Isaiah 61 is our text this evening. Isaiah 61 verse 1 down through verse 3. The Spirit of the Lord God, Jehovah God Almighty is upon me. Talking about the anointed Lord Jesus Christ the Messiah. Because the Lord has anointed me. The Lord Jesus Christ was anointed in all of his office. He was the Messiah, the promised Messiah. And he was anointed to preach good news, good news. That's the gospel, good tidings. Good tidings to those who are meek. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted. sent on purpose. The Lord God Almighty sent the Lord Jesus Christ to proclaim liberty, liberty to the captives and the opening of the prison to them that are bound.

You imagine what would you think sitting on death row with a death sentence placed upon you And you hear the jailer walking down the hall on the morning that you'd be executed. And he opens up that cell door and he says, you're set free. You're set free. Wait a minute, I was, they were going to execute me. Oh no, you're set free. Another took your place. That's exactly what happened to Barabas, remember? He was sitting on death row. And they came and he thought, they're coming after me to put me to death. And they said, you've been set free. Another took your place. Another took your death.

That's the substitute to Lord Jesus Christ. But what we see here is the prophecy concerning the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ in the ministry that God anointed him to accomplish. In reading Luke chapter 4, we see the Lord Jesus Christ indeed is the promised Messiah, the Christ of God, the anointed of God, to accomplish all of salvation for us.

Think about it. He accomplished everything for us. He is the anointed prophet, Remember, the Lord told Moses God would raise up a prophet from among the brethren. He is that anointed priest. We have a great high priest, the Lord Jesus Christ. And he is that anointed king. He's king of kings and Lord of lords, Lord of lords. A prophet represents God to the people. A priest represents the people under God, and then the Lord Jesus Christ rules and reigns over all things. He is the anointed one that we need. The Lord Jesus Christ is the complete and perfect fulfillment of all the Old Testament types and pictures and prophecies.

To Him give all the prophets witness. And we read so many times in Luke chapter 24, our Lord, risen from the dead, said, all things must be fulfilled which are written in the prophets, in the Psalms, concerning me. And then he opened their understanding, that they might understand all these different things. So when we read through the Old Testament, all the Genesis, the five books of Moses, and then we come to the prophets, Isaiah, Jeremiah, and all those, all those are Not just historical books, it's a history of Him.

It's a story of Christ, the Lord Jesus Christ. The Lord Jesus was no unsent Savior, or Redeemer, or Messiah. He was sent of God, as it says there, He sent me. He sent me to bind up the brokenhearted. He was sent of God as a Redeemer to redeem His people. He was sent of God as a Savior. What does the Savior do? Call His name Jesus. He shall save His people from their sin. He's called the Redeemer. What does the Redeemer do? He delivers. He's our deliverer, our Redeemer from all our sin.

He was sent of God to accomplish for His covenant people what they could not accomplish. We couldn't set ourselves free. We couldn't give ourselves life. We couldn't give ourselves eyesight. He was sent of God to accomplish in the fullness of time for his covenant people and complete the eternal salvation as a surety, the surety of the everlasting covenant.

He's the surety of that better covenant, established upon better promises. As David said on his deathbed, ordered and all things, and is sure, it is all my hope and all my salvation. When the Lord Jesus Christ began his public ministry, one of the first messages that he preached was from Isaiah 61.

And he goes back to his hometown synagogue, and after there, the rabbi, the minister, gave him the book of Isaiah, and it was a scroll in that day. It was rolled up scroll. You've seen pictures of those. And somehow he unfurled it to the place where he had written. He's the author of the book of Isaiah. Isaiah 61, it said, this day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears. And what a shock that must have been. He read from this passage that we just read a moment ago, when he sat down and said, this day is a scripture fulfilled in your ears.

And then when he made application of the prisoners being set free and the brokenhearted being comforted and those who are meek and poor set free, When he makes application to that, showing how he will have mercy upon whom he will, with the widow woman and with Naaman the leper, when he makes application to that scripture about being anointed to set the prisoner free, and when he makes application and tells them what that means, they weren't happy campers.

They were filled with wrath and anger. and physically laid hold upon the Lord Jesus Christ to end his ministry and to end his life. Don't tell me that the carnal mind did not enmity against God. We've seen that displayed all through scripture, haven't we? The carnal mind receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God. So we see when the Lord makes application of the scripture and explains that he will pardon whom he will, he will redeem whom he will.

These religious folks got so angry, filled with murder in their heart against God, against his anointed. Think about that. This is just no ordinary man from Nazareth. This is that promised Messiah, Son of God, anointed of God in all of His office, and yet they seek to kill Him.

What does that tell us about ourselves? It tells us that we are sinful. We are totally depraved. And left to ourselves, we would not have any different response. Let us not be surprised then when we declare the gospel before those who are unbelievers, those who are full of self-righteousness and religious pride. Don't be surprised when we declare unto this religious lost world of God's sovereignty and salvation. Folks get upset, don't they? They get upset. They say things like, that's not fair. If God's going to have mercy on whom He will, and whom He will, He's hardened. He's no God of mine. Okay. Okay. That doesn't change the fact that God is God. God is God. Our Lord said this, if they've hated me, they'll hate you too.

So, let's just compromise and get along. That's what this religious world wants to do. Have you ever noticed how two can't walk together except they be agreed? You can take a group of men while I used to work and most of them were all religious and they would all agree about their religion and they all could get along.

But there was one guy that sat at that lunch table that didn't agree with them. And every time I interjected anything, they got so angry, got so mad, got upset. I finally just quit eating lunch with them. All they wanted to do was fight and argue. I'd just go out in my truck and start up my old truck and sit out in my truck by myself and eat lunch and read my Bible. rather than sit and argue with those lost religious men who hated the God I loved. They hated the God I loved. So don't be surprised when religious folks get upset. Rather, you ought to expect it. You ought to expect it. Well, having said that, Let's look at verse 1 again. He said, The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me because the Lord hath anointed me. Even the Savior's mission and ministry was dependent upon the Spirit of God. Thou art my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased.

Remember, the Lord Jesus Christ, this is God manifest in the flesh, He was a real man, tempted and tested in all points like as we are yet without sin. Yes, fully and totally God, but yes, let us never forget, he was a real man, a man of sorrows, a queen with grief. And he could not, he could not, as just a mere man, left to the energy of the flesh, accomplish all that God gave him to do. That wasn't gonna happen. But the Spirit of the Lord was upon him without measure.

Listen to the witness of John the Baptist. He said concerning the Lord Jesus Christ, He must increase, I must decrease. He whom God sent speaketh the words of God. For God giveth not the Spirit unto him by measure. The Father loveth the Son, and giveth all things into his hand. He did not have a measure of the Spirit.

He had the full weight of God behind everything he said, everything he did to the success and glory of the Lord Jesus Christ. The Father ordained, anointed the God-Man, the Lord Jesus Christ, as a surety, substitute, sin offerer, mediator, savior. He gave the Holy Spirit unto the God-Man mediator without measure.

He came from the Father on behalf of His elect to accomplish the Father's will, to speak His word, to perform His work, to honor His law and satisfy His justice. He did all that for his people, to the glory of God Almighty. He said, Father, I finished the work you gave me to do. Now glorify thou me with thine own self, with the glory which I had with thee before the world was. Everything God gave him to do, he performed it perfectly, fully. satisfying God's law and justice for us. He's the perfect substitute, the perfect surety. He performed all things for us.

The Lord Jesus Christ was the preacher, sin of God. Notice it says there, because he has anointed me to preach, preach good tidings unto the meek. The Lord was a preacher, a preacher of the gospel. to preach the good news of the gospel to the meek, to those who are feeble, to those who are weak, to those who are diseased, diseased with sin, those who are needy.

Remember our Lord said, when they complained about, why does your, they said to the disciples, why does your master eat with publicans and sinners? And the Lord overheard what they said. And He said, I didn't come to call the righteous, the well don't need a physician, those who are sick. I didn't come to call the righteous, but sinners, sinners unto repentance. The Lord Jesus Christ came to seek and to save the lost, His lost sheep. This is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptation. The Lord Jesus Christ came to save sinners, That's what Paul said, and then he said, I'm the chief offender. Paul, you think what Saul of Tarsus did to believers, he persecuted them unto death. You reckon that bothered his conscience? Well, you know it did. He put believers to death. You remember when they stoned Stephen? Who was there watching that? And he said, here boys, let me hold your coat. Let me hold your coat so you can cast them stones a little bit more fiercely. Saul of Tarsus.

He gave consent unto the death of Stephen who preached that great, great sermon. The Lord was a preacher of the gospel. He came to preach good tidings to sinners, to the meek. He lived as a prince of preachers. He died as the theme of all preaching. He arose the Lord of all preachers. He preached good tidings of grace, mercy, and forgiveness to poor and needy sinners.

Just what I am. The Lord came to tell this poor sinner that salvation is in Christ. Salvation, you remember from Psalm 40, David said, I'm poor and needy. David said, I'm poor and needy, yet the Lord thinks upon me. Our Lord said this in Matthew 5, blessed are the poor in spirit, theirs is the kingdom of God.

Those who are humbled have a sense of their sin and humble by their sin. These poor disown their own righteousness as filthy rags, stand naked and condemn before God. These poor have nothing, know nothing, can do nothing to be accepted of God. They're in desperate need of all things and inscribe all they receive unto the grace of God.

He came to preach good tidings to the meek. It says over here in Luke 4, because He anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor. Poor and needy. You know, that's a blessed man. Those who are poor in spirit. He's able to meet all our need according to His riches in glory through the Lord Jesus Christ.

The second thing He says here, Not only did he came to declare the good news, the good news and salvation for sinners. It says there that he came to bind up the broken hearted. To bind up the broken hearted. To heal, it says over here in Luke 4.18, to heal the broken hearted. To bind them up. To heal the broken hearted.

You know, when something is broken, some appliance or something is broken in your house, what do you do with it? Well, you usually just throw it out because it's no good, it doesn't work. The Lord came to fix that which is no good. The Lord came to fix that which is broken.

Broken because of sin. We need the Lord to operate upon our heart to cause us to love Him, to believe Him, to give us a heart, a new heart. that believes and trusts Him alone for all salvation. This is a broken and convicted heart over sin. It finds no relief except in Christ, in the Lord Jesus Christ. To preach good tidings to the meek, He sent me to bond up broken hearts. Broken hearts over sin. Broken hearts over sin. Now, we have a lot of heartaches in this life, don't we? All people have a lot of heartaches. They have disappointments and heartaches.

But this is not talking about that. This is talking about being brokenhearted and convicted that you've sinned against God. That you've come short of the glory of God by sinning against God. He came to bind up those broken hearts. To give us a new heart. The sacrifices of God. The psalmist said in Psalm 51, the sacrifices of God are a broken spirit and a contrite heart, O God, thou will not despise. He's denying to them of a broken heart. Save us such as be of a contrite spirit.

Ezekiel says this. The Lord says through the prophet Ezekiel, new heart will I also give you, a new spirit will I put within you. I'll take away that stony heart and I'll give you a new heart. That's what we need. We need a heart transplant. We need God to give us a new heart, a heart that loves the Lord Jesus Christ and that seeks salvation only in the Lord Jesus Christ.

And the third thing he says here, Preach good news to the poor, poor, needy sinner. To bind up broken hearted. And then it says to proclaim liberty. Liberty. Liberty. I love that word, don't you? Liberty. Liberty. Remember Galatians 5 verse 1. Stand fast in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free. Liberty. Liberty is deliverance. Deliverance, he says over here. to preach deliverance to the captives. He's our deliverer.

What are we captive to? Our sin, our nature, in bondage to the law, the curse of the law, to proclaim liberty to the captives, to redeem sinners, to take captive those who were Captive by sin and bruised and crushed by sin, we were fully and totally redeemed and delivered by the precious blood atonement of Christ. How can this sinner have all this sin forgiven? Only through the Lord Jesus Christ paying my sin debt.

And that's what he did at Calvary. He appeared once in the end of the age to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself. His blood, the blood of God's Son, cleanses us from all our sin, past, present, future. Think about it. To proclaim liberty, our Lord came to set the captive free from the law. He redeemed us from the curse of the law being made a curse for us. By His atoning blood, He shed His blood to set us free. The fourth thing he says there, in verse 1, to proclaim liberty to the captives. And then it says the opening up of the prison to them that are bound. He opens up the prison. It says over here in Luke 14, preach deliverance to the captives.

Recovering of sight to the blind is set at liberty those who are bruised." We're not only in bondage, we're blind and dead in sin, blind to the mercy of God, blind to the love of God, and the Lord comes to give us sight. And he does that by his commandment. God who commanded the light to shine out of darkness has shined in our hearts to give us the light and the knowledge of the glory of God that shines in the face of the Lord Jesus Christ. In opening up the prison to them that are bound. Bound by the law, bound by sin. Look at verse 2. Isaiah 61 verse 2. to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord. And notice the reference there is at Leviticus 25 and it's talking about the year of Jubilee.

To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord and the day of vengeance of our God to comfort all that mourn, to appoint unto them that morn in Zion, to give them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness, that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that he may be glorified, that he may be glorified. You remember we studied Romans 11, of him and through him and to him are all things to whom be glory both now and forever. It gets right back down to the glory of the Lord, doesn't it? To proclaim how we are accepted in the beloved.

Now if you go back and read that reference there in Leviticus 25, it goes back to the seven Sabbath 49-7-7, 49 Sabbaths, and on the 50th year was the year of Jubilee, when everyone who had sold his property or was in debt or was in bondage, all the property was returned, all the debts were forgiven, and those who were enslaved were set free.

Well, that was a happy day, wasn't it? It's called the year of Jubilee. Listen to it. Let me read it to you. And you shall hallow the 50th year and proclaim liberty throughout all the land unto all the inhabitants thereof. It shall be a jubilee unto you, and you shall return every man unto his possession, and you shall return every man into his family.

The Lord Jesus cried, he is that year of jubilee. Every seventh year was the Lord's year, was a Sabbath of rest to the land. But on the year following the seventh of the sevens was a year of jubilee. Every man sold into slavery was set free. All property and family land was redeemed and returned. All debts were discharged and a year of rest was proclaimed. We ought to institute that again, the year of Jubilee.

We have that in Christ. Christ is our King and Redeemer. He's done all this for us. He's set our soul free. You shall know the truth and the truth shall set you free. The Lord has restored our inheritance. The wages of sin is death. The gift of God is eternal life. where sin abounded, grace did much more abound. We are made heirs of God and joint heirs with the Lord Jesus Christ. Our souls are set free. Our inheritance is restored in Christ.

Our debts are paid with His blood. Deliver them from going down to the pit. God said, I found a ransom. He's a ransom for many. And that He is our rest. My Lord said, come unto Me and rest. Come unto me and rest. He is the acceptable year of the Lord. Now watch this in closing.

The day of vengeance of our God, and to comfort all that mourn. Now, you see, two things that are opposite. Vengeance, wrath, judgment, And then comfort. That's two opposites, aren't they? Well, this day of vengeance, what happened on Calvary's tree? It was the day of vengeance against our sin. The wrath of God fell upon the Lord Jesus Christ as our substitute. That was the day of wrath and vengeance, wasn't it? Against our sin, God too holy to look upon sin with favor. even when he finds it in his son. But through Christ and him crucified, what do we have?

Comfort. Turn back a few pages, look at Isaiah 40. Isaiah 40, verse one. Isaiah 40, verse one. Comfort you, comfort you, my people, sayeth your God. speaking comfortably to Jerusalem, cry unto her that her warfare is accomplished, that her iniquity is pardoned, for she hath received of the Lord's hand double for all her sins. Comfort ye, comfort ye, my people. The Lord Jesus Christ took the wrath of God in our stead, and through that we have great, great comfort, comfort in Christ. Look at verse 3.

To appoint unto them that mourn in Zion. I love that word appoint. It's appointed. It's appointed of God unto them as many as were ordained to eternal life believed. To appoint unto them. We have salvation by His appointment, by His ordination, by His decree. Those that mourn in Zion. Now watch this. To give them beauty. The Lord is our beauty. He is our glorious dress.

Look right across the page, Isaiah 61 verse 10. I will greatly rejoice in the Lord, for my soul shall be joyful in my God, for he hath clothed me with the garments of salvation. He hath covered me with the robe of righteousness as a bridegroom decketh himself with ornaments as a bride adorns herself with jewels, beauty instead of ashes, oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness, that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord. Now look right up the page, right up the column, to Isaiah 60, verse 21.

Thy people also shall be all righteous. They shall inherit the land forever, the branch of my planting, the work of my hands, that I may be glorified. It all gets back to his glory. You see, he's the true vine, we're the branches. That they might be called trees of righteousness. How are we righteous? In Christ, the Lord our righteousness. And we're the planting of the Lord.

How did you get in Christ? A branch doesn't get itself into the tree, does it? It comes out of the tree. And we come out of Christ being chosen in Him. We're the planting, the Lord has planted us. Trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord. that he might be glorified.

It's all about His glory. It's all about His glory. It's not glorying in the flesh. It's not glorying in any work that any of us have done. It gets back to the bottom line in all things relative to His glory and all of salvation is about His glory. The glory of the Lord Jesus Christ.