Charles Spurgeon Commentary Isaiah 61

The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me; because the LORD hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound; To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all that mourn;

How condescending and how kind are the objects of our Saviour's mission – to put an end to sorrow. He looks out the mourners: they are the special objects of his care, and all that he does has this for one of its grand objects – to comfort all that mourn. Surely if there is any troubled heart here, it may claim an interest in such a divine work as this. Jesus has come to comfort all that mourn. Shall he not comfort you?

The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me;

These are the words of the Lord Jesus Christ the prophet, who, looking forward to the time of his coming into the world, put them into his mouth; and in due time our Saviour read them, and applied them to himself in the synagogue at Nazareth as he said, This day is this Scripture fulfilled in your ears: the Spirit of the Lord God is upon me; –

Because the Lord has anointed me to preach good tidings to the meek; he has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, —

God has sent Christ to bind up the brokenhearted; then, will he not do it? Will he refuse, my brokenhearted brother or sister, to bind you up? O deeply troubled, tempest-tossed spirit, will the Anointed One reject you and refuse to fulfill his office for you?

Never; it is both his name and his office to save, for he is called Jesus, the Savior. O brokenhearted one, look to him; hear him say, at this moment, Jehovah has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, —

to proclaim liberty to the captives

Where are you, poor, wretched bond-slaves of sin, fettered with the iron chains of despair? Christ proclaims liberty even to you. Trust him, and you shall be –

"Freed from sin, and walk at large,
Your Saviour's blood your full discharge."

Jehovah hath sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives,

And the opening of the prison to them that are bound;

There is a general discharge of prisoners; the time has come for it. Christ died to make it possible: He lives to perfect the emancipation of all for whom He died. He comes, by His Spirit, to give you the experience of it: the opening of the prison to them that are bound.

to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all that mourn;

Oh, what precious words are these! Christ comes, commissioned by the Father, to comfort all that mourn.

The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me,

You know who it is that speaks these words, our Lord Jesus himself.

Because the LORD hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound; to proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all that mourn;

The Divine Messiah comes to usher in the true jubilee, the blessed day in which the poor will have the gospel preached to them, and in which the broken-hearted will find their brokenness healed. He comes to bring the captive ones back from the Babylon of sin, and to deliver from prison those who, because of their transgressions, are bound with fetters; in a word, He comes to proclaim that now is the accepted time, now is the day of grace, now is the year of jubilee. As for the adversaries of his people, to them it will be the day of vengeance of our God, for the Lord will deal out to them, measure for measure, as they have dealt to his oppressed and persecuted people.