Isaiah 61:1

"The Spirit of the Lord God is on me, because the Lord has anointed me to bring good tidings to the afflicted," that is, God anointed him with the Holy Spirit. Therefore, after being incarnated and clothed with a human body, as is said, he …

After completing these predictions, Isaiah now turns the prophecy to Christ the Master, who in the present life has given these things to the church and has promised the commonwealth to come.… We do not need many examples to explain the meaning of this prophecy. …

(Chapter 61—Verse 1 and following) The Spirit of the Lord God (in the Vulgate it is "God") is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me: to bring good news to the meek, He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted (in the Vulgate it is "broken-hearted"), to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound; to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all who mourn, to grant to those who mourn in Zion: to give them a beautiful headdress instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, the garment of praise instead of a faint spirit. LXX: The spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn, to provide for those who mourn in Zion— to give them a garland instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, the mantle of praise instead of a faint spirit. They will be called oaks of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, to display his glory. To whom the Psalmist had already said: You have loved righteousness and hated iniquity; therefore God, your God, has anointed you with the oil of gladness above your companions (Ps. 45:7). When "companions" are mentioned, understand the nature of the flesh, because God does not have companions of his own substance. And because it was a spiritual anointing, and by no means of the human body, as it was in the priests of the Jews, therefore it is mentioned that he was anointed above his companions, that is, above the other saints. […]

For the naming of Christ is the confession of the whole, shewing forth as it does the God who gave, the Son who received, and the Spirit who is, the unction. So we have learned from Peter, in the Acts, of "Jesus of Nazareth whom God anointed with the Holy Ghost;" and in Isaiah, "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because the Lord hath anointed me;" and the Psalmist, "Therefore God, even thy God, hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows."

The spirit of the Lord is upon me—a passage which the Lord having read in the synagogue on the Sabbath said: Verily I say unto you, to-day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears.

But afterward [the Spirit] came on him as he was baptized … and Jesus returned to Galilee. Considering all those things, we remember and acknowledge the Holy Spirit, who is one like the Father and the Son, without measure, and one who fills every creature …

He who said in the preceding words concerning those who would be called in faith: "I the Lord will gather them at the proper times," as the time was already present, in which he promised to gather them, and as one who had already become man, and had undergone the likeness to us, and had lowered himself to emptiness, "The Spirit of the Lord," he says, "is upon me," although being by nature God the Only-begotten is the Holy of holies, and he himself sanctifies all creation, since indeed he is begotten of a holy Father, and pours forth the Spirit from himself, and sends it into the powers above as his own, and moreover to those who have recognized his epiphany. How then was he sanctified? For being at once God and the same one man, he gives the Spirit divinely to creation, but he receives it from God the Father according to his humanity. This we say is the use. And he makes clear the cause of the incarnation. For having said that it was from the Father, he necessarily added, "Because of which he has anointed me; he has sent me to preach good news to the poor, to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim release to those in captivity, and to grant recovery of sight to the blind, and in addition to these to call also a day of recompense:" many at the same time are the manifest achievements of the incarnation of the Only-begotten. For in order that he might win the world under heaven, and bring those throughout the whole inhabited world to God the Father, having transformed all things to a better state, and as it were renewed the face of the earth, he took the form of a servant, although being Lord of all.

"The Spirit of the Lord is on me," etc. These words are manifestly said with regard to Zerubbabel but actually with regard to our Lord, as he has testified by himself. "Today," he said, "that Scripture has been fulfilled at your ears."

Do not fall into despair because of stumblings. I do not mean that you should not feel contrition for [your sins], but that you should not think them incurable. For it is more expedient to be bruised than dead. There is, indeed, a Healer for …

1073. The spirit of the Lord is upon me. Here he promises joy to the people. And this is divided into two parts: in the first, he promises joy; in the second, the people receive the promise and give thanks, where it says, I will …

Anointed - Set me apart, both capacitating him with gifts, and commissioning him with authority; and yet more, as it is applied to Christ, a power to make all effectual, from whence he hath also the name of Messiah among the Hebrew, and of Christ among the Greeks; nay, Christ alone among the prophets hath obtained this name, Psalm xlv, 7.

8 ), such mourners he has comfort in store for. As blessings out of Zion are spiritual blessings, so mourners in Zion are holy mourners, such as carry their sorrows to the throne of grace (for in Zion was the mercy-seat) and pour them out as Hannah did before the Lord. To such as these Christ has appointed by his gospel, and will give by his Spirit (

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The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me,....

We think we find the glories of the church of Christ, its spiritual glories, described under the type and figure of the Jews' prosperity after their return out of their captivity. It is promised that they decays of the church shall be repaired,

The Spirit of the Lord God - Hebrew, The Spirit of the Lord Yahweh.’ The Chaldee renders this, ‘The prophet said, the spirit of prophecy from the presence of Yahweh God is upon me.’ The Syriac, ‘The Spirit of the Lord God.’ The Septuagint, Πνεῦμα Κυρίου Pneuma Kuriou - ‘The Spirit of the Lord,’ omitting the word אדני 'ădonāy. So Luke quotes it in Luk 4:18. That this refers to the Messiah is abundantly proved by the fact that the Lord Jesus expressly applied it to himself (see Luk 4:21).

So Lu 4:18 and the Septuagint interpret it; Lu 4:18, under inspiration, adds to this, for the fuller explanation of the single clause in the Hebrew, "to set at liberty them that are bruised"; thus expressing the double "opening" implied; namely, that of the eyes (Joh 9:39), and that of the prison (Ro 6:18;

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THIS text receives great luster from the fact that it was one of the passages which the Savior read when He entered into the synagogue at Nazareth and preached on the Sabbath. It is as fresh as ever and we may still say of it, "This day is this Scripture fulfilled in your ears." It is no small privilege that we poor under-shepherds should be permitted to take the same text as "that great Shepherd of the sheep." Our care must be to point to Him in it.

THIS text receives great luster from the fact that it was one of the passages which the Savior read when He entered into the synagogue at Nazareth and preached on the Sabbath. It is as fresh as ever and we may still say of it, "This day is this Scripture fulfilled in your ears." It is no small privilege that we poor under-shepherds should be permitted to take the same text as "that great Shepherd of the sheep." Our care must be to point to Him in it. I intended to have preached from these words in Luke 4:18, but when I looked at the Revised Version and found that the words were not there at all I was somewhat startled. I began to ask whether the emission was a correct one or not and, without making pretense to scholarship, I feel convinced that the revisers are acting honestly in leaving it out. It was not in the original manuscript of Luke, but probably some pious person added it with the intention of making the quotation more complete. Whatever the intention may have been and however natural the added words may appear, it is a pity that the unknown Brother ventured to improve that which was perfect from the beginning. After resolving in my mind the fact, which I accept, that the passage was not written by Luke in his record, I have, I think, discovered the reason. When our Savior unrolled the Book of Isaiah, He read from it, but we are not certain that He read any one passage through. According to the Jewish Law it was allowed in the Prophets for the reader in the synagogue to skip, as we call it, to make selections and read here a passage and there a passage, as he aimed at bringing out his subject. As the words are given in our Authorized Version you will notice that the portion of Scripture is not exactly like the prophetic words in Isaiah 61 and that one sentence, at least, must have been taken from another part of the prophetic Book.

I DO not know whether you generally read the daily newspaper. I think we might get up a "Society for the Suppression of Useless Knowledge." A great deal that appears in the newspapers amounts only to that—and much time is wasted reading the paper. But sometimes we get a gem among the news and, to my mind, there was a gem contained in a Reuter's telegram, from Rio Janeiro, May 10th—"The Brazilian Chamber of Deputies has voted the immediate and unconditional abolition of slavery in Brazil." My heart rejoiced as I read that paragraph!

I DO not know whether you generally read the daily newspaper. I think we might get up a "Society for the Suppression of Useless Knowledge." A great deal that appears in the newspapers amounts only to that—and much time is wasted reading the paper. But sometimes we get a gem among the news and, to my mind, there was a gem contained in a Reuter's telegram, from Rio Janeiro, May 10th—"The Brazilian Chamber of Deputies has voted the immediate and unconditional abolition of slavery in Brazil." My heart rejoiced as I read that paragraph! I hope it does not mean that this vote can be defeated in some other Chamber, or the abolition can be prevented by some other power. But if it means that slavery is to be immediately and unconditionally abolished in Brazil, I call upon you all to thank God and rejoice in His name! Wherever slavery exists, it is an awful curse, and the abolition of it is an unspeakable blessing. All free men should praise God and especially those whom Christ has made free, for they are, "free indeed." I am not going to preach about the slavery in Brazil and yet the message about its abolition will be a great part of my theme. There is another slavery, a slavery into which we were born, a slavery in which we have lived and, alas, a slavery under which some of us still smart. And Jesus Christ has come, as the Great Liberator, "to proclaim liberty to the captives." There is no question about that emancipation! It is not a Chamber of Deputies which has voted it and it is not a thing which may be thrown out by another parliamentary body.

[Another Sermon by Mr. Spurgeon upon this text, is #1604, Volume 27—HEART DISEASE CURABLE] THESE are some of the words of the Lord Jesus, the Christ of God, the Messiah, which He read in the synagogue at Nazareth and then said, "This day is this Scripture fulfilled in your ears." One of the worst calamities that can happen to anyone is to have his spirit broken. "The spirit of a man will sustain his infirmity; but a wounded spirit, who can bear?"

[Another Sermon by Mr. Spurgeon upon this text, is #1604, Volume 27—HEART DISEASE CURABLE] THESE are some of the words of the Lord Jesus, the Christ of God, the Messiah, which He read in the synagogue at Nazareth and then said, "This day is this Scripture fulfilled in your ears." One of the worst calamities that can happen to anyone is to have his spirit broken. "The spirit of a man will sustain his infirmity; but a wounded spirit, who can bear?" All the water in the sea will not hurt the vessel one thousandth part as much as that which comes into it. When trouble gets into the heart, every other trouble seems to be magnified and it is hard to bear up against even the ordinary trials of daily life. Save us, O God, if possible, from the terrible affliction of being entirely broken down in life's battle! Yet, very closely allied to this great calamity is one of the greatest spiritual blessings, namely, a spiritually broken heart, broken on account of sin and, sometimes, the brokenness of spirit which arises from physical sorrow, mental anxiety, or temporal trouble leads up to the contrition of heart which is most acceptable to God. Oftentimes He sanctifies a lower form of affliction and makes it conducive to the higher form of brokenness of spirit. I am not going to give you any descriptions of spiritual brokenness of heart—I want rather to address myself to broken hearts of any sort and of every sort. There is no particular description of broken hearts given in the text, but simply Christ's declaration, "He has sent Me to bind up the brokenhearted." There is no descriptive epithet limiting the declaration to the spiritually brokenhearted—and what is not in the text I will not put into it.

[Two more Sermons by C. H. Spurgeon on the latter part of the text are #1604 and #1605, Volume 27—HEART DISEASE CURABLE and JESUS KNEW WHAT HE WOULD DOg.] As this Sermon is so short, there is included with it an Address given by Mr. Spurgeon at a Prayer Meeting for Sabbath schools, which is just as timely and as much needed, now, as when it was delivered in 1877.] OUR Lord's anointing was with a special view to His preaching.

[Two more Sermons by C. H. Spurgeon on the latter part of the text are #1604 and #1605, Volume 27—HEART DISEASE CURABLE and JESUS KNEW WHAT HE WOULD DOg.] As this Sermon is so short, there is included with it an Address given by Mr. Spurgeon at a Prayer Meeting for Sabbath schools, which is just as timely and as much needed, now, as when it was delivered in 1877.] OUR Lord's anointing was with a special view to His preaching. Such honor does the Lord of Heaven and Earth put upon the ministry of the Word that, as one of the old Puritans said, "God had only one Son, and He made a Preacher of Him." It should greatly encourage the weakest among us, who are preachers of righteousness, to think that the Son of God, the blessed and eternal Word, came into this world that He might preach the same glad tidings which we are called to proclaim! I. We may profitably note, first, HOW EARNESTLY OUR LORD KEPT TO HIS WORD. It was His business to preach and He did preach. He was always preaching! "What?" you say, "did He not work miracles?" Yes, but His miracles were sermons—they were acted discourses, full of instruction. He preached when He was on the mountain. He equally preached when He sat at the table in the Pharisee's house. All His actions were significant— He preached by every movement. He preached when He did not speak—His silence was as eloquent as His words! He preached when He gave and He preached when He received. He was preaching a sermon when He lent His feet to the women that she might wash them with her tears and wipe them with the hairs of her head, quite as much as when He was dividing the loaves and the fishes and feeding the multitude. He preached by His patience before Pilate, for there He witnessed a good confession.

The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me “The Spirit of Jehovah is upon me” - The Septuagint, Vulgate, and St. Luke, (Luk 4:18), and a MS., and two old editions omit the word אדני Adonai, the Lord; which was probably added to the text through the superstition of the Jews, to prevent the pronunciation of the word יהוה Jehovah following. See Kennicott on the state of the printed Hebrew text, vol. i., p. 610. In most of Isaiah’s prophecies there is a primary and secondary sense, or a remote subject illustrated by one that is near. The deliverance of the Jews from their captivity in Babylon is constantly used to shadow forth the salvation of men by Jesus Christ. Even the prophet himself is a typical person, and is sometimes intended to represent the great Savior. It is evident from Luk 4:18 that this is a prophecy of our blessed Lord and his preaching; and yet it is as evident that it primarily refers to Isaiah preaching the glad tidings of deliverance to the Jews. The opening of the prison “Perfect liberty” - פקח קוח pekach koach. Ten MSS. of Kennicott’s, several of De Rossi’s, and one of my own, with the Complutensian, have פקחקוח pekachkoach in one word; and so the Septuagint and Vulgate appear to have taken it: not merely opening of prisons, but every kind of liberty - complete redemption. The proclaiming of perfect liberty to the bound, and the year of acceptance with Jehovah. is a manifest allusion to the proclaiming of the year of jubilee by sound of trumpet. See Lev 25:9, etc. This was a year of general release of debts and obligations, of bondmen and bondwomen, of lands and possessions which had been sold from the families and tribes to which they belonged. Our Savior, by applying this text to himself, (Luk 4:18, Luk 4:19), a text so manifestly relating to the institution above mentioned, plainly declares the typical design of that institution.