Isaiah 61 Study Notes: Good News for the Afflicted
The Spirit-anointed one brings good news, freedom, the LORD’s season of favor, and comfort to mourners, words Jesus read in Nazareth and declared fulfilled. God’s people rebuild the ruins, are called priests, receive an everlasting covenant, and rejoice that God has clothed them in salvation and righteousness.
General
What do the exchanges in 61:3 have in common?
Answer: Signs of grief are replaced by signs of joy
The anointed one comes to console those who mourn in Zion by giving them a beautiful crown in place of ashes, the anointing oil of gladness in place of mourning, and praise as a garment in place of despair (61:3). Ashes on the head were a sign of mourning, and each exchange turns grief into gladness. As a result they become sturdy trees of righteousness, planted by the LORD for His glory. Jesus pronounced a blessing on those who mourn, promising they would be comforted (Matthew 5:4); He told His disciples their grief would turn to joy (John 16:20); and a psalmist praises God for turning mourning into dancing (Psalm 30:11).
- Isaiah 61:3 (BSB)“to console the mourners in Zion—to give them a crown of beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, and a garment of praise for a spirit of despair. So they will be called oaks of righteousness, the planting of the LORD, that He may be glorified.”The mourners in Zion receive beauty, joy, and praise in place of ashes, mourning, and despair.
- Matthew 5:4 (BSB)“Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.”Jesus promises that those who mourn will be comforted.
- John 16:20 (BSB)“Truly, truly, I tell you, you will weep and wail while the world rejoices. You will grieve, but your grief will turn to joy.”Jesus tells His disciples that their grief will turn to joy.
- Psalm 30:11 (BSB)“You turned my mourning into dancing; You peeled off my sackcloth and clothed me with joy,”The psalmist praises God for turning mourning into dancing and replacing sackcloth with joy.
Theological
What pattern unites the exchanges listed in 61:3?
Answer: Signs of grief are replaced by signs of joy
Each exchange in 61:3 replaces a token of grief with a token of gladness: a beautiful crown for ashes, the anointing oil of gladness for mourning, and praise as a garment for despair. The mourners become sturdy trees of righteousness, the LORD’s planting for His glory. The same reversal runs through Jesus’ blessing on those who mourn (Matthew 5:4), His promise that His disciples’ grief would turn to joy (John 16:20), and the psalmist’s testimony of mourning turned into dancing (Psalm 30:11).
- Isaiah 61:3 (BSB)“to console the mourners in Zion—to give them a crown of beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, and a garment of praise for a spirit of despair. So they will be called oaks of righteousness, the planting of the LORD, that He may be glorified.”The mourners in Zion receive beauty, joy, and praise in place of ashes, mourning, and despair.
- Matthew 5:4 (BSB)“Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.”Jesus promises that those who mourn will be comforted.
- John 16:20 (BSB)“Truly, truly, I tell you, you will weep and wail while the world rejoices. You will grieve, but your grief will turn to joy.”Jesus tells His disciples that their grief will turn to joy.
- Psalm 30:11 (BSB)“You turned my mourning into dancing; You peeled off my sackcloth and clothed me with joy,”The psalmist praises God for turning mourning into dancing and replacing sackcloth with joy.
General
What reason does the speaker give in 61:10 for rejoicing in the LORD?
Answer: God has dressed the speaker in salvation and righteousness
In 61:10 the speaker is full of joy in the LORD because God has dressed the speaker in salvation and covered the speaker with righteousness as a robe, the way a bridegroom puts on a priestly headdress or a bride puts on her jewels. The speaker did not make these clothes; God put them on. That is the opposite of 59:6, where the people’s cobweb works could never be turned into clothing to cover them. As the earth makes plants grow, the Sovereign LORD is to make righteousness and praise spring up before every nation (61:11). This picture points toward the gospel, in which God gives His righteousness to sinners: God made the sinless Christ sin for our sake so that we might become God’s righteousness in Him (2 Corinthians 5:21), and Paul wanted to be found in Christ with the righteousness that comes from God through faith, not his own (Philippians 3:9). In Zechariah 3:4 God likewise removes a priest’s filthy clothes and dresses him in fine robes as a sign that his iniquity is taken away.
- Isaiah 61:10-11 (BSB)“I will rejoice greatly in the LORD, my soul will exult in my God; for He has clothed me with garments of salvation and wrapped me in a robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom wears a priestly headdress, as a bride adorns herself with her jewels. For as the earth brings forth its growth, and as a garden enables seed to spring up, so the Lord GOD will cause righteousness and praise to spring up before all the nations.”The speaker rejoices because God has clothed the speaker in salvation and righteousness.
- 2 Corinthians 5:21 (BSB)“God made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God.”God made the sinless Christ to be sin for us so that we become God’s righteousness in Him.
- Philippians 3:9 (BSB)“and be found in Him, not having my own righteousness from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God on the basis of faith.”Paul seeks to be found in Christ with a righteousness from God through faith, not his own.
- Zechariah 3:4 (BSB)“So the angel said to those standing before him, “Take off his filthy clothes!” Then he said to Joshua, “See, I have removed your iniquity, and I will clothe you with splendid robes.””God removes a priest’s filthy clothes and dresses him in fine robes as a sign that his iniquity is removed.
Theological
On what ground does the speaker of 61:10 exult in God?
Answer: God has dressed the speaker in salvation and righteousness
The joy of 61:10 rests on what God has done: He has dressed the speaker in salvation and covered the speaker with righteousness as a robe, like a bridegroom’s priestly headdress or a bride’s jewels, and He will make righteousness and praise spring up before every nation (61:11). The clothing is received, not woven, in contrast with the cobweb works of 59:6 that could never cover sin. The image points toward the righteousness God gives in Christ: the sinless One was made sin for our sake so that we might become God’s righteousness in Him (2 Corinthians 5:21), a righteousness from God through faith rather than one’s own (Philippians 3:9), pictured already in the reclothing of the priest whose iniquity was removed (Zechariah 3:4).
- Isaiah 61:10-11 (BSB)“I will rejoice greatly in the LORD, my soul will exult in my God; for He has clothed me with garments of salvation and wrapped me in a robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom wears a priestly headdress, as a bride adorns herself with her jewels. For as the earth brings forth its growth, and as a garden enables seed to spring up, so the Lord GOD will cause righteousness and praise to spring up before all the nations.”The speaker rejoices because God has clothed the speaker in salvation and righteousness.
- 2 Corinthians 5:21 (BSB)“God made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God.”God made the sinless Christ to be sin for us so that we become God’s righteousness in Him.
- Philippians 3:9 (BSB)“and be found in Him, not having my own righteousness from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God on the basis of faith.”Paul seeks to be found in Christ with a righteousness from God through faith, not his own.
- Zechariah 3:4 (BSB)“So the angel said to those standing before him, “Take off his filthy clothes!” Then he said to Joshua, “See, I have removed your iniquity, and I will clothe you with splendid robes.””God removes a priest’s filthy clothes and dresses him in fine robes as a sign that his iniquity is removed.
General
When Jesus read from 61:1-2 in the synagogue at Nazareth, what did He say about it?
Answer: That it was being fulfilled that very day as they heard it
The speaker in 61:1 says that God’s Spirit is on Him since the LORD has set Him apart for God’s service by anointing Him: to bring the poor good news, to tend the brokenhearted, to announce freedom for captives, and to proclaim the LORD’s season of favor (61:1-2). Luke records that Jesus stood up in the synagogue at Nazareth, was handed Isaiah’s scroll, read this passage, sat down, and said that this Scripture was fulfilled that day as they listened (Luke 4:16-21). Peter later preached that God anointed Jesus with the Spirit and power (Acts 10:38), and Jesus pointed the disciples of John the Baptist to His works, including the poor hearing good news (Matthew 11:5). The anointed speaker of Isaiah 61 is Jesus the Messiah.
- Isaiah 61:1-2 (BSB)“The Spirit of the Lord GOD is on Me, because the LORD has anointed Me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent Me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and freedom to the prisoners, to proclaim the year of the LORD’s favor and the day of our God’s vengeance, to comfort all who mourn,”The anointed speaker announces His Spirit-empowered mission of good news, freedom, and comfort.
- Luke 4:18-19 (BSB)““The Spirit of the Lord is on Me, because He has anointed Me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent Me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to release the oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.””Jesus reads this passage aloud in the synagogue at Nazareth.
- Luke 4:20-21 (BSB)“Then He rolled up the scroll, returned it to the attendant, and sat down. The eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fixed on Him, and He began by saying, “Today this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.””Jesus sits down and declares that this Scripture is fulfilled that day in their hearing.
- Acts 10:38 (BSB)“how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power, and how Jesus went around doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, because God was with Him.”Peter preaches that God anointed Jesus with the Holy Spirit and power.
- Matthew 11:5 (BSB)“The blind receive sight, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is preached to the poor.”Jesus points to His works, including good news preached to the poor, as the signs of His identity.
Theological
What claim did Jesus make after reading 61:1-2 at Nazareth (Luke 4:16-21)?
Answer: That it was being fulfilled that very day as they heard it
The anointed speaker of 61:1-2, empowered by God’s Spirit to bring the poor good news, tend the brokenhearted, release captives, and proclaim the LORD’s season of favor, is identified by Jesus Himself. After reading the passage in the Nazareth synagogue, He declared that it was fulfilled that day as they listened (Luke 4:16-21). Peter likewise preached that God anointed Jesus with the Spirit and power (Acts 10:38), and Jesus answered John’s disciples by pointing to His works, including the poor hearing good news (Matthew 11:5). The anointed Messiah of Isaiah 61 is Christ.
- Isaiah 61:1-2 (BSB)“The Spirit of the Lord GOD is on Me, because the LORD has anointed Me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent Me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and freedom to the prisoners, to proclaim the year of the LORD’s favor and the day of our God’s vengeance, to comfort all who mourn,”The anointed speaker announces His Spirit-empowered mission of good news, freedom, and comfort.
- Luke 4:18-19 (BSB)““The Spirit of the Lord is on Me, because He has anointed Me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent Me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to release the oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.””Jesus reads this passage aloud in the synagogue at Nazareth.
- Luke 4:20-21 (BSB)“Then He rolled up the scroll, returned it to the attendant, and sat down. The eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fixed on Him, and He began by saying, “Today this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.””Jesus sits down and declares that this Scripture is fulfilled that day in their hearing.
- Acts 10:38 (BSB)“how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power, and how Jesus went around doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, because God was with Him.”Peter preaches that God anointed Jesus with the Holy Spirit and power.
- Matthew 11:5 (BSB)“The blind receive sight, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is preached to the poor.”Jesus points to His works, including good news preached to the poor, as the signs of His identity.
General
While foreigners tend the flocks and fields, what will God’s people be called in 61:6?
Answer: Priests and ministers serving the LORD
The restored people will rebuild ancient ruins and renew cities devastated for generations (61:4). Strangers and foreigners will tend their flocks and fields (61:5), while they themselves will serve as the LORD’s priests and God’s ministers (61:6). Instead of shame they receive a double share and lasting joy (61:7), because the LORD loves justice and in His faithfulness will bind Himself to them by a covenant that lasts forever (61:8), so that all who see their descendants will recognize them as people blessed by the LORD (61:9). God had called Israel to be a priestly kingdom (Exodus 19:6), and the New Testament says that believers in Christ are a royal priesthood (1 Peter 2:9) and that Christ has made His people priests serving God the Father (Revelation 1:6).
- Isaiah 61:5-6 (BSB)“Strangers will stand and feed your flocks, and foreigners will be your plowmen and vinedressers. But you will be called the priests of the LORD; they will speak of you as ministers of our God; you will feed on the wealth of nations, and you will boast in their riches.”While foreigners tend flocks and fields, God’s people are called priests and ministers.
- Isaiah 61:8-9 (BSB)“For I, the LORD, love justice; I hate robbery and iniquity; in My faithfulness I will give them their recompense and make an everlasting covenant with them. Their descendants will be known among the nations, and their offspring among the peoples. All who see them will acknowledge that they are a people the LORD has blessed.”The LORD, who loves justice, makes an everlasting covenant with His people and blesses their descendants.
- Exodus 19:6 (BSB)“And unto Me you shall be a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.’ These are the words that you are to speak to the Israelites.””At Sinai God called Israel to be a kingdom of priests.
- 1 Peter 2:9 (BSB)“But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God’s own possession, to proclaim the virtues of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light.”Peter calls believers in Christ a royal priesthood.
- Revelation 1:6 (BSB)“who has made us to be a kingdom, priests to His God and Father—to Him be the glory and power forever and ever! Amen.”Christ has made His people priests to God.
Theological
What title does 61:6 give God’s restored people?
Answer: Priests and ministers serving the LORD
In the restoration, ruins are rebuilt (61:4) and foreigners tend the flocks and fields (61:5), while God’s people serve as the LORD’s priests and God’s ministers (61:6). Shame gives way to a double share and lasting joy (61:7), grounded in the LORD’s love of justice and His faithfulness in binding Himself to them by a covenant that lasts forever (61:8), so that their descendants are recognized as people blessed by the LORD (61:9). The priestly vocation given at Sinai (Exodus 19:6) is applied in the New Testament to believers in Christ, a royal priesthood (1 Peter 2:9) whom Christ has made priests serving God the Father (Revelation 1:6).
- Isaiah 61:5-6 (BSB)“Strangers will stand and feed your flocks, and foreigners will be your plowmen and vinedressers. But you will be called the priests of the LORD; they will speak of you as ministers of our God; you will feed on the wealth of nations, and you will boast in their riches.”While foreigners tend flocks and fields, God’s people are called priests and ministers.
- Isaiah 61:8-9 (BSB)“For I, the LORD, love justice; I hate robbery and iniquity; in My faithfulness I will give them their recompense and make an everlasting covenant with them. Their descendants will be known among the nations, and their offspring among the peoples. All who see them will acknowledge that they are a people the LORD has blessed.”The LORD, who loves justice, makes an everlasting covenant with His people and blesses their descendants.
- Exodus 19:6 (BSB)“And unto Me you shall be a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.’ These are the words that you are to speak to the Israelites.””At Sinai God called Israel to be a kingdom of priests.
- 1 Peter 2:9 (BSB)“But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God’s own possession, to proclaim the virtues of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light.”Peter calls believers in Christ a royal priesthood.
- Revelation 1:6 (BSB)“who has made us to be a kingdom, priests to His God and Father—to Him be the glory and power forever and ever! Amen.”Christ has made His people priests to God.
General
True or False: When Jesus read Isaiah 61 in Luke 4, He stopped after the announcement of the LORD’s time of favor, before the line about God’s vengeance.
Answer: True
This is true. Isaiah 61:2 continues past the announcement of the LORD’s time of favor to proclaim the day of God’s vengeance and comfort for all who mourn. Luke’s account of Jesus’ reading ends at the Lord’s time of favor; then He closed the scroll, gave it back, and took His seat (Luke 4:18-20). Many interpreters see significance in this stopping point: Christ’s first coming announced and brought the time of God’s favor, while judgment awaits the day God has set, when He is to judge the world through the Man He appointed and raised from the dead (Acts 17:31).
- Isaiah 61:2 (BSB)“to proclaim the year of the LORD’s favor and the day of our God’s vengeance, to comfort all who mourn,”Isaiah’s sentence continues from the LORD’s favor to God’s vengeance and comfort for mourners.
- Luke 4:18-19 (BSB)““The Spirit of the Lord is on Me, because He has anointed Me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent Me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to release the oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.””Luke’s account of the reading ends with the Lord’s time of favor.
- Luke 4:20-21 (BSB)“Then He rolled up the scroll, returned it to the attendant, and sat down. The eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fixed on Him, and He began by saying, “Today this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.””Jesus then rolls up the scroll, sits down, and announces the fulfillment.
- Acts 17:31 (BSB)“For He has set a day when He will judge the world with justice by the Man He has appointed. He has given proof of this to everyone by raising Him from the dead.””God has set a day when He will judge the world by the Man He raised from the dead.
Theological
True or False: Luke’s account has Jesus end His reading at the Lord’s time of favor, without reading the clause about the day of vengeance.
Answer: True
This is true. Isaiah’s sentence runs on from the LORD’s favor to the day of God’s vengeance and the comfort of mourners (61:2), but Luke’s account ends the reading at the Lord’s favor, after which Jesus closed the scroll and sat down (Luke 4:18-20). Many interpreters see here the distinction between the first coming, which inaugurated the time of favor, and the judgment reserved for the day God has fixed, when He is to judge the world through the Man He appointed and raised from the dead (Acts 17:31).
- Isaiah 61:2 (BSB)“to proclaim the year of the LORD’s favor and the day of our God’s vengeance, to comfort all who mourn,”Isaiah’s sentence continues from the LORD’s favor to God’s vengeance and comfort for mourners.
- Luke 4:18-19 (BSB)““The Spirit of the Lord is on Me, because He has anointed Me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent Me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to release the oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.””Luke’s account of the reading ends with the Lord’s time of favor.
- Luke 4:20-21 (BSB)“Then He rolled up the scroll, returned it to the attendant, and sat down. The eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fixed on Him, and He began by saying, “Today this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.””Jesus then rolls up the scroll, sits down, and announces the fulfillment.
- Acts 17:31 (BSB)“For He has set a day when He will judge the world with justice by the Man He has appointed. He has given proof of this to everyone by raising Him from the dead.””God has set a day when He will judge the world by the Man He raised from the dead.