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Read Isaiah 61
Isaiah is bringing the ultimate encouragement here, an amazing reminder, That God will save the world through the Messiah, Jesus Christ. “The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me (Jesus), Because the Lord has anointed me, to bring good news to the afflicted; He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to captives, and freedom to prisoners.”
1. There is true freedom found in God, Through Jesus Christ
This scripture speaks for itself! Yes, God has spent years bringing consequence and judgment upon His people to correct thme and bring them out of unrighteousness, BUT God wants to save His people from their depravity. He is offering them freedom from their shackles. Jesus is speaking through Isaiah here as begins in Isaiah 61:1-3.
Jesus references this scripture in Luke 4:16-20
And He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up; and as was His custom, He entered the synagogue on the Sabbath, and stood up to read. 17 And the [e]book of the prophet Isaiah was handed to Him. And He opened the [f]book and found the place where it was written,
18 “The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, Because He anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor. He has sent Me to proclaim release to the captives, And recovery of sight to the blind, To set free those who are oppressed, 19 To proclaim the favorable year of the Lord.”
20 And He closed the [g]book, gave it back to the attendant and sat down; and the eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on Him. 21 And He began to say to them, “Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your [h]hearing.”
Jesus is literally proclaiming that Isaiah 61 is about Him, the Messiah, the saviour of the world. He has come to the earth to live with humanity in order to save humanity from their sin—to give them hope, to give them freedom found in Him.
2. There is no situation, no sin, no shame that God cannot redeem
Isaiah 61 shows us that God redeems. He is a loving God which is why He judges, corrects, cleans His people and He also brings them into His presence, He forgives their sin, and He redeems them. He literally sees worth in humanity, He makes them into priests, He gives them a testimony, He works through them and has His glory shine through them. God is a redeemer. This, is why He came to earth, to save us, redeem us and cloth us in salvation and righteousness.
“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 [e]foreigners will be your farmers and your vinedressers. 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 in their [f]riches you will boast. 7 Instead of your shame you will have a double portion, And instead of humiliation they will shout for joy over their portion. Therefore they will possess a double portion in their land, Everlasting joy will be theirs. 8 For I, the Lord, love justice, I hate robbery [g]in the burnt offering; And I will faithfully give them their recompense And make an everlasting covenant with them.”
Isaiah 61:4-8
God is literally saying that He will bear the robbery in their burnt offering. He will replace it with an everlasting agreement. God will rebuild the ancient ruins that were caused by His people’s sin. Instead of shame from these consequences God will send a double portion of blessing upon them. This is the gospel! God redeems His people even though they are sinners, and they deserve the consequences of their sin.
“Now the God of peace, who brought up from the dead the great Shepherd of the sheep [g]through the blood of the eternal covenant, even Jesus our Lord, 21 equip you in every good thing to do His will, working in us that which is pleasing in His sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be the glory forever and ever. Amen.” –Hebrews 13:20-21
3. God Makes His people more righteous, God saves, We get Joy from knowing this.
“I will rejoice greatly in the Lord, My soul will exult in my God; For He has clothed me with garments of salvation, He has wrapped me with a robe of righteousness, As a bridegroom decks himself with a garland, And as a bride adorns herself with her jewels. 11 For as the earth brings forth its sprouts, And as a garden causes the things sown in it to spring up, So the Lord [h]God will cause righteousness and praise To spring up before all the nations.”
Isaiah 61:10-11
There are few metaphors happening here: God is planting in His people, righteousness and salvation. God also puts a robe or salvation on His people. God literally GIFTS His people with Salvation—with something that He has made. Salvation comes through God, Jesus Christ, it comes through the work He has done on the cross and in His resurrection. God then plants seeds for future generations to know who He is, to know what a relationship with God is like. God causes them to have joy and praise for all of the nations.
“There is a sense in which we can never make something grow. No one can get inside of a seed and “turn on” the genetic component that makes the seed spring forth, and bud. The blessing of life and growth is miraculously within the seed. But we can provide the right environment for the seed to bud, grow, and be fruitful. That’s also how we receive and flourish in God’s blessings. We can’t “make” or “manufacture” them. But we can put our hearts and minds in the right environments of faith, fellowship, and obedience, to see blessing grow and flourish.”
--Enduring Word Commentary
If you have chosen God, if you have confessed your faith in Jesus Christ and that He lived, Died, and lives again forever, then you are saved. You literally wear His garment of salvation on you. Go back to Him, celebrate your salvation, share it with others, be peace-filled and know that God is continuing to do a work in you. DO NOT WORRY ABOUT TOMORROW—GOD HAS IT—FOR ETERNITY
“Look at the birds of the sky, that they do not sow, nor reap, nor gather crops into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more important than they? 27 And which of you by worrying can add a single [s]day to his [t]life’s span? 28 And why are you worried about clothing? Notice how the lilies of the field grow; they do not labor nor do they spin thread for cloth, 29 yet I say to you that not even Solomon in all his glory clothed himself like one of these. 30 But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the furnace, will He not much more clothe you? You of little faith!”
--Matthew 6:26-30
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