1The Lord Yahweh’s Spirit is on me,
because Yahweh has anointed me to preach good news to the humble.
He has sent me to bind up the broken hearted,
to proclaim liberty to the captives
and release to those who are bound,
2to proclaim the year of Yahweh’s favor
and the day of vengeance of our God,
to comfort all who mourn,
3to provide for those who mourn in Zion,
to give to them a garland for ashes,
the oil of joy for mourning,
the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness,
that they may be called trees of righteousness,
the planting of Yahweh,
that he may be glorified.
4They will rebuild the old ruins.
They will raise up the former devastated places.
They will repair the ruined cities
that have been devastated for many generations.
5Strangers will stand and feed your flocks.
Foreigners will work your fields and your vineyards.
6But you will be called Yahweh’s priests.
Men will call you the servants of our God.
You will eat the wealth of the nations.
You will boast in their glory.
7Instead of your shame you will have double.
Instead of dishonor, they will rejoice in their portion.
Therefore in their land they will possess double.
Everlasting joy will be to them.
8“For I, Yahweh, love justice.
I hate robbery and iniquity.
I will give them their reward in truth
and I will make an everlasting covenant with them.
9Their offspring will be known among the nations,
and their offspring among the peoples.
All who see them will acknowledge them,
that they are the offspring which Yahweh has blessed.”
10I will greatly rejoice in Yahweh!
My soul will 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 a garland
and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.
11For as the earth produces its bud,
and as the garden causes the things that are sown in it to spring up,
so the Lord Yahweh will cause righteousness and praise to spring up before all the nations.
Jesus' attitude toward the materially poor is indicated in His reading from Isaiah 61:1-2 at the synagogue in Nazareth. "'...To preach the gospel to the poor...'" is one aspect of Messiah's mission that He said was fulfilled in the hearing of His hometown audience (see Luke 4:18-21). That "the poor have the gospel preached to them" was part of His response to John's question, "'Are you the Coming One... '" (Matt 11:5, 3). The material needs of the poor present ongoing opportunities to demonstrate the grace of God (Matt 19:21; 26:9, 11; Mark 14:5, 7; Luke 14:13, 21; John 12:6, 8). Zacchaeus' commitment to give half of his goods to the poor was well in excess of the one-fifth that was thought to be generous (Luke 19:8). And, the gift of the poor widow of Luke 21:2-3, represented the greatest generosity. But infinitely more important than relief of the materially poor, is the true wealth of the spiritually poor. Luke's record of the Lord's Beatitudes begins, "'Blessed are you poor'" (Luke 6:20). Speaking to the entire multitude, but directing these statements of "blessings" to His disciples, Jesus declared the special favor and joy that belonged to them as recipients of God's grace. Though they were not wealthy men, they were rich in all of the blessings of God's rule both in the present and the future. Some have taken this as an indication that all of the materially poor are God's chosen people who will all be saved. Others have noticed that a very similar sermon, recorded in Matthew 5:3ff, refers to "the poor in spirit." This indicates Jesus' offer of hope and joy to those who follow Him with a sense of their utter dependence upon His grace. Not only do they anticipate sharing in Christ's future reign on the earth, but they are experiencing God's rule in their lives right now.