Isaiah 61:1-6 Pastor Nathan P. Kassulke
The Third Sunday after Epiphany Sunday, January 23, 2022 “The Anointed One Brings Good News”
Out of all the passages that could have been used, this was the one. Jesus was in his hometown of Nazareth. He went to the synagogue on the Sabbath day just as he always did. The Gospel-writer Luke tells us that the scroll of Isaiah was handed to him. Was that a decision of the attendant? Had Jesus asked for that one specifically? There were certainly other choices. The Old Testament as we know it was the Bible of the Jewish people at that time. Thirty-nine books. Literally thousands, even tens of thousands of verses. No matter how it happened, I am convinced that it was no coincidence that Jesus took the scroll of Isaiah. Even then, there were 66 chapters as we count them and around twelve hundred verses available to Jesus. And this is where he turned. He and the others in the synagogue would not have referred to it by chapter and verse the way that we can, but it was Isaiah 61, beginning with verse one. So, why this section of Scripture? After all, at other times we hear Jesus remind us that every verse of Scripture is about him. So many verses could have been used, and so many from Isaiah’s prophecy in particular. But this one was the one by which Jesus would introduce himself to his hometown worshipers. Do you suppose that this is a passage worth our close consideration? Let’s look and see how rich and meaningful this passage is. It tells us as it has told believers for many centuries that the Anointed One brings good news. The fact of the anointing is immediate and upfront. The Spirit of the Lord is on the one who speaks the words of these verses because the Lord has anointed him. This is one of many verses that explain the term the Messiah or the Christ, the Anointed One. In Old Testament times kings were anointed to demonstrate that God had chosen them; priests were anointed to indicate their selection into their calling; prophets were anointed for the same reason. But so many promises like this one spoke about an anointing that was even greater and an office that combined all three: prophet, priest, and king. This Anointed One was the object of longing and waiting and anticipation. And no wonder, because he brings good news. Look at what that good news consists of. He proclaims freedom. He says, “You will be free.” With synonym after synonym he describes the freedom he has come to bring: release for the bound, comfort for mourners, freedom for captives. Those who first heard these words from the Lord’s prophet were also those who were warned about exile in Babylon. For people whom God had chastised by handing them over to enemies, here was the good news: freedom, release, return, restoration. They could come back to the land that was so special to them. They could trade in their mourning attire for joy and beauty and celebration. And all of us who hear these words today are still haunted by many of the same issues. Afflicted. Brokenhearted. Mourning. I am sure you know people you could categorize these ways. And I am sure that at times you could be part of that list. I am not talking now to captives in Babylon or any other foreign land, but I am talking to people who can be taken captive by disease or pain or suffering or fear. And I am talking to people who were born into captivity to sin and unbelief. I am talking to people who far too often are enslaved again by exactly those things which they want to avoid and exactly those things that God wants them to avoid. And I am talking to people whose actions have earned them captivity to death itself. In other words, I am talking to people who need this good news. I am talking to people who need release and freedom, comfort and joy. And I get to tell you about the one who was anointed to bring it to you. Jesus told us already, just as he did the synagogue worshipers in Nazareth. He said, “I am the one.” “Today this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing” (Luke 4:21). The year of the Lord’s favor was at hand as Jesus preached and taught. In the Old Testament times, every fiftieth year was supposed to be a Year of Jubilee. All debts would be canceled. All land that had to be sold away was returned to the family that originally owned it. Every slave in Israel was to be set free. Scripture seems to suggest that if the Year of Jubilee was ever celebrated, it was almost certainly not celebrated every fifty years. But Jesus was coming to usher in an even better year of God’s favor. It was release for slaves to sin and death. It was the restoration of a Promised Land, and one even better and more lasting than the one that surrounded Jerusalem. God was canceling the debt of sin owed by each and every one of us. That’s what he did by sending
Jesus not only to preach but also to die and to rise again. He as the Messiah was not just bringing good news. He was the good news. He is the good news. And there is more. God’s promises here are couched not just in terms of freedom and release. To “You will be free,” God adds, “You will be priests.” In fact, God’s promises stack upon one another. Not only would the captives return to the land, they would be planted in it firmly. They would rebuild completely. They would receive the wealth and the work of foreigners in place of the oppression they had faced before. And all of this was to God’s glory alone. Let’s focus in on just two of those particular promises. The one declares, “they will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the Lord to display his beauty.” I have heard many stories about a particular tree not far from us now. In our courtyard stands a black walnut tree. It has probably stood in that very place as long as anyone can remember. The courtyard and fellowship hall were built up around it. Some had suggested that it could come down, but that didn’t make sense to those who had already appreciated its shade. And now it still stands, and who knows how many miles one would have to travel through this desert to find another black walnut tree even close to that one in size? That’s how firmly God would plant his people, establishing them to accomplish his purposes and to display his glory and beauty. That’s how his people stood in the Promised Land after their return. That’s how we stand now, people established and planted by God, displaying his praise. And that’s how he will finally plant us in our eternal home of heaven, a promise that will outlast that tree and every other tree on this earth. In fact, God says, his people will be “the Lord’s priests” and “ministers of our God.” Not only are his people planted to display his glory and beauty, he allows them the opportunity to serve and to approach him. And consider how this would have sounded to an Old Testament believer. Priests at that time could only come out of the tribe of Levi, and they had to be descendants of Aaron. And the priests were the only ones who could offer sacrifices at the temple and serve as mediator between God and people. But in the age of the Messiah, in the New Testament, we don’t need a mediator. Jesus has brought us into God’s presence. With our sins forgiven, we can go directly to God with our prayers and praises. And we can share that good news with others, too. Jesus has made us his ministers and priests. The Anointed One brings good news. We have heard it and will want to continue to hear it. He makes us free. He makes us his priests. And yet many refuse to listen to this good news. Consider again the Old Testament people who were exiled to Babylon. The people faced that fate because they had rejected God. And while some listened to amazing promises like these, promises of return and restoration and salvation, those who did were always a small remnant. They were never the majority of Israelites. Many more were not moved by the news. They remained in darkness. They remained in captivity, if not physically then certainly spiritually. Many years later, Jesus used these very verses, these very promises, these very prophecies, to introduce himself to his hometown synagogue. He spoke to the people who should have been most excited to hear the amazing news. He shared with them the most amazing fact that they were witnesses of prophecy being fulfilled and promises being kept. But in one of the saddest and strangest reactions of all, they not only left the good news behind, they tried to toss him off a cliff. That needs to be a warning for us. Even news as amazing as the verses before us can be taken for granted. They can be dismissed when what we see doesn’t meet our expectations. The same sinful heart that has led so many to reject the good news resides in us. That heart has been changed only by God’s love poured out on us. Listen to the voice of the Anointed One. Listen to the good news. Hold on to it. And share it with others, even if that means that many will reject it. Clearly, there is a good reason that this was the passage Jesus used in the synagogue that Sabbath Day. It overflows with good news from the Anointed One. He sets us free. He makes us priests. Let’s continue to listen to him.
The Text: Isaiah 61:1–6 (EHV) 61 The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me to preach good news to the afflicted. He sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release for those who are bound, 2to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor and the day of vengeance for our God, to comfort all who mourn, 3to provide for those who mourn in Zion, to give them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of joy instead of mourning, a cloak of praise instead of a faint spirit, so that they will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the Lord to display his beauty. 4Then
they will rebuild ancient ruins. They will raise up what was formerly devastated, and they will renew ruined cities, which have been devastated for generations. 5Strangers will stand and shepherd your flock, and foreigners will be your farmers and vinedressers. 6You will be called the Lord’s priests. You will be named ministers of our God. You will eat the wealth of nations, and you will boast about their riches.
Isaiah 61:1-6 Pastor Nathan P. Kassulke
The Third Sunday after Epiphany Sunday, January 23, 2022 “The Anointed One Brings Good News”
Out of all the passages that could have been used, this was the one. Jesus was in his hometown of Nazareth. He went to the synagogue on the Sabbath day just as he always did. The Gospel-writer Luke tells us that the scroll of Isaiah was handed to him. Was that a decision of the attendant? Had Jesus asked for that one specifically? There were certainly other choices. The Old Testament as we know it was the Bible of the Jewish people at that time. Thirty-nine books. Literally thousands, even tens of thousands of verses. No matter how it happened, I am convinced that it was no coincidence that Jesus took the scroll of Isaiah. Even then, there were 66 chapters as we count them and around twelve hundred verses available to Jesus. And this is where he turned. He and the others in the synagogue would not have referred to it by chapter and verse the way that we can, but it was Isaiah 61, beginning with verse one. So, why this section of Scripture? After all, at other times we hear Jesus remind us that every verse of Scripture is about him. So many verses could have been used, and so many from Isaiah’s prophecy in particular. But this one was the one by which Jesus would introduce himself to his hometown worshipers. Do you suppose that this is a passage worth our close consideration? Let’s look and see how rich and meaningful this passage is. It tells us as it has told believers for many centuries that the Anointed One brings good news. The fact of the anointing is immediate and upfront. The Spirit of the Lord is on the one who speaks the words of these verses because the Lord has anointed him. This is one of many verses that explain the term the Messiah or the Christ, the Anointed One. In Old Testament times kings were anointed to demonstrate that God had chosen them; priests were anointed to indicate their selection into their calling; prophets were anointed for the same reason. But so many promises like this one spoke about an anointing that was even greater and an office that combined all three: prophet, priest, and king. This Anointed One was the object of longing and waiting and anticipation. And no wonder, because he brings good news. Look at what that good news consists of. He proclaims freedom. He says, “You will be free.” With synonym after synonym he describes the freedom he has come to bring: release for the bound, comfort for mourners, freedom for captives. Those who first heard these words from the Lord’s prophet were also those who were warned about exile in Babylon. For people whom God had chastised by handing them over to enemies, here was the good news: freedom, release, return, restoration. They could come back to the land that was so special to them. They could trade in their mourning attire for joy and beauty and celebration. And all of us who hear these words today are still haunted by many of the same issues. Afflicted. Brokenhearted. Mourning. I am sure you know people you could categorize these ways. And I am sure that at times you could be part of that list. I am not talking now to captives in Babylon or any other foreign land, but I am talking to people who can be taken captive by disease or pain or suffering or fear. And I am talking to people who were born into captivity to sin and unbelief. I am talking to people who far too often are enslaved again by exactly those things which they want to avoid and exactly those things that God wants them to avoid. And I am talking to people whose actions have earned them captivity to death itself. In other words, I am talking to people who need this good news. I am talking to people who need release and freedom, comfort and joy. And I get to tell you about the one who was anointed to bring it to you. Jesus told us already, just as he did the synagogue worshipers in Nazareth. He said, “I am the one.” “Today this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing” (Luke 4:21). The year of the Lord’s favor was at hand as Jesus preached and taught. In the Old Testament times, every fiftieth year was supposed to be a Year of Jubilee. All debts would be canceled. All land that had to be sold away was returned to the family that originally owned it. Every slave in Israel was to be set free. Scripture seems to suggest that if the Year of Jubilee was ever celebrated, it was almost certainly not celebrated every fifty years. But Jesus was coming to usher in an even better year of God’s favor. It was release for slaves to sin and death. It was the restoration of a Promised Land, and one even better and more lasting than the one that surrounded Jerusalem. God was canceling the debt of sin owed by each and every one of us. That’s what he did by sending
Jesus not only to preach but also to die and to rise again. He as the Messiah was not just bringing good news. He was the good news. He is the good news. And there is more. God’s promises here are couched not just in terms of freedom and release. To “You will be free,” God adds, “You will be priests.” In fact, God’s promises stack upon one another. Not only would the captives return to the land, they would be planted in it firmly. They would rebuild completely. They would receive the wealth and the work of foreigners in place of the oppression they had faced before. And all of this was to God’s glory alone. Let’s focus in on just two of those particular promises. The one declares, “they will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the Lord to display his beauty.” I have heard many stories about a particular tree not far from us now. In our courtyard stands a black walnut tree. It has probably stood in that very place as long as anyone can remember. The courtyard and fellowship hall were built up around it. Some had suggested that it could come down, but that didn’t make sense to those who had already appreciated its shade. And now it still stands, and who knows how many miles one would have to travel through this desert to find another black walnut tree even close to that one in size? That’s how firmly God would plant his people, establishing them to accomplish his purposes and to display his glory and beauty. That’s how his people stood in the Promised Land after their return. That’s how we stand now, people established and planted by God, displaying his praise. And that’s how he will finally plant us in our eternal home of heaven, a promise that will outlast that tree and every other tree on this earth. In fact, God says, his people will be “the Lord’s priests” and “ministers of our God.” Not only are his people planted to display his glory and beauty, he allows them the opportunity to serve and to approach him. And consider how this would have sounded to an Old Testament believer. Priests at that time could only come out of the tribe of Levi, and they had to be descendants of Aaron. And the priests were the only ones who could offer sacrifices at the temple and serve as mediator between God and people. But in the age of the Messiah, in the New Testament, we don’t need a mediator. Jesus has brought us into God’s presence. With our sins forgiven, we can go directly to God with our prayers and praises. And we can share that good news with others, too. Jesus has made us his ministers and priests. The Anointed One brings good news. We have heard it and will want to continue to hear it. He makes us free. He makes us his priests. And yet many refuse to listen to this good news. Consider again the Old Testament people who were exiled to Babylon. The people faced that fate because they had rejected God. And while some listened to amazing promises like these, promises of return and restoration and salvation, those who did were always a small remnant. They were never the majority of Israelites. Many more were not moved by the news. They remained in darkness. They remained in captivity, if not physically then certainly spiritually. Many years later, Jesus used these very verses, these very promises, these very prophecies, to introduce himself to his hometown synagogue. He spoke to the people who should have been most excited to hear the amazing news. He shared with them the most amazing fact that they were witnesses of prophecy being fulfilled and promises being kept. But in one of the saddest and strangest reactions of all, they not only left the good news behind, they tried to toss him off a cliff. That needs to be a warning for us. Even news as amazing as the verses before us can be taken for granted. They can be dismissed when what we see doesn’t meet our expectations. The same sinful heart that has led so many to reject the good news resides in us. That heart has been changed only by God’s love poured out on us. Listen to the voice of the Anointed One. Listen to the good news. Hold on to it. And share it with others, even if that means that many will reject it. Clearly, there is a good reason that this was the passage Jesus used in the synagogue that Sabbath Day. It overflows with good news from the Anointed One. He sets us free. He makes us priests. Let’s continue to listen to him.
The Text: Isaiah 61:1–6 (EHV) 61 The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me to preach good news to the afflicted. He sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release for those who are bound, 2to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor and the day of vengeance for our God, to comfort all who mourn, 3to provide for those who mourn in Zion, to give them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of joy instead of mourning, a cloak of praise instead of a faint spirit, so that they will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the Lord to display his beauty. 4Then
they will rebuild ancient ruins. They will raise up what was formerly devastated, and they will renew ruined cities, which have been devastated for generations. 5Strangers will stand and shepherd your flock, and foreigners will be your farmers and vinedressers. 6You will be called the Lord’s priests. You will be named ministers of our God. You will eat the wealth of nations, and you will boast about their riches.
Isaiah 61:1-6 Pastor Nathan P. Kassulke
The Third Sunday after Epiphany Sunday, January 23, 2022 “The Anointed One Brings Good News”
Out of all the passages that could have been used, this was the one. Jesus was in his hometown of Nazareth. He went to the synagogue on the Sabbath day just as he always did. The Gospel-writer Luke tells us that the scroll of Isaiah was handed to him. Was that a decision of the attendant? Had Jesus asked for that one specifically? There were certainly other choices. The Old Testament as we know it was the Bible of the Jewish people at that time. Thirty-nine books. Literally thousands, even tens of thousands of verses. No matter how it happened, I am convinced that it was no coincidence that Jesus took the scroll of Isaiah. Even then, there were 66 chapters as we count them and around twelve hundred verses available to Jesus. And this is where he turned. He and the others in the synagogue would not have referred to it by chapter and verse the way that we can, but it was Isaiah 61, beginning with verse one. So, why this section of Scripture? After all, at other times we hear Jesus remind us that every verse of Scripture is about him. So many verses could have been used, and so many from Isaiah’s prophecy in particular. But this one was the one by which Jesus would introduce himself to his hometown worshipers. Do you suppose that this is a passage worth our close consideration? Let’s look and see how rich and meaningful this passage is. It tells us as it has told believers for many centuries that the Anointed One brings good news. The fact of the anointing is immediate and upfront. The Spirit of the Lord is on the one who speaks the words of these verses because the Lord has anointed him. This is one of many verses that explain the term the Messiah or the Christ, the Anointed One. In Old Testament times kings were anointed to demonstrate that God had chosen them; priests were anointed to indicate their selection into their calling; prophets were anointed for the same reason. But so many promises like this one spoke about an anointing that was even greater and an office that combined all three: prophet, priest, and king. This Anointed One was the object of longing and waiting and anticipation. And no wonder, because he brings good news. Look at what that good news consists of. He proclaims freedom. He says, “You will be free.” With synonym after synonym he describes the freedom he has come to bring: release for the bound, comfort for mourners, freedom for captives. Those who first heard these words from the Lord’s prophet were also those who were warned about exile in Babylon. For people whom God had chastised by handing them over to enemies, here was the good news: freedom, release, return, restoration. They could come back to the land that was so special to them. They could trade in their mourning attire for joy and beauty and celebration. And all of us who hear these words today are still haunted by many of the same issues. Afflicted. Brokenhearted. Mourning. I am sure you know people you could categorize these ways. And I am sure that at times you could be part of that list. I am not talking now to captives in Babylon or any other foreign land, but I am talking to people who can be taken captive by disease or pain or suffering or fear. And I am talking to people who were born into captivity to sin and unbelief. I am talking to people who far too often are enslaved again by exactly those things which they want to avoid and exactly those things that God wants them to avoid. And I am talking to people whose actions have earned them captivity to death itself. In other words, I am talking to people who need this good news. I am talking to people who need release and freedom, comfort and joy. And I get to tell you about the one who was anointed to bring it to you. Jesus told us already, just as he did the synagogue worshipers in Nazareth. He said, “I am the one.” “Today this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing” (Luke 4:21). The year of the Lord’s favor was at hand as Jesus preached and taught. In the Old Testament times, every fiftieth year was supposed to be a Year of Jubilee. All debts would be canceled. All land that had to be sold away was returned to the family that originally owned it. Every slave in Israel was to be set free. Scripture seems to suggest that if the Year of Jubilee was ever celebrated, it was almost certainly not celebrated every fifty years. But Jesus was coming to usher in an even better year of God’s favor. It was release for slaves to sin and death. It was the restoration of a Promised Land, and one even better and more lasting than the one that surrounded Jerusalem. God was canceling the debt of sin owed by each and every one of us. That’s what he did by sending
Jesus not only to preach but also to die and to rise again. He as the Messiah was not just bringing good news. He was the good news. He is the good news. And there is more. God’s promises here are couched not just in terms of freedom and release. To “You will be free,” God adds, “You will be priests.” In fact, God’s promises stack upon one another. Not only would the captives return to the land, they would be planted in it firmly. They would rebuild completely. They would receive the wealth and the work of foreigners in place of the oppression they had faced before. And all of this was to God’s glory alone. Let’s focus in on just two of those particular promises. The one declares, “they will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the Lord to display his beauty.” I have heard many stories about a particular tree not far from us now. In our courtyard stands a black walnut tree. It has probably stood in that very place as long as anyone can remember. The courtyard and fellowship hall were built up around it. Some had suggested that it could come down, but that didn’t make sense to those who had already appreciated its shade. And now it still stands, and who knows how many miles one would have to travel through this desert to find another black walnut tree even close to that one in size? That’s how firmly God would plant his people, establishing them to accomplish his purposes and to display his glory and beauty. That’s how his people stood in the Promised Land after their return. That’s how we stand now, people established and planted by God, displaying his praise. And that’s how he will finally plant us in our eternal home of heaven, a promise that will outlast that tree and every other tree on this earth. In fact, God says, his people will be “the Lord’s priests” and “ministers of our God.” Not only are his people planted to display his glory and beauty, he allows them the opportunity to serve and to approach him. And consider how this would have sounded to an Old Testament believer. Priests at that time could only come out of the tribe of Levi, and they had to be descendants of Aaron. And the priests were the only ones who could offer sacrifices at the temple and serve as mediator between God and people. But in the age of the Messiah, in the New Testament, we don’t need a mediator. Jesus has brought us into God’s presence. With our sins forgiven, we can go directly to God with our prayers and praises. And we can share that good news with others, too. Jesus has made us his ministers and priests. The Anointed One brings good news. We have heard it and will want to continue to hear it. He makes us free. He makes us his priests. And yet many refuse to listen to this good news. Consider again the Old Testament people who were exiled to Babylon. The people faced that fate because they had rejected God. And while some listened to amazing promises like these, promises of return and restoration and salvation, those who did were always a small remnant. They were never the majority of Israelites. Many more were not moved by the news. They remained in darkness. They remained in captivity, if not physically then certainly spiritually. Many years later, Jesus used these very verses, these very promises, these very prophecies, to introduce himself to his hometown synagogue. He spoke to the people who should have been most excited to hear the amazing news. He shared with them the most amazing fact that they were witnesses of prophecy being fulfilled and promises being kept. But in one of the saddest and strangest reactions of all, they not only left the good news behind, they tried to toss him off a cliff. That needs to be a warning for us. Even news as amazing as the verses before us can be taken for granted. They can be dismissed when what we see doesn’t meet our expectations. The same sinful heart that has led so many to reject the good news resides in us. That heart has been changed only by God’s love poured out on us. Listen to the voice of the Anointed One. Listen to the good news. Hold on to it. And share it with others, even if that means that many will reject it. Clearly, there is a good reason that this was the passage Jesus used in the synagogue that Sabbath Day. It overflows with good news from the Anointed One. He sets us free. He makes us priests. Let’s continue to listen to him.
The Text: Isaiah 61:1–6 (EHV) 61 The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me to preach good news to the afflicted. He sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release for those who are bound, 2to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor and the day of vengeance for our God, to comfort all who mourn, 3to provide for those who mourn in Zion, to give them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of joy instead of mourning, a cloak of praise instead of a faint spirit, so that they will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the Lord to display his beauty. 4Then
they will rebuild ancient ruins. They will raise up what was formerly devastated, and they will renew ruined cities, which have been devastated for generations. 5Strangers will stand and shepherd your flock, and foreigners will be your farmers and vinedressers. 6You will be called the Lord’s priests. You will be named ministers of our God. You will eat the wealth of nations, and you will boast about their riches.
Isaiah 61:1-6 Pastor Nathan P. Kassulke
The Third Sunday after Epiphany Sunday, January 23, 2022 “The Anointed One Brings Good News”
Out of all the passages that could have been used, this was the one. Jesus was in his hometown of Nazareth. He went to the synagogue on the Sabbath day just as he always did. The Gospel-writer Luke tells us that the scroll of Isaiah was handed to him. Was that a decision of the attendant? Had Jesus asked for that one specifically? There were certainly other choices. The Old Testament as we know it was the Bible of the Jewish people at that time. Thirty-nine books. Literally thousands, even tens of thousands of verses. No matter how it happened, I am convinced that it was no coincidence that Jesus took the scroll of Isaiah. Even then, there were 66 chapters as we count them and around twelve hundred verses available to Jesus. And this is where he turned. He and the others in the synagogue would not have referred to it by chapter and verse the way that we can, but it was Isaiah 61, beginning with verse one. So, why this section of Scripture? After all, at other times we hear Jesus remind us that every verse of Scripture is about him. So many verses could have been used, and so many from Isaiah’s prophecy in particular. But this one was the one by which Jesus would introduce himself to his hometown worshipers. Do you suppose that this is a passage worth our close consideration? Let’s look and see how rich and meaningful this passage is. It tells us as it has told believers for many centuries that the Anointed One brings good news. The fact of the anointing is immediate and upfront. The Spirit of the Lord is on the one who speaks the words of these verses because the Lord has anointed him. This is one of many verses that explain the term the Messiah or the Christ, the Anointed One. In Old Testament times kings were anointed to demonstrate that God had chosen them; priests were anointed to indicate their selection into their calling; prophets were anointed for the same reason. But so many promises like this one spoke about an anointing that was even greater and an office that combined all three: prophet, priest, and king. This Anointed One was the object of longing and waiting and anticipation. And no wonder, because he brings good news. Look at what that good news consists of. He proclaims freedom. He says, “You will be free.” With synonym after synonym he describes the freedom he has come to bring: release for the bound, comfort for mourners, freedom for captives. Those who first heard these words from the Lord’s prophet were also those who were warned about exile in Babylon. For people whom God had chastised by handing them over to enemies, here was the good news: freedom, release, return, restoration. They could come back to the land that was so special to them. They could trade in their mourning attire for joy and beauty and celebration. And all of us who hear these words today are still haunted by many of the same issues. Afflicted. Brokenhearted. Mourning. I am sure you know people you could categorize these ways. And I am sure that at times you could be part of that list. I am not talking now to captives in Babylon or any other foreign land, but I am talking to people who can be taken captive by disease or pain or suffering or fear. And I am talking to people who were born into captivity to sin and unbelief. I am talking to people who far too often are enslaved again by exactly those things which they want to avoid and exactly those things that God wants them to avoid. And I am talking to people whose actions have earned them captivity to death itself. In other words, I am talking to people who need this good news. I am talking to people who need release and freedom, comfort and joy. And I get to tell you about the one who was anointed to bring it to you. Jesus told us already, just as he did the synagogue worshipers in Nazareth. He said, “I am the one.” “Today this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing” (Luke 4:21). The year of the Lord’s favor was at hand as Jesus preached and taught. In the Old Testament times, every fiftieth year was supposed to be a Year of Jubilee. All debts would be canceled. All land that had to be sold away was returned to the family that originally owned it. Every slave in Israel was to be set free. Scripture seems to suggest that if the Year of Jubilee was ever celebrated, it was almost certainly not celebrated every fifty years. But Jesus was coming to usher in an even better year of God’s favor. It was release for slaves to sin and death. It was the restoration of a Promised Land, and one even better and more lasting than the one that surrounded Jerusalem. God was canceling the debt of sin owed by each and every one of us. That’s what he did by sending
Jesus not only to preach but also to die and to rise again. He as the Messiah was not just bringing good news. He was the good news. He is the good news. And there is more. God’s promises here are couched not just in terms of freedom and release. To “You will be free,” God adds, “You will be priests.” In fact, God’s promises stack upon one another. Not only would the captives return to the land, they would be planted in it firmly. They would rebuild completely. They would receive the wealth and the work of foreigners in place of the oppression they had faced before. And all of this was to God’s glory alone. Let’s focus in on just two of those particular promises. The one declares, “they will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the Lord to display his beauty.” I have heard many stories about a particular tree not far from us now. In our courtyard stands a black walnut tree. It has probably stood in that very place as long as anyone can remember. The courtyard and fellowship hall were built up around it. Some had suggested that it could come down, but that didn’t make sense to those who had already appreciated its shade. And now it still stands, and who knows how many miles one would have to travel through this desert to find another black walnut tree even close to that one in size? That’s how firmly God would plant his people, establishing them to accomplish his purposes and to display his glory and beauty. That’s how his people stood in the Promised Land after their return. That’s how we stand now, people established and planted by God, displaying his praise. And that’s how he will finally plant us in our eternal home of heaven, a promise that will outlast that tree and every other tree on this earth. In fact, God says, his people will be “the Lord’s priests” and “ministers of our God.” Not only are his people planted to display his glory and beauty, he allows them the opportunity to serve and to approach him. And consider how this would have sounded to an Old Testament believer. Priests at that time could only come out of the tribe of Levi, and they had to be descendants of Aaron. And the priests were the only ones who could offer sacrifices at the temple and serve as mediator between God and people. But in the age of the Messiah, in the New Testament, we don’t need a mediator. Jesus has brought us into God’s presence. With our sins forgiven, we can go directly to God with our prayers and praises. And we can share that good news with others, too. Jesus has made us his ministers and priests. The Anointed One brings good news. We have heard it and will want to continue to hear it. He makes us free. He makes us his priests. And yet many refuse to listen to this good news. Consider again the Old Testament people who were exiled to Babylon. The people faced that fate because they had rejected God. And while some listened to amazing promises like these, promises of return and restoration and salvation, those who did were always a small remnant. They were never the majority of Israelites. Many more were not moved by the news. They remained in darkness. They remained in captivity, if not physically then certainly spiritually. Many years later, Jesus used these very verses, these very promises, these very prophecies, to introduce himself to his hometown synagogue. He spoke to the people who should have been most excited to hear the amazing news. He shared with them the most amazing fact that they were witnesses of prophecy being fulfilled and promises being kept. But in one of the saddest and strangest reactions of all, they not only left the good news behind, they tried to toss him off a cliff. That needs to be a warning for us. Even news as amazing as the verses before us can be taken for granted. They can be dismissed when what we see doesn’t meet our expectations. The same sinful heart that has led so many to reject the good news resides in us. That heart has been changed only by God’s love poured out on us. Listen to the voice of the Anointed One. Listen to the good news. Hold on to it. And share it with others, even if that means that many will reject it. Clearly, there is a good reason that this was the passage Jesus used in the synagogue that Sabbath Day. It overflows with good news from the Anointed One. He sets us free. He makes us priests. Let’s continue to listen to him.
The Text: Isaiah 61:1–6 (EHV) 61 The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me to preach good news to the afflicted. He sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release for those who are bound, 2to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor and the day of vengeance for our God, to comfort all who mourn, 3to provide for those who mourn in Zion, to give them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of joy instead of mourning, a cloak of praise instead of a faint spirit, so that they will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the Lord to display his beauty. 4Then
they will rebuild ancient ruins. They will raise up what was formerly devastated, and they will renew ruined cities, which have been devastated for generations. 5Strangers will stand and shepherd your flock, and foreigners will be your farmers and vinedressers. 6You will be called the Lord’s priests. You will be named ministers of our God. You will eat the wealth of nations, and you will boast about their riches.