Isaiah 61:1

“The Spirit of the Lord God is upon Me, because the Lord has anointed Me to preach good tidings to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound.”

 This powerful verse of Scripture is the prophet Isaiah prophetically speaking for the coming Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Jesus is proclaiming how the Holy Spirit was upon Him helping Him preach, heal, proclaim, and loose those that are bound. One of the things that people underestimate is the need for the Spirit of God. The Lord Jesus Himself had the Lord’s Spirit upon Him which was needed to give Him power to do what He was called to do. How much more do we need the Lord’s Spirit today?  

When exactly did the Spirit of the Almighty Lord descend upon Jesus? Luke 3:22 describes “And the Holy Spirit descended in bodily form like a dove upon Him, and a voice came from heaven which said, “You are My beloved Son; in You I am well pleased.” Here we can see that the Spirit of God descended upon the Lord right after being baptized by John the Baptist. The Lord received the power of the Holy Spirit to help Him with His ministry here on Earth.

The Holy Spirit is our Helper (John 14:26), He is our Comforter (John 16:7), He will guide us and lead us into all truth (John 16:13), and He provides us with power (Acts 1:8), and so much more. One of His main roles is to assist us when it comes to spiritual warfare. Don’t find it strange that the devil comes at you consistently the moment that you become a believer of Jesus Christ. You are in direct opposition to him and his demonic kingdom.

We need the Spirit of the Lord God to give us direction, strength, power, endurance, etc. during those battles against the enemy. He will teach you how to fight back but you have to be willing to humble yourself enough to listen and be obedient to the direction that He gives you. I know for me when I was under severe demonic oppression, the Holy Spirit taught me how to go to war using my Sword which is the Word of God.

The fact is, in order for us to become resilient when the devil attacks, we have to go through training. The Lord Jesus had to be tempted by the devil just like we do. Luke 4:1-2 accounts “Then Jesus, being filled with the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, being tempted for forty days by the devil. And in those days He ate nothing, and afterward, when they had ended, He was hungry.”

God’s Spirit was the Lord’s Helper when He faced opposition from the enemy. He was filled with the Holy Spirit and God’s Spirit was the One that led Jesus into the wilderness so that He could begin His preparation for what was to come. How much more do we need to allow the Lord’s Spirit to lead us and guide us in everything that we do?

Now let’s take a closer look at the primary verse of Scripture out of God’s Word that I want to highlight, Isaiah 61:1. The words “upon me” is the Hebrew word “ʿal” which means: above, over, and in excess. So in other words the Holy Spirit was above and over the Lord leading Him and guiding Him throughout His ministry. We need to make sure that we do not take the role that the Lord’s Spirit plays lightly. He is extremely important in the life of every believer of Christ.

Another part of this passage of Scripture that we need to take a deeper look at is the words “has anointed” which is the Hebrew word “māšaḥ” which means: anoint, as consecration, solemn setting apart to an office, always by the use of oil poured on the head. So breaking down these two pieces out of the Scripture we can conclude that the anointing is as if oil is being poured on you setting you apart and dedicating you to do the Lord’s work.

In those times oil would be applied on people as an outward representation of the anointing to do their special service for the Lord. This visible anointing with literal oil was a practice that was done as a sign to others of the work of the Holy Spirit operating in their lives. Now, because of what the Lord Jesus Christ did on the cross at Calvary we have the special gift of the Holy Spirit dwelling on the inside of us, John 14:17.

The next set of words that we need to understand is when Isaiah states “to preach good tidings” which is the Hebrew word “bāśar” which means: herald as glad tidings: the salvation of God, preach salvation and the good news. Who is Isaiah saying that Jesus will preach to? He is preaching “to the poor” which is the Hebrew word “ʿānāv” which means: poor, weak, and afflicted.

When we dissect what this part of the verse of Scripture is explaining to us we can determine that Jesus is stating that He has been given a special anointing from God to preach the good news of salvation to the poor and afflicted. Afflicted by whom? The affliction was coming from the devil and his demonic kingdom.

We have to remember that in those days before Jesus Christ died on the cross, God’s people did not have the power to overcome the devil. After the Lord died and rose on the third day He triumphed over the devil openly disarming his entire kingdom. So when the Lord showed up on the scene, He began to proclaim the gospel (good news) with power to everyone around Him setting many people free.

Then Isaiah states that Jesus’ anointing will be used “to heal” which is the Hebrew word “ḥāḇaš” which means: to tie, bind up, and bandage. Heal whom? He was sent to heal “the brokenhearted” which is the Hebrew word “šāḇar” which means: to break or break in pieces. Jesus was sent to heal the ones that were broken.

We can never forget that in those days there was no promise of eternal life because of the fall of mankind at the Garden of Eden. There was no promise of salvation or freedom from bondage. There was also a disconnection from God that Father that could only be completely reconciled through a perfect sacrifice (Jesus Christ). Having hope during that time was very difficult to have considering the circumstances. Jesus Christ came with hope and love setting the captives free, Luke 4:18.

Then the prophet Isaiah declares that the Lord Jesus is also anointed “to proclaim liberty to the captives.” The words “to proclaim” is the Hebrew word “qārā’” which means: to proclaim with accusation of a thing. The word “liberty” is the Hebrew word “dᵊrôr” which means: a flowing, free run, and liberty. The words “to the captives” is the Hebrew word “šāḇâ” which means: to take captive.

So, when we take a closer look at these words stated by Isaiah through the leading of the Holy Spirit we can determine that one of Jesus’ main reasons for His anointing was to declare freedom to those that the devil had captive. The enemy and his entire demonic kingdom knew who Jesus was and knew His authority, James 2:19. When the Lord set the captives free you best believe they were free indeed, John 8:36.

The final part of this verse of Scripture that I want to highlight is when God’s Word states, “the opening of the prison to those who are bound.” The words “the opening of the prison” is the Hebrew word “pᵊqaḥ-qôaḥ” which means: opening of the eyes wide and freeing from a dark prison. The words “to those who are bound” is the Hebrew word “‘āsar” which means: to bind with cords and shackles.

God is revealing to us through this part of this verse that He anointed the Lord Jesus Christ so that He could open the eyes of those that were blind (spiritually blind) to those that were chained and shackled in a spiritual prison at the hands of the devil and his demonic kingdom. We can never underestimate that one third of Jesus Christ’s ministry was deliverance and the casting out of demons. This allowed the people that were oppressed in an internal prison to be made free.