Isaiah 61:1-11
1 "The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon Me,
Because the LORD has anointed Me
To preach good tidings to the poor;
He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted,
To proclaim liberty to the captives,
And the opening of the prison to those who are bound;
2 To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD,
And the day of vengeance of our God;
To comfort all who mourn,
3 To console those who mourn in Zion,
To give them beauty 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 the LORD, that He may be glorified."
4 And they shall rebuild the old ruins,
They shall raise up the former desolations,
And they shall repair the ruined cities,
The desolations of many generations.
5 Strangers shall stand and feed your flocks,
And the sons of the foreigner
Shall be your plowmen and your vinedressers.
6 But you shall be named the priests of the LORD,
They shall call you the servants of our God.
You shall eat the riches of the Gentiles,
And in their glory you shall boast.
7 Instead of your shame you shall have double honor,
And instead of confusion they shall rejoice in their portion.
Therefore in their land they shall possess double;
Everlasting joy shall be theirs.
8 "For I, the LORD, love justice;
I hate robbery for burnt offering;
I will direct their work in truth,
And will make with them an everlasting covenant.
9 Their descendants shall be known among the Gentiles,
And their offspring among the people.
All who see them shall acknowledge them,
That they are the posterity whom the LORD has blessed."
10 I will greatly rejoice in the LORD,
My soul shall be joyful in my God;
For He has clothed me with the garments of salvation,
He has covered me with the robe of righteousness,
As a bridegroom decks himself with ornaments,
And as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.
11 For as the earth brings forth its bud,
As the garden causes the things that are sown in it to spring forth,
So the Lord GOD will cause righteousness and praise to spring forth before all the nations.
This is the prophetic good news of the Day of Atonement as the acceptable day of the LORD (Leviticus 25:9) to be fulfilled as Christ spoke in the synagogue according to Luke 4:17-18, 21. It was written long before Jesus the Christ set foot there to read this passage prepared by God thousands of years prior, and reminds us of the sovereign grace and knowledge and wisdom of Him as attested in and by scripture. The Christ is the Anointed spoken of here to bring this good news to the world, to the poor and broken-hearted, offering freedom from those bound by sin inherited from Adam and release from sin’s imprisonment with a sentence of certain death until a perfect sacrifice could be found to shed blood instead of we shedding our own blood, our own life to atone for our sin. Yes as Jesus read this passage on the acceptable day of atonement, He knew the bad news of God’s coming vengeance on sin and offered good news through Him as comfort to our mourning hopelessness in finding a lasting sacrifice to forever atone for us. He offers the beauty of eternal life instead of death’s ashes and joy in forgiveness instead. He offers praise in our mouths to Him to replace the heavy mantle of our unrighteousness by imputation of His righteousness for His glory through planting us in Himself. Restoration of cities is talked of here for Israel to undo the desolation of their continued rebellion against Him, a picture of our reconciliation to restore our standing as it was with Adam and Eve in the beginning where all was created and called good. Yes, as it was hinted that God’s people then would be called priests, we see later in Christ we who are atoned for and called to Him are named this also (1 Peter 2:9) as His servants to minister this great news of reconciling grace of His atonement for our sins. Our shame is turned into honor with unending joy! God loves justice, but also mercy, and He has promised an eternal covenant which cannot be broken or come to and end; therefore, He leads and guides us into all truth (John 16:13). We are truly the posterity of the LORD along with believing Israel who are blessed by Him as His people. What shall we do then and how should we respond to the good news? After believing His work in Christ and receiving Him (John 1:12), we are to rejoice with exceedingly great joy (Luke 2:10) for the new clothing of our salvation from sin’s bondage and penalty as we are clothed in His beautiful righteousness alone. The LORD had promised and prophesied of fruitfulness and righteousness to move us to praise, and this is fulfilled in the work of Christ as Jesus told those in the synagogue long ago. This is the exceedingly good news of His saving atonement for us which all other sacrifices can never effectively work in us (Hebrews 10:3-4, 10, 18) to be made right with God for eternity. Jesus Christ is the only way, truth, and life offered to us. Believe His work as John 6:29 tells us how to do the works of God for our salvation. Our work then is our faith exercised in trusting His work alone to atone for us and not working good in vain attempts to earn His good favor. His unearned favor is called grace, and that is His work alone to save us from His wrath on our sin in judgment, not our own. God in Christ brings good news, which is healing of the heart and soul, freedom from the bondage of sin, so that we are no longer its prisoner. Then He makes us as priests to minister to each other, serving Him and others. We receive joy beyond words, made right and righteous in God's eyes that cause us and those who see to give praise to God and all He does. Amen and amen!
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