and urging them to speak. Christ had the Spirit always resting on him, without limit. Still, he had that Spirit in the same way the prophets needed it, as a Spirit of wisdom and courage (Isaiah 11:1-3). When he began his public ministry, the Spirit came down on him like a dove (Matthew 3:16). He also gave that same Spirit to those he sent to preach the good news, when he said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit,” and so confirmed their commission.

We are also told how Christ was appointed to this work. “The Spirit of God is on me, because the Lord God has anointed me.” God gave him the Spirit because he had already set him apart by a holy and solemn anointing for this great office, just as kings and priests were chosen by anointing in earlier times. That is why the Redeemer was called the Messiah, or the Christ, meaning “the Anointed One,” because God had anointed him with the oil of gladness above everyone else. “He has sent me.” Our Lord Jesus did not come without being sent. He had a commission from the One who is the source of all authority. The Father sent him and gave him his command. This gives us great comfort, because everything Christ said had heaven’s approval. His teaching was not his own, but the teaching of the One who sent him.

We are also told what work he was sent to do. First, he was to be a preacher, carrying out the office of a prophet. God was so pleased to show good will toward people through him that he himself became the preacher of it. In this way, honor was given to the ministry of the gospel, and the faith of believers was strengthened. He had to preach good news, which is what the word gospel means, to the meek, the penitent, the humble, and the poor in spirit. To them, the news of a Redeemer is truly good news, pure gospel, faithful truth, and worth full acceptance. The poor are often the most ready to receive the gospel (James 2:5), and it does us good when we receive it with meekness, as we should. Christ preached good news to such people when he said, “Blessed are the meek.”

Second, he was to be a healer. He was sent to bind up the broken-hearted, like a hurt limb that is wrapped to ease the pain, or a broken bone or bleeding wound that is bandaged so it can heal. Those whose hearts are broken over sin, who are truly humbled by their guilt and fear of God’s wrath, find in the gospel what quiets their fears and gives them peace. Only those who have felt the pain of true repentance can expect the comfort and refreshment that God gives.

Third, he was to be a deliverer. He was sent as a prophet to preach, as a priest to heal, and as a king to issue proclamations. These proclamations were of two kinds. One was peace for his friends: “He will proclaim liberty to the captives” and “the opening of the prison” to those who were bound. By our guilt, we are bound over to God’s justice, held as lawful captives, and sold under sin until that great debt is paid. Christ tells us that he has fully satisfied divine justice for that debt, and that his payment is accepted. If we rely on that, and give ourselves and all we have to him in grateful thankfulness, we may confidently ask for pardon and enjoy it. There is, and will be, no condemnation for us.

By sin’s power within us, we are also bound under Satan’s rule and sold under sin. Christ tells us that he has defeated Satan, destroyed the one who had the power of death, and provided enough grace for us to throw off sin’s yoke and break free from those chains around our necks. The Son is ready, by his Spirit, to make us free, and then we will be free indeed. We will not only be freed from the misery of captivity, but also raised to the rights and honor of citizens. This is the gospel proclamation, like the blowing of the jubilee trumpet, which announced the great year of release (Leviticus 25:9, 40). That is why it is called “the acceptable year of the Lord,” the time when God receives us, which is the source of our freedom. It is also called the year of the Lord because it displays his free grace for his glory. It is an acceptable year because it brings us joyful news, and nothing could be more welcome to those who know their own needs and weakness.

The other proclamation is war against his enemies. Christ announces “the day of vengeance of our God,” the vengeance he brings on sin, Satan, death, hell, and every power of darkness that had to be overthrown for our rescue. Christ triumphed over these powers on the cross, stripping them of power, shaming them, and making a public display of them (Colossians 2:15). He also brings judgment on the children of men who refuse these gracious offers. Such people are not only left in the captivity they deserve, but are dealt with as enemies. The gospel is summed up in Mark 16:16: “He who believes and is baptized will be saved” proclaims the acceptable year of the Lord to all who receive it, while “he who does not believe will be condemned” proclaims the day of vengeance of our God, the vengeance he will bring on those who do not obey the gospel of Jesus Christ (2 Thessalonians 1:8).

Fourth, he was to be a comforter, and he is that as preacher, healer, and deliverer. He is sent to comfort all who mourn, and who, in their sorrow, come to him and not to the world for comfort. Christ does not only provide comfort and announce it. He also gives it to his people by his Spirit.

There is enough in Christ to comfort all who mourn, whatever their pain or sorrow may be. But this comfort is especially sure for those who mourn in Zion, that is, those who grieve in a godly way, according to God, because his presence is in Zion. These are people who mourn over Zion’s troubles and ruin, and who share, in holy sympathy, the tears of all God’s suffering people, even when they themselves are not directly in trouble. God keeps such tears in a bottle (Psalm 56:8), and he has comfort ready for such mourners.

As blessings from Zion are spiritual blessings, so mourners in Zion are holy mourners. They bring their sorrows to the throne of grace, since the mercy seat was in Zion, and they pour them out before the Lord, as Hannah did. To such people, Christ has promised through his gospel, and will give by his Spirit (Isaiah 61:3), comforts that do more than hold them up in sorrow. He will turn their sorrow into songs of praise.

He will give them beauty for ashes. In times of deep mourning, people sat in ashes, but Christ will not only lift them out of their low condition, he will make them look fair and pleasant again. The cheerful spirit of Christians is part of their beauty and a great ornament to their faith. The original language has a graceful wordplay here: he will give them beauty for ashes, and turn their sorrow into joy as quickly and as easily as changing one letter. He speaks, and it is done.

He will also give them the oil of joy, which makes the face shine, instead of mourning, which darkens the face and makes it sad. This oil of joy comes from that oil of gladness with which Christ himself was anointed above all his companions (Hebrews 1:9). And he will give them garments of praise, beautiful clothes suited for days of thanksgiving, instead of a spirit of heaviness, dimness, or burden. Their secret griefs they keep to themselves, for Zion’s mourners weep in private, but the joy they receive is something that can be seen, as if they are clothed with it.

Notice this too: where God gives the oil of joy, he also gives the garment of praise. The comforts that come from God open the heart and make it ready to give thanks to God. Whatever brings us joy from God should lead us to praise and honor God.

He was also to be a planter, because the church is God’s field and garden. So Christ will do all this for his people, healing their wounds, setting them free from bondage, and comforting them in sorrow, so that they may be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord (Isaiah 60:21). That means they may truly be what they are called, and be recognized as such, like useful trees in God’s vineyard, bearing the fruits of righteousness as branches planted by God.

Everything Christ does for us is meant to make us God’s people and, in some measure, useful to him, like living trees planted in the house of the Lord and flourishing in the courts of our God. And all this is for God’s glory, that we may glorify him by sincere devotion and a life that sets a good example. In this way our Father is glorified, when we bear much fruit. Then others, seeing God’s favor on his people and his grace in them, will be led to praise him, and he will be glorified forever in his saints.