Sermon -- 3rd Sunday after Epiphany (January 23, 2022)

ISAIAH 61:1-6

THE LORD’S ANOINTED RELIEVES AND RESTORES.

In the name + of Jesus.

     Isaiah’s prophecy begins with the words, “The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me” (Isaiah 61:1).  If there is any confusion about who the “me” is, Jesus cleared that up.  He went to the synagogue in Nazareth and was given the privilege to do the reading and to preach on it.  The appointed reading for the day just happened to be Isaiah 61.  After the reading, Jesus began his sermon: “Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing” (Luke 4:21).  The “me” of Isaiah is Jesus.  He is the Lord’s Anointed.

     Isaiah foretold a seven-fold blessing which the Lord’s Anointed would bestow through his preaching.  He would later secure those blessings with his sufferings and death.  Here is what the Lord’s Anointed would do: “The Lord has anointed me 1) to bring good news … 2) to bind up the brokenhearted … 3) to proclaim liberty; … 4) to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor; … 5) to comfort; … 6) to grant to those who mourn in Zion … 7) to give them a beautiful headdress …, the oil of gladness …, the garment of praise” (Isaiah 61:1-3).  The Lord’s Anointed was sent to relieve everything that has burdened the people and to restore everything that was ruined.

     While it would be worthwhile to explore each of these seven blessings, we will limit ourselves this morning to this: “The Lord has anointed me … to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound” (Isaiah 61:1).  The Old Testament Israelites knew of captivity through their 400 years in Egypt.  They were reduced to servitude and oppressed with hard labor.  The Egyptians even ordered the death of their baby boys so that the women would be absorbed into Egypt and the nation of Israel would cease to exist.  The Israelite nation longed to be free from their bondage, but it’s not like they could just walk away or refuse to obey.  They were captive to Egypt and in bondage to slavery.  It was not until the Lord acted to set them free that they finally had liberty.

     You and I have been under bondage to sin.  Even though you are forgiven children of God, you recognize the bondage and oppression of sin still in your lives.  Surely, you want to be free from sin, but you aren’t.  Sin still dwells within you.  Sin persists in your thoughts and comes out of your mouth.  It will not let you go.  As a result, you are also captive to death.  “The wages of sin is death,” (Romans 6:23), so we are all destined for the grave.  No one wants to die, but then no one has a choice either.

     Just as Israel was not free from captivity util the Lord acted to set them free, so the Lord’s anointed must act to relieve you of your burden and release you from your captivity to sin and death.  He gave himself in exchange for you.  He offered himself as the ransom which sets you free.  So, sin did to Jesus what it should have done to us.  He took the curse and was consumed in God’s wrath.  Jesus died the death we deserve—not just an agonizing death on a cross, but a God-forsaken death of judgment.  Jesus died for sins that we have done in weakness or on purpose.  Jesus died for sins we can’t recall and for sins we cannot seem to forget.  By taking your sins away from you, Jesus sets you free.  Your sins cannot condemn you because Jesus was convicted of them for you.  The Lord’s Anointed relieves you of your bondage to sin and its curse.

     The Lord’s Anointed also relieves you of death.  The worst that death can do is bring you to the fires of hell and endless torment.  But Jesus has relieved you of that sentence.  Jesus endured the horrors of death for you.  The eternal Son of God has endured the torment so that you will not.  Now, for you, death is but a slumber.  Scripture often speaks of death as a sleep from which Jesus will awaken you.  Now, you surely do not fear going to bed at night.  You probably look forward to it.  But when you sleep, you are dead to the world.  You don’t see anything.  You don’t hear anything.  You are completely unaware of anything that is going on.  But you go to sleep confident that you will wake up in the morning.  And isn’t that what death has become for those who are in Christ?  We go to our grave for a while, but on the Last Day, our Lord who holds authority over death and the grave, will summon us back to life.  He will relieve of death and decay, and he will awaken us into everlasting day.  He will raise us up with glorious, immortal bodies.  The Lord’s Anointed relieves us of death and restores to us life in God’s glorious presence.

     After Isaiah foretold what the Lord’s Anointed would deliver to us, he also foretold the benefits of his gracious decree.  After being relieved of their burdens and freed from their captivity, all that Israel lost would be restored.  In one respect, Isaiah’s prophecy was quite literal.  Isaiah prophesied more than 100 years before Israel’s captivity in Babylon.  Nevertheless, Isaiah was already foretelling of their return.  The cities and houses that were to be destroyed by Nebuchadnezzar would be rebuilt.  The land which was to be devastated would later be recultivated.  Again, the Lord would act to restore his people.  And a faithful remnant would resettle the Promised Land and wait for their Messiah.  The Lord’s Anointed relieves and restores. 

     And the Lord’s Anointed promises you much better!  One of the realities of living in this sinful world is that we lose the blessings God gives us.  The fault does not lie in the blessings.  God’s blessings are good gifts.  The fault does not lie with the Lord who both gives takes these blessings away.  He who gives them for a while has the right to withdraw them as he sees fit.  He does not give his gifts because they are deserved, and he does not take them away because he is petty or angry.  He does it out of wisdom and mercy, even if our losses cause pain.  If the Lord withdraws his blessings, it is because he is teaching you that us not to love or trust in them.  We don’t need the blessings; we need the God who supplies whatever is for our good.  Throughout your life, you’ve probably lost wealth and property; yet you still have enough.  You’ve lost friends and family members; yet God is still good and merciful.  Eventually, we lose our dexterity, our mobility, and finally our breath; but God does not forsake you.

     The Lord’s Anointed will restore all things.  He will raise us from the dead and give us everything that we truly need.  All his blessings will be perfect.  They will never lose value or effectiveness.  They cannot be lost or stolen.  Everything which is devastated or devalued by sin will be restored.  The Lord’s Anointed will restore what has been lost.  Those who have lost their senses will have their sight and hearing restored.  Those who have lost their ability and agility will have their bodies made whole.  Those who have become weak and frail will be restored to perfect strength.  Lost riches will be restored with much better riches.  A dying world will be restored to an everlasting Paradise.  The Lord’s Anointed gave us glimpse of this freedom with his miraculous healings.  The Lord’s Anointed relieves and restores.

     This also means that you will be relieved of all your struggles and weaknesses.  You have been relieved of the curse of sin already.  God’s pardon means your sin does not condemn you.  But your sinfulness still plagues you.  You are not proud of your sins.  You grow frustrated because you cannot overcome bad habits or because you do not produce the patience, kindness, generosity, or self-control you want.  But the Lord’s Anointed will relieve you of your weaknesses.  He will restore to you both the perfect desire and the perfect ability to do everything in accordance with God’s will.  And you will rejoice in doing it.  What joy to know that you will never again disappoint a loved one, fail to keep your word, or need to swallow your pride over boastful or hurtful words!  The Lord’s Anointed will restore you to a pure heart and mind and to glad and willing obedience.  The Lord’s Anointed relieves and restores.

     Jesus read the words: “The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me to bring good news to the poor” (Isaiah 61:1).  Jesus was sent to deliver the good news of salvation to the poor.  That means all people because all are destitute of righteousness.  Jesus, however, supplies the righteousness people need.  And now, to you who have been given the righteousness that saves, Jesus calls you to declare this good news, too.  You do this both by words and actions.

     The Lord reminds you, “You shall be called the priests of the Lord; they shall speak of you as the ministers of our God” (Isaiah 61:6).  Not everyone in Christ’s church is a pastor, but everyone is a priest.  A priest is one who speaks and acts for the Lord.  This is what you do throughout your life.  You sing his praise and call upon his name here.  You pray and teach God’s word with your family at home.  You invite your neighbors to come and hear God’s word with you and boldly confess the comfort and peace that Jesus gives to sinners.  You can boast how Jesus has relieved your fears and how he will restore your life to perfection and peace. 

     Your priestly duties are not limited to church.  You live and serve in God’s name no matter what you do.  Even the way you live toward your neighbor makes a confession to him.  You work honestly.  You act graciously.  You forgive freely.  You speak kindly.  You listen with compassion, and you respond with mercy.  Whatever you do, you do it as a priest of God and in service of Christ.  This is how you love your neighbor and bless him—whether your neighbor is your spouse, your client, or a stranger.  Your neighbor will recognize your deeds of love, and he will praise God for your service.

     The Spirit of the Father has anointed the Son who declares liberty for the captives and freedom for those who had been bound to sin and death.  In holy baptism, God the Son poured out his Spirit upon you and set you free.  Through preaching and holy communion, he keeps you free from the bondage to sin and death.  He relieves you of the guilt that bothers you and the death that stalks you.  He pardons you and promises you a resurrection to life everlasting.  He will restore to humanity the perfection it first had, and he will restore the world to the perfection of Eden.  The Lord’s Anointed was sent and commissioned for this very purpose: to relieve sinners and to restore righteousness.

In the name of the Father and of the Son + and of the Holy Spirit.  Amen.