Proclaim the Joyous News

Isaiah 61:1-11

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 broken-hearted,

to proclaim liberty to the captives,

and the opening of the prison to those who are bound;

to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favour,

and the day of vengeance of our God;

to comfort all who mourn;

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.

They shall build up the ancient ruins;

they shall raise up the former devastations;

they shall repair the ruined cities,

the devastations of many generations.

Strangers shall stand and tend your flocks;

foreigners shall be your plowmen and vinedressers;

but you shall be called the priests of the Lord;

they shall speak of you as the ministers of our God;

you shall eat the wealth of the nations,

and in their glory you shall boast.

Instead of your shame there shall be a double portion;

instead of dishonour they shall rejoice in their lot;

therefore in their land they shall possess a double portion;

they shall have everlasting joy.

For I the Lord love justice;

I hate robbery and wrong;

I will faithfully give them their recompense,

and I will make an everlasting covenant with them.

Their offspring shall be known among the nations,

and their descendants in the midst of the peoples;

all who see them shall acknowledge them,

that they are an offspring the Lord has blessed.

I will greatly rejoice in the Lord;

my soul shall exult 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 like a priest with a beautiful headdress,

and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.

For as the earth brings forth its sprouts,

and as a garden causes what is sown in it to sprout up,

so the Lord God will cause righteousness and praise

to sprout up before all the nations.[1]

P

erceptive readers of the New Testament will recognise this passage as containing the Scripture portion which Jesus read in the synagogue at Nazareth [Luke 4:16-19]. This passage serves as the formal announcement of Messiah’s First Advent, and the portion which was left unread by our Lord announces His Second Advent. We now live in that period which foreshadows the Second Coming of the Lord Christ. This is the Age of Grace, the period of time separating the First Advent and the Second Coming of our Lord. For the moment, Christians have joyous news to herald. Tragically, if Christians fail to publish that joyous news, then they shall become messengers of news which can only be declared to be woeful.

Join me in exploring the relationship of our responsibility before a dying world in light of the joyous Christmas season which we now celebrate. Open your Bible to the sixty-first chapter of Isaiah and discover the joyous news which is ours to herald.

The Year of the Lord’s Favour (Isaiah 61:1, 2) — When Jesus read the Scripture in the synagogue at Nazareth, He stopped reading with the first clause of the second verse. [Jesus] came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up. And as was his custom, he went to the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and he stood up to read. And the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to him. He unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written,

“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,

because he has anointed me

to proclaim good news to the poor.

He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives

and recovering of sight to the blind,

to set at liberty those who are oppressed,

to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favour.”

And he rolled up the scroll and gave it back to the attendant and sat down. And the eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on him. And he began to say to them, “Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing” [Luke 4:16-21].

Take special note of this passage. First, according to Jesus’ own words, the first portion of this prophecy has already been fulfilled. Carefully note Jesus’ statement concerning this prophetic word—Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing! Even as He read the Words, Jesus was the fulfilment of all that Isaiah had written to this point. Clearly, the prophet recorded the words of Messiah Himself and Jesus used those same words to announce that He was the fulfilment of Isaiah’s prophecy.

The words that Jesus read are gracious and comforting, especially if one is poor, or held in captivity, or blind, or oppressed. That the Saviour should announce the year of the Lord’s favour is a source of richest encouragement to all who seek mercy. However, note the words which follow and which would have been read had the Master not ceased reading. …to proclaim … the day of vengeance of our God.

As He read at the beginning of His ministry, the Lord Jesus stopped at the words the Lord’s favour and did not proceed to the day of vengeance. By this means, He expressed His own understanding of His mission at that point. Jesus, the Messiah, came to save the world, not to condemn it, just as is explained in John 3:17. God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.

If you will accept it, the message which Jesus announced was the message of Christmas—the message of His First Advent. The message of Christmas is a message announcing that this is now the year of the Lord’s favour. Jesus is the Anointed One charged to bring good news to the poor. He alone is able to bind up the broken-hearted and to proclaim liberty to the captives. He is the Messiah with power to open the prison to those who are bound. At Jesus’ birth, God set in motion all the is necessary for the year of the Lord’s favour.

This message announcing God’s favour is one which all Christians are now charged to herald as they go throughout the daily routine of their world. We have Good News for those who are impoverished in spirit. Christ the Lord has come and He is prepared to enrich our hearts. All who mourn over their sinful, fallen condition can be brought into the glorious light of His joy. Those who have been held captive to do the will of the devil may now be freed. Those who once were imprisoned by their own sordid desires may be liberated into the wondrous freedom of the True and Living God.

So many imagine that the message of the Faith is “do.” However, the message which has been committed to us as Christians is “done.” Let me explain what I mean. So many imagine that the Christian Faith consists of actions required in order to please an austere and angry God, but instead the message of life with which we are entrusted is a message of joy. It speaks of a God who loves us and who seeks to set us at liberty so that we may freely enjoy His goodness which flows from His love.

Christians do not go to church in order to be saved, but rather because they are redeemed, they joyfully unite with other believers to worship the Lord Christ. Christians are not baptised in order to be saved, but rather because they are saved, they willingly identify with the Saviour in His passion. Christian do not tell others the Good News of life in Christ the Lord in order to be saved, but because they have received life they are eager to tell others where that life may be found.

Jesus was also aware of a coming day when He would execute the judgement committed to Him by the Father. Listen carefully to the divine explanation which Jesus provided in John 5:22-29.

The Father judges no one, but has given all judgement to the Son, that all may honour the Son, just as they honour the Father. Whoever does not honour the Son does not honour the Father who sent him. Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgement, but has passed from death to life.

Truly, truly, I say to you, an hour is coming, and is now here, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live. For as the Father has life in himself, so he has granted the Son also to have life in himself. And he has given him authority to execute judgement, because he is the Son of Man. Do not marvel at this, for an hour is coming when all who are in the tombs will hear his voice and come out, those who have done good to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil to the resurrection of judgement.

By divine pronouncement, this is the year of the Lord’s favour, it is not at this time the day of vengeance of our God. Jesus stopped reading before He read that portion of the Scripture which points to the Day of Jacob’s trouble, that awesome period of judgements concluding this present age. You will recall that we explored this pending time in a previous message. Then, in those days when the faithful have been removed from this earth, God shall pour out awesome judgements upon the entire earth. Even in the midst of those judgements, however, Israel shall be comforted.

This is the meaning of the latter words of verse two and the whole of verse three. As the judgements of Holy God devastate the wicked, tiny Israel shall return to the Lord. Then, those who mourn shall be comforted. Then, those who sigh, longing for relief, shall receive a song. Then, those who are faint will be strengthened to shout in praise to the Messiah who delivers them from all trouble.

I tell you these things, not to frighten you, but to warn those who have yet to seize the powerful deliverance and the joy which is ours in the Son of God. I relate these truths to believers that they may take courage as the days draw nigh for His return. As you who are outsiders come to Christ the Lord, receiving Him as Saviour and Master of your life, you shall be set at liberty from judgement and spared those awful days of judgement. As you believe His message of life, receiving His salvation, you shall be liberated from condemnation and fear and brought into the glorious light of His liberty.

The point is so vital that it must be stressed. At this time in history, God reaches out to all mankind, extending grace and mercy that all may be saved. He offers each individual forgiveness of sin, freedom from condemnation, adoption into His great Family, a new quality of life marked by hope, joy and peace. As heralds of the Lord Christ, Christians are authorised to announce this Good News to all people. The Apostle spoke of this merciful offer as he wrote the Second Corinthian Letter.

If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

Working together with him, then, we appeal to you not to receive the grace of God in vain. For he says,

“In a favourable time I listened to you,

and in a day of salvation I have helped you.”

Behold, now is the favourable time; behold, now is the day of salvation [2 Corinthians 5:17-6:2].

As recipients of God’s grace, we plead with all who hear us, believe the message of grace today. You cannot make yourself good enough to be acceptable to God. However, what you cannot do, God has already done for you. He will declare you righteous—free of all guilt and pure—through the sacrifice of Jesus His Son and by the resurrection of this same Jesus from the dead. Believe this message and be saved today.

This is the message of Christmas—life and light are offered to all who will receive it. That life and the light which shines through that life, becomes ours as we receive the Son of God as Master of our life and as we believe His Good News. When the angel announced to the shepherds Good News of great joy … for all people [see Luke 2:10], could anyone have imagined that it would mean that we could be free before Holy God? Could we fully understand that we could be filled with peace and joy merely by worshipping Him? Indeed, the Son of God who was born of a virgin is the Saviour, Christ the Lord. He has come that all people may have life and have it to the fullest. This is indeed Good News which we are commanded to announce to all people.

The Day of Vengeance of Our God (Isaiah 61:2-7) — There awaits a promised day when the Redeemed of the Lord shall reign with Him. He shall call out His people, and when the nations of this earth are at last judged by the Almighty, we who are His beloved people shall rule with Him over this earth for one thousand years. These truths are made known to those who are redeemed that they may take heart and be encouraged as they wait for the return of the Master. These truths are revealed in the presence of outsiders that they may take warning and even now turn to the Lord in order to be saved.

At His return, Jesus the Messiah shall comfort Israel. His people will receive a beautiful head-dress instead of ashes and the oil of gladness instead of mourning and the garment of praise instead of a faint spirit. You may recall that among the ancient peoples of the Mideast, ashes sprinkled over the head was a sign of mourning. God promises that instead of ashes upon the heads of His people, there will be a tiara. The oil of gladness is emblematic of that which refreshes and cheers.[2] To demonstrate this point, consider Psalm 45:7.

you have loved righteousness and hated wickedness.

Therefore God, your God, has anointed you

with the oil of gladness beyond your companions.

In that day, God will clothe His people with a garment of praise instead of a faint spirit. God will then replace the hurt with the remedy. Where was once injury, there shall be health.

What I would have you see is that if the Messiah is pledged to do this for His ancient people Israel, who today are wandering blindly and in ignorance, how much more shall we who now bear the burden of faith and testimony in the heat of the day benefit? One commentator makes the perceptive notation concerning the particular strophe which states that they may be called oaks of righteousness, the planting of the Lord. He writes that “Righteousness … is the righteousness which gives them status and acceptance before God. Because they are the planting of the Lord, their place and character is entirely due to divine action.”[3] Isn’t that our precise situation now? The righteousness which is given us in Christ is that which gives us status and acceptance before the Father. Our position is entirely due to His mercy and grace. We have nothing of which we may boast. Indeed, all this is in order that God may be glorified.

This becomes so evident as we read the opening words of the encyclical which we have received as Paul’s Letter to the Ephesians. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love he predestined us for adoption through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved. In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, which he lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight making known to us the mystery of his will, according to his purpose, which he set forth in Christ as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth.

In him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will, so that we who were the first to hope in Christ might be to the praise of his glory. In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory

[Ephesians 1:3-14].

What God has already done for us, what He shall yet do for us, He is also promised to do for His ancient people as they turn to Him in faith. God always keeps His promises and we have nothing less than a glorious tomorrow to anticipate. This, also, is the message of Christmas. Note this truth: God’s grace extends throughout all eternity.

Israel in God’s Future Plan (Isaiah 61:8, 9) — Again, citing Motyer, “The Lord has promised an abundant recompense for His people, but it is not because ‘they have had difficulty enough and it is about time something went right for them.’ It arises from the justice to which the Lord is devoted. In bringing this relief, the year of favour and the day of vengeance, the Lord acts with total justice and in the interests of His justice. His salvation is just as is His vengeance.”[4]

God is even now gathering a people for His Name. They are being assembled from every nation and tribe and language and race. They hold in common the salvation of the Lord because they worship Christ the Lord. Thus, the people of God are those who are redeemed through faith in Jesus the Son of God.

There is a glorious picture which John has painted with words in the Apocalypse. After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, and crying out with a loud voice, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb” [Revelation 7:9, 10]!

Already, we are declared righteous in Christ the Lord before the throne of the Father. There is a day coming when we shall be not only declared righteous, but we shall be righteous. This is that day when we will be like Him [see 1 John 3:2]. Changed into His likeness, what a wonderful thought. However, for the moment, we who are the redeemed of the Lord are responsible to be righteous in the manner in which we live.

Why make the effort to live holy lives? It is because our Father is holy, and we seek to honour Him in all things. Why struggle against the downward pull of sin? It is because we know that we are the light of the world and the watching world determines the reality of His power by watching our actions. Why resist the temptation to surrender to our own base desires? Because we are children of the True and Living God. We have been redeemed by the Christ who came and who is coming again. Amen.

The Joy of Christmas (Isaiah 61:10, 11) — As the Christ surveys what is coming, He identifies so closely with His people that He speaks as if with their voice. We who are redeemed are saved to the glory of the Lord. Thus, our Lord declares His joy in saving many. At His return, there shall be a time of great rejoicing.

Have you ever wondered what will happen among the redeemed of the Lord when they are removed from this wicked earth? Throughout the Tribulation period, God will judge this wicked world. We who are the redeemed of the Lord, saved during this Age of Grace, are called His Bride. At His coming to receive us to Himself, the Bride of Christ will be united with the heavenly Bridegroom. This period when the saved are presented before heaven by the Saviour is spoken of as the Marriage Supper of the Lamb [Revelation 19:9]. This is a time of great joy as God is glorified among His holy people.

Christ shall be glorified in His saints [2 Thessalonians 1:10]. Even now, He is glorified as those who are saved reach out to bring yet others to faith in the Risen Christ [cf. 2 Corinthians 9:11-14]. It is as God reveals His mercy among us who deserved judgement that He is glorified. It is as Christ reveals His grace among us who have nothing of our own merit by which we may boast that He is glorified.

Cornelia was a Roman matron, the daughter of Scipio Africanus Major. She was the wife of Tiberius Sempronius Gracchus and mother of Roman statesmen, the Gracchi. Cornelia refused to remarry after her husband’s death, devoting herself to her children, whom she educated well and inspired with a sense of civic duty and a desire for glory. When a wealthy patrician woman spoke of her jewels, Cornelia pointed to her two sons, saying, “These are my jewels!”

That is a noble sentiment, and I should hope that every mother would speak just as highly of her children. Nevertheless, that is the attitude of Christ toward His people. Were we to ask the Saviour what is His glory, He would point to us who are saved and He would say, “These, these who are redeemed, these are my glory.”

Have you ever wondered what it will be as you stand before the great Bema of Christ to receive the rewards of this life? Perhaps you imagine that you are a miserable failure and that Christ shall rebuke you. Is that what you imagine? Listen to the Apostle.

He begins with an affirmation of rich confidence. We are always of good courage. With that introduction, He speaks of the reason for His great confidence. We know that while we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord, for we walk by faith, not by sight. Yes, we are of good courage, and we would rather be away from the body and at home with the Lord. So whether we are at home or away, we make it our aim to please him. For we must all appear before the judgement seat of Christ, so that each one may receive what is due for what he has done in the body, whether good or evil [2 Corinthians 5:6-10].

I find no hint of terror in these words. Perhaps we preachers have misconstrued what God shall do when we stand before that Judgement Seat. First of all, realise that the redeemed are not to be judged as to whether they are saved or not. That judgement is past. When we put our faith in Christ, we received freedom, for all our sin has already been judged in Christ as He presented Himself as a sacrifice in our place. We who are saved shall never again face the possibility of judgement for our own wicked deeds, for Christ Himself has taken our judgement together with all our evil deeds upon Himself.

What, then, is this Judgement Seat of Christ? What is this great Bema before which every Christian must stand. A bema was the stand before which winning athletes stood to receive their victory crowns following the Olympian contests. The purpose was not to expose their foibles and failings, but rather the purpose was to recognise their achievements. Similarly, Christ has no desire to expose our weaknesses. Instead, His purpose is to reveal the perfection of His work in our lives. Listen to the Apostle again.

According to the grace of God given to me, like a skilled master builder I laid a foundation, and someone else is building upon it. Let each one take care how he builds upon it. For no one can lay a foundation other than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. Now if anyone builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw— each one’s work will become manifest, for the Day will disclose it, because it will be revealed by fire, and the fire will test what sort of work each one has done. If the work that anyone has built on the foundation survives, he will receive a reward. If anyone’s work is burned up, he will suffer loss, though he himself will be saved, but only as through fire.

Do you not know that you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in you?

[1 Corinthians 3:10-16]

The testing to which we shall be subjected is not to demonstrate our flaws. The wood, the hay and the straw are all burned away by the fire. What remains is the gold, the silver, and the precious stones. In other words, all that is of this world is removed. All that is of my own feeble efforts is forever consigned to burning. All that remains after standing before His great Judgement Seat is that which glorifies Him.

Even now, God is at work in your life, child of God. At His return, the beauty of the work which He has performed will be revealed and all heaven will marvel at the grace and power of God displayed in your life. This is the purpose of His coming to earth the first time as a child—He sought to prepare for Himself a people for His glory. We are now clothed with garments of salvation instead of the filthy rags of human effort. We are covered with a robe of righteousness instead of being exposed as we once were—clothed with rags, filthy with the unrighteousness which then characterised us. God has already arranged that each of His children shall stand complete before Him. This demonstration of His salvation is the glory of the Lord—Christ’s glory is His people, His Church. This is why we celebrate Christmas. This is why we rejoice in the birth of the Saviour.

One final word remains to you who somehow yet stand outside the grace of God. This is the Day of the Lord’s favour. Even now, Christ the Lord stands ready to set your at liberty, to clothe you with His salvation and to cover you with His righteousness. Perhaps you will remember my earlier citation of a passage from Paul’s second letter to the Church of God in Corinth.

If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

Working together with him, then, we appeal to you not to receive the grace of God in vain. For he says,

“In a favourable time I listened to you,

and in a day of salvation I have helped you.”

Behold, now is the favourable time; behold, now is the day of salvation

[2 Corinthians 5:17-6:2].

This marvellous transformation takes place whenever an individual is saved. To be saved is to be forgiven for all sin, born from above and into the Family of God, receiving rich gifts from His gracious hand. Those who are saved receive God’s immeasurable gifts of peace, joy, hope and love. We who are the redeemed receive access into the presence of God, knowing that He hears us as we seek His ear and knowing that we are forever free to serve Him in His power. He gives to us His Holy Spirit who now lives in each redeemed individual. These are marvellous gifts, indeed. This is how you may receive those gifts and how you can be saved, today.

If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved. For the Scripture says, “Everyone who believes in him will not be put to shame.” For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; the same Lord is Lord of all, bestowing his riches on all who call on him. For “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved” [Romans 10:9-13].

As those who have received the grace of God, each of us in this church invites you to come to faith. Join us, join the whole of the redeemed of God, join life as you come to Christ, believing that He died because of your sin and believing that He has raised to life so that you may be declared righteous and free of all guilt. Come and receive life today. Amen.

One commentator makes a perceptive notation concerning the strophe which states that they may be called oaks of righteousness, the planting of the Lord. He states that “Righteousness … is the righteousness which gives them status and acceptance before God. Because they are the planting of the Lord, their place and character is entirely due to divine action.”[5] Isn’t that our precise situation now? The righteousness which is given us in Christ is that which gives us status and acceptance before the Father. Our position is entirely due to His mercy and grace. We have nothing of which we may boast. Indeed, all this is in order that God may be glorified.

Again, citing Motyer, “The Lord has promised an abundant recompense for His people, but it is not because ‘they have had difficulty enough and it is about time something went right for them.’ It arises from the justice to which the Lord is devoted. In bringing this relief, the year of favour and the day of vengeance, the Lord acts with total justice and in the interests of His justice. His salvation is just as is His vengeance.”[6]

Cornelia was a Roman matron, the daughter of Scipio Africanus Major. She was the wife of Tiberius Sempronius Gracchus and mother of Roman statesmen, the Gracchi. Cornelia refused to remarry after her husband’s death, devoting herself to her children, whom she educated well and inspired with a sense of civic duty and a desire for glory. When a wealthy patrician woman spoke of her jewels, Cornelia pointed to her two sons, saying, “These are my jewels!”

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[1] Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version Ó 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

[2] W. E. Vine, Isaiah (Zondervan, Grand Rapids, MI 1971) 200

[3] J. Alec Motyer, The Prophecy of Isaiah: An Introduction & Commentary (InterVarsity, Downers Grove, IL 1993) 501

[4] Motyer, op. cit., 502

[5] J. Alec Motyer, The Prophecy of Isaiah: An Introduction & Commentary (InterVarsity, Downers Grove, IL 1993) 501

[6] Motyer, op. cit., 502