Sermon Tone Analysis
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Isaiah 61:1-11
Proclaim the Joyous News
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]
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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.”
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