61 The Spirit of the Lord [a]God is upon me,
Because the Lord has anointed me
To bring good news to the [b]afflicted;
He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,
To proclaim liberty to captives
And [c]freedom to prisoners;
2 To proclaim the favorable year of the Lord
And the day of vengeance of our God;
To comfort all who mourn,
3 To grant those who mourn in Zion,
Giving them a garland instead of ashes,
The oil of gladness instead of mourning,
The mantle of praise instead of a spirit of fainting.
So they will be called [d]oaks of righteousness,
The planting of the Lord, that He may be glorified.4 Then they will rebuild the ancient ruins,
They will raise up the former devastations;
And they will repair the ruined cities,
The desolations of many generations.
5 Strangers will stand and pasture your flocks,
And [e]foreigners will be your farmers and your vinedressers.
6 But you will be called the priests of the Lord;
You will be spoken of as ministers of our God.
You will eat the wealth of nations,
And in their [f]riches you will boast.
7 Instead of your shame you will have a double portion,
And instead of humiliation they will shout for joy over their portion.
Therefore they will possess a double portion in their land,
Everlasting joy will be theirs.
8 For I, the Lord, love justice,
I hate robbery [g]in the burnt offering;
And I will faithfully give them their recompense
And make an everlasting covenant with them.
9 Then their offspring will be known among the nations,
And their descendants in the midst of the peoples.
All who see them will recognize them
Because they are the offspring whom the Lord has blessed.10 I will rejoice greatly in the Lord,
My soul will exult in my God;
For He has clothed me with garments of salvation,
He has wrapped me with a robe of righteousness,
As a bridegroom decks himself with a garland,
And as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.
11 For as the earth brings forth its sprouts,
And as a garden causes the things sown in it to spring up,
So the Lord [h]God will cause righteousness and praise
To spring up before all the nations.
If you’ve read the gospel account written by Luke, you’ll be familiar with these verses. If you haven’t, go read chapter 4 of Luke. Now, what’s incredible is that Jesus didn’t choose to read these words, the scroll was given to him, likely as just the next section of Isaiah for that day. Some might think Jesus picked out the passage, and while that’s possible, it doesn’t change the fact they handed him the scroll of Isaiah.
It really shouldn’t be incredible though, as God lined up so many things to be just right at the time of Jesus birth. We have the census that forced Joseph of Nazareth to journey with his pregnant wife to Bethlehem, and the power-mad Herod who caused them to travel to Egypt. There was the remnant of the Greek empire that spread a common language throughout the entire region, and the corrupt religious and political leaders who would ultimately demand Jesus execution (echoed in v. 8).
Some of this fulfilled prophecy like we find in Isaiah (and elsewhere), and some was just plain practical, like the Greek language. There are things in this passage that may be yet unfulfilled, but many that happened in the time of Jesus. Many ancient ruins were rebuilt (v. 4), Herod himself rebuilt the temple, and built many other structures that can be seen still today.
There were indeed strangers and foreigners in Israel, farming and tending flocks (v. 5). And though the Jewish people were still under the thumb of Rome, they were at a hub of trade, and the Romans wanted that land for this very reason. Whatever the case, it was probably difficult to imagine all of this when Isaiah wrote these words, and many could not reconcile God’s prophecies with the way it actually went down.
When Jesus finished reading these words, he told them that it had been fulfilled in their hearing. They were a little slow to put the pieces together, and some marveled and spoke well of Jesus. Ultimately, the naysayers won out and tried to stone Him, when they should have been ecstatic that God was finally moving in their midst and doing what He promised.
God’s plans in our own lives often don’t turn out like we expect. Life happens, or we get distracted by the ways of this world. We can be frustrated, and ask God what in the world is going on, but don’t lose sight of the fact that God is still at work. Seek Him first, and be faithful to do what He asks.
You might not find earthly riches, power, or fame, but your ultimate reward will be much greater: freedom from sin, peace that endures, and a hope of seeing Jesus face to face with life eternal. And in the middle of that, you’ll find God has this strange knack for putting together the pieces that just don’t seem to fit. It’s His masterpiece after all, He’s making something beautiful, and He wants you to be a part of it.