Isaiah 61:1-9

61 The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me,

   because the Lord has anointed me

   to proclaim good news to the poor.

He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,

   to proclaim freedom for the captives

   and release from darkness for the prisoners,

2 to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor

   and the day of vengeance of our God,

to comfort all who mourn,

3     and provide for those who grieve in Zion—

to bestow on them a crown of beauty

   instead of ashes,

the oil of joy

   instead of mourning,

and a garment of praise

   instead of a spirit of despair.

They will be called oaks of righteousness,

   a planting of the Lord

   for the display of his splendor.

4 They will rebuild the ancient ruins

   and restore the places long devastated;

they will renew the ruined cities

   that have been devastated for generations.

5 Strangers will shepherd your flocks;

   foreigners will work your fields and vineyards.

6 And you will be called priests of the Lord,

   you will be named ministers of our God.

You will feed on the wealth of nations,

   and in their riches you will boast.

7 Instead of your shame

   you will receive a double portion,

and instead of disgrace

   you will rejoice in your inheritance.

And so you will inherit a double portion in your land,

   and everlasting joy will be yours.

8 “For I, the Lord, love justice;

   I hate robbery and wrongdoing.

In my faithfulness I will reward my people

   and make an everlasting covenant with them.

9 Their descendants will be known among the nations

   and their offspring among the peoples.

All who see them will acknowledge

   that they are a people the Lord has blessed.”

Points of Interest:

Jesus Reference of the Day—proclaiming God’s news to the poor

In Luke’s telling of Jesus’ story (Luke 4:16-21), the first seven lines of this passage are Jesus’ first public words (Jesus stops at ‘year of the Lord’s favor,’ cutting out the reference to vengeance). Jesus takes this passage as a mission statement or a job description. In the most direct connection yet between Jesus and Isaiah’s Servant figure, Jesus says, ‘Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing,’ or, in other words, ‘This passage is about me.’

Theology of the Day—Anointing of the Spirit

A handful of times now, Isaiah has talked about God’s Spirit being ‘on’ someone, and here it’s paired with being ‘anointed’ by the Lord. Anointing is sort of like having a police badge or lieutenant’s bars pinned on. In an anointing ceremony, someone in authority like a priest or prophet would pour oil over a person’s head to authorize them to fill an office or take on a task. Israel and Judah’s priests, prophets, and kings were inaugurated by anointing.

Here, the Servant is being anointed, not by a priest but by God, and not with oil but with God’s very essence–the spirit of God. The Servant is being commissioned directly by God, and not just commissioned but empowered. Whereas oil merely has symbolic value, God’s Spirit invests the Servant with ability to match his authority. The Hebrew word for spirit is related to ‘breath.’ Perhaps because of this there’s a particularly strong association between the Spirit’s anointing and an ability to speak words from God; thus in 59:21 we have the Spirit–God’s breath, as it were–putting God’s words on the lips of the Servant (I think) and his heirs.

Here, the anointing of the Spirit indeed gives the Servant the ability to speak encouraging words to the poor. The Spirit goes beyond that, also giving the Servant the ability to make those words come true. I suppose that shouldn’t be a surprise. The Spirit’s presence makes the Servant’s words like God’s: there’s little difference between the word and the act.

Image of the Day—Trading ashes for a beautiful crown

Ashes were in Isaiah’s time and place part of the normal equipment for mourning, and we all know that a tiara is part of the normal equipment for feeling like a princess–or a prince, I suppose. The Servant has the power to completely turn around someone’s mood, look, and entire experience of life. They go into the dressing room wearing ashes, grief, and despair; they come out looking beautiful, joyful, and full of praise.

Question of the Day—Who are these God-blessed people?

Who exactly is the object of all of the Servant’s positive attention? In verse 3 they’re called ‘Zion,’ and in verse 8, ‘my people’; in verse 1, though, they’re ‘the poor,’ ‘the brokenhearted,’ and people who have otherwise had a hard lot in life.

Up until now, Isaiah has used Zion and ‘my people’ to refer either to the original 12 tribes of Israel or to former strangers who have adopted into a renewed and enlarged Zion through their trust in God and right treatment of others. Is one of those groups somehow the same thing as ‘the poor,’ or are we getting a new definition of God’s people here? And if God is redefining God’s people as ‘the poor,’ does it include anyone who happens to be poor, or is it only people who are poor or abused for God’s or righteousness’ sake?

I wonder if the common thread is that God likes the underdog. God originally struck up a friendship with Abraham and Sarah when they were just an elderly, childless couple who didn’t seem to be going much of anywhere in life (51:1-2). The Israelites caught God’s eye when they were enslaved in Egypt and bullied by Assyria (52:4). God decides to make Jerusalem the home base for New Zion because it’s a ruined and empty city (49:19). The eunuchs and foreigners get God’s attention when the original people of Israel seem to have a leg up because they are more familiar with God’s house (56:3). And, of course, the Servant is God’s favorite at least partly because he didn’t seem all that special (53:2).

Time after time, God has lent a little weight to whomever is at a disadvantage. God reminds me of a coach watching a youth soccer scrimmage. When the score gets too lopsided, God joins in on the side of the losing team.

I wonder if that’s why humility (57:15) is so important to God. Humility is like the minimum entrance requirement to underdog status. Maybe your circumstances aren’t entirely dire; but if you have a tendency to be overlooked, or even if you bear yourself meekly, it at leasts gains you a second look from God.

Taking it Home:

For you: I like that God has such exorbitantly good news and hope for those down and out. However, I tend to read this passage and think ‘oh God cares for those people. That’s nice’.  I never stop to think, that maybe I’m one of them. Or at least not that far from them? Reread the first several verses of the passage.  Picture that God is talking to you when he says there is freedom, joy, beauty, comfort, and GOOD NEWS.  Take some time to listen to what God’s good news is for you today.