Isaiah 61:1 English Standard Version
The Year of the Lord’s Favor
1 The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me
to bring good news to the poor;[a] he has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,
to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound;[b]
Footnotes
- Isaiah 61:1 Or afflicted
- Isaiah 61:1 Or the opening [of the eyes] to those who are blind; Septuagint and recovery of sight to the blind
This is what the “Good News” looks like. There are two footnotes for this one verse and perhaps there should have been more.
When we hear poor we think of money and the absence of it. The footnote tries to clarify the use of the word poor by giving an alternative meaning, afflicted. That may expand the meaning but does not answer the reality of His message about poverty. Good news isn’t good news if it does not change the listener’s situation. The good news is that Jesus is offering us what we did not have that God wants us to have to change our situation. This sentence is inadequate on its own to demonstrate what God is offering to the afflicted.
The second offering is to bind the broken hearted. To bind is an external operation of an outside agent to take over the condition of a life threatening condition. To bind is to take over control and be responsible for the object of that condition, our hearts. More scriptures are required to come to a complete understanding of that operation.
Proclaiming liberty to captives is like opening the door to the prison cell. It does not speak to what captivated the prisoner, what the charges were, what sentence was imposed or who imposed it. It also does not speak to the condition of the prisoner’s emotional state. Do they even want to be set free? This is why the second footnote speaks to the issue of blindness. When we are bound in darkness and we see the light of freedom, that first glimpse of light can be painful.
The “Good News” is a proclamation. It does not declare what the Lord’s Favor is, and what we can expect if we decide that we want our circumstances to change. Even the world’s most memorable quote doesn’t explain everything.
John 3:16 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.”
Many know what it says but haven’t the faintest clue as to what to believe and how.