Comfort All Who Mourn

Isaiah 61:1-3

Today’s Scripture is from Isaiah. Isaiah can be divided into three parts depending on the contents and the period it was written. In terms of the period and background, Isaiah spans about 300 years of Judah’s history from the 8th century BC to at least the 6th century BC. (Isaiah ministered from 736 BC to 701 BC; Judah fell in 586 BC; and the exiles returned to Jerusalem in 538 BC.)

Today’s passage is located in the third part of Isaiah. It was when the people of Judah returned to a desolate Jerusalem after completing their time of exile in Babylon. Today’s passage contains God’s words given to them at this time.

The Israelites returned to Jerusalem after years of captivity, but the cities and the temple in Jerusalem were in complete ruin. The people were destitute, and injustice was rampant in society. God, however, spoke words of comfort and hope to these miserable and destitute people

Today’s text starts with the story of a man whom God anointed and sent:

“The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me, because the Lord has anointed me […].” (Isaiah 61:1a NIV)

In the Old Testament, two types of people were anointed: kings and priests. These two groups were servants and agents of God who did the work of God.

A prophet sees a scene. A man is being anointed by the Lord’s Spirit. With this anointing, he is given a mission:

“[…] to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners.” (Isaiah 61:1b NIV)

The mission given to the man who received a new anointing was this:

1) Proclaim good news to the poor.
2) Bind up the brokenhearted.
3) Proclaim freedom for captives and release from darkness for the prisoners.

The mission given to him continues:

“to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn,” (Isaiah 61:2 NIV)

In addition to the three missions above, further missions are given him:

4) Proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.
5) Proclaim the day of vengeance of our God.
6) Comfort all who mourn.

God anoints this man and promises to send him to the people living in a destitute and barren Jerusalem. Who is this man?

Probably, the people of Judah hearing these words would have been curious to know who this man is and when he would come. They would have hoped for this man to come in their age, but he didn’t come then in the 6th century BC. Centuries passed till he came.

This man, Jesus, came to earth centuries after these words. And He started His public ministry. Luke 4 writes about how Jesus started His public life after fasting for 40 days and being tested. After the testing, He entered a synagogue in Nazareth and read from the Book of Isaiah. The very passage He read in that synagogue is today’s Scripture, Isaiah 61:1-2:

“and the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him. Unrolling it, he found the place where it was written: ‘The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.’” (Luke 4:17-19 NIV)

And to the people, waiting to hear what Jesus would say about these words of Isaiah, Jesus said:

“The Scripture you’ve just heard has been fulfilled this very day!” (Luke 4:21 NLT)

Firmly and confidently, Jesus proclaims that the words from Isaiah is fulfilled in Him. Then He starts His public life. Therefore, the words of prophecy in Isaiah that we read today show us clearly who Jesus is.

Who is Jesus? What is His work? What can we expect from Him? Today’s Scripture, Isaiah’s prophecy, holds the very answer to these questions.

Now, then, let’s study who Jesus is through today’s passage.

First, Jesus is the One who brings good news to the poor.

Jesus was born in a manger in a stable. Since His birth, He has been on the side of the poor. The news of His birth was conveyed to the poor shepherds tending sheep in the fields. After this humble birth, Jesus grew up in a poor town, Nazareth, as the son of a carpenter. When He started His public ministry, He preferred to be with the poor, having compassion on them. He had compassion on orphans and widows and wanted to feed the hungry.

But Jesus’ idea of “the poor” was not just limited to the poor in material. Jesus also drew near to the poor in spirit.

He became friends with tax collectors who were rich in possessions but poor in spirit; visited the home of Zaccheus, a chief tax collector; befriended prostitutes who were socially shunned at the time; and liked to eat with sinners. He became a friend of sinners and the poor. This was our Lord.

Second, Jesus healed the brokenhearted. This is well shown in the story of Jesus meeting a Samaritan woman who came to get water in the middle of the day to avoid people’s gazes for she had been living an immoral and messy life. Even though our Lord knew exactly about her complicated past, He did not judge her, quenching her spiritual thirst by telling her about a living water that would never leave her thirsty.

Jesus also healed a sick man who had been lying beside the pool of Bethesda for 38 years and complained to Jesus, “I have no one to put me into the pool when the water bubbles up. Someone else always gets there ahead of me.” Jesus healed this sick man and made him walk. He healed his broken heart, making him healthy in both body and spirit.

Furthermore, Jesus came to Peter, who had denied Him thrice and had gone back to his old life as a fisherman in Lake Tiberius, called him again, forgave him, and gave him a new calling. Jesus bound and comforted the brokenhearted.

Third, Jesus proclaimed freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners.

First, during His ministry, Jesus cast out demons from many possessed people. When He went to Gerasene, He encountered a man who had not worn clothes and lived in the graveyard instead of a house. When Jesus asked him his name, he answered, “Legion,” indicating that many demons had entered him. Jesus commanded the demons to come out, and they entered a herd of pigs, causing the animals to die. As such, Jesus saved this one soul. He set captives free.

Jesus did not just heal those possessed by evil spirits.

He also proclaimed freedom to us living as slaves to sin. These were His direct words:

“To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, ‘If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.’” (John 8:31-32 NIV)

Jesus says knowing the truth will set you free. Then the people asked Him:

“They answered him, ‘We are Abraham’s descendants and have never been slaves of anyone. How can you say that we shall be set free?’” (John 8:33 NIV)

Jesus responded:

“Very truly I tell you, everyone who sins is a slave to sin. Now a slave has no permanent place in the family, but a son belongs to it forever. So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.” (John 8:34-36 NIV)

Jesus is the One who proclaims true freedom and liberation to us living as slaves to sin.

Furthermore, Jesus felt compassion for the Pharisees and the teachers of the law who were bound by their laws and traditions.

He wanted to declare freedom to those who were held captive on the Sabbath by allowing His disciples to pick heads of grain and eat them. By healing the sick on the Sabbath, Jesus wanted everyone to live enjoying the true freedom God gave them, instead of being bound by the law.

As such, Jesus desired to unshackle prisoners and give them the gift of true freedom.

Most of all, He had compassion on those unable to break free from captivity and death. He wanted to deliver them from the forces of death. This is what He declared when He raised Lazarus from the dead:

“Jesus said to her, ‘I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; and whoever lives by believing in me will never die. Do you believe this?’” (John 11:25-26 NIV)

Jesus opened up the secret of eternal life to us unable escape death. By doing so, Jesus declared true freedom to all those living in captivity.

Fourth, Jesus did the work of proclaiming the year of favor.

Jesus came to this world and opened wide the door to grace.

Just as Jubilee came to all by Jesus’ coming, Jesus proclaimed that the time of God’s forgiveness and restoration had come. And this opportunity for forgiveness and recovery is open to us today too.

In Luke 5 Jesus called Himself a friend of sinners and made it clear it was His calling to go to sinners and call them:

“Jesus answered them, ‘It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick.’” (Luke 5:31 NIV)

Mark 2 tells us about another such story. When Jesus healed a paralyzed man, He first spoke about the forgiveness of sins before healing his physical illness:

“When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralyzed man, ‘Son, your sins are forgiven.’” (Mark 2:5)

When the crowd was perplexed about how Jesus could say such things, Jesus Himself said:

“Which is easier: to say to this paralyzed man, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Get up, take your mat and walk’? But I want you to know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins.” (Mark 2:9-10 NIV)

As such, Jesus forgives, and frees us from, sin. He is the One who proclaims the year of grace to us.

When He saved an adulterous woman from the verge of being stoned to death, this is what He said:

“‘Then neither do I condemn you,’ Jesus declared. ‘Go now and leave your life of sin.’” (John 8:11 NIV)

And when Zaccheus told Jesus that he would give half of his possessions to the poor, Jesus proclaimed:

“Today salvation has come to this house, because this man, too, is a son of Abraham. For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.” (Luke 19:9-10 NIV)

Jesus also prayed that God would forgive the sins of those who crucified Him:

“Jesus said, ‘Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.’” (Luke 23:34 NIV)

Paul declares that the salvation opened up to us through Jesus Christ, the year of God’s grace, is the gospel:

“For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes: first to the Jew, then to the Gentile.” (Romans 1:16)

Fifth, Jesus declares the day of God’s vengeance. What is the day of God’s vengeance? It is the very day that Jesus will return, that is, the day of judgement. Jesus, who came 2000 years ago to proclaim God’s favor upon us, opens that year of favor to us even today, but in the end He will terminate it and proclaim the year of vengeance.

How can this year of vengeance be of comfort to us? It is because it will be the day that our Lord wipes the tears of all who died sadly, were murdered unfairly, were sacrificed to falsehood, were framed, were abused by power, and lived helpless, weak lives.

Our Lord will do this ministry. He will strengthen the weak, enrich the poor, lift up the lowly, and comfort those who mourn. This will happen when He returns.

Revelation describes this day as such:

“‘Never again will they hunger; never again will they thirst. The sun will not beat down on them,’ nor any scorching heat. For the Lamb at the center of the throne will be their shepherd; ‘he will lead them to springs of living water.’ ‘And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.’” (Revelation 7:16-17 NIV)

On the day of vengeance, our Lord, who is to come, will resolve all unfairness and fulfill true justice. This is Jesus Christ.

Finally, Jesus will eventually comfort all who mourn. Jesus has already grieved with those who mourn and shed tears with them. Jesus experienced our pain with us. When Lazarus was in the grave for four days, Jesus came and wept with his family. Then He commanded the people to remove the stone from his grave. At this, Martha said that there would be an odor for her brother had been dead for four days. Then Jesus said:

“Did I not tell you that if you believe, you will see the glory of God?” (John 11:40 NIV)

Jesus came to earth to comfort our grief. He weeps with us when we lose our loved ones and cry. He comforts us in our pain and despair. He says, “If you believe, you will see the glory of God.”

Our Lord, who was crucified, was resurrected, and became the firstfruit of all the dead, says to all those weeping before death, “Do not weep. Do not be sad.” This is the gift that our Lord gives us. Today’s passage from Isaiah delivers these very words of prophecy to us:

“The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is upon me, for the Lord has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to comfort the brokenhearted and to proclaim that captives will be released and prisoners will be freed. He has sent me to tell those who mourn that the time of the Lord’s favor has come, and with it, the day of God’s anger against their enemies.” (Isaiah 61:1-2 NLT)

Dear friends, we are now celebrating Advent. Advent is the season to remember our Jesus who came to earth and who will come gain. Who is our Lord whom we remember and await? What did He, and will He, do for us?

May we see hope in the Jesus we studied today, Jesus who was prophesied to us in Isaiah’s time by God centuries before He came to earth. May we all remember our Lord who came with hope to this painful and destitute world, and may we await Him who will come again.