The Good News of Isaiah 61:1-2 = The Anointing

The Good News of Isaiah 61:1-2  – The Anointing.

“The Spirit (“Ruach”) of Lord (“Adonai”) Yahweh is upon me, because Yahweh has anointed (“mashach”) me to announce good news to the poor. He has sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom to the captives, to let out into light those bound in darkness; to proclaim the year of the favor of the Lord and the day of vengeance of our God.” (Isaiah 61:1-2).

This Is The Year (Isaiah 61) by Deborah Kline-Iantorno & Vince Iantorno

“Ruach” = Spirit, Wind, Breath. In Christian terms, the Holy Spirit is the eternal life-giving Third Person of the Holy Trinity; the intimate bond of divine love and truth shared by God the Father and God the Son; the dynamic power of God offered to every human being on earth; the supernatural Presence in the Community of God who is personal without being material; the invisible creative force with divine intelligence who truly knows the mind of God from the inside; the Spirit of God who thus has all knowledge and is present everywhere in the universe; the sacred energy streaming forth from the Father and the Son, pouring love into our hearts (Romans 5:5), producing virtuous qualities in us (Galatians 5:22-23), and gradually transforming each believer into the image of Christ (2 Corinthians 3:18). God’s eternal Spirit was present at creation, of course, “brooding like a bird over the watery abyss.” (Gen. 1:1, MSG). No surprise there. All three Persons of God existed together eternally before creation began, and they will be intimate spiritual companions forever after the world’s recreation as well. At creation, the Spirit was like a mother bird hatching an egg, bringing beauty and order out of nothingness and chaos, waiting to take us under His wing.

“Adonai” = Adonai means literally, “My Lord,” and is technically not a name of God, but a title. Adonai is a title of profound respect and honor which means Owner, Master, Sovereign, Ruler, Lord, a God of absolute authority. When addressing Adonai, we are addressing our superior in every way imaginable, and so the use of this title for God implies absolute submission to Him. The name of God was Yahweh, and the title involving His lordship was Adonai. The title Adonai was reserved in the Hebrew Bible for honoring the Sovereign Lord, the believer’s Lord and Master. Adonai and Yahweh were often used together in the Hebrew Bible, and was usually translated as “Sovereign LORD.” The two were used in tandem to emphasize the personal and eternal God’s unmatched superiority, authority, ownership of the world.

‘Yahweh” = When God created that sacred space on Mt. Horeb and presented Himself to Moses at the burning bush (Exodus 3:13-15), Moses didn’t exactly know how to respond. Moses wanted to know God’s name for one thing, so that he would know how to properly address Him, and call out to Him, and refer to Him. God seemed reluctant to share His most personal eternal Name, so He gave Moses a name that wasn’t even a word. Was this purposely mysterious, or even evasive? Perhaps God’s Name was too “wonderful” to even understand or take in at the human level (Judges 13:18). Or, maybe God’s name here was deliberately unclear because, similar to God’s face that couldn’t be seen, His Name could not be heard by mere mortals? Who’s to say? It’s clear that the precise pronunciation and spelling have been lost through time. God gave to Moses His name of Yahweh, which is about as close to a personal name of God as we’re going to get. Scholars have been lining up to solve this puzzle of a name for centuries, and have been unsuccessful. It is obviously an archaic use of letters, because Yahweh is the “to be” verb in the future tense. There is no “am” in the Hebrew language, which leads many to claim that Yahweh means, “I will be what I will be.” But many others say that God was using that non-word in the poetic sense with “I AM,” because He is trying to communicate that He is outside of time, so must always speak in the present tense. So now we can try to read Yahweh as, “I AM He who is,” “I AM the One who exists,” or “I AM the Existing One.” In other words, God declares the bedrock truth that upholds the universe… He exists! And this is the truth that Jesus bore witness to in his incarnation. Jesus basically said to the world, I am here to tell the one indisputable fact of the universe… that God exists in the world!

“Mashach” = This Hebrew word means to anoint, to smear, to spread or paint, to make physical contact by rubbing, dripping upon, or sprinkling. This word is used 69 times in the Hebrew Bible,  and almost always involves a deliberate application of olive oil to set apart a person, an object, or a space for special service to God as an act of consecration. In a sacred ceremony, the anointing oil had a God-directed recipe that included olive oil, myrrh, cinnamon, and calamus. The Lord Himself described this special concoction as “holy, holy.” (Ex. 30:37). Selected persons were anointed with holy oil to officially set them apart for a special responsibility; to dedicate them to God’s service; to consecrate them for duties that are in service to His will; to sanctify them in preparation for godly purposes; to separate them from the dishonorable, the profane, the common; to formally assign them to a godly purpose; to designate them for a sacred function; to enable them to be completely distinctive in character and role. Often enough in the Bible, physical objects were also anointed with oil to dedicate those items for sacred use, such as all the furniture in the Tabernacle and Temple. As in the case of Jacob at Bethel, one might anoint with oil a special place to commemorate a uniquely sacred event and place, which he did twice in Gen. 28:18 and 35:14. In Jacob’s case, the anointing of the stone was an act of worship and commitment and set Bethel apart from any ordinary place.

Oil as a Symbol of the Holy Spirit: Olive oil was used throughout Scripture as a symbol for the Spirit of God, for the presence of the Holy Spirit being poured onto those who sought God’s blessing, approval, empowerment and transformation. Sacred Oil in the Hebrew Bible was a shadow that got its true substance in the New Testament. The Holy Spirit doesn’t partially come to the person being blessed, not in bits and pieces. The Holy Spirit isn’t dribbled, drop by drop, but instead is poured till overflowing. Whenever we see the Holy Spirit being applied, He is poured like the holy oil in Scripture:

• “...till the Spirit is poured upon us from on high.” (Isaiah 32:15);
• “I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh.” (Joel 3:1, Acts 2:17);
• “Exalted to the right hand of God He has received from the Father the promised Holy Spirit and has poured out what you now see and hear.” (Acts 2:33);
• “They were astonished that the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out even on the Gentiles.” (Acts 10:45);
• “God has poured out His love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom He has given us.” (Romans 5:5);
• “He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior.” (Titus 3:5-6)

“Jesus of Nazareth was anointed by God with the Holy Spirit and with great power. He did wonderful things for others in His acts of kindness, and divinely healed all who were under the tyranny of the Devil; He traveled through the country helping people, doing good, and healing everyone who was harassed by the Devil.” (Acts 10:38).

Jesus the Christ: Jesus (Yeshua) is His name, and Christ is His title. In the New Testament, “Christ” means “Anointed One,” as does “Messiah” in the Hebrew Bible. There were three official biblical roles in the Hebrew Bible that required an anointing with oil… prophet, priest and king. All three were anointed for their godly responsibilities by a sacred oil. In Jesus’ case, He was spiritually anointed for all three God-ordained positions, the one and only person to weave together the roles of prophet, priest and king into one Person’s identity. Jesus was the Anointed One in His heavenly nature as He was conceived in mother Mary through the Holy Spirit. And He was anointed in His humanity by the Father to complete His preparation for God’s mission on earth of redemption and deliverance. All the anointing by oil in the Hebrew Bible anticipates the coming of the Anointed One, the Messiah, who fulfills the prophetic meaning of anointing. Anointing looks like this: The Father poured the oil of the Holy Spirit onto the Anointed One, who in turn anoints with His Spirit all the anointed ones who choose to follow Jesus Messiah.

“So Jesus came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up. And as His custom was, He went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and stood up to read. And He was handed the scroll of the prophet Isaiah. And when He opened the scroll, He found the place where it was written, ‘The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me to preach the Good News to the poor, to proclaim liberty to the captives, to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim recovery of sight to the blind, to set free those who are oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.’ Then He rolled up the scroll, and gave it back to the attendant and sat down. And He began to say to them, ‘Today this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing. ” (Luke 4:16-21, paraphrasing Isaiah 61:1-2).

Mission Defined. Jesus, anointed since before time began, and for a second time on earth, has simply been waiting for the right time for the Father to send Him on His mission. So here we see that the time had come, the year of God’s grace has arrived! Jesus now inaugurates this time period as the one “when salvation and the free favors of God profusely abound.” (Amplified Bible). This is the time for the spiritual Jubilee. This is the reality of what God hinted at back in Leviticus 25 with the Jubilee year: the time when debts were cancelled and slaves went free. The time when prisoners of war were released and everyone is freed from their oppressive burdens. And now Isaiah’s prophecy has come true, the Messiah has come that the world may begin to experience the spiritual Jubilee, a time when all are set free by a gracious God to start over with Him in the spirit of redemption and blessing.

A Divine Appointment. Jesus perfectly timed His appearance at His home town synagogue on this particular sabbath. He knew that it was the time in the carefully arranged Torah reading protocol to conclude the service with a messianic portion from Isaiah. As a special guest, He was given the option of offering a short sermon after His reading from Isaiah 61, so that’s what He did. Is there any doubt that this was divinely orchestrated, that the Messiah would read the very passage from the Hebrew Bible that pertains specifically to Him as the Anointed One, the very prophecy of which He was the fulfillment?

His Unique Anointing. Jesus told His old friends that the prophet Isaiah had defined His mission well… I was anointed in the Spirit by the Father for very specific tasks, says Jesus:

1. “To preach the Good News to the poor.” In Isaiah 61:1, “poor” means humble or meek. So I am giving words of hope to the poor in spirit, those who are spiritually bankrupt, hopelessly poverty-stricken in their spirits. In fact, I hereby promise that the poor in spirit, the empty and helpless, will receive the Kingdom of heaven and become spiritually rich. I am here to tell the lowly that they will be held in honor, and will receive all the blessings of God’s new world. I will seek out the humble to tell them that they will be raised up to a new life of fullness and new-found strength.
2. “To proclaim liberty to the captives.” In Isaiah, “captives” referred to prisoners of war, or by extension anyone in bondage to sin because of our ongoing spiritual war. I will minister unto those who are casualties of our war with Satan and with sin. I will release all those who are battling their demons and those who realize they are in bondage to their sinful nature. I will grant a full pardon to all these victims of hidden warfare, to these prisoners held captive by the enemy. During this time of favor and blessing, all prisoners will be liberated from sin and Satan. “You will know the truth, and the truth will set you free. Everyone who sins is a slave to sin. So if the Son sets you free, you are truly free.” (John 8:32-36). If you are in bondage to sin, you indeed are a slave to sin, you are imprisoned by sin. And in this spiritual Jubilee, I will release the slaves and set the prisoners free.
3. “To heal the brokenhearted.” Some historical manuscripts omit this phrase from the Luke passage. But the original Isaiah 61:1reference includes this phrase, so in keeping with some NT translations and the Isaiah reference, this phrase will be included here. As Messiah, I will heal those who have had their hearts broken by rejection, by loss of loved one, by shame or guilt or failure. I will bind up those who are broken by the state of the world and its presence of sin and wickedness and pain. I will mourn with those who mourn, and my heart will be broken by whatever is breaking your heart as I come alongside you. I will personally bring the Good News of salvation and healing, and so we will mourn as those with hope. My tears will absorb your tears as I offer my comforting and healing presence to your misery.
4. “To proclaim recovery of sight to the blind.” This phrase was added to the passage in Luke, and is in the spirit of the spiritual Jubilee. To all you who are spiritually blind, I will open your eyes to see the truth and goodness of the Lord and His Kingdom. Since you are helpless to take off your blinders by yourselves, I will remove your blinders personally. You simply can’t make yourselves see without my help. I will open your eyes to see the reality of God and His love. And to make sure this important truth is understood, I will heal every physically blind person who comes to me in my ministry. All of these physical healings of the blind will be a sign of what I will do spiritually to those who allow me to do so. I will cure your blindness to the depravity of sin, to the depth of your sinful nature, to the hope of God’s salvation. And then finally, you will truly see and believe. “Everyone who believes in me will not remain in darkness.” (John 12:45).
5. “To set free those who are oppressed.” The “oppressed” in Isaiah is intended to include anyone who is downtrodden, burdened by life’s difficulties, bruised by the system, broken down by some calamity. I will deliver you from these spiritual bruises, from whatever may be weighing down your spirit. I will come to encourage you and help you rise above life’s travails. If you feel oppressed in any way, I will deliver you and set your spirit free. “Come to me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.” (Matthew 11:28-29). So come to me during this acceptable time of blessing and favor, all you who are oppressed in some way, and I will be your liberator.

On ‘the Anointed One’ as PROPHET. “And when Jesus entered Jerusalem (on Palm Sunday), all the city was shaken and trembling with amazement, and asked, ‘Who is this man?’ And the crowds replied, ‘This is the prophet Jesus from Nazareth of Galilee!” (Matt. 21:10-11); “Reverent fear seized them all, and they began to recognize God and give thanks, saying, ‘A great prophet has appeared among us! God has visited His people!” (Luke 7:16); “Jesus returned with His disciples to His hometown of Nazareth. On the Sabbath, He taught in the synagogue. Everyone who heard His teaching was overwhelmed with astonishment. They said among themselves, ‘Isn’t this Mary’s son the carpenter?’ And they all took offense at Him. Jesus then said, ‘A prophet is honored everywhere except His own hometown.” (Mark 6:4); “For has not Moses told us: ‘The Lord God will raise up a prophet from among you who is like Me. Listen to Him and follow everything He tells you.” (Acts 3:22, Deut. 18:15-18). 

On ‘the Anointed One’ as PRIEST. “Inasmuch as we have a magnificent High Priest who has already ascended and passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast to our confession of faith in Him. For we do not have a High Priest who is unable to understand and sympathize with our weaknesses and infirmities and liability to the assaults of temptation, but one who has been tempted in every respect as we are, yet without sinning.” (Hebrews 4:14-15); “This Priest did not arise because of genealogical right under the Law to be a priest, but by the power of an indestructible, resurrection life! For it says in the Psalms, ‘You are like Melchizedek, a Priest forever!” (Heb. 7:16-17); “Since we now have a great High Priest to welcome us into God’s house, we come closer to God and approach Him with an open heart, fully convinced that nothing will keep us at a distance from Him.” (Heb. 10:21-22).

On ‘the Anointed One’ as KING. “You will give birth to a Son, and you shall name Him Jesus. He will be eminent and will be called the Son of the Most High; and the Lord God will give to Him the throne of His forefather David, and He will reign over the house of Jacob throughout the ages, and of His reign there will be no end.” (Luke 1:31-33); “After that comes the End, when He delivers over the kingdom to God the Father after abolishing every other rule and every authority and power. For the Anointed One must be King and reign until He has put all His enemies under His feet.” (1 Corinthians 15:24-25); “And on His robe and on His thigh He has a title inscribed: King of all kings and Lord of all lords.” (Rev. 19:16); “Therefore God exalted Messiah Jesus to the highest place and gave Him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus the Anointed One is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” (Philippians 2:9); “Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.” (Hebrews 4:16).

“Every Christian is to become a little Christ. The whole purpose of becoming a Christian is simply nothing else.”  (C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity).

Christians: Since Christ means “Anointed One,” then it follows that “Christian” means “anointed ones.” All who follow Jesus are anointed ones who are “hidden in Christ,” the Anointed One. All Christian believers who are “inside” Jesus share His anointing and partake of His nature. We are anointed by the Spirit of the Holy One, and are what C. S. Lewis called “little Christs,” or little anointed ones. Our identity as anointed ones enable us to assume the roles of little prophet, little priest, and little king, miniature versions of those three roles, as we live into our identity as Christ-followers. “You have an anointing from the Holy One [you have been set apart, specially gifted and prepared by the Holy Spirit], and all of you know [the truth because He teaches us, illuminates our minds, and guards us from error] … This anointing you received from God remains permanently in you so then you have no need for anyone to be teaching you these deceptions. His anointing teaches everything you need to know, for the anointing will continue to lead you into truth, not falsehood. So just as your anointing has taught you, abide in Him and remain rooted in Him.” (1 John 2:20, 27 Amplified Bible).

A Miniature ‘Anointed One.’ What does it mean to become a “little Christ,” a miniature ‘anointed one,’ a human version of the divine Messiah? How do we go about becoming little Christs? We certainly can’t assume the role of Messiah, but we can each become a little messiah-in-training, a human version of the divine prophet, priest and king. The Hebrew Scriptures are very clear about their appointed leaders… they must be anointed. The roles of prophet, priest and king are these anointed ones, and they find their fulfillment in the Anointed One in the Gospels. This is another example of how Christianity is basically a Jewish religion. The Christian faith finds it roots in the Jewish faith. Jesus was a faithful Jew, and so much of the Jewish Bible finds its fulfillment in the Gospel story. The anointed ones in the Hebrew Bible find their culmination in the Anointed One in the New Testament. Some examples: Elisha is anointed by Elijah to be a prophet; Aaron is anointed by Moses to be a priest; David is anointed by Samuel to be king. And Jesus is anointed by the Father and the Holy Spirit to be Messiah at His baptism. Jesus became the Christ who holds all three offices together, prophet, priest and king, summed up in the one office of Messiah. Jesus the Anointed One, the Christ, the Messiah.

Isaiah 61 PRAYER SONG (in Sde Boker) Set the Captives Free #Isaiah61 #SetTheCaptivesFree