Princeton Presbyterian Church (EPC) Sermon # 1731
May 17, 2026
Isaiah 61.1-11 Click here for audio recording of worship.
Dr. Ed Pettus
(This is an extended outline, not a verbatim transcript.)
“The Lord’s Favor”
The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me to bring good news to the poor; 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; to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all who mourn; to grant to those who mourn in Zion—to give them a beautiful headdress instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, the garment of praise instead of a faint spirit; that they may be called oaks of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that he may be glorified. They shall build up the ancient ruins; they shall raise up the former devastations; they shall repair the ruined cities, the devastations of many generations. Strangers shall stand and tend your flocks; foreigners shall be your plowmen and vinedressers; but you shall be called the priests of the Lord; they shall speak of you as the ministers of our God; you shall eat the wealth of the nations, and in their glory you shall boast. Instead of your shame there shall be a double portion; instead of dishonor they shall rejoice in their lot; therefore in their land they shall possess a double portion; they shall have everlasting joy.
For I the Lord love justice; I hate robbery and wrong; I will faithfully give them their recompense, and I will make an everlasting covenant with them. Their offspring shall be known among the nations, and their descendants in the midst of the peoples; all who see them shall acknowledge them, that they are an offspring the Lord has blessed.
I will greatly rejoice in the Lord; my soul shall exult 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 like a priest with a beautiful headdress, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels. For as the earth brings forth its sprouts, and as a garden causes what is sown in it to sprout up, so the Lord God will cause righteousness and praise to sprout up before all the nations.
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The Lord’s Favor in Isaiah
Today’s message is heavy on the phrase “The Lord’s Favor”. It comes from Isaiah 61.2, “to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.” I draw out that particular phrase because it is a classic definition of God’s grace, unmerited favor. God grants us His favor even though we have done nothing to deserve His favor. We have no merit which would lead God to grant His favor and blessing. We have done nothing to deserve God’s love and covenant and mercy. He shows His favor out of His steadfast love and righteousness. This is grace. This is blessing from the Lord. This is the reception of God’s favor while we were yet sinners.
The favor of the Lord in Isaiah 61 is seen in each verse, that is, His grace is poured out through the proclamation of the prophet in the list of gracious acts: bringing good news to the poor; binding up the brokenhearted; liberty, comfort, gladness, praise. There is joy in God’s salvation, a robe of righteousness, and all nations will see it!
From the prophet’s mouth and for Israel grace is known in the call home from exile. Grace is homecoming. Grace is deliverance from bondage to Babylon. Grace is in recompense and covenant. This is the God who restores fortunes and redeems sinners. And, what I think is critical to our understanding of the Old Testament is that God’s grace is everywhere! The Lord’s favor runs throughout the Bible because the God of the Bible is the same yesterday, today, and forevermore. There is no division of God as a God of wrath in the Old and of love in the New. Same God, same love, same grace, same favor. It is a connection that I cannot help but see when Jesus quotes from this chapter in Isaiah. And that moves us to the Lord’s favor in Christ.
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The Lord’s Favor in Christ
Luke 4.16-21, And [Jesus] came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up. And as was his custom, he went to the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and he stood up to read. And the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to him. He unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written, “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor.” And he rolled up the scroll and gave it back to the attendant and sat down. And the eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on him. And he began to say to them, “Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.”
Jesus chose this particular passage to read in the synagogue. The dramatic statement was claiming that the Scripture was fulfilled at the moment of the reading. That is to say, Jesus is the fulfillment of Isaiah 61. He is the one who will complete the prophecy of proclaiming good news and liberty, and healing, and ushering in the year of the Lord’s favor. In Him is the grace of God extended to those who believe. In Him is good news because He is the good news!
Now, some scholars suggest that Jesus was bringing a return to the Jubilee Year found in Leviticus 25. This jubilee was for the purpose of forgiveness and reconciliation of things like loans and properties.
“You shall count seven weeks of years, seven times seven years, so that the time of the seven weeks of years shall give you forty-nine years. Then you shall sound the loud trumpet on the tenth day of the seventh month. On the Day of Atonement you shall sound the trumpet throughout all your land. And you shall consecrate the fiftieth year, and proclaim liberty throughout the land to all its inhabitants. It shall be a jubilee for you, when each of you shall return to his property and each of you shall return to his clan. That fiftieth year shall be a jubilee for you; in it you shall neither sow nor reap what grows of itself nor gather the grapes from the undressed vines. For it is a jubilee. It shall be holy to you. You may eat the produce of the field (Lev 25.8-12).
In this jubilee, loans and debts would be forgiven, lands returned to rightful owners, servants set free, and yet, we have no record of Israel ever putting this practice in place. This jubilee at a basic level was a way God would set all things right, creation reordered, and God’s people restored. No doubt this was and is fulfilled in Jesus Christ. Jesus is our jubilee. He is our Savior and Lord who has set things right by His work on the cross and up from the tomb.
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The Lord’s Favor in the Holy Spirit
Isaiah and Jesus speak these words, “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me…” - upon Isaiah as he gave this prophecy to the people, upon Jesus as He walked this earth, upon the disciples at Pentecost when the Holy Spirit descended, and now, today, the Spirit of God is upon us as well! Is not that a powerful thought and reality, that the Holy Spirit is upon us?! We are called through Scripture to proclaim the Lord’s favor by the power of the Holy Spirit. We are the ones who carry the good news of Christ to those around us, either in word or deed or both. We are the people experiencing the Lord’s favor and called to share His grace through the love of neighbor. Because the Spirit has been sent from the Father in the name of Jesus, we have that same Spirit that rested on Isaiah and Jesus, Peter and John, Paul and Timothy, Calvin and Edwards. It is all about the Lord’s favor, His grace to abide in us by the Holy Spirit.
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The Lord’s Favor
As I said at the beginning of the message, the Lord’s favor is His grace. In this last bullet point I want us to focus on Isaiah 61.8 and the reasons why God has given His grace. These are not all the reasons the Bible reveals but those particular to Isaiah 61. God’s grace, His unmerited favor, is poured out to His people because (or for):
1. For I the Lord love justice; God loves justice. He loves justice. Justice is boo-hooed by the world and especially God’s justice. They do not understand it. It is why they always want to point out God wiping out certain people in the Old Testament. But God’s justice is rightly and fairly executed. Those who were destroyed in the Bible were the worst sinners who had been given every opportunity to forsake their evil ways. The evil had to be stopped. God executed His justice.
The world wants to misuse the Bible to only talk about God’s love and grace and mercy, but they fail to see that God’s justice is a part of His love and grace and mercy. Without justice, evil would reign free and clear of any consequence.
2. I hate robbery. God hates robbery. He hates when people rob others of possessions or time or life or anything God values.
3. I hate robbery and wrong. God hates wrongdoing. He hates unrighteousness. He hates sin. He loves what is right and true and righteous.
4. I will faithfully give them their recompense. God will judge and make compensation (recompense). God is the worker of restoration and reconciliation and transformation. He restores His people to the land in the time of Isaiah. He redeems us from the power of sin and death in Christ. He sets us right, that is, in right relationship with Him through the new covenant. He is faithful. He is giving.
5. I will make an everlasting covenant with them. God will make covenant. God has made covenant, a covenant of grace and love and relationship. Through Jesus Christ he abides in us and we in Him. He calls us to obedience and faithfulness. He bids us come a die to ourselves in order to live to Him.
All of this is due to the Lord’s favor. There is nothing we have done to deserve this favor, this grace. Jesus did it all for us. He died for us, He lives again for us, He reigns for us now and forever. We are His and we are the heirs of the covenant and the Lord’s favor. Give thanks for the power to see this truth throughout the Bible. Particularly today from the prophet, to Jesus, to the gift of the Spirit, to sprouting righteousness and praise in us for all to see. This is the Lord’s favor and we rejoice. Amen.
