1 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 brokenhearted,
to proclaim liberty to the captives,
and the opening of the prison to those who are bound;
2 to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor,
and the day of vengeance of our God;
to comfort all who mourn;
3 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. – Isaiah 61:1-3 ESV
How was God going to fulfill the many blessings He promised to bring upon the people of Israel? What would be the mechanism by which He restored them to favor and returned the city of Jerusalem to its former glorious state? Chapter 61 opens up with the voice of God’s servant proclaiming His role in God’s future redemptive plan concerning the nation of Israel. And there should be a familiar ring to His words. Jesus Himself would one day read from this very same passage of Isaiah and apply its words to His own life and ministry.
Not long after His temptation by Satan in the wilderness, Jesus returned to His hometown of Nazareth, where He attended the synagogue on the Sabbath.
And he 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 favor.” – Luke 4:16-19 ESV
And to ensure that the people in the synagogue that day understood the significance of what Jesus had just read, He stated, “Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing” (Luke 4:21 ESV).
Jesus was boldly and unapologetically claiming to be the servant of God prophesied about by Isaiah. Hundreds of years after the prophet penned the words found in Isaiah 61, Jesus appeared on the scene, declaring Himself to be the one who would accomplish all the things Isaiah describes in these opening verses of this chapter.
When Jesus told the audience in the synagogue that day that He was the fulfillment of the prophecy of Isaiah, they “all spoke well of him and marveled at the gracious words that were coming from his mouth” (Luke 4:21 ESV). But in just a matter of minutes, their marvel would turn to rage. Luke records that “they rose up and drove him out of the town and brought him to the brow of the hill on which their town was built so that they could throw him down the cliff” (Luke 4:29 ESV). What happened? How did their apparent delight in Jesus turn to uncontrolled rage in such a short period of time?
The answer is found in the exchange that took place between Jesus and His fellow Jews that day in the synagogue. To the people of Nazareth, Jesus was nothing more than Joseph, the carpenter’s son. They had no reason to suspect Jesus of being anyone significant. And His claim to be the fulfillment of Isaiah’s prophecy must have caught them off guard. They would have found this assertion hard to believe. And Jesus knew what was going through their minds. He was fully aware that they wanted proof of who He claimed to be. If He truly was the servant of God who was going to bring salvation to the people of God, they needed evidence.
Jesus was fully aware of their doubts. He even told them what they were thinking.
“You will undoubtedly quote me this proverb: ‘Physician, heal yourself’—meaning, ‘Do miracles here in your hometown like those you did in Capernaum.’ But I tell you the truth, no prophet is accepted in his own hometown.” – Luke 4:23-24 NLT
The wanted evidence. But what kind of evidence? If Jesus truly were the long-awaited Messiah, they would have been wanting to see miracles that exhibited His power. Why? Because they were looking for a conquering king, who would lead them out of bondage to the Romans. They had a particular kind of salvation in mind, and it had nothing to do with their spiritual deliverance from captivity to sin. And, using two well-known stories related to the prophets, Elijah and Elisha, Jesus predicted that the salvation of God would first go to the Gentiles because the Jews would reject it. This infuriated His Jewish audience and caused them to turn on Him in anger.
But what they failed to understand was the dual nature of Jesus’ advent. In their minds, the Messiah would come only once, and when He did, He would bring them victory over their physical enemies. He would establish His kingdom on earth and return the Jews to the former glory they had enjoyed under King David’s reign. But even the Old Testament prophets failed to recognize that Jesus, the Messiah, would come to earth twice. First, at His incarnation and then, thousands of years later, at His second coming. And, in between, the message of the gospel would be taken to the Gentiles because the Jews would reject Jesus’ call to repentance and their need to place their faith in Him as their sole means of achieving a right standing before God.
That scene of the Jews attempting to throw Jesus off of the cliff foreshadows their eventual rage against Him that resulted in His crucifixion. They would demand His death and rejoice to see His life snuffed out by the Romans. All because they missed the two-part nature of His coming. But the apostle Paul states that their rejection of Him at His first advent was not a deal-breaker with God. He had foreseen it. He had even orchestrated it. Because He has a future plan in store for the people of Israel that will be fulfilled at the Messiah’s second coming.
Did God’s people stumble and fall beyond recovery? Of course not! They were disobedient, so God made salvation available to the Gentiles. But he wanted his own people to become jealous and claim it for themselves. Now if the Gentiles were enriched because the people of Israel turned down God’s offer of salvation, think how much greater a blessing the world will share when they finally accept it. – Romans 11:11-12 NLT
And Paul is emphatic in his belief that God is not done with the people of Israel.
For since their rejection meant that God offered salvation to the rest of the world, their acceptance will be even more wonderful. – Romans 11:15 NLT
The Jews rejected Jesus as their Messiah because He didn’t meet their expectations. He came offering salvation from sin, but they refused to see themselves as sinners in need of a Savior. After all, they had the sacrificial system to provide them with atonement. And, because they were the descendants of Abraham, they saw their standing with God as more than adequate. But Paul, as a Jew, knew that they were in need of the same salvation that God was offering to the Gentiles. TheirJewishness was not going to be enough to save them from the wrath of God. Their standing as God’s chosen people would not prevent God from bringing His judgment against their sin and rebellion against Him. But Paul states that there is a day coming when God will save Israel in spite of Israel.
Some of the people of Israel have hard hearts, but this will last only until the full number of Gentiles comes to Christ. And so all Israel will be saved. As the Scriptures say,
“The one who rescues will come from Jerusalem,
and he will turn Israel away from ungodliness.
And this is my covenant with them,
that I will take away their sins.” – Romans 11:25-27 NLT
Which brings us back to Isaiah 61. The Messiah, God’s servant, will come a second time, and when He does, He will restore God’s people. And the servant explains that the once rebellious descendants of Abraham will become truly righteous.
In their righteousness, they will be like great oaks
that the Lord has planted for his own glory. – Isaiah 61:3 NLT
This will be the work of God, accomplished by the servant of God. Jesus will return a second time, and on this occasion, it will be as the conquering King, not the suffering servant. God is not done with Israel. His promises to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob will be fulfilled. And God will accomplish all that He has promised through His servant, the Messiah. And the apostle Paul reminds his readers of God’s unwavering faithfulness and His commitment to do all that He has promised to do – through His Son.
Many of the people of Israel are now enemies of the Good News, and this benefits you Gentiles. Yet they are still the people he loves because he chose their ancestors Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. For God’s gifts and his call can never be withdrawn. – Romans 11:28-29 NLT
English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
New Living Translation (NLT) Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
The Message (MSG) Copyright © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002 by Eugene H. Peterson