Isaiah 61 is well known because its opening lines have been used by the Lord himself to announce the work he is about to do at the beginning of his ministry (cf. Luke 4). The "Year of Favor" announced is the Jubilee Year, that year when prisoners and captives are released and debts are cancelled.
And thou shalt sanctify the fiftieth year, and shalt proclaim remission to all the inhabitants of thy land: for it is the year of jubilee. Every man shall return to his possession, and every one shall go back to his former family:
Because it is the jubilee and the fiftieth year. You shall not sow, nor reap the things that grow in the field of their own accord, neither shall you gather the firstfruits of the vines,
Because of the sanctification of the jubilee. But as they grow you shall presently eat them. In the year of the jubilee all shall return to their possessions. (Lev. 25:10-13)
Isaiah 61 plays out like a liturgical drama with four persona: the prophet, a commentator, the Lord and Zion. It can be divided into four distinct parts:
vv. 1-4 The mission of the prophet to those who mourn in Zion (voice: the Prophet)
vv. 5-7 A vision of the future restoration (voice: the Commentator)
vv. 8-9 A locution of the Lord confirming the prophet's words (voice: Yahweh)
vv.10-11 The response of Zion (voice: Zion)
Isaiah 61:1-4. The prophet announces his mission to proclaim the Jubilee year of God's favor. The afflicted, the broken-hearted, the captives and the prisoners, those who mourn in Zion are the anawim. These constitute the Jews returning from who exile who discover how much the heritage of Israel has been devastated: no Temple, no Kingdom, no Promised Land. Theologically, these are the "poor", those who have no one else to put their trust on except God. Verse 4. indicates the historical context: there will be a rebuilding and a restoration.
Isaiah 61:5-7. "They" in v. 4 is now transformed to "Ye". Those who will rebuild will have a changed status in the eyes of men. Strangers and foreigners -- those who devastated their lands -- shall now become their slaves. They themselves shall be wallowing in wealth, and as priests, they will enjoy a new intimacy with God (for priests can approach the altar of God, no one else) and like the Levites of old shall sanctify those who wish to come into the presence of the Lord. They shall have everlasting joy.
Isaiah 61:8-9. The Lord continues the train of glad tidings for those who mourn in Zion. After the prophecy regarding the land (4.5-7), He now speaks of progeny. They will be known as the people blessed by the Lord. The last line (v. 9) echoes passages from Isaiah 40-55 about the new status of Israel. The mention of a new covenant reminds one of a passage from Jeremiah, a covenant written in hearts not in stone
Behold the days shall come, saith the Lord, and I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Juda:
Not according to the covenant which I made with their fathers, in the day that I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, the covenant which they made void, and I had dominion over them, saith the Lord.
But this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel, after those days, saith the Lord: I will give my law in their bowels, and I will write it in their heart: and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. (Jer. 31:31-33)
Isaiah 61:10-11. The rejoicing of Zion corresponds with v. 7 "they shall have everlasting joy". The new clothes -- robe of salvation, mantle of justice, the wedding garments -- remind one of the "change of clothing" the prophet announces in verse 3. In Zion's song, what had been prophesied has come true. And because of God's actions, "justice" and "praise" shall rise up from the nations. It would be as if seeing Zion in her new status, the nations around her would change their ways in accord with God's will and themselves become worshippers of the Lord.
