It is well known that the prophet Isaiah writes in some detail of the birth, life, sufferings, death and glory of the Lord Jesus, speaking also of Him as the anointed vessel of Jehovah in three different passages. The first, in chapter 11 has special reference to the day when the Lord will put down all evil, and bring justice to the earth. In this chapter the Holy Spirit has a seven-fold character, the first being Personal: then three couplets present the traits that marked the Lord Jesus in Manhood on earth, and that will distinguish Him in the day of His glory.
In Isaiah 42, Jehovah Himself speaks, saying, “Behold my Servant, whom I uphold; mine elect, in whom my soul delights; I have put my Spirit upon Him.” Matthew quotes this Scripture after the Lord Jesus was in rejection by the nation of Israel; after He was compelled to denounce the cities in which most of His mighty works had been done, because of their unbelief. God would have Israel know that the One they had refused was His Servant, His chosen One, His beloved, in whom He was well pleased; and if they would not have Him, the Gentiles would trust in His Name.
The third time Isaiah writes of the Lord Jesus as God’s anointed, the Lord Himself is the speaker, and He says, “The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me.” This Scripture is also quoted in the New Testament, and indeed, read by Jesus in the synagogue at Nazareth, as recorded in Luke 4:16–21. As God’s Anointed, there was not only the fulfilment of the prophetic Scriptures, but also the answer to the types of the Old Testament, one of which was the anointing of the “unleavened wafers” of the meat offering, as given in Leviticus 2:4. The type of the “fine flour mingled with oil,” in verses 4 and 5 of the same chapter, had its anti-type in the birth of the Lord as recorded in Luke 1:35, “The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God.”
“The Spirit of the Lord”
Of old, when “the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep,” and God was about to prepare the earth for man’s habitation, “The Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters” (Gen. 1:2). Now, the Spirit of God rested upon One who had come to work in the scene of a deeper darkness, a moral and spiritual darkness, that man’s sin and evil had made waste and empty; where there was nothing for God except what He had wrought in the hearts of His saints. Job had said, “By His Spirit He has garnished the heavens,” referring, no doubt, to the work of God in creation; but the Spirit now rested on the Son for a greater work, even for the accomplishing of God’s eternal counsels, which would result in the formation of a heavenly company to share the glory and affections of Christ, and be before God as His sons, “heirs of God, joint-heirs with Christ.”
God had filled Bezaleel with His Spirit for the construction of the tabernacle, and to form all that He had designed for its furnishing and for the priestly service. The Spirit of God came upon judges, kings and prophets, enabling them to do great exploits, to carry out His will or to deliver His message. Even Balaam, a false prophet, who desired to curse God’s people, Israel, was compelled to bless them, because “The Spirit of God came upon him,” and made him speak God’s words (Num. 24:1–9).
The Spirit of God came upon Samson time and again, for some special action; and so it was with king Saul, but the time came “when the Spirit of the Lord departed from Saul, and an evil spirit from the Lord troubled him” (1 Sam. 16:14). At that time, “The Spirit of the Lord came upon David from that day forward,” (verse 13); but David, after his grievous failure, cries to the Lord, “Take not thy Holy Spirit from me” (Psalm 51:11). He knew what had happened to Saul, and in true repentance turned to God, crying for His mercy. But all these show the character of the Spirit’s action: He did not abide on any of those upon whom He came.
On Jesus the Holy Spirit came to dwell, even as is written, “And John bare record, saying, I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and it abode upon Him” (John 1:32). After receiving the Spirit, Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of Satan; then “Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit into Galilee” to begin His public ministry (Luke 4:14); and after its completion, “through the Eternal Spirit offered Himself without spot to God” (Heb. 9:14) to glorify God in regard to the whole question of sin, and to put away our sins.
“He has anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor”
Preaching glad tidings to the poor was part of the mission for which the Lord was anointed, and how perfectly was this carried out. It was not yet His time to “reprove with equity for the meek of the earth,” or to judge the poor with righteousness, as He will in the coming day; but He preached to them God’s disposition of grace, and a great salvation, not from the Roman yoke, but from the power of sin and Satan. His words to Simon the Pharisee about the creditor and the two debtors, manifest the character of His message, as do also His words to the poor woman who came uninvited to Simon’s house, “Thy sins are forgiven,” and “Thy faith has saved thee; go in peace.”
God’s care for the poor, or for the meek, is told out in the mission of Christ. If the poor have been denied the best that this world affords, His Son was preaching to them things that were infinitely better, and they were available for all who had faith in God and in His Son. The rich man may be suddenly deprived of all his goods, like the man in Luke 12; or after having enjoyed them, be cast into hell, like the rich man in Luke 16; but the poor, who accept the glad tidings preached by Jesus, although as poor as Lazarus, and as miserable in relation to his circumstances, can look forward to a heavenly home, where all is bliss.
Although Christ’s mission was to preach to the poor, the blessings of the Gospel are not denied to the rich who trust in Him. There were rich men, like Zacchaeus, who came to Jesus; there were women, like Mary Magdalene, Joanna, and Susanna, and many others, who ministered unto the Lord of their substance; but, alas, the normal character of rich men, even where there is much to commend them naturally, is to trust in their riches rather than in God. When the rich ruler came to the Lord asking “What shall I do to inherit eternal life?” and when he was very sorrowful at the thought of being separated from his riches, the Lord said, “How hardly shall they that have riches enter into the kingdom of God!”
“He has sent me to heal the broken-hearted”
Whether it be a broken-hearted widowed mother that Jesus meets, with the funeral cortege of her only son, or a broken-hearted sinner, weeping behind Him, in Simon’s house, there is compassion for them in the heart of Jesus, and the solace and power to bind up the broken hearts. To the widowed mother, His compassion and solace are expressed in the words, “Weep not;” and the power in the words to the dead, “Young man, I say unto thee, Arise.”
The broken heart of the sinful woman would never have been bound up by the hard-hearted Pharisee; but the grace of God in Jesus brought to her salvation, forgiveness and peace. And how many broken-hearted sinners have been healed since that day! Any who come to Jesus, in true repentance, confessing their sins, will be blessed by Him; the tears of repentance being washed away, and peace and joy poured into the broken heart.
At the grave of Lazarus, Jesus heals the broken-hearted sisters of Bethany, His love and sympathy told out in His tears, when “Jesus wept.” And how great the comfort for their hearts when they learned that Jesus was “The Resurrection and the Life,” and when they heard His voice of power call their brother Lazarus from death and corruption. Now, as our Great High Priest on high, the Lord Jesus still heals the broken-hearted, ministering His grace, succour and comfort; a ministry that will continue till His voice is heard awaking the sleeping saints, and calling all His own to be for ever with Him.
“to preach deliverance to the captives”
The Lord Jesus preached a Gospel of “great salvation,” a Gospel that delivered men from the power of sin, the bondage of Satan, and the fear of death. When speaking to the Jews, the Lord said, “If ye continue in my word…the truth shall make you free” (John 8:32). Their reply, “We be Abraham’s seed, and were never in bondage to any man,” declared how insensible they were to their condition. On account of their sins, the nation had been led captive by the Assyrians and by Nebuchadnezzar; and even at that time, though in the land that God had given them, they were under the yoke of Rome. But they were under a more grievous bondage, even as the Lord said, “Whosoever commits sin is the servant of sin;” but He had come to preach deliverance to the captives, so said to them, “If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed.”
In Luke 13, the Lord Jesus healed a woman “which had a spirit of infirmity eighteen years,” but the ruler of the synagogue was indignant because Jesus had healed on the Sabbath day, but the Lord’s answer to him was, “Ought not this woman, being a daughter of Abraham, whom Satan has bound, lo, these eighteen, years, be loosed from this bond on the Sabbath day?” Those under the bondage of the law would have prevented the Lord preaching deliverance to the captives; but the Lord had come to set men free, and would not be hindered by the religious prejudices of men who knew not the grace of God.
“recovering of sight to the blind”
Matthew, in his Gospel, writes five times of the Lord opening the eyes of the blind; twice of two blind men, and on two other occasions (Matt. 15:30; 21:14) there may have been several who had their sight restored. Luke speaks of “many blind” having their eyes opened in the “same hour.” Only Mark recounts the two stage healing of the blind man of Bethsaida; and only John the sending of the blind man of Jerusalem to the pool of Siloam. Only a divine work can open the eyes of one born blind so that he can see “every man clearly” immediately. Skilled surgery can now remove cataracts from the eyes of some who are born blind, but to begin with, like the blind man of Bethsaida, they can perceive “men like trees walking.” It often requires a lengthy period for them to learn to see every man clearly. But the Lord Jesus enabled the blind man of Bethsaida to see clearly by the touch of His hand, and the man of Jerusalem whenever he washed at Siloam’s pool.
But the Lord had not only come to open the natural eyes of the blind, but also to open the eyes of their hearts to give them spiritual vision; and this double aspect of His work is shown in the blind man of Jerusalem. The mud on the eyes, signified the truth of the incarnation, which naturally made men more blind than before; but the washing with the water that showed the Son to be the Sent One of the Father brought spiritual sight to the blinded eyes of the soul. This divine work in the blind man is seen in his confession of “A man called Jesus” to be “A prophet;” then in his owning Jesus as Lord, and finally in worshipping Him as Son of God.
Although the Lord has gone to heaven He is still concerned with the opening of the eyes of the blind. When He called Saul of Tarsus to be His servant, He sent him to the Gentiles, with this commission, “To open their eyes, and to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God, that they might receive forgiveness of sins, and inheritance among the sanctified by faith that is in me” (Acts 26:18).
“to set at liberty them that are bruised”
The Son of God in Manhood was a great Deliverer, setting at liberty those who were crushed under the yoke of the law, the dominion of sin and the bondage of Satan. No one would doubt that poor Legion was under Satan’s power: bereft of his senses, without clothes or a home, having self-inflicted wounds, dwelling in the tombs, and often bound by his fellows. He was beyond all human aid, but what a change came over him when he met Jesus! The demons were cast out, and he was found sitting at the feet of Jesus, clothed, and in his right mind. A man may be respectable and religious, yet under Satan’s power; all the features that marked Legion naturally, being true of him spiritually, if away from God. The good resolves he makes, and the obligations that others impose upon him, will never change him. If he is to be set at liberty, he must come under the power of the Lord Jesus.
Many were the bruised that were sent forth delivered when, as recorded by Matthew, at different times, the multitudes and others brought all kinds of afflicted ones to Jesus to be healed (See Matt. 8:16; 9:35; 12:15; 14:14, 35; 15:30; 19:2). There is no affliction of the soul that the great Deliverer cannot heal. He came to bless, and all who come to Him in faith and avail themselves of His grace and power, whatever the distress, He will heal. No one but Jesus can relieve and set free the troubled soul: it is to Him we must bring them or point them. There must be personal contact with Jesus, even if it is but to touch the hem of His garment.
“to preach the acceptable year of the Lord”
Israel, as a nation, were under the sentence of “Lo-ammi” (not my people), because of their unfaithfulness to God, though, in His goodness and mercy, God had restored a remnant to the land to receive Messiah, whom He had promised. Having come, Jesus did not preach the demands of the law, which required works of righteousness of which they were incapable: He had come freighted with richest blessings, offering pardon from God for their sins, salvation from all their foes, peace for their conscience and rest for their heart; and to tell them that God would receive them, if they would but come to Him for blessing on the testimony of His Anointed whom He had sent.
It was long since Isaiah had prophesied of these things, but Jesus was able to say, “This day is this Scripture fulfilled in your ears.” The acceptable year of the Lord had begun with the preaching of Jesus, and those who heard that day were the witnesses of it, for “all bare Him witness, and wondered at the gracious words which proceeded out of His mouth.” But alas! instead of receiving God’s overtures of grace, “they said, Is not this Joseph’s son?” They were blind as to the Person who spoke to them, and they manifested their disposition to God’s goodness when they rose up, and thrust Jesus “out of the city, and led Him unto the brow of the hill whereon their city was built, that they might cast Him down headlong.”
But Israel’s rejection of their Messiah, and the message of grace He brought, but opened the way for the preaching of God’s acceptable year to the Gentiles; so that the Apostle Paul could write to the saints at Ephesus that Christ “came and preached peace to you which were afar off, and to them that were nigh.” God took the occasion of Israel’s crucifixion of His Son to accomplish the great work of redemption that enables Him, in righteous grace, to offer salvation and eternal life to all who will believe in Jesus, and who will rest their souls on the finished work of Him whom He raised from the dead.
The significance of the Lord closing the book at this juncture had often been noticed, for the words that follow in Isaiah 61 are “and the day of vengeance of our God.” So that the acceptable year of the Lord covers the period from the time the Lord read these words until the day arrives for the outpouring of God’s judgments on the world. The period of the presentation of God’s grace is “the acceptable year,” a year that has lasted well nigh two thousand years, such is God’s long-suffering; but God’s vengeance, necessary to clear the world of iniquity before the introduction of divine blessing, is but a day, for judgment in God’s “strange work” (Isa. 28:21-22), and He will make it a “short work” (Romans 9:28).
When the acceptable year of the Lord is over, and the day of judgment has wrought its purifying work, the Lord, as the Anointed, will “comfort all that mourn,” and He will “appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto 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 might be glorified.”
In the day of vengeance, God will pour out His righteous judgment upon the anti-christ and his followers, upon the head of the revived Roman empire and his armies, upon the kings of the east, and upon Gog and his hordes from the north, with their confederates. Edom, for so long the inveterate enemies of Israel, will receive its judgment from the Lord’s own hand; nor will the cities of the nations, where men have sought to glorify themselves and make themselves happy away from God, be forgotten in that awful day.
Great changes will appear in the earth after the judgments have swept away the lawlessness and corruption that have prevailed down the centuries. God’s earthly people will praise Him, saying, “I will greatly rejoice in the Lord, my soul shall be joyful in my God; for He has clothed me with the garments of salvation, He has covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decks himself with ornaments, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.” Israel will no longer be the tail among the nations, but will be the head, for “In that day shall Israel be the third with Egypt and with Assyria, even a blessing in the midst of the land.” Then will be fulfilled among the many prophecies, what is written in Isaiah 2:3, “And many people shall go and say, Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob; and He will teach us of His ways, and we will walk in His paths.”
While the saved from the nations of the earth are blessed through Israel, for the millennial day, those who have received God’s grace in this “the acceptable year of the Lord,” will be blessed with Christ in heaven above, sharing the glory of His kingdom, and the deep, eternal joys and affections of the Father’s House.
R. 1.3.62