For our Scripture reading tonight, turn with me to Isaiah 61. Isaiah 61, a beautiful chapter in Isaiah's prophecy describing the year of the Lord's favor. The text for our consideration tonight is verse 1. In some respects, my preaching professors would probably reprimand me because, in reality, the first four verses should go together. But I will try to do justice to the entire chapter, the beauty of the entire chapter, by considering specifics from verse 1. Isaiah chapter 61, as we now give our attention to the reading of the Word of God. The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord 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 freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn and provide for those who grieve in Zion, to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair. They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the Lord for the display of His splendor. They will rebuild the ancient ruins and restore the places long devastated. They will renew the ruined cities that have been devastated for generations. Aliens will shepherd your flocks. Foreigners will work your fields and vineyards. And you will be called priests of the Lord. You will be named ministers of our God. You will feed on the wealth of nations. And in their riches you will boast. Instead of their shame, my people will receive a double portion. And instead of disgrace, they will rejoice in their inheritance. and so they will inherit a double portion in their land and everlasting joy will be theirs. For I, the Lord, love justice. I hate robbery and iniquity. In my faithfulness I will reward them 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. I delight greatly in the Lord. My soul rejoices in my God. For He has clothed me with the garments of salvation and arrayed me in a robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom adorns his head like a priest and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels. For as the soil makes the sprout come up and a garden causes seeds to grow, so the Sovereign Lord will make righteousness and praise spring up before all nations. Beloved of the Lord, once again, with the changing of the seasons, albeit not as drastic here as in other parts of this country, especially we've entered as we began to consider this morning, we have entered into that time of the year that really cannot be compared with any other time of the year. Much busyness surrounds us. Lines are long in the stores. In fact, if you went shopping on the day after Thanksgiving, no doubt you found that out in a very real way. Parking lots are filled to capacity. And you see, with all that takes place and with all that people try to accomplish, many are long on anxiety and frustration with each other and short on time for and patience with each other. Yet many of these same people sound forth the call during this time of year for peace on earth and goodwill toward men. The call is sounded forth to put behind us that which divides us and to promote love and joy and peace. And indeed, that sounds good, doesn't it? But the truth as we all know it is that there is much hopelessness and despair in the world and in society. Just read the newspaper. Listen to the news. The divorce rate is staggering. Sexually transmitted diseases threaten so many. Killing sprees, especially among the youth in this last couple of years, have become all too common. murders, rapes, kidnappings, robberies. We live today with the threat of terrorism as well as war and for whatever reasons, hundreds of thousands of people find themselves without work every year and even more find themselves without food every day. And the list goes on and on. You see, for the world, that which is fondly called Christmas time is kind of like a band-aid which gives temporary relief from the painfulness and the desperateness of life. And in many respects, our minds are taken off of the reality of life this time of year. The world looks for a little hope at this time of year in the form of kindness and peace and just a little good news. Unfortunately, whatever hope so many may find, whatever little hope they may find is really only temporary and usually doesn't last very far into the new year because that hope is separated from the One who gives true hope. Boys and girls, just as the adhesive, the sticky part on the band-aid, loses its stickiness and causes the band-aid to become useless, in the same way, hope separated from the true giver of hope is good for nothing. And as Christians, it's true that we also live in the midst of this hopelessness and despair. It's all around us. Yet, by the grace of God, we are not governed and we are not controlled by it. But instead, we enjoy a lasting peace because of Him who is the true reason for the season, the true reason for celebration. And as we consider the coming and the birth of our Lord, we must be reminded that He is the only true and effective good news for His people. Jesus Christ is the only everlasting hope of the church. We consider the preaching of this Word of God tonight, like gospel hope proclaimed in the midst of hopelessness. As we consider the commissioning of the messenger, the timely message, and the life-changing effect. Once again, with Isaiah's prophecy, we are reminded that the context is that of captivity. And in the context of captivity, where life can't get much lower, Isaiah brings much hope to God's people. In chapter 60, Jehovah Himself speaks of the glory of the church and her promised restoration. The first three verses there say, Arise, shine, for your light has come. And the glory of the Lord rises upon you. See, darkness covers the earth, and thick darkness is over the peoples. But the Lord rises upon you, and His glory appears over you. Nations will come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your dawn. And then verse 19 says, The sun will no more be your light by day, nor will the brightness of the moon shine on you, for the Lord will be your everlasting light, and your God will be your glory. And now, in chapter 61, the One who will bring about that glory, He Himself speaks and tells us how He is going to do that. We notice, first of all, the commissioning of the messenger. This messenger comes equipped both with power and authority. The text says, the Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me because the Lord has anointed me. He has sent me. Now the commissioning of the messenger includes anointing. We considered this briefly a few weeks back. Anointing was always a significant practice. And in the service of God and His people, it signified that the anointed one had been set apart by God with God's favor for a particular office or calling. And we know that the prophets and the priests and the kings among God's people were anointed using oil to commission them for their particular duty, to commit them to their office. As well, the anointing with oil symbolized the giving, the equipping to be able to carry out the task. In other words, the giving of the gift of God's Spirit to be able to carry out the task. But this messenger that Isaiah speaks of is anointed not with oil, but with the very Spirit of God Himself. Who is this messenger? It is the Messiah, Jesus Christ. And we know that often Isaiah prophesied about the coming Messiah. In chapter 42, verse 1, God again is speaking and He talks about His servant, the Elect One, meaning Christ, and He says, I have put My Spirit upon Him. He will bring forth justice to the Gentiles. And we also know that this text, Isaiah 61, verse 1, is referring to Jesus because He applied it to Himself in Luke chapter 4. As He preached in the synagogue on the Sabbath in Nazareth, He read this text from Isaiah 61. And after He read it, we read in Luke 4 that He closed the book, He sat down, and He began to say to them, Today this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing. And as well, Christ's anointing with the Spirit was displayed at His baptism as the heavens were opened to Him and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting upon Him. The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of life and power who gives life and gives power. And throughout the history of the Old Testament and the New Testament, those who were used by God to perform miracles did so only by the power of the Holy Spirit. And our Lord Himself was also empowered by the Spirit of God, His own Spirit, for His task. We know that our Lord is the Christ. He is the Anointed One to be our Chief Prophet, our only High Priest, and our Eternal King. Now the text points mainly to His office of prophet to preach good news, but His prophetic office necessarily points forward to his priestly and his kingly offices because as a prophet he came to proclaim the gospel hope, the salvation which he would accomplish as a priest, and he would apply as a king to his people. But not only did Christ's anointing signify that he was empowered and equipped by the Holy Spirit to perform his task, his anointing also meant that he came with authority at the appointment of God. The text says it is the Spirit of the Sovereign Lord. The Lord Himself anointed and sent Him. This messenger comes with authority from God Himself. We also see this in Christ's baptism. As a voice came from heaven saying, This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased. Jesus Christ, the man, is indeed God Himself. Jesus Christ came to proclaim that the work of salvation came from and was the plan of the highest authority, God Himself. Beloved, during the time of Isaiah, some 700 years before the birth of our Lord, really a span that we cannot even fathom. We can barely fathom 50 years when we're younger. But during the time of Isaiah, some 700 years before the birth of our Lord, the gospel hope is proclaimed. and of course we know that the gospel was proclaimed many many years before that already in the Garden of Eden but here in a specific way it was proclaimed and God's people could be fully confident because this was none other than the work of the triune God God the Father authorized this work God the Holy Spirit empowered this work and in the fullness of time God the Son accomplished this work and again although Jesus Christ didn't come until some 700 years later. This was indeed a timely message in the second place. You see, the Word of God came to exiles, first of all, those in captivity. We know that because of their persistent disobedience, God sent His people into the hands of Babylon. They were captives. They were prisoners. And because of this, as Isaiah clearly points out in those first three verses, I said the first four, but the first three really stick together, we see that they were afflicted, he says. They were broken hearted. They were mourning. They had a spirit of despair. And we must understand that the word poor, when it says to preach good news to the poor, the word poor here is talking about being afflicted and oppressed and has the idea of humility and weakness, meekness. The point is that those who were once arrogant in their sin and rebellion against God had been humbled and overwhelmed by a conviction of their distress and trouble. They now knew their miserable condition, but now it seemed too late. They were forsaken and abandoned, they thought, and therefore they had no strength. In captivity, God's people were in the midst of hopelessness, which they now understood by His mercy. And therefore, this good news which the anointed one would bring would be music to their ears. It was a timely message. the time was right for them. It was the good news they needed. Beloved, this physical captivity represents and is a symbol of a much more dangerous captivity, and that is captivity to sin. Apart from the saving grace of God, we are all in bondage to the devil, to sin and hell. And as we said this morning, sin turns one into a hideous monster. Paul says there is none righteous, no, not one, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. Again, spiritually speaking, the poor are those who are meek and humble because of their sin. They are those whose sins have weighed them down so that their heart is, as it were, broken. And there is no heart left in them. They can't even move. Somewhat paralyzed. The spiritually afflicted are those who understand their sin and misery and need for help by the grace of God because they cannot help themselves. David says in Psalm 51, The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit, a broken and a contrite heart. These, O God, you will not despise. And he also says in Psalm 34, verse 18, The Lord is near to those who have a broken heart and saved such as have a contrite spirit. And when the prophet Joel calls God's people to repentance, he says, So rend your heart. Tear your heart. Not your garment. It must go down to the heart. Congregation, the Gospel is hope only to those who understand that in and of themselves they lie in the midst of hopelessness. The Gospel message of salvation is a timely message only for those whose hearts have been prepared toward humility by the Holy Spirit. God delivers His message when the time is right. Paul says in Galatians 4, verses 4 and 5, But when the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, that we might receive the adoption as sons. Jesus Christ came when the time was right. He came to accomplish His redeeming work when the time appointed by His Father was right. You see, from the prophet Malachi to the announcement to Zacharias regarding John the Baptist and to Mary regarding Jesus, 400 years had passed. And during that time, there was no prophetic contact by God to His people. And the remnant of God's people was losing hope once again. And when our Lord came, He ushered in the Kingdom of God in the hearts and lives of His people so that those who believe on Him by grace through faith are incorporated into that eternal kingdom. Their hope is restored. And Isaiah 61, the rest of the chapter, is beautiful. It explains to us the character of that kingdom. You see, beloved, it is God through His Holy Spirit who prepares the heart to receive His saving word. He alone does that work. And still today, when the time is right and not a moment before, He brings His Word into the heart of His child and calls that child to respond in repentance and faith. Even as Isaiah says, Seek the Lord while He may be found. Call upon Him while He is near. Let the wicked forsake His way and the unrighteous man His thoughts. Let him return to the Lord and He will have mercy on Him and to our God. And He will abundantly pardon. our God does this when His time is right and let that be an encouragement to each one of us here tonight who have loved ones and dear ones who have fallen away from the way who have never found the way of Jesus Christ and we continue to pray for them let us be encouraged when the time is right God will do His work but again as Isaiah says those who turn to Him he will have mercy on him he will abundantly pardon and this is demonstrated in the text as finally the life changing effect is described notice what the anointed messenger is to do to preach good news to the poor he has sent me to bind up the broken hearted to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners and to go on in verses 2 to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor the day of vengeance of our God to comfort all who mourn provide for those who grieve in Zion and bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair. They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the Lord for the display of His splendor. And again, the rest of the chapter gives a beautiful description unfolding all of that. Jesus Christ is not only the publisher of good news, but also the accomplisher of what will take place for His people. Now the poor again. The poor are those who don't normally receive good news. They only receive bad news. Maybe painful news. But Jesus Christ comes with the very tongue of God Himself proclaiming the inexpressible joy of salvation to His people captive to sin and bound with the chains of iniquity. He is the very Word of God. And this good news is freedom for the captives and release for the prisoners. Now the idea behind the phrase release for prisoners is that of opening the eyes. Just as the door of a dark cell is open wide for the prisoner to go free and he enters the light of day. In the same way, to be delivered from spiritual darkness is an opening of the eyes in contrast to the darkness in which all men by nature live. A release from the bondage and the blindingness of sin. But you see, this preaching is more than just nice sounding words. It is powerful medicine. He binds up the broken hearted. The psalmist says in Psalm 147, verse 3, He heals the broken hearted and binds up their wounds. This is talking about healing. The proclamation of the Word of God, the very Word of God itself, is a powerful medicine in that, as Paul says, It is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes the gospel. The good news of salvation has liberating power that those captive to sin might be set free. And freedom from the bondage of Satan, sin, and hell comes only from the incarnate Word of God, Jesus Christ. There is no other. He said, therefore, if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed. You see, Jesus Christ is the jubilee. You're familiar with that word from Scripture? Isaiah speaks of the year of our Lord's favor in verse 2. And you may recall that every seven years was considered a Sabbath year, a year of rest. And during the seventh year, the land was to have rest from planting. And after seven cycles of seven years, therefore after 49 years, came the year of jubilee. Leviticus 25 says, then you shall cause the trumpet of the Jubilee to sound on the tenth day of the seventh month, and you shall consecrate the fiftieth year and proclaim liberty throughout all the land to all its inhabitants. It shall be a Jubilee for you, and each of you shall return to his possession, and each of you shall return to his family. What a celebration the year of Jubilee was supposed to be. According to the law of Moses, in this year all land which had been sold had to be returned to the first possessor, the first owner. Imagine that. All slaves were to be set free. The ground was not to be tilled. And this year had a special impact for the poor. Debts were canceled. Again, land that they were forced to sell was returned. Those who had become slaves were set free. This was a picture of redemption and new life, of course, which pointed forward to Christ's redemption in which He purchased the believer's pardon on Calvary's tree and freed us from slavery to sin by canceling our debts, freeing us unto service for God. And with this life-changing effect, beloved, notice the interchange. Instead of mourning with the customary ashes as a sign of mourning being put on the head, those set free receive a crown of beauty. Or as another translation says, a crown of rejoicing no longer do they have a spirit of despair but they are clothed with a garment of praise and they are planted firm by the Lord as an oak which points to the strength and majesty of the righteousness of Christ all of this for you and me by the grace of God and beloved all of this points to the change in God's people from inside out. Through the saving sacrifice of Jesus Christ, God's people are released from the power of sin and in its place, they receive a new heart and a new will and a new direction for life. And this isn't just a temporary fix. It's not just a band-aid. It is an eternal change. You see, in the Old Testament, after the year of Jubilee, one might indeed become poor again. or become a debtor or a slave once again. But with the jubilee that our Lord brings, this freedom never ends, because He shall reign forever and ever. Beloved, once again, as always, this message of gospel hope is timely, isn't it? As many are seeking a temporary band-aid for the hopelessness and despair of this life, and maybe even some of you here tonight. we can point to the Christ child. He is the balm of Gilead. He is the only effective salve for our souls. He is the true hope of the church. Your hope and my hope. He is the one pointed to in the portrait of salvation laid before us in Isaiah 61. It is He who can restore torn and tattered and troubled lives, who can mend broken marriages and lost friendships. Beloved, what are you struggling with, even tonight? What is it? You see, whatever it may be, you must know that it's not too much for Him. He can handle it. He says, cast your burden upon Me, for I care for you. Go ahead. Do it. He is the one who alone gives peace, comfort, and strength to endure. And this is because He alone is the one who delivers from the root cause of all these things and that is sin. Jesus Christ alone brings life out of death and healing out of suffering. And through His suffering and death and resurrection, He has paid the death of sin for His people and conquered death forever and ever as we began to consider this morning in Revelation 12. You see, those who are content with only a little temporary relief at Christmastime will suffer the hopelessness and despair of eternal death unless they turn to Him. But those who wait on the Lord will renew their strength. Emmanuel, God with us, proclaims, Come to me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will, not might, I will give you rest. And this is a guarantee because as the Lord says of His servant in Isaiah 42, verse 3, a bruised reed He will not break and a smoking flax He will not quench. Beloved, in the midst of a world filled with hopelessness, looking for a temporary fix, we are called to embrace the One who gives life and gives it abundantly and gives it eternally, the Christ of Christmas. And it's not too late. If you have not yet turned to the Lord, today you have heard His word of good news, the Gospel. Today is still the day of salvation and the time is right until Jesus comes again in judgment to His people. God gives the conviction and the confession of verse 10. I delight greatly in the Lord. My soul rejoices in my God for He has clothed me with garments of salvation and arrayed me in a robe of righteousness as a bridegroom adorns His head like a priest and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels from the rags of sin to the riches of salvation. Now that's true hope. And beloved, as believers, our comfort is that this hope is ours both now, right now, and forevermore. Amen. Shall we pray? Father, indeed, we thank You and praise You for the healing that You have given to Your people, for the healing from sin that You have given to us. Indeed, may we be both humbled and filled with rejoicing and praise for that which we enjoy by the grace of God. And may we not be content to just hoard this good news for ourselves, But may it be our desire that others also hear this good news. We know, Father, that You have called us indeed to go tell it on the mountain, to go into all the world and preach the Gospel to every creature. You have not told us to change their hearts. You have not given to us that duty because that's not something that we can do. That is Your task. And Father, we pray that You would use us in some small way when the time is right for someone somewhere that you would use us to speak the gospel message. That you would make that word effective in their heart and life. Father, may we as a people of God always rejoice in your salvation. And may we give to you wholehearted thanksgiving from this day and forevermore. In the name of Jesus Christ, we pray these things. Amen.