Part V of “Springtime Scriptures”
“The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord anointed me to bring good news to the humble; He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim release to captives and freedom to prisoners; to proclaim the favorable year of the Lord and the day of vengeance of our God; to grant those who mourn in Zion, giving them a garland instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, the cloak of praise instead of a disheartened spirit. So they will be called oaks of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that He may be glorified…
I will rejoice greatly in the Lord, My soul will be joyful in my God; for He has clothed me with garments of salvation, He has wrapped me with a robe of righteousness, as a groom puts on a turban, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels. For as the earth produces its sprouts, and as a garden causes the things sown in it to spring up, so the Lord God will cause righteousness and praise to spring up before all the nations.” (Isaiah 61:1-3, 10-11).
Righteousness and Praise Will Spring Up
So far this week, we’ve seen God’s promise to “do something new” in Isaiah 41. We next looked at Paul’s declaration that we are “new creations in Christ” (2 Corinthians 5). God’s mercies are “new every morning” (Lamentations 3). Yesterday, we saw the joy that comes when winter is over and spring arrives (Song of Solomon 2), and how that connects with our spiritual journey. That brings us to today’s passage, the last of our “Springtime Scriptures” series. The connection in this passage is in verse 11; God will cause righteousness and praise to spring up just as sprouts burst forth in the springtime.
In Luke’s gospel, Jesus preaches His first message from the first few verses of Isaiah 61 (see Luke 4:16-21). In fact, He didn’t just preach from these verses. He declared, “Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing” (verse 21). Jesus came to bring “good news.” In English, the word “news” means a report of a recent event; it was originally the plural of the word “new.” Jesus’ ministry to bring good news is the logical culmination of our “Springtime Scriptures,” because He fulfills God’s promise to “do something new.”
God Replaces Sadness and Disappointment with Joy and Praise
Verse 3 of Isaiah 61 says that the people who receive the good news will be transformed. God will give them a garland instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, the cloak of praise instead of a disheartened spirit. That’s a pretty good way to sum up what happens when we are made new creations in Christ! It doesn’t mean that everything in our lives becomes just what we want. Instead, we are transformed so that God’s desires are our desires. We rejoice not in circumstances, but in the knowledge that we belong to Him.
The last part of verse 3 tells us the result of this transformation: So they will be called oaks of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that He may be glorified. That thought carries forward to verse 11, at the end of the chapter. The Lord God will cause righteousness and praise to spring up before all the nations. The evidence of God’s new creation in us is righteousness and praise.
Righteousness Will Spring Up – God Makes Us Right With Himself and Others
“Righteousness” is one of those concepts that is often misunderstood. Many times, people view righteousness in terms of our conduct. But changed conduct does not produce righteousness. Righteousness means to walk in a right relationship with God and each other. Now, to be sure, if we are walking in that right relationship, we will do certain things that we did not do previously. We will also stop doing things that we used to do. But those changes do not produce righteousness; they are merely evidence of God’s work in us. Because God works in each of us as individuals, the speed and sequence of the changes differ from person to person. That is why we don’t measure righteousness by comparing ourselves to others!
I fear that we often forget that our righteousness with God is necessarily connected with our relationships with others. Jesus said that the greatest commandment is to love God with all our heart and our neighbors as ourselves (see Matthew 22:35-40). We cannot separate those two! We demonstrate our love for God by loving others.
Praise Will Spring Up – It’s a Natural Reaction to God’s Goodness
I think we all have a pretty good idea of what praise is. “So exalt, lift up on high the name of Jesus. Magnify, come glorify Christ Jesus the King!” (From the song Majesty). We praise God and Jesus by acknowledging their authority and their holiness. Everything they do is good, and everything that is good comes from them. When we are new creations in Christ, we no longer see things from a worldly perspective that is self-centered. Instead, we see things from Christ’s perspective, and we rejoice at everything that glorifies God.
When Jesus made His triumphal entry into Jerusalem, the religious leaders told Him to make His followers be quiet and stop praising Him. Jesus said, “I tell you, if these stop speaking, the stones will cry out!” (Luke 19:40). Creation can’t help but praise God because of who God is. And we can’t help it either!
Verse 10 declares: “I will rejoice greatly in the Lord, My soul will be joyful in my God; for He has clothed me with garments of salvation, He has wrapped me with a robe of righteousness, as a groom puts on a turban, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.” When God “saves” us, He justifies, regenerates, and adopts us. “Justification” is a legal term that means that God sets us right with Himself. “Regenerated” is a spiritual word that refers to our new birth (see John 3:5). And “adopted” is a familial term; it reflects the fact that God welcomes us into His family. “See how great a love the Father has given us, that we would be called children of God; and in fact we are” (1 John 3:1).
Springtime Means that New Life Will Spring Up in Us
Springtime – when the earth “comes back to life.” Leaves pop out on the trees. Flowers push up through the ground. The warmth and green of spring replaces the cold and grey of winter. What a great metaphor for our new life in Christ! And what a great reminder that, just as the earth “comes back to life” each year, so we continue to grow and bring forth fruit as God forms us in the image of Jesus. “So they will be called oaks of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that He may be glorified.”
May God’s work in your life burst forth with the hope and joy of spring!
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