Read Isaiah 61:1-11.

Introduction⤒🔗

In Isaiah 61, a messenger from the LORD suddenly appears and announces his divine calling: “The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me.” Here is someone anointed and empowered by the Holy Spirit in order to carry out the divine calling entrusted to him.

This messenger now describes his calling in the following terms. He has been commissioned “to preach good news to those who are afflicted.” The Hebrew word, Iנ_ָע_ָ, often rendered, “the poor,” also has the meaning, “the afflicted,” which is preferable in this context. He has a message of good news from the Lord GOD for those who are afflicted, those who are suffering the consequences and burden of their sins.

He has been sent “to bind up the broken-hearted.” That is to say, he is sent to minister healing and soothing comfort to those who are of a broken spirit and a contrite heart, as Psalm 34:18 indicates, “The LORD is near to those who have a broken heart, and saves those who have a contrite spirit.”

His ministry is that of proclaiming “liberty to the captives.” He has come to announce release and freedom for those held prisoner and enslaved by a hostile, tyrannical, and demonic power; indeed, he has come to announce that the door of their dungeon cell has been opened and they are called to come forth into the light of divine freedom and life.

This divine messenger goes on to assert that he has been called “to proclaim the year of the LORD’s favor and the day of our God’s vengeance.” He announces that the date has arrived at which time the LORD will show mercy and favor to His people, and take vengeance upon those who oppress them and hold them captive. He has come “to minister to those who mourn.”

Again, it is emphasized that his calling is to minister the comfort and assurance of the LORD to those who grieve over their sins and their estrangement from God. Finally, his calling is “to bestow on them a crown of beauty in place of ashes, the oil of joy in place of mourning, the garment of praise in place of the spirit of despair.” His task is to remove their mourning apparel, their humiliation and shame, their spirit of depression, and in exchange cause them to receive a crown of beauty and honor, and to become filled with the joy of the LORD and be filled with praise to God.

At the beginning of His public ministry, the Lord Jesus entered the synagogue in the village of Nazareth, opened the Scriptures to this very passage of Isaiah (61:1-2), and announced, “Today, has this scripture been fulfilled in your hearing” (Lk. 4:16-21). This scripture is fulfilled in the person and work of Jesus the Messiah.

The results of the Messiah’s redeeming work, and the effect it has upon God’s people, are now declared in verse 3b and verses 10-11. In verse 3b we are told, “Then they will be called ‘Oaks of Righteousness,’ planted by the LORD, so that he may be glorified.” With their God-given righteousness, the redeemed will resemble mighty oaks. They shall be planted by the LORD in His land, rooted into the life of the Messiah, the Lord Jesus Christ. These stately oaks of righteousness shall adorn the kingdom of God and shall be for His own glory: redeemed by Him, planted by Him, reflecting His glory by their fruit and in their stature.

Verses 10-11 go on to further express the results of the Messiah’s work:

I rejoice greatly in the LORD, my soul exults in my God; because he has clothed me with the garments of salvation, he has wrapped me in a robe of righteousness—like a bridegroom adorns his head [with a turban] like a priest and like a bride adorns herself with her jewels. ¹¹As the soil makes the sprouts to come up and a garden causes the seeds sown in it to grow, so will the Lord GOD cause righteousness and praise to spring up before all nations.

Let us now consider these Two Reasons to Rejoice as they are presented to us in Isaiah 61.

Rejoice in the LORD, because He has Clothed You with Righteousness←⤒🔗

It is a terrible thing to stand before God exposed in the nakedness of our sin, as Isaiah discovered on that occasion when he suddenly found himself standing in the immediate presence of the LORD: “Then I declared, ‘Woe to me! I am ruined! for I am a man with unclean lips and I live among a people with unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts’” (Isa. 6:5). Note what will be the reaction of mankind on that great and awesome day when the LORD appears as the Judge of all the earth:

Then the kings of the earth, the princes, the generals, the rich, the mighty, and every slave and every free man hid in caves and among the rocks of the mountains. ¹⁶They called to the mountains and the rocks, 'Fall on us and hide us from the face of him who sits on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb! ¹⁷for the great day of their wrath has come, and who can stand?' Rev. 6:15-17

Throughout the ages, men have sought for ways to conceal their sinful nakedness from the sight of God. Some have sought to do so by denying their sin. Proverbs 30:11-14 speaks of people who engage in the vilest and cruelest of sins, and yet they protest their own innocence, they “are pure in their own eyes.”

¹¹There are those who curse their fathers and do not bless their mothers; ¹²those who are pure in their own eyes and yet are not cleansed of their filth; ¹³those whose eyes are ever so haughty, whose glances are so disdainful; ¹⁴those whose teeth are swords and whose jaws are set with knives to devour the poor from the earth, the needy from among mankind. Prov. 30:11-14

Others have sought to excuse their sin. Rather than taking full responsibility for her sin, Eve sought to shift the blame completely upon the serpent: “And the LORD God said to the woman, ‘What is this you have done?’ And the woman said, ‘The serpent deceived me, and I ate’” (Gen. 3:13). In the same way, rather than taking personal responsibility for his failure to heed the LORD’s command to wait for Samuel to offer the appointed sacrifice, King Saul blames the people for pressuring him into offering the sacrifice:

'What have you done?' asked Samuel. Saul replied, 'When I saw that the men were scattering, and that you did not come at the set time, and that the Philistines were assembling at Micmash, ¹²I thought, ‘Now the Philistines will come down against me at Gilgal, and I have not sought the LORD’s favor.’ I forced myself, therefore, to offer the burnt offering.' 1 Sam. 13:11-12

Still others have sought to minimize their sin. Of those in this category, some, like the Pharisees, have sought to do so by comparing themselves favorably to a notorious sinner:

The Pharisee stood up and prayed about himself: 'God, I thank you that I am not like other men: robbers, evildoers, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. ¹²I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.' Lk. 18:11-12

Others have sought to do so by limiting the demands of God’s moral law to mere external actions, a mistake the Lord Jesus corrects when He taught the true depths of the law’s requirements upon our lives:

You have heard that it was said to the people long ago, “Do not murder, and anyone who murders will be subject to judgment.” ²²But I tell you that anyone who is angry with his brother will be subject to judgment. Again, anyone who says to his brother, “Raca,” is answerable to the Sanhedrin. But anyone who says, “You fool!” will be in danger of the fire of hell... ²⁷You have heard that it was said, “Do not commit adultery.” ²'But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart. (Matt. 5:21-22,27-28)

Then there are those who have sought to establish their own personal righteousness. The Apostle Paul, prior to his conversion, tried his utmost to establish a personal righteousness before God:

...I certainly have reason for confidence in the flesh. If anyone else thinks that he has reason for confidence in the flesh, I have more reason. ⁵I was circumcised on the eighth day, I come from the nation of Israel, I am of the tribe of Benjamin, I am a pure Hebrew; with regard to the law, I was a Pharisee. ⁶As far as zeal is concerned, I persecuted the church. With regard to the righteousness that a man can attain by the law, I had become blameless.Phil. 3:4-6

But Paul’s sincere efforts all the more confronted him with the presence and the depth of his sinful human nature, as he confesses,

⁷I would not have known what sin was except through the law; for I would not have known what coveting really was if the law had not said, 'Do not covet.' ⁸But sin, seizing the opportunity afforded by the commandment, produced in me every kind of covetous desire. Rom. 7:7-8

Notice that it was the tenth commandment, “Thou shalt not covet,” that proved the undoing of Paul’s attempt to produce his own righteousness by adherence to the law of God; because the sin of covetousness is a matter of the heart. It revealed to Paul the very truth with which the Lord Jesus confronted the Pharisees in Matthew 5:21-22, 27-28.

When Paul was confronted with Christ in His absolute righteousness, Paul was compelled to abandon the effort of producing his own righteousness as the way of salvation: “whatever things were gains to me [i.e. his personal merits and endeavors listed in verses 4-6], these things I now regard as losses on account of Christ. 'But much more than that, I regard all things as losses on account of the all-surpassing value of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord” (Phil. 3:7-8a).

The knowledge of Christ Jesus to which Paul refers is Christ’s perfect acquaintance with righteousness. Recorded in John 8:29 is our Lord’s personal testimony concerning His relationship to His Father and His Father’s commandments: “The one who sent me is with me; he has not forsaken me; because I always do the things that are pleasing to him.” Then in John 14:30b, Jesus testifies that the devil has no accusation whatsoever that he can bring against Him, and can find no point in which the Lord Jesus is susceptible to sin: “the prince of the world is coming. He finds nothing in me.” In 2 Corinthians 5:21, our Lord’s knowledge of righteousness is stated in negative terms, when He is described as the One “who knew no sin;” (i.e. He had no affiliation with sin, and no acquaintance with sin). As Isaiah 53:11b testifies of Jesus the Messiah, “By his knowledge, my righteous servant shall justify many, for he shall bear their iniquities.”

The only solution to our dilemma is to become clothed with the perfect righteousness of the Lord Jesus Christ; this is what Paul discovered and of which he testifies in Philippians 3:8-9,

...I regard all things as loss on account of the all-surpassing value of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, because of whom I have suffered the loss of all things. Indeed, I regard all such things as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ, ⁹and be found in him; not having my own righteousness that is derived from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness that is from God [received] by faith.

This is what Isaiah foresees, this is what he describes in verse ten of chapter 61, and in this he rejoices:

I rejoice greatly in the LORD, my soul exults in my God; because he has clothed me with the garments of salvation, he has wrapped me in a robe of righteousness—like a bridegroom adorns his head [with a turban] like a priest and like a bride adorns herself with her jewels.

As believers in the Jesus the Messiah, let us rejoice in the fact that the LORD has clothed us with His own perfect righteousness. To appreciate the significance of this, contrast Revelation 6:17 with Revelation 7:9,13-14. On the day of final judgment, the nations of the world shall cry out before the judgment throne of God and of the Lamb, “the great day of their wrath has come; and who is able to stand?” (Rev. 6:17) But those who have received the righteousness of the Lord Jesus Christ shall be able to stand on that great day:

⁹After this I looked and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people, and language, standing before the throne and in front of the Lamb. They were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches in their hands... ¹³Then one of the elders asked me, These in white robes, who are they, and from where have they come? ¹⁴I answered, Sir, you know. And he said, These are they who have come out of the great tribulation; they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.Rev. 7:9,13-14

The white robes symbolize cleansing from sin by the blood of Christ and being covered with Christ’s righteousness.

Rejoice in the LORD, because He Will Ultimately Cause His Righteousness to Triumph←⤒🔗

As a Christian, we can look at ourselves and become discouraged. Consider the confession of the Apostle Paul:

¹⁵I do not understand what I do. What I want to do I do not do, but what I hate, that I do... ¹⁸I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature. I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. ¹⁹What I do is not the good I want to do; no, the evil I do not want to do, this I keep on doing... ²¹So I find this principle at work: When I want to do good, evil is present with me. ²²In my inner being I delight in God’s law; ²³but I see another law at work in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within my members. ²⁴What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death? ²⁵Thanks be to God—through Jesus Christ our Lord! (Rom. 7:15,18­ -19,21-25a)

Although he continues to struggle with the remnants of the old sinful nature still present in his life, Paul rejoices in the knowledge that the righteousness of Christ shall at last triumph in his life.

Indeed, as Christians we can be encouraged and rejoice when we consider our destiny as it is defined for us in Isaiah 61:

The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me, because the LORD has anointed me to preach good news to those who are afflicted...[He has sent me] to comfort all who mourn, ³to minister to those who mourn in Zion: to bestow on them a crown of beauty in place of ashes, the oil of joy in place of mourning, the garment of praise in place of the spirit of despair. Then they will be called ‘Oaks of Righteousness,’ planted by the LORD, so that he may be glorified.Isa. 61:1,3

The ultimate triumph of Christ’s righteousness in our lives, the ultimate accomplishment of what the Scriptures call “the process of sanctification,” should and must give us encouragement to persevere in our struggle against the remnants of the old sinful nature that still persists in our lives, doing so in reliance upon the grace of God and the Person of the Holy Spirit. The same Apostle Paul who, in Romans 7, acknowledges the Christian’s intense and oftentimes unsuccessful struggle against temptation, in his second epistle to the Corinthians presents the exhortation, “let us cleanse ourselves from all defilement of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God” (2 Cor. 7:1). The Scriptures speak of sanctification as a process (“perfecting holiness”), a process that appears to us to be frustratingly slow, oftentimes with little or no evidence of progress, yet a process that is necessary. We have the assurance that it is a process that is being carried out in our lives by God Himself; and, therefore, it is a process to which we must yield ourselves to Him:

¹²Therefore, my beloved ones, just as you have always obeyed, so now—not only in my presence, but much more in my absence—continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, ¹³for it is God who is working in you both to create the desire and to produce the work for the sake of his good purpose.Phil. 2:12-13

In this spiritual process of sanctification, we may take encouragement from the craftsman’s work of constructing a ship in a bottle: If you were to visit a New England seaport resort town, you are likely to see model clipper ships with their billowing sails displayed in empty whiskey bottles, the bottles lying on their sides, propped up on wooden supports. You marvel and wonder how the craftsman managed to fit the full-sailed clipper ship into the bottle through its’ very narrow neck. The whole process is accomplished with painstaking care, each act of the craftsman being so minuscule as to appear insignificance, if even noticeable. The craftsman assembles the entire project, with its completed sail lying flat upon the deck of the ship. All the tiny pieces are meticulously fastened to a string. When the model is completed, the craftsman inserts the slender ship into the bottle through the narrow bottle neck; then he pulls on the string and the sails are lifted from the deck in all their billowing fullness. When we, as Christians, become discouraged with the apparent lack of progress in our sanctification, may we recall the example of the ship within a bottle, and continue to submit ourselves to the Holy Spirit as He faithfully carries out the work of sanctification in our lives, being encouraged by His promise: ”he who has begun a good work in you will carry it out until the day of Jesus Christ” (Phil. 1:6).

Furthermore, as Christians, we can look at the state of the world and become frustrated and discouraged to the point of despair. Consider the testimony of the Old Testament prophet Habakkuk: “Destruction and violence are before me; there is strife, and conflict abounds. ⁴Therefore, the law is paralyzed, and justice never prevails. The wicked hem in the righteous, so that justice is perverted” (Hab. 1:3b-4).

But as Christians we can be encouraged and rejoice when we consider the final destiny God has appointed for His renewed creation, as it is defined for us in Isaiah 61:11, “As the soil makes the sprouts to come up and a garden causes the seeds sown in it to grow, so will the Lord GOD cause righteousness and praise to spring up before all nations.” Using the imagery of the planted seed springing up out of the soil and covering the land with its fruit, this verse of Scripture is assuring us that the LORD shall cause His righteousness to ultimately emerge triumphant in the sight of all nations. In other words, His righteousness shall universally prevail, to the praise of His glorious name. What Isaiah speaks of here is in keeping with what the Apostle Peter presents in 2 Peter 3:13, “according to his promise, we look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwells righteousness.”

Prior to the fulfillment of these great promises, it is important for us to have a biblical perspective on why the LORD presently withholds the final judgment that will usher in the revelation of that righteousness. For one thing, the LORD desires to give men the opportunity to repent: “The Lord is not negligent in keeping his promise...He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance” (2 Pet. 3:9).

Furthermore, the Lord is willing to allow evil to become fully ripe for judgment, as the Psalmist points out:

How great are your works, O LORD, how profound are your thoughts! ⁶The brutish man does not know, fools do not understand, ⁷that when the wicked spring up like grass and all evildoers flourish, it is in order that they may be destroyed forever. Psl. 92:5-7

By allowing wickedness to “flourish,” the LORD is allowing it to display its true evilness and the fact that it, indeed, is worthy of His righteous judgment.

Finally, the LORD’s final judgment is presently suspended so that the gospel may go forth into all the world, so that men might be introduced to Christ the Savior and His redeeming grace, as the Lord Jesus testifies in Matthew 24:14, “this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.”

But we have the LORD’s sure promise that His righteousness shall at last triumph with an everlasting triumph—and that is reason for us to rejoice!

As the soil makes the sprouts to come up and a garden causes the seeds sown in it to grow, so will the Lord GOD cause righteousness and praise to spring up before all nations. Isa. 61:11

Conclusion←⤒🔗

As we consider Isaiah 61, we discover two great reasons why the Christian may and should rejoice: 1) we may rejoice because the LORD has clothed us with His righteousness; and, 2) we may rejoice because the LORD will cause His righteousness to triumph: in us and in the world. Together with the prophet Isaiah, may we testify to one another and sing to the LORD:

I rejoice greatly in the LORD, my soul exults in my God; because he has clothed me with the garments of salvation, he has wrapped me in a robe of righteousness... ¹¹the Lord GOD will cause righteousness and praise to spring up before all nations. Isa. 61:10-11

Discussion Questions←⤒🔗

1. How does the servant of the LORD describe the commission the LORD has given him to accomplish? See Isa. 61:1. Who initially served the LORD in this capacity? Note Ezra 1:1-3. Who, ultimately, is the one who fulfilled this role and accomplished this work? See Lk. 4:17-21. What has Christ done for those who put their trust in Him? See Rev. 1:5b-6,

The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me, because the LORD has anointed me to preach good news to those who are afflicted. He has sent me to bind up the broken-hearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and freedom to the prisoners. Isa. 61:1

Now in the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, that the word of the LORD...might be fulfilled, the LORD stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia, so that he made a proclamation throughout all his kingdom...saying, ²Thus says Cyrus king of Persia, All the kingdoms of the earth the LORD God of heaven has given me. And he has commanded me to build for him a house at Jerusalem... ³Who is there among you of all his people? May his God be with him. Now let him go up to Jerusalem...and build the house of the LORD God of Israel... Ezra 1:1-3

And [Jesus] was handed the book of the prophet Isaiah. And when he had opened the book, he found the place where it was written: ¹⁸The Spirit of the LORD is upon me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to heal the broken hearted, to preach deliverance to the captives... ²⁰Then he closed the book...²¹And began to say to them, 'Today, this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.' Lk. 4:17-21

...To him who loves us and who released us from our sins by his blood, ⁶and made us to become a kingdom and priests for his God and Father, to him be the glory and the dominion forever and ever! Rev. 1:5-6

2. What difference is there between the initial prophecy (cf. Isa. 61:2a) and the way the Lord Jesus quotes this verse? Note Lk. 4:19? What is the significance of our Lord’s omission of the reference to the day of our God’s vengeance? Note 2 Cor. 6:2. What does this tell us about the mercy of the LORD? Note 2 Pet. 3:9,

[He has sent me] to proclaim the year of the LORD’s favor and the day of our God’s vengeance. Isa. 61:2a

And [Jesus] was handed the book of the prophet Isaiah. And when he had opened the book, he found the place where it was written: ¹⁸The Spirit of the LORD is upon me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor... ¹⁹To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD [i.e. the year of the LORD’s favor]... ²⁰Then he closed the book...²¹And began to say to them, 'Today, this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.' Lk. 4:17-21

...[the LORD] says, 'In an acceptable time I have heard you, and in the day of salvation I have helped you.' Behold, now is the acceptable time; behold, now is the day of salvation. 2 Cor. 6:2

“The acceptable time” refers to the time of the LORD’s mercy.

The Lord is not negligent with regard to the promise, as some consider negligence; on the contrary, he is exhibiting great patience toward you. He does not desire anyone to perish, but all to come to repentance. 2 Pet. 3:9

3. What is the ultimate result of the Servant’s work, and for what ultimate purpose? See Isa. 61:3c. As a Christian, are you aware of the God-centered orientation, and ultimate purpose, of your redemption? Note Titus 2:13b-14 and 1 Pet. 2:9. Do you appreciate the fact that righteousness results in blessing? Note Rom. 14:17,

...to minister to those who mourn in Zion: to bestow on them a crown of beauty in place of ashes, the oil of joy in place of mourning, the garment of praise in place of the spirit of despair. Then they will be called 'Oaks of Righteousness,' planted by the LORD, so that he may be glorified. Isa. 61:3

...our great God and Savior Jesus Christ ¹⁴...gave himself for us, so that he might redeem us from all iniquity and purify for himself a people for his own possession, zealous for good works. Tit. 2:13-14

But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people appointed to be [God’s] own possession, so that you might display the virtues of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. 1 Pet. 2:9

...the kingdom of God [consists in] righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. Rom. 14:17

4. What identity and calling does the LORD bestow upon His redeemed people? See Isa. 61:6a. Note, again, 1 Pet. 2:9 and Rev. 1:6. What are some ways we carry out this holy calling? See Rom. 12:1; Heb. 13:15-16. As Christians, what bearing should our holy calling have on our everyday work? See Col. 3:23-24,

But you will be called the priests of the LORD; men will identify you as the ministers of our God. You will feed on the wealth of the nations, and you will boast in their riches. Isa. 61:6

But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people appointed to be [God’s] own possession, so that you might display the virtues of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. 1 Pet. 2:9

...[Christ Jesus] made us to become a kingdom and priests for his God and Father, to him be the glory and the dominion forever and ever! Rev. 1:6

I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. Rom. 12:1

Therefore, by him let us continually offer the sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to his name.¹⁶But do not forget to do good and share, for with such sacrifices God is well pleased. Heb. 13:15-16

And whatever you do, do it heartily, as to the Lord and not to men, ²⁴knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance; for you are serving the Lord Christ.Col. 3:23-24

5. What is the guarantee that the LORD would initially fulfill all these promises to His O.T. covenant people, and fulfill them in their ultimate sense to all who place their faith in Jesus the Messiah? See Isa. 61:8b; note Num. 23:19 and 1 Cor. 1:9,

...because I, the LORD, love justice; I hate robbery and iniquity. In my faithfulness, I will reward them and make an everlasting covenant with them. (Isa. 61:8)

God is not a man, that he should lie; nor a son of man, that he should repent. Has he said, and will he not do it? Or has he spoken, and will he not make it good? Num. 23:19

The word “repent” comes from the Hebrew root, meaning, “to turn;” as used here, it is giving the assurance that the LORD will never renege on His covenant promises to His people in Christ Jesus.

God is faithful, by whom you were called into the fellowship of his Son Jesus Christ our Lord. 1 Cor. 1:9