Study on: Isaiah 61 part 1

Verses 1-3 (New American Standard Version)

"The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me,
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;
To proclaim the favorable year of the LORD
And the day of vengeance of our God;
To comfort all who mourn,
To grant those who mourn in Zion,
Giving them a garland instead of ashes,
The oil of gladness instead of mourning,
The mantle of praise instead of a spirit of fainting
So they will be called oaks of righteousness,
The planting of the LORD, that He may be glorified."

This chapter really hit me today, and I would love to open a discussion on it. Its so rich that I would like to take it slow and just take it a few verses at a time.
Verse 1:
Jesus quoted this verse to describe his mission, and if we are called to be like Christ I think its important to make this our mission as well. If we read this passage in context of it being our mission as well then I think we can walk away with a real sense of direction. The Spirit of the Lord is upon us, and he has anointed us to bring good news to the afflicted. In the Hebrew the word "afflicted" also means "humble" "meek" or "poor". "Humble" can mean our state of life, but it can also mean a state of character. When I think of being anointed to bring good news to the "humble", I feel like I have a better idea of who will most likely receive our message of love. "He mocks proud mockers, but gives grace to the humble" Proverbs 3:34. Next we are called to bind up and heal the brokenhearted. Its a lot easier for me to help someone who is suffering in a material way, but in my case its seems harder to help someone to heal inside. Robyn (from the Nest, duhhh) has been an example of someone who is deeply committed to the state of people's hearts, and I am really inspired by that commitment. I hope we can all have the courage to open the doors of the literal prisons and open the eyes of our brothers and sisters who are hurting inside.

Verse 2:
Its really interesting that Jesus only reads half of the phrase in this verse. He proclaims the year of the Lord's favor, which is the Jubilee (Leviticus 25), then he closes the book before the part that proclaims the day of the Lord's vengeance. I believe he did this because until the day He returns we are in the year of the Lord's favor, the year of the Lord's grace. This is the way we are to live, to practice Jubilee, to love one another. Its also interesting that the "acceptable time of grace" is a year, and the the time of "vengeance" is only a day. We all have this deep longing for justice, a "hunger and thirst for righteousness", and God promises us here that there will be a day when he will repay, when the afflicted will be avenged.

Verse 3:
Instead of being burdened by death, he clothes us in beauty. He's not clothing us in something beautiful, but in beauty it self. Isn't this how we feel when we come to know Christ? Clothed in beauty? I want to help others feel the same way, to be a co-worker with Christ in his garden, planting trees of righteousness. I really believe that its possible for us to do these things. We talk about being like Jesus all the time, but I think we are a little scared to actually apply verses like these to ourselves. I have faith that we can, and Jesus expressed an amazing faith in us. He believed we would do even greater things than these. I'm not sure what that looks like, but I'd love to start here with these verses.

So that He may be glorified in us, just as He was glorified in Jesus.