ISAIAH 61:1-3 - Never Out of Reach

Introduction

Christmas is the best time of the year to envision what the world will look like when the yeast of the Gospel has worked its way through the entire lump of cultural dough—”When with the ever encircling years / Comes ‘round the age of gold”, as we sang earlier. This is the time of the year, for instance, when you will hear a department store playing music with lyrics based on Revelation 11:15:

Revelation 11:15 (LSB)

Then the seventh angel sounded, and there were loud voices in heaven, saying, “The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ, and He will reign forever and ever.”

Or a song that proclaims the doctrine of the Substitutionary Atonement, as found in 2 Corinthians 5:21:

2 Corinthians 5:21 (LSB)

He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.

Come, Desire of nations, come / Fix in us Thy humble home / Rise, the woman’s conqu’ring Seed / Bruise in us the serpent’s head /

Adam’s likeness now efface / Stamp Thine image in its place / Second Adam from above / Reinstate us in Thy love!

At any other time in our day and age, that would get a store shut down for hate speech—but between Thanksgiving and New Years’ Day every year, you can hear declarations of the Kingship of Christ, His death, burial and resurrection for the forgiveness of sin and the hope of the New Birth in Him!

And yet at the same time, even though we are surrounded by the Hallelujah Chorus playing in Walmart and Linus reciting from the Gospel of Luke on TV and saying “That’s what Christmas is all about, Charlie Brown!”, there is still the impression that as a people we hold Christmas at arm’s length, don’t we? We are on the one hand deeply attracted to the Christmas story—the Baby in the manger, the angels singing peace on earth, the light and life and hope of God with us.

On the other hand, if we think too closely or start to believe it too strongly we have to deal with the ever-present guilt that we bear before God. And so the Christmas story remains just a “story” (as Ken Ham would no doubt remind us, were he here!) We can deal with Christmas as a “fairy tale” or “myth”—but if we really affirm that it happened, then we are forced to reckon with why He came to earth—to rescue us from the death-penalty we have earned because of our open rebellion against God and His revealed truth.

Our people have a love-hate relationship with Christmas—they love the promise of peace and joy and reconciliation, but they hate the repentance that the Good News of Christ’s appearing requires. People love the joy and peace and hope of the season, but shy away from it because they know they are sinners before a holy God. They want to enter into the promise of Christmas, but at the same time they hold it at arm’s length. But what the Son of God demonstrated when He came to earth as a baby two thousand years ago is that

No sinner is BEYOND the MESSIAH’S reach to RESCUE

Our text this morning comes in the final section of Isaiah’s prophecy—we noted in the past couple of weeks that the structure of Isaiah’s book bears striking resemblance to the pattern of the entire Bible. The first 39 chapters (corresponding to the 39 books of the Old Testament) deal with the judgment that God’s people are under for their failure to observe the covenant He made with them. The last 27 chapters of Isaiah (corresponding to the 27 books of the New Testament) are a declaration of how the Servant of YHWH, the Anointed One, will deliver God’s people from the penalty of their sins by dying in their place:

Isaiah 53:4–5 (LSB)

Surely our griefs He Himself bore, And our sorrows He carried; Yet we ourselves esteemed Him stricken, Smitten of God, and afflicted. But He was pierced through for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; The chastening for our peace fell upon Him, And by His wounds we are healed.

And in the chapters leading up to our text, Isaiah has made it very clear that this Messiah is not coming just for the children of Israel, but for all peoples—even the ones who believe they are beyond the reach of His grace. In Isaiah 56:3-5 we read

Isaiah 56:3–5 (LSB)

Let not the foreigner who has joined himself to Yahweh say, “Yahweh will surely separate me from His people.” Nor let the eunuch say, “Behold, I am a dry tree.” For thus says Yahweh, “To the eunuchs who keep My sabbaths, And choose what pleases Me, And hold fast My covenant, To them I will give in My house and within My walls a memorial, And a name better than that of sons and daughters; I will give them an everlasting name which will not be cut off.

In the book of Romans (Chapter 11), we read that Gentiles are not held separate from the covenant people of YHWH—they will be grafted in to His people. And in Deuteronomy 23, Moses’ Law forbids any eunuch from entering the Tabernacle—but the Anointed Servant of YHWH announces that in His Kingdom, they will not be “a dry tree”—fruitless and barren and unwelcome in His sanctuary. They will have something better than children from their loins; they will receive His Name, which will endure forever!

Jew or Gentile, rich or poor, maimed or whole—no sinner is beyond the Messiah’s reach to rescue:

I. He came to bring GOOD NEWS to every CRINGING sinner (Isaiah 61:1; cp. Daniel 9:7-9)

Isaiah 61:1 (LSB)

The Spirit of Lord Yahweh is upon me Because Yahweh has anointed me To bring good news to the afflicted...

The Hebrew word translated “afflicted” or “poor” or “meek” gives the sense of “cringing” or “lowly”—it’s a heart that flinches under the gaze of God, knowing that all it deserves from Him is anger and punishment. If you’ve ever tried to work with an animal that has been abused—a horse or a dog—that’s the kind of reaction Isaiah is describing here.

The exiles who had been captive in Babylon—to whom this chapter is addressed—knew exactly why they had been carried off. Daniel’s prayer in Babylon in Daniel 9 expresses it well:

Daniel 9:7–9 (LSB)

“To You, O Lord, belongs righteousness, but to us open shame, as it is this day—to the men of Judah, the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and all Israel, those who are nearby and those who are far away in all the countries to which You have banished them, because of their unfaithful deeds which they have committed against You. “O Yahweh, to us belongs open shame, to our kings, our princes, and our fathers, because we have sinned against You. “To the Lord our God belong compassion and forgiveness, for we have rebelled against Him;

But Yahweh’s Anointed Servant did not come to make sinners cringe at His presence—He came to bring the good news of their forgiveness!

Romans 4:7–8 (LSB)

“BLESSED ARE THOSE WHOSE LAWLESS DEEDS HAVE BEEN FORGIVEN, AND WHOSE SINS HAVE BEEN COVERED. “BLESSED IS THE MAN WHOSE SIN THE LORD WILL NOT TAKE INTO ACCOUNT.”

The Good News that YHWH’s Anointed Servant has come to bring is that

He came to PAY the PRICE for your SIN (2 Cor. 5:21)

2 Corinthians 5:21 (LSB)

[God] made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.

No sinner is beyond the Messiah’s reach to rescue—He came to bring good news to every cringing sinner, and

II. He came to restore WHOLENESS to every BROKEN sinner (Isaiah 61:1)

Isaiah 61:1 (LSB)

The Spirit of Lord Yahweh is upon me Because Yahweh has anointed me To bring good news to the afflicted; He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted...

The word for “brokenhearted” can also be translated “crushed” or “wrecked” or “ruined”. There are a lot of people holding Christmas at arm’s length today not just because of what the guilt of they have done, but the shame of what has been done to them. They don’t feel as though they deserve the joy or peace or love of Christmas (or anytime); they are “damaged goods”, they are too weighed down by the shame and humiliation and victimization of their past.

But YHWH’s Anointed Servant, Jesus Christ, is the only One who can bind up that brokenness—because

He came to SUFFER as the most INNOCENT VICTIM (Isa. 53:3; Matt. 27:28-36)

The Anointed One of YHWH was shamed and humiliated and victimized at the hands of wicked men:

Isaiah 53:3 (LSB)

He was despised and forsaken of men, A man of sorrows and acquainted with grief; And like one from whom men hide their face He was despised, and we did not esteem Him.

After He had been unjustly condemned to death, the Roman soldiers in charge of Him took Him to their barracks to have a little fun with Him before taking Him to His death:

Matthew 27:28–30 (LSB)

And they stripped Him and put a scarlet robe on Him. And after twisting together a crown of thorns, they put it on His head, and a reed in His right hand; and they knelt down before Him and mocked Him, saying, “Hail, King of the Jews!” And they spat on Him, and took the reed and began to beat Him on the head.

And then, after trying to get Him drunk, they stripped Him naked once again and they subjected Him to the most heinous brutality ever devised by the depravity of cruel abusers:

Matthew 27:34–36 (LSB)

they gave Him wine to drink mixed with gall; and after tasting it, He did not want to drink. And when they had crucified Him, they divided up His garments among themselves by casting lots. And sitting down, they began to keep watch over Him there.

Jesus the Anointed One can bind up the brokenness of every shame-filled sinner because He suffered a shameful, abusive death at the hands of wicked men in order to free you from shame forever! By His shame, you are healed!

No sinner is beyond the Messiah’s reach to rescue—He came to bring good news to every cringing sinner, He came to restore wholeness to every broken sinner, and

III. He came to proclaim the JUBILEE for every CAPTIVE sinner (Isaiah 61:1-2; cp. Leviticus 25:10)

Isaiah 61:1–2 (LSB)

The Spirit of Lord Yahweh is upon me Because Yahweh has anointed me To bring good news to the afflicted; He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, To proclaim release to captives And freedom to prisoners, To proclaim the favorable year of Yahweh...

The Anointed Servant came to “proclaim the favorable year of YHWH”—a reference to the Law of Moses that required all debts to be cancelled and all slaves to be released every fiftieth year:

Leviticus 25:10 (LSB)

‘You shall thus set apart as holy the fiftieth year and proclaim a release through the land to all its inhabitants. It shall be a jubilee for you, and each of you shall return to his own possession of land, and each of you shall return to his family.

The Babylonian captivity of the Judeans was coming to an end; they would be granted liberty from Cyrus to return to Jerusalem and rebuild its walls and consecrate a new Temple to YHWH—the year of the favor of God had come.

When Christ came in His first advent, He came to declare freedom for all those who had been enslaved by their sin. He tells the Jews in John 8--

John 8:34–36 (LSB)

...“Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who commits sin is the slave of sin. And the slave does not remain in the house forever; the son does remain forever. So if the Son makes you free, you will be free indeed.”

He came to take on your sin and subject Himself to death on the Cross—in His First Advent

He came to FREE you from the law of SIN and DEATH (Romans 8:1-2)

Romans 8:1–2 (LSB)

Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death.

To those who feel the chains of their sin that won’t let them go; for those who have tried by sheer willpower to break the cycle of self-destructive behavior, to those who feel as though there is nothing that will free them from the death that lurks in them to destroy them, Christ came to set you free—and He promises that when He sets you free from the law of sin and death, you will really be free!

There is no sinner so captive to their sin that He cannot proclaim their jubilee; there is no sinner beyond the Messiah’s reach to rescue. And as we move further into our text, we see that

IV. He came to bring COMFORT to every MOURNING sinner (Isaiah 61:2-3; cp. Matthew 5:4)

Isaiah 61:2–3 (LSB)

...To comfort all who mourn, To grant those who mourn in Zion, Giving them a headdress instead of ashes, The oil of rejoicing instead of mourning, The mantle of praise instead of a spirit of fainting...

When our father Adam sinned, he plunged all of his descendants and the whole world into death:

Romans 5:12 (LSB)

Therefore, just as through one man sin entered into the world, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men, because all sinned—

And ever since, all of us have groaned and suffered under the tyranny of death. Death stalks us at every turn; the inevitability of our mortality is a dark backdrop to our daily lives that we try to ignore or disregard, but the reality of death forces itself on us in those times when we come face to face with our mortality in a grave diagnosis, or when we stand by the coffin of someone we love, or have to face another Christmas with an empty space around the tree or an empty chair at the table.

But for those mourning over the devastation of sin and death in their lives, YHWH’s Anointed Servant has come to bring comfort. There is a beautiful turn of phrase in this verse that we miss in our English translations—the phrase “giving them a headdress instead of ashes” (or “beauty for ashes” as the KJV puts it) uses words that are identical except for one vowel that swaps places: “He will give them beauty (pheer) for ashes (epher). In his commentary on this passage, Matthew Henry says of the Messiah’s comfort for mourning sinners:

He will turn their sorrow into joy as quickly and as easily as you can transpose a letter; for he speaks, and it is done. (Henry, M. (1994). Matthew Henry’s commentary on the whole Bible: complete and unabridged in one volume (p. 1203). Hendrickson.)

Jesus Christ brings comfort for every sinner mourning over the tyranny of death in this world, because

He came to make a WAY out of the GRAVE (John 11:25-26)

When He stood by the tomb of his friend Lazarus, Jesus brought the comfort that only He could bring to Mary as she mourned over the consequences of living in this sin-broken world of death and decay:

John 11:25–26 (LSB)

Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in Me will live even if he dies, and everyone who lives and believes in Me will never die—ever. Do you believe this?”

He brought comfort to Mary and Martha when death struck their brother Lazarus, because He would go on to strike death down forever--

1 Corinthians 15:55–57 (LSB)

“O DEATH, WHERE IS YOUR VICTORY? O DEATH, WHERE IS YOUR STING?” Now the sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law; but thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ!

There is no mourning sinner who is beyond the Messiah’s reach to rescue—He brings beauty for ashes, rejoicing for mourning, praise instead of fainting—He came to bring comfort to every mourning sinner, and at the end of verse 3 we see that

V. He came to plant His RIGHTEOUSNESS in every REPENTANT sinner (Isaiah 61:3; cp. Isa 1:28-31)

Isaiah 61:3 (LSB)

To grant those who mourn in Zion, Giving them a headdress instead of ashes, The oil of rejoicing instead of mourning, The mantle of praise instead of a spirit of fainting. So they will be called oaks of righteousness, The planting of Yahweh, that He may show forth His beautiful glory.

This reference goes all the way back to the very first chapter of Isaiah, where the prophet warns the people that judgment is coming upon them for their idolatry:

Isaiah 1:28–29 (LSB)

But transgressors and sinners will be broken together, And those who forsake Yahweh will come to an end. For you will be ashamed of the oaks which you have desired, And you will be humiliated because of the gardens which you have chosen.

The worship of the pagan goddess Asherah took place in “sacred groves” of trees on hilltops throughout Israel—God’s rebellious people had chosen to worship in those groves and gardens, forsaking their covenant to YHWH and “playing the harlot” with other gods and goddesses. And Isaiah warns that their judgment was coming:

Isaiah 1:30–31 (LSB)

For you will be like an oak whose leaf withers away Or as a garden that has no water. And the strong man will become tinder, His work also a spark. Thus they shall both burn together, And there will be none to quench them.

Those whose hearts are set on idolatry and set against God will burn like a dead tree at the coming of the judgment of YHWH, and “their fire will never be quenched”. None of their good works, none of their own strength, will prevent them from burning forever under the wrath of God’s justice.

But there is no sinful, idolatrous, rebellious heart that is out of the Messiah’s reach to rescue! He comes to transform the old, dead heart of a sinner into a heart characterized by His own righteousness!

Isaiah 61:3 (LSB)

...So they will be called oaks of righteousness, The planting of Yahweh, that He may show forth His beautiful glory.

This is what the Messiah comes to do--

He MAKES you a NEW CREATION (2 Cor. 5:17)

2 Corinthians 5:17 (LSB)

Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come.

Instead of the old and dry nature of rebellion against God and rejection of His will, Christ comes to grant you a new nature, a new way of being human, a New Birth by which He plants in you His own righteousness to show forth His beautiful glory! There is no sinner beyond the reach of the Messiah to save—there is no heart so blackened by sin and rebellion, no spirit so dry and barren from hatred of God and His people, no conscience so seared by habitual wickedness that He cannot transform into His own glorious righteousness! There is no sinner beyond the Messiah’s reach to rescue!

Earlier in our worship we read the account of Jesus’ public announcement of His ministry—turn with me briefly to Luke chapter 4 (page 860 in the pew Bibles). Jesus had returned to His hometown of Nazareth and read these same verses in His home synagogue (vv. 16-19), and concluded by saying, “Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing”. “I am the Messiah, and this is what I have come to do.”

In verse 22, we see that the people initially regarded Him with admiration, for His “gracious words”. But then things took an ugly turn, didn’t they? Jesus said that He was coming to declare these things not just to Israel, but to all peoples—in verses 25-27 He points out that YHWH’s salvation was extended to Sidonians and Syrians instead of Israel. And that meant that He was going to do the same—heal and deliver and release and plant righteousness in all people.

And something extraordinary happened when He said that—all of those good, righteous, pious Nazarene synagogue members went up in a sheet of flaming hatred. Moments earlier they had been “ooohing” and “aahhing” over what a nice Boy Joseph had raised—and now they lunged at Him in murderous rage, trying to kill Him with their bare hands! And why did they hate Him so fiercely? It was because He was going to save people they didn’t think worthy of saving.

Mark it well, Christian—you who sit here in church faithfully week after week, attending to the worship of God and study of His Word—there is in each of us a tendency to think that there are certain people who are just too far gone to save. Certain people who, if they showed up here in church, you’d be tempted to walk out because you don’t want to be associated with any church that would allow them in the door.

What is the difference between that attitude and the hatred that caused Jesus’ own hometown to try to throw Him off a cliff? In their day it was Gentiles--Canaanites, Romans, Cretans, and so on. Who is it in our day that we are tempted to want to pass over with the Gospel? Drug dealers? Pornographers? Abortionists? Megan’s Law offenders? Who are you tempted to say, “The Gospel can’t save them!”?

Christian,

Do not DESPISE those whom Christ is GATHERING to HIMSELF

The grace that Messiah is bringing to the world is a scandal to the self-righteous. There is no sinner outside His reach to rescue, and having rescued them, there is no longer any condemnation for them! If He has set them free, if He has declared good news to them, if He has borne all of their shame and wickedness on that Cross, then it is blasphemy to say they are still guilty! After all, if He could save you, then He can certainly save them!

And for you who feel the weight of your sin and shame this morning; you who have come because it’s Christmas time and going to church is the thing to do on Christmas; you who have come because you don’t know where to turn to get help for the brokenness and shame and guilt that has imprisoned you; to you who are thinking that no one in this room would want you here if they could see what you’ve done and what has been done to you—hear the Voice of the Messiah in this Word to you today:

You are not TOO FAR OFF for Christ to SAVE

Friend, no matter what you have done, no matter what has been done to you; no matter how far you have estranged yourself from God and His people, no matter how mangled or disfigured you have been by your rebellion; no matter how many times you have tried to change but failed; no matter how good a disguise you have created for yourself to look like an oak of righteousness when in reality you are a dry firetrap of a dead tree of hypocrisy and treachery—there is more grace in Christ to save you than there is sin in you to damn you.

He has come to declare the good news of His salvation for your cringing heart; He alone can bind up the broken pieces of your sin-wrecked life; He is the One Who declares your release from your bondage to your sin and lust; He is the One Who proclaims the favorable year of the LORD to declare you not guilty; to comfort you in your mourning, to give you beauty for ashes, to trade your hard heart of dead passions and lusts for a new heart of obedience and trust in Him.

But understand, friend, that His invitation will not last forever. Because while He has come to “proclaim the favorable year of YHWH”, He is also coming to proclaim “the day of vengeance of our God” (Isa 61:2). The Day is coming of

2 Thessalonians 1:7–9 (LSB)

...the revelation of the Lord Jesus from heaven with His mighty angels in flaming fire, executing vengeance on those who do not know God and to those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. These will pay the penalty of eternal destruction, AWAY FROM THE PRESENCE OF THE LORD AND FROM THE GLORY OF HIS MIGHT,

On that day, every dead, dry tree of self-righteousness will go up in flames that will never be quenched, every thought, word and deed you have ever had will pass before Him for judgment, and He will execute vengeance on every man, woman and child that has not obeyed His Gospel. On that Day it will be too late to repent; too late to plead forgiveness, too late to hide behind the blood of Christ shed on the Cross.

Do not be caught on that Day—you do not know, none of us know, when that Day will arrive. But this day has been given to you to confess your sin before Him and plead with Him to deliver you from the unquenchable punishment that you are headed for.

2 Corinthians 6:2–3 (LSB)

for He says, “AT THE ACCEPTABLE TIME I LISTENED TO YOU, AND ON THE DAY OF SALVATION I HELPED YOU.” Behold, now is “THE ACCEPTABLE TIME,” behold, now is “THE DAY OF SALVATION”...

This is the day; this is the hour—you are not beyond the reach of the Anointed One of God to rescue you. Cry out to Him and you will find that He will be faithful to do everything that He promises in His Word—so come, and welcome!, to Jesus Christ!

BENEDICTION:

Ephesians 3:20–21 (LSB)

Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or understand, according to the power that works within us, to Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations forever and ever. Amen.

QUESTIONS FOR REFLECTION:

What is the reason for such tension in the way our culture approaches Christmas? How is that tension revealed in our culture?

What are some reasons people believe they are beyond the reach of God’s grace to save? How does Isaiah 61:1-3 declare good news for sinners?

In what ways are we prone to “look down” on the way people approach Christmas celebrations? How does Jesus’ teaching at the Nazareth synagogue reveal our heart’s attitude towards the lost?