Scripture reading: John 1:6-28.

Sermon text: Isaiah 61.

Guest devotional: Morgan Alexander, LWMS student.

In January 1945, Soviet troops advancing west against the Nazis uncovered a horrific site in Auschwitz, Poland. The Soviets found 7,000 prisoners remaining in the first concentration camp they encountered. Americans later liberated the survivors of other concentrations camps in their race east toward Berlin. A member of the church my father pastored had served in a U.S. Army unit who liberated one of the camps. I’ll never forget seeing pictures of the concentration camp survivors as a child. The looks of joy and relief on the survivors’ faces never left those who had found them and rescued them from the Nazis.

Most people know that at least 6 million Jews died in the Nazi concentration camps. The experiences of the Jews in World War II Europe led directly to the founding of Israel in 1948. After a period of over 2,000 years, the Jews could claim a home in the land promised to Jacob’s descendants. In spite of the furious attacks of the Arabs on the fledgling nation in 1948, Israel survived as a nation and continues to inhabit part of the land promised to them through their ancestor Abraham.

The Jews had returned to this land before. In 539 B.C., Persian king Cyrus the Great allowed the Jews and other exiled nations to return to their ancestral lands from Babylon. Today’s passage in Isaiah testifies to the elation of the Jews as they returned home after 70 years of banishment.

However, the return from exile didn’t quite match the rejoicing prophesied by Isaiah in chapter 61. It seems, at first glance, that Isaiah exaggerated the outpouring of blessings by God on the returnees — unless Isaiah had looked beyond the return from exile to another, more glorious restoration of God’s people. When we examine the passage, we see parallels between Isaiah’s descriptions of God’s blessings to Israel and the blessings Jesus will bring at His return to earth. In this last sermon from Isaiah this Advent, let’s look at Isaiah’s words and see the salvation of God for His people, both now and in the eternity to come.

The joys found in chapter 61 revolve around the identity of the speaker in verse 1. We find several clues to His identity in this verse, most of which return to a prophecy from chapter 11 of this book.

First, the speaker says, “The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me.”  This phrase tells us that the speaker would experience the presence of the Holy Spirit in His life. This reminds us of the descent of the Holy Spirit on Israel’s kings, especially King David at his anointing. This brings us to the next phrase: “Because the LORD has anointed me.” This refers to the ritual celebrated by both Israel’s priests and kings as they assumed the duties of their offices. Then, Isaiah used the verb “proclaim” twice in this passage. In other words, the speaker would receive the Spirit of the LORD; He would receive the anointing of God as a priest and king; and He would proclaim good news to the people of the land.

The word for “anointing” in Hebrew is the same word we translate as “Messiah.” Isaiah had prophesied that the “Spirit of the LORD” would rest on the Messiah in chapter 11 (11:2). The speaker of this chapter, then, would fulfill both the role of the king, on whom the Holy Spirit descended, and that of the priests, who were anointed at their ordination into their ministry.

What will the Messiah accomplish for the people?

“He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted;” He will bring relief to those broken by life, those who have suffered the worst heartbreaks of life. He will also “proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound;” He would release the prisoners from the bonds that chained them. The Messiah would also “proclaim the year of the LORD’s favor, and the day of vengeance of our God.” This reminds us of the year of Jubilee in the Mosaic Law, a time when debts were forgiven, slaves were freed, and lands returns to their ancestral families. It also reminds us of the Day of the Lord, a time when God would bring His promised justice to the earth.

The Messiah would “comfort all who mourn.” The people who would need Isaiah’s prophecy would need comfort when they lost their nation and city to the Babylonians in 586 B.C.

The Messiah would go even further: He would “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.” In ancient times, people would throw ashes on their heads when they mourned. The Messiah would replace the ashes on their heads with a “beautiful headdress.” The King James Version translated this phrase simply as “beauty,” but recent English versions recognize that the Hebrew word that refers to”beauty” is also used to describe the High Priest’s head piece in Exodus 39. The Messiah would replace the ashes of mourning with a head piece that would outrank the beautiful head piece of the high priestly regalia.

Lastly, the Messiah will bless the people “that they may be called oaks of righteousness, the planting of the LORD, that he may be glorified.” This phrase reminds us of Psalm 1, where the Psalmist said that those who follow the Law of the LORD will resemble trees “planted by streams of water;” these trees always yield fruit and never wither. The people who listen to the Messiah will joyfully follow the Law of God, the Law broken by the people of Isaiah’s time.

Once they receive these blessings, the people will receive God’s blessings in their land.  “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.” The people would restore the damage of centuries of warfare. Over the course of human history, practically every century has recorded a war in the area of modern Israel.

The people will then receive God’s blessings at the hands of the foreigners who had oppressed them. The pagans who had enslaved God’s people will now serve them: “Strangers shall stand and tend your flocks; foreigners shall be your plowmen and vinedressers.” While the pagans serve God’s people, they will finally fulfill their role as a kingdom of priests: “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.“ God had chosen Israel as a “kingdom of priests” and “a holy nation” at Mount Sinai; now, they will finally fill that role as God intended.

God will also restore the people’s standing before Him. No longer will they find themselves humiliated, but “instead of your shame there shall be a double portion; instead of dishonor they shall rejoice in their lot; therefore in their land they shall possess a double portion; they shall have everlasting joy.” The shame of sin and punishment will fade before the “double portion” of God’s blessings, leading to joy that will never end.

Why will God restore His people? Why will He send the Messiah to proclaim such blessings on those who had broken His covenant and shamed His name before the pagans? God punished the people because He loves “justice,” but once He gives His people their “recompense,” He “will make an everlasting covenant with them.” This covenant would not rely on the people’s faithfulness to God, but on His faithfulness to them.

All of these blessings will lead to great rejoicing. “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.” This reminds us of the verse above that refers to the replacement of ashes with the beautiful head piece of the high priest. “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.” All of these blessings will cause all people on the earth to rejoice at God’s restoration of His fallen people.

Has anyone fulfilled the role of the Messiah? Certainly, no one managed to bring all these blessings to the Jews in the sixth century B.C. Jerusalem never recovered its glory from the pre-exilic period. Even today, the scars of centuries of war remain in Israel.

When we look ahead in history, we find that only one person in history comes close to fulfilling these prophecies. At His baptism, the Holy Spirit descended on Jesus Christ, the Son of God and Descendant of David. The author of Hebrews writes in chapter 6 that Jesus became a priest “after the order of Melchizedek,” the ancient king of Jerusalem who served as both priest and king in Abraham’s time. The author of Hebrews also tells us that Jesus gave us a “better covenant” (7:22), in fulfillment of Isaiah’s promise of an everlasting covenant.

When Jesus came to earth, He lived with the poor, even blessing them in the Beatitudes of Matthew 5. Jesus also blessed those who mourned in the Beatitudes, promising they would receive comfort.

Jesus also proclaimed liberty to the captives of the worst enemy of humanity; His death brought our liberty from sin, and His resurrection freed us from death. When we confess Him as Lord, believing in His resurrection, the ashes of sin fall from us to be replaced with the beauty of the robes of praise and righteousness. Like Jesus Himself, we receive the Holy Spirit at our spiritual birth. The Holy Spirit then guides us in life, giving us encouragement and comfort. Our confession of Jesus as Lord also brings us into the family of God. We become part of His people, bringing us into a covenant with the God who unconditionally loves us and remains faithful to us in life.

Do we have a role to play in these blessings?

I believe our role begins in verse 9. Isaiah had said that for those in the covenant, “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.” We must live as if we’ve received God’s blessings, regardless of our circumstances in life. Contrary to popular belief, material prosperity does not imply God’s blessings in life. Instead, people will know we belong to God’s people through our participation in worship; through our sense of peace in times of trial; and through our testimony by praising God when He blesses us.

We must remember that Advent does more than prepare us for celebrating Jesus’ first coming to earth. We must remember that Advent also reminds us that Jesus will return, and that we should work today to bring His blessings to a world who needs liberty from sin and freedom from the fear of death. The world needs Jesus’ liberty; the world needs His comfort, and His proclamation of freedom to those bound by sin. The world needs to hear the gospel, the good news, of Jesus Christ. The gospel alone will bring freedom and restoration to a world desperately needing both.