Tuesday, February 20, 2024

Isaiah 61: Jesus release the captives

 In Isaiah 61 we read:

1 The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me,
Because the Lord anointed me
To bring good news to the humble;
He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,
To proclaim release to captives
And freedom to prisoners;
2 To proclaim the favorable year of the Lord
And the day of vengeance of our God;
To comfort all who mourn,
3 To grant those who mourn in Zion,
Giving them a garland instead of ashes,
The oil of gladness instead of mourning,
The cloak of praise instead of a disheartened spirit.
So they will be called oaks of righteousness,
The planting of the Lord, that He may be glorified.

The Spirit of the Lord is upon who? Isahiah? Some other prophted? Someone who is in first person in Isaiah text such as the suffering servant from Chapter 42?
Jesus read this passage in Luke 4 and applied to himself. Thus, Jesus read that Isaiah 61 is connected to many other chapters about the suffering servant.
I understand that the "brokenherated", "captives¨, "prisioners" are applied to all who believe in Jesus and find in Him freedom.

4 Then they will rebuild the ancient ruins,
They will raise up the former devastations;
And they will repair the ruined cities,
The desolations of many generations.
5 Strangers will stand and pasture your flocks,
And foreigners will be your farmers and your vinedressers.

Based on the verses above, we could understand that "captives" or "prisoners" refers to Judah in Babylonian captivity, but we know problems (sins) of those who returned from Babylon to Zion; so do "oaks of righteousness" in verse 3 may be applied to them? As a Christian I understand that we may be called "oaks of righteousness" not because based on our righteousness but base on Jesus's.

6 But you will be called the priests of the Lord;
You will be spoken of as ministers of our God.
You will eat the wealth of nations,
And you will boast in their riches.

Those former captives will be called "priests of the Lord" which is really a great honor.

Although Christians may see themselves as righteous due to Jesus; the Lord expect that they behave accordingly as people of the Lord:

8 For I, the Lord, love justice,
I hate robbery in the burnt offering;
And I will faithfully give them their reward,
And make an everlasting covenant with them.
9 Then their offspring will be known among the nations,
And their descendants in the midst of the peoples.
All who see them will recognize them
Because they are the offspring whom the Lord has blessed.

As a Christian, I may read Jesus saying the following verses:

10 I will rejoice greatly in the Lord,
My soul will be joyful in my God;
For He has clothed me with garments of salvation,
He has wrapped me with a robe of righteousness,
As a groom puts on a turban,
And as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.
11 For as the earth produces its sprouts,
And as a garden causes the things sown in it to spring up,
So the Lord God will cause righteousness and praise
To spring up before all the nations.

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