Isaiah 61:1 says, 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; Though this verse does apply to Isaiah by the Spirit of the Lord GOD being on him to proclaim good tidings and liberty to the captives of Babylon, in its greater context, it applies to Jesus Christ, who Himself said this scripture was fulfilled in Him. This is found in Luke 4:17-19, 21. We can proclaim the freedom from sin for those who confess their sins and accept Jesus Christ as their personal Savior and Lord, but we cannot free them from the penalty of sin. Only Jesus Christ can. Isaiah was anointed by God to be a prophet, but Jesus Christ was anointed by God to be the only One Who could forever set the captives free from the bondage of sin.
Verse two adds, To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all that mourn; The acceptable year of the Lord was when Jesus Christ came too set people free from the penalty of sin and to bring comfort to those who mourned. Of course, for this to be true, people had to accept the gift of salvation that God gave everyone when He sent Jesus Christ to die for our sins. Now, we await the acceptable year of the Lord God for Jesus Christ to return to call His people home forever.
Verse three continues, To appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that he might be glorified. God said this was done to bring them joy and rejoicing in the Lord for the freedom that He gave them over the penalty of sin. Though the people of Israel were freed from bondage in Babylon, this was a temporary freedom. When we are freed from the penalty of sin by putting our faith in Jesus Christ as our Savior and Lord, it is an everlasting freedom, and we should rejoice and give all the praise to Him. We are then to be trees of righteousness, and this not our own righteousness, but the righteousness of Jesus Christ. We are to proclaim the gospel to all people, and we are to do so for the glory of God.
Verse four states, And they shall build the old wastes, they shall raise up the former desolations, and they shall repair the waste cities, the desolations of many generations. This verse applies to the people of Israel when they returned from captivity in Babylon. They were to rebuild the Temple and the cities that had been destroyed. This also applies to what happens in the life of an individual when they accept Jesus Christ as their Savior and Lord. Until a person accepts Him, their life is in spiritual ruin, and only by faith in Him can it be rebuilt.
Verse five adds, And strangers shall stand and feed your flocks, and the sons of the alien shall be your plowmen and your vinedressers. Isaiah said that when the restoration took place people from other countries would be working for them. When we become a follower of Christ, the things of this world should not be our primary concern. We should not be entangled by the things of this world as Matthew Henry states it. This did not mean that the people of Israel were sit back and have others do all their work for them, nor should we expect to do so today as Christians.
Verse six continues, But ye shall be named the Priests of the Lord: men shall call you the Ministers of our God: ye shall eat the riches of the Gentiles, and in their glory shall ye boast yourselves. God said that the people of Israel were to be priests of the Lord and ministers of their God, Who is the only God. The Levites had been the priests, but now every Israelite was to serve as a priest of God. We are set free from the penalty of sin if we put our faith in Jesus Christ, but we are set free to serve God and proclaim the gospel to all people. Matthew Henry said eating the riches of the Gentiles didn’t mean that the people of Israel were going to seize them. The Gentiles would become a part of God’s people if they accepted Jesus Christ as their Savior and Lord, and this would bring their riches into the kingdom. The glory that they were to boast about was the glory of God in redeeming them, and this should be the thing that we boast about today. We don’t boast to bring honor and glory to ourselves, but we boast of the mercy of God in redeeming us.