The Lord proclaims freedom

Isaiah 61:1-3, 10-11 The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me to preach good news to the afflicted. He sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release for those who are bound, ²to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor and the day of vengeance for our God, to comfort all who mourn, ³to provide for those who mourn in Zion, to give them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of joy instead of mourning, a cloak of praise instead of a faint spirit, so that they will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the Lord to display his beauty.

¹⁰I will rejoice greatly in the Lord. My soul will celebrate because of my God, for he has clothed me in garments of salvation. With a robe of righteousness he covered me, like a bridegroom who wears a beautiful headdress like a priest, and like a bride who adorns herself with her jewelry.

¹¹For as the earth produces its growth, and as a garden causes what has been sown to sprout up, so God the Lord will cause righteousness and praise to sprout up in the presence of all the nations.

Rejoice always. Pray without ceasing. In everything give thanks. For this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18) Amen.

There was no spark of life in him. There was no flicker of joy in his heart. Life had become a mere existence. He didn’t want to hold on anymore.

He had lost track of the number of sleepless nights he had spent on his “mattress” – if you could call it that. The days spent in darkness and isolation had begun to run together long ago. Thoughts of escape no longer occupied his mind.

He had lost hope.

It’s the kind of situation they make movies about, but few of us have ever experienced. Being held prisoner in the worst of conditions by an enemy who has no intention of releasing us is something that few have experienced – physically that is.

Spiritually – that’s a different matter. Each one of us was born into this world under those conditions. Our enemy, the devil, had full control and no intention of releasing his prize.

These are the feelings of a prisoner of a brutal war. He is a physical prisoner. His physical imprisonment eventually leads to feelings of being emotionally trapped.

These feelings are similar to others who are emotional prisoners. This emotional imprisonment  makes them feel physically trapped.

The woman who feels imprisoned by her depression and can’t get out of bed.

The man who feels trapped by his anxiety and refuses to go anywhere or do anything.

The mother who is shackled by the guilt she feels at the abuse she endured as a child.

The husband who is held captive by his addiction and is terrified of the moment it comes to light and destroys his life.

The aged saint confined to the hospital bed or nursing home or hospice care center, just waiting to die.

They feel a very real guilt. A deep depression. A genuine imprisonment. A life without hope. Escape is out of the question.

It all seems so dark. So depressing. So helpless.

This is the way many in our world feel. The way many of you feel. The way many of the Israelites must have felt living in Babylonian captivity.

The Lord speaks through his prophet Isaiah that freedom is coming. Not in a valiant attempt at self-improvement. Freedom comes in a person.

“The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me to preach good news to the afflicted.” Who is speaking in these verses? Whom has the Lord anointed to preach good news? Isaiah identified this speaker earlier. He is the Root of Jesse, the Suffering Servant, the Wonderful Counselor and the Prince of Peace. The speaker is the Messiah, Jesus the Christ.

When Jesus attended the synagogue in Nazareth, he received the scroll of the prophet Isaiah and read this passage. After he had finished reading, He rolled up the scroll and sat down. Then Jesus said, “Today, this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing” (Luke 4:21).

Jesus identifies himself as the fulfillment of these prophecies.

There is so much good news packed into these verses. We’re going to unpack each verse line by line.

“The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me.” The Trinity works in unity to bring that good news to the afflicted. The Holy Spirit comes from the Father who has appointed his Son to be the Messiah and then anointed him with the Spirit. The good news of the Christ is meant for you.

You know you haven’t been the most attentive spouse. Work has consumed you. Your children have consumed your spouse. Fractures have been happening for a while in your marriage. Now the big “D” word has been spoken. You are broken-hearted.

You are caught in a web of guilt. The more you try to move to free yourself, the more stuck you get. You are bound in your guilt.

You are imprisoned by your past sins. You are controlled by the mistakes of others. You cannot escape the consequences of your failures.

You spoke to your mom regularly. She was your confidant. Your cheerleader. But cancer has robbed you of your best friend. You are mourning.

The Lord has anointed his Servant, his Son Jesus, to preach God’s mind and tell you something you would never have guessed on your own. Jesus preaches freedom. Not political freedom. Not financial freedom. It can be emotional and physical freedom. But these may follow the true freedom Christ preaches. This is the message he preaches: “He sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release for those who are bound, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor and the day of vengeance for our God, to comfort all who mourn.”

Jesus preaches freedom. But he did more than preach. On the cross, he put himself in our dark dungeon and released us into the light. Jesus didn’t just talk about freedom; he set us free.

You are fully and eternally free from all punishment for your sins. Jesus signed your pardon papers with his blood. He placed his seal on the papers when he broke the seal on his grave. He broke you free from the shackles of your sins. He released you from the guilt that imprisoned you. He gave you hope as you face the very real terror of your inevitable death. You have been set free from all the fear, sin, guilt and death because Jesus crushed the power of sin, death and Satan once had over you.

You are no longer a prisoner, but a perfect, and perfectly free, child of God.

The darkness of death that haunts the dreams of all people no longer haunts you. You have been set free from that fear because through faith in Jesus you will rise to life just as he did.

Jesus came into our world on a rescue mission, and he now proclaims, “Mission accomplished.” You have been set free. Now you can live in peace and hope. Now you can live forever with your Savior.

Now he bandages your broken heart with the soothing message of your forgiveness.

He releases captives bound in the hopeless dungeon of your depravity.

He breaks the bondage of Satan’s controlling influence over your life.

He brings resurrection comfort when you mourn the death of your Christian loved ones.

He proclaims the Year of the Lord’s favor and the day of vengeance for our God. This is referring to the Year of Jubilee in ancient Israel. Every 50 years in the Year of Jubilee, slaves were set free, debts were forgiven, and purchased property reverted to the original owners. The former slaves, debtors and those who had sold their family farms were excited on the Year of Jubilee. There will be even greater excitement for us who were once spiritual slaves and debtors to the sin that enslaved us and held us down.

In contrast to such good news, God threatens a “day of vengeance.” On Judgment Day, there will be those at Jesus’ right hand to whom he will say, “‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world” (Matthew 25:34). There will also be those on his left to whom Jesus will say, “Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire, which is prepared for the Devil and his angels” (Matthew 25:41).

Then the Lord sets up a series of contrasts that bring joy to your hurting heart. “To provide for those who mourn in Zion, to give them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of joy instead of mourning, a cloak of praise instead of a faint spirit, so that they will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the Lord to display his beauty.” One the one side, we will experience mourning, grieving, ashes and despair. On the other side, we will find comfort, a crown of beauty, the oil of gladness and a garment of praise.

Believers are the Lord’s “planting,” like a grove of oaks in a dry land. Strong and sturdy, they display for all the world to see that the Lord graciously bestows rich blessings on his people. He covers them completely with the beautiful clothing of Christ’s righteousness. He grants them salvation from the captivity of sin and the darkness of death.

Now the acorns of the mighty oaks sprout and grow. God produces the fruits of faith, righteous actions and words of praise in his holy people. They spring up right in front of the whole world so that everyone can see what great things God has done, and lead people everywhere to praise him for his gifts of righteousness and salvation through Jesus.

People notice when your mourning is replaced with joy. When your despair is replaced with confidence. When your struggling marriage is being worked on. When your separation from your family is bound together with love. When your spouse is dying and you anticipate that death with resurrection faith in the Lord. When you feel the weight and pain of your own sin or the ugliness of people’s sins against you, but you remember the healing Jesus brings to hurting hearts. When people call you a hypocrite and you reply that you don’t have to be righteous in their eyes because you’re already righteous in the eyes of God.

The Lord knows when tears stream down your cheeks and when your life appears colorless and drab because of your sins. He provides the alternative – the good news of his love in Christ.

You have permission to feel broken. It’s OK to feel like you are trapped in your heart or imprisoned by your emotions. You don’t have to fake happiness.

You find real comfort for real hurt in in the very real Jesus.

Jesus comes to preach good news when you’re down; good news to comfort you when you mourn; good news to bind your emotional wounds; good news to display your beauty when you feel ugly. All this good news comes through the preaching and the real rescuing of Jesus releasing you from your sins. He comes to free you. Amen.

May the God of peace himself sanctify you completely, and may your whole spirit, soul, and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. The one who calls you is faithful, and he will do it. (1 Thessalonians 5:23-24) Amen.