The Mission and Result of, and the Response to the Anointed One

Invite you to take your Bibles and turn with me to the Old

Testament book of Isaiah. We're going to be looking at

chapter 61 today, Isaiah 61. We invite you to listen and read

along as I read to you Isaiah chapter 61.

Isaiah 61 · chapter mention

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 broken hearted.

To proclaim liberty to the captives in the opening of the

prison, to those who are bound. To proclaim the year of the

Lord's favor in the day of vengeance.

To our God. To comfort all who mourn.

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.

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.

Strangers, strangers shall stand and tend your flocks.

Foreigners shall be your plowman and vine dressers, but you shall

be called the priests of the Lord.

They shall speak of you as the ministers.

For of our God. You shall eat the wealth of of

the nations, and in their glory you shall boast.

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, for I, the Lord, love justice.

I hate robbery and wrong. I will faithfully give them

their recompense, and I will make an everlasting covenant

with them. Their offspring shall be known

among the nations, and their descendants in the midst of of

the peoples. All who see them shall

acknowledge them that they are an offspring the Lord has

blessed. I will greatly rejoice in the

Lord. My soul shall exalt 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.

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. Let's pray together.

Father, as we come to this portion of Your Word today, we

pray that You would open and prepare the hearts and the minds

and the eyes of the people here today.

That You would be at work through the Holy Spirit, taking

Your Word and convicting us where conviction is needed,

equipping us, encouraging us, helping us more and more to love

You and desire to serve You. We ask You to do this because we

ask it in Jesus name, Amen. Some of you may be familiar with

the name Nicholas Winton. He's been called the British

Schindler and he was responsible for the Kinder transports in

Czechoslovakia. During World War 2/19/38, the

Nazi occupation loomed over Czechoslovakia.

Thousands of Jewish families were trapped.

Parents knew that their children were in grave danger, but they

were powerless to get them out of the country.

The borders were closing. The bureaucracy was of no help.

Money was scarce. There was no way to get safe

passage for the children. Nicholas Winton was a young

British stockbroker. He was on his way for a skiing

skiing holiday and he stopped in Prague.

He saw what was happening and he cancelled his vacation.

He felt like he needed to help. He he felt like he needed to

bring help to the helpless. He bargained with the British

government to let the children come to England.

Then he raised the needed funds to make it happen and he raised

up and found foster families to house the children.

He organized the transportation. He arranged 8 trains and a

number of ferries to carry 669 children across Europe to

London. Became known as the Kinder

transports, German for child transports for 50 years.

Only those who were involved in the rescue knew what Winton had

done. No one else knew.

Winton lived a quiet life. But in 1988, Winton was invited

to attend the taping of the BBC television show That's Life.

The producers had arranged for a number of the children that

Winton had rescued to be reunited with him.

In the room were children who now were adults who had become

members of Parliament, a pediatric geneticist, A poet, A

filmmaker, a Canadian television journalist, even a chief rabbi

in Jerusalem. Lives that had been transformed

by the work of Winton. Winton met not only some of

those that he had rescued, but they brought their children and

even their grandchildren that he got to meet.

Winton was knighted by Queen Elizabeth in 2003 and then he

was awarded the Czech Republic's highest award, the Order of the

White Lion, in 2014. He died in 2015 at the age of

106. Winton did what the parents of

those kids were powerless to do. He rescued these helpless

children, 669 of them. He helped ones who were

incapable of helping themselves. And as a result, the lives of

the children were transformed, radically changed, impacting

generations. The impact of those who had

been, who who were rescued, had and are having is dramatic.

This is also the story of Isaiah chapter 61.

Isaiah 61 · chapter mention

We're told of an Anointed 1 who would come and he would come to

bring help to those who were incapable of helping themselves.

He would come to rescue and redeem a people who were

perishing and as a result, they would be transformed.

The impact would be dramatic. So let's take a few moments and

look and see a few things from Isaiah 61 today.

Let's look and see the mission of this Anointed One.

And then let's look and see the result of the Anointed One's

work. And then let's consider what the

proper response to the anointed 1 is.

And we'll finish by asking, So what?

What difference does this make for us today?

The first, the mission of the Anointed 1 we see as we look at

the first 3 verses, we can ask the question of who is this

Anointed one? As we've reminded ourselves on a

number of occasions as we've been going throughout the book

of Isaiah, especially in the last chapters of Isaiah.

When we when we read Isaiah, we understand that there are

multiple timelines that are being addressed.

First, there is the timeline of the days when Isaiah ministered

and the days when the people were in exile in Babylon.

Second, often in Isaiah there are times when it points forward

to when the coming Messiah arrived, when Jesus was

incarnated and lived and did his redemptive ministry.

And third, sometimes it even points us further to when Jesus

will come back the second time at the end of time.

Isaiah 61 has elements of all three timelines.

So when we think about these opening verses and who they are

talking about, we can think first of all about the fact that

this is speaking about King Cyrus, the king of Persia, who

conquered the Babylonians in five in the five 30s BC.

He sent Israel back home from exile.

He was, in a sense, the Lord's anointed.

The Lord had raised him up to rescue God's people.

But I also would tell you that this passage is 1 of pastors

will tell you that this is one of our favorite passages because

it's quoted in the New Testament.

The New Testament actually interprets this passage.

In fact, verses 1 and 2 are quoted in Luke chapter 4 by

Luke 4 · chapter mention

Jesus himself. Jesus was in Nazareth at the

time. It was a Sabbath, and so he was

in the synagogue and he stood up and he read Isaiah 61 verses one

and two. And then he proceeded to tell

everybody that was there that these verses were pointing to

him, that these verses were fulfilled in him.

That's how Jesus announced his, the beginning of his public

ministry. So we know with absolute

certainty that these verses are not just about Cyrus.

Ultimately, they are talking about Jesus, the Lord's greater,

the Lord's ultimate anointed one.

And what does this passage tell us that this anointed one will

do? Well, you can see that from the

beginning, the end of verse one through verse 3.

Notice what we're told. He brings good news to the poor.

He binds up the broken hearted, or to put it another way, he

brings comfort and peace to the hurting.

He proclaims liberty to the captives.

He opens the prisons to those that are bound.

He proclaims the year of the Lord's favor with echoing

language from the year of Jubilee when all debts were

cancelled. He proclaims the day of

vengeance of God, the day of judgment and justice.

He comforts those who mourn. He grants those who mourn a

beautiful headdress instead of ashes.

He gives oil of gladness instead of mourning.

He gives a garment of praise instead of of a faint spirit.

He enables his people to be called oaks of righteousness,

the planting of the Lord. And it's all so that the Lord

would be glorified in worship. This is this is what the

anointed one does. This is what Jesus does.

He brings us the good news of the gospel.

He brings us comfort and peace. He proclaims and he achieves

liberty for those who are captive and bound spiritually.

He proclaims the year of Jubilee when our debts are cancelled

once and for all with the Lord. He comforts those that mourn,

and he clothes them with gladness and praise.

This is the Lord's anointed, this is Jesus.

And then notice the result of the anointed one's work.

You can see that in verses 4 through 10.

The result of the anointed one's work is nothing less than

transformation, both for the people of God in exile and for

God's people after Jesus. If you look at verse 4, it's the

language of restoration, of rebuilding.

God's people then would would go back to the promised land and

they would start to restore it and and rebuild cities and the

city of Zion, Jerusalem, the temple.

But we also know this is also pointing us forward, that when

Jesus returns again, we will live in an even greater and

ultimate city that is described for us in the Book of

Revelation, a kind of Garden of Eden, restored and rebuilt and

made even better. Verse 5 talks about how the

nations would come. It's not speaking here in verse

5 so much about foreign nations being subservient to Israel.

But I think what is being said here is that the the reality

that the nations will ultimately be welcomed into the Kingdom of

God, that when Jesus returns and the new heavens and the new

earth are established, it'll be full of people from every

nation, every tribe, every language.

And in verse 6 we see that the people of God will one day

fulfill their intended purposes. It will serve as the priests and

the ministers of our God, the spokesman of the Lord,

proclaiming God's truth and grace, speaking the good news of

the gospel to others, calling people to faith in the Lord.

And what may be some of the greatest news that comes to us

as a result of the work of the anointed One we read in verse 7.

Shame will be replaced with joy, everlasting joy.

A day is coming when shame will be no more, we are told.

Here, as we come to verse 8, we have the reminder that a

covenant with the Lord and His people is established, an

everlasting covenant relationship between the Lord

and His people that is secured by the work of the Anointed 1.

So much so that in verse 9 we read that generations of the

offspring will be known and acknowledged and blessed.

And as we come to verse 10, we see the Anointed One, His work.

What will it accomplish? What's the result of it?

He'll clothe His people with garments of salvation, and

through His work people will have robes of righteousness

wrapped around them. The Lord will dress His people

as a bride and groom at the wedding.

This is the result of the work of the Anointed One.

This is the work of the Lord Jesus Christ, transformation of

His people as He establishes His truth, as He establishes the

gospel, and people are transformed as a result of it.

Well, what's the response to the Anointed?

1 What does Isaiah tell us is that is the proper response to

this anointed one, who He is and what he accomplishes and the

result of his work. You can see it in verses 10 and

11. Beginning of verse 10.

I will greatly rejoice in the Lord.

My soul will exalt in my God. The end of verse 11.

The Lord God will cause righteousness and praise to

sprout up before all nations. You see the proper and

appropriate and necessary response to the Anointed 1 and

His work. It is praise and worship of the

Lord. The Lord sent His anointed one

to people who were living, who were walking in sin, who were

helpless to help themselves, who were powerless to redeem

themselves, who were heading for destruction and death.

And the Anointed 1 is sent and comes and saves the helpless and

the powerless. He does what we were incapable

of doing ourselves. And because He does that, we are

transformed. Our lives are transformed

forever. And the proper response and

necessary response is for us to praise and to worship and exalt

the Lord, to rejoice, to glorify, to enjoy the Lord

forever. Well, what do we do with all of

this? What are some takeaways for us

today? Three things.

First of all, is this. Brothers and sisters in Christ,

listen to this. Your shame is replaced with joy.

Your shame is replaced with joy. That's what verse 7 says.

Instead of your shame, there shall be a double portion.

Instead of dishonor, they shall rejoice in their lot.

Therefore, in the land they shall possess a double portion.

They shall have everlasting joy. One definition of shame is a

painful feeling of humiliation or distress caused by the

consciousness of wrong or foolish behaviour.

And listen to what God's Word says today for you.

If you are in Christ Jesus, there is no more shame.

It's appropriate for those who are in Christ to feel sadness

and to feel grief and conviction and even anger because of their

sin, to feel weary because of their sin and because of the

fallenness and the brokenness of this world, But not shame.

Shame was removed at the cross. It was removed by the payment of

our debt through the death of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Romans 3 says there is now no condemnation for those in

Christ. Or we could also say there is

now no shame for those in Christ.

The Lord is not ashamed of you. Rather, the Bible tells us the

Lord rejoices over His people with gladness.

The Lord exalts over his people with loud singing.

The Bible tells us so we should be filled with joy, everlasting

joy. Grieve over your sin, Be sad

about it, be angry about it, fight and lean against it.

But for those who are in Christ Jesus, there is no condemnation,

there is no shame because of the finished, imperfect work of

Jesus on the cross and through His resurrection.

Secondly, as God's people, we are to have great hope in the

restoration, the transformation that is coming, right?

We looked and saw in verses 4 through 9 the language of

restoration, that that that language was meant to give God's

people who were in exile in Babylon great hope.

It was a reminder that a day was coming when the people would see

the restoration, the rebuilding, the transformation of Jerusalem

and the Temple. A day when they would not just

hear about it, but a day when they would experience it and

participate in it. But there is an even greater day

of restoration that is coming for God's people, a greater and

ultimate restoration and transformation when all things

that are fallen and broken and sad will come untrue.

When Jesus returns again, when he brings the new heavens and

the new earth, we will experience a true and eternal

restoration. A restoration of sinful and

broken bodies and minds. Restoration of souls that are

heavy laden and weary. Restoration of a creation that

has been affected by the fall. A restoration of the places

where we live that are filled with evil and wickedness and

injustice. That is day.

That day is coming for God's people even as we live in the

wilderness right now. It's certain that it's coming.

That restoration is coming. It is certain because it's been

promised by the Lord Himself. And not only is he incapable of

not breaking His word, he's the one who promises to bring it to

pass. So this glorious truth of the

coming restoration, it is meant to fill God's people now with

hope. We hope not for the things of

this world. We hope for the coming of the

Lord Jesus Christ. Let me just ask you, if you're

someone who struggles to live a life that is characterized and

full of hope, you need to ask yourself, what are you?

What are you taking in? What are you feeding your heart

and your mind? What?

What is influencing you? The Daily News?

Social media? Political leaders?

Hurtful family members. Instead, we are to listen to the

Word of God and what it tells us about what is true, about what

is true now for those who are in Christ and what is true in the

future about the restoration, the transformation that is

coming when Jesus returns. That's as we fill our hearts and

our minds with that true biblical hope.

That hope will give us strength to persevere in the midst of

life's challenges, difficulties, trials, temptations that we face

now while we wait. Thirdly and lastly, we need to

live like who we are. We need to live like who we are.

What does Isaiah tell us about who we are?

What does he say about who we are in light of the Anointed 1

and his work for us and in US? Well, just go back and look at

the verses. Go back and look at Isaiah 61.

What? Who are we?

We are the poor who have been given good news.

We are the broken hearted who have been bound up.

We are the captives who have heard and experienced liberty.

We are those bound up who have had our prisons opened.

We are the one who's who. We are those who mourn, who've

heard the year of Jubilee and have been comforted.

We're the ones who have been given a beautiful headdress in

the places of our ashes. We are the ones who have been

given oil of gladness in place of our mourning.

We are the ones who have been given garments of praise in the

place of faint spirits. We are the ones who are called

oaks of righteousness. We are the ones who are to be

the priests and ministers of our God.

We are the ones who are in an everlasting covenant

relationship with the Lord God Almighty.

We are the ones who have been clothed in garments of

salvation, who have been wrapped in robes of righteousness.

This is who we are in Christ Jesus.

This is the objective reality, the objective truth of who we

are in Christ Jesus. It doesn't matter whether we

feel like it or not. The Lord Himself has declared

that this is who we are, this is our status, so we should live

like who we are. In moments of temptation to give

in to sin, we need to remember who we are.

That we would in that moment. That we would reason with

ourselves that the sin that is tempting us does not align with

who we are. That our anointed one, the Lord

Jesus, gave so much to change our status from slaves to sons

and daughters. That should strengthen us and

motivate us to say no to our sin, to turn away from it and

turn back to the Lord. So in moments of temptation,

come back to Isaiah 61 other places in the Scripture who tell

us objectively who we are in Christ.

Be motivated and empowered to lean to fight against your sin.

Shame is replaced with joy. Be full of hope in the

restoration that is coming. Live like who we are.

Let's pray together. Father, such wonderful things

from Your Word, Glorious truths and promises.

Help us to cling to them as we meditate upon your Word.

Father, we pray that you would not only deepen our love for

you, but that you would deepen our motivation and ability to

live for you in every way, to glorify You in every way, to

honor you in our lives in every way, to live like the new

creations that we are in Christ. We ask you to do this because we

ask it in Jesus name, Amen.