Isaiah 61:1–3
“[1] The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me,
because the LORD has anointed me
to bring good news to the poor;
he has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,
to proclaim liberty to the captives,
and the opening of the prison to those who are bound;
[2] to proclaim the year of the LORD’s favor,
and the day of vengeance of our God;
to comfort all who mourn;
[3] to grant to those who mourn in Zion—
to give them a beautiful headdress instead of ashes,
the oil of gladness instead of mourning,
the garment of praise instead of a faint spirit;
that they may be called oaks of righteousness,
the planting of the LORD, that he may be glorified. “
In the Name of Jesus, Amen.
For whom has the Lord’s Anointed One, or Messiah come? What kind of people does this Servant of Yahweh in Isaiah serve? And what does He do, what does He give?
What kind of Jesus do we look to this Advent, this Christmas? The language of Isaiah tells us what kind of Christ, or Messiah is coming and exactly who He is coming for.
In our OT reading today, the first description of those for whom the Lord’s Christ, Messiah or Anointed One is coming to serve are described as poor. In other words, those who have nothing to give or bring. Those who bring nothing but their own poverty. These are the bankrupt, the desolate, the destitute. So if we are looking to bring something to God in order to merit, buy or earn His service, we aren’t looking to this same Jesus, whom the prophet tells us has come for the poor. This is what Jesus again preaches from the sermon on the Mount where He tells us that the blessed, or those He saves, are “poor in spirit”.
Another way of interpreting this same Hebrew word we read in English here as “poor”, is “afflicted”. One who has a condition that he cannot change. One who badly needs a remedy or healing from something outside of himself. This is not one who is improving, or getting better and progressing, but one who is terminal in their affliction. Unlike what our sinful flesh believes about ourselves, as we think we are not so badly off. Or that perhaps we’re just a bit flawed, or we may even say things like, “well, nobody’s perfect.” We even compare ourselves to those we see as much worse that we are. At least we’re better than this this person or that family and so on.
The Law of God tells us otherwise. We bring nothing, we have nothing in and of ourselves.
So in Rev 3:17 we hear
“For you say, I am rich, I have prospered, and I need nothing, not realizing that you are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked.”
We bring nothing but empty hands. Nothing but sin, resistance to God, even rebellion and hatred of God. Nothing but insurmountable debt. Yet, these poor sinners are the ones to whom Jesus, the Christ, or Anointed One brings or delivers “good news”. He came for the poor, the afflicted, the real life sinner, even the worst of sinners. So He says:
“The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me,
because the LORD has anointed me
to bring good news to the poor” Is 61:1
The second description given here of those for whom the Christ or Anointed One has come are those who are brokenhearted. Those whose heart is literally broken into pieces. He comes for the heartbroken, the depressed, the downcast. When your heart is broken, you can’t fix it on your own. You can’t put it back together or make it right. It’s broken and you need a physician, a healer, a transplant. No looking inside your heart and trying to make it work will do. There’s nothing healthy there, no healing inside, but Jesus has come to give His healing, even a new heart for the heartbroken, He speaks and delivers life where there is imminent death. He brings substantive hope where there appears to be none, and He comes in the midst of a life of pain, fear, and a life where one’s own sin and the sin of others has harmed, polluted and brought nothing but mourning and immense sadness. This, however, is who the Lord Jesus, the Christ has come for. These are those to whom He draws near. He comes to heal us of our terminal condition from the ravaging of sin, death and the devil. And so He says to the heartbroken:
“he has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,” and “to comfort all who mourn”
Finally, our Lord Jesus shows us that He has come for the prisoner, the captive, the guilty. Not the good moral citizen, but the law breaking sinner. The slave, the one bound who cannot unbind himself. The one who’s only hope is to cry out Kyrie! Or Lord have mercy!
Jesus, the Christ has come for the one who can’t change the guilty verdict of the Law, and can do nothing about his own condition. A prisoner can’t make themselves free, and can’t undo all that’s been done, all that they have done to God and neighbor, but this Anointed One, this Jesus, has come to bring freedom where there is none to be found.
He releases the prisoner, He speaks them free, He says it, and it is accomplished, it is done, it is finished. For He has taken their sentence upon Himself, died the death, even death on a cross in their place, in your place for your sins, carrying all your sins upon Himself as the Lamb of God who bears not only your, but the sins of the world. He has come:
“to proclaim liberty to the captives,
and the opening of the prison to those who are bound;”
As He speaks it in
John 8:36 “So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.”
And as St Paul reminds us in
Gal 5:1 “For freedom, Christ has set us free”
This Christ, or Anointed One who is speaking today through His Word of Gospel has come for you and comes to you in His service, to all those He gathers to His name and delivers good news to you who are poor, brokenhearted and death sentenced in your sinful flesh, and delivers His Gospel of all sins forgiven to you. He brings the riches of His gifts to those with nothing to bring, He is with you and places His name upon you in His promise of Baptism given, washing you clean, whiter than the whitest snow.
He is also with you in the worst of times and darkest of places. He is the God who is present with His people and has joined Himself with their suffering and pain. He is the One who brings liberty, freedom to the one who was born guilty, a captive and a slave. He accomplishes this through the mouth of another, a preacher sent for you, a word spoken even today to give you His Word of Gospel, His consolation, His absolution, given not to the pious good person, but for the sinner in need.
His Gospel turns your mourning into gladness, your crying into song, your filthy rags into the garment of His own righteousness. For it is Jesus who saves His people from their sins and plants His church which He has purchased, not with silver or gold, but with His holy precious blood shed for you. Given to you, His chosen bride in His most Holy Supper.
grant to those who mourn in Zion—
to give them a beautiful headdress instead of ashes,
the oil of gladness instead of mourning,
the garment of praise instead of a faint spirit;
that they may be called oaks of righteousness,
the planting of the LORD, that he may be glorified. “
to grant to those who mourn in Zion—
to give them a beautiful headdress instead of ashes,
the oil of gladness instead of mourning,
the garment of praise instead of a faint spirit;
that they may be called oaks of righteousness,
the planting of the LORD, that he may be glorified. “
In the Name of Jesus, Amen.