The ministry of the Anointed of Jehovah is described in Isaiah 61:1-3. Verse 1 says, "The Spirit of the Lord Jehovah is upon Me, / Because Jehovah has anointed Me / To bring good news to the afflicted; / He has sent Me to bind up the wounds of the brokenhearted, / To proclaim liberty to the captives, / And the opening of the eyes to those who are bound." As Luke 4:16-21 indicates, this refers to Christ in His first coming. The Lord's ministry in His first coming was one of grace, not vengeance, which is mentioned in Isaiah 61:2.

When the Lord came the first time, He was conceived of the Holy Spirit and constituted with the essence of the Holy Spirit added to His humanity to be a God-man. He then lived thirty years as a man in that essence of the Spirit. At the age of thirty He came forth to carry out His ministry. At that time He was baptized in water, and immediately the Holy Spirit descended upon Him economically (Luke 3:21-22). Prior to that time, He was already constituted with the Spirit essentially, but in order to carry out God's economy, He needed the Spirit economically to empower Him and authorize Him to be the Servant of God to minister God into His chosen people. This is the significance of the words, "The Spirit of the Lord Jehovah is upon Me."

As the Servant of Jehovah, Christ brought good news to the afflicted, bound up the wounds of the brokenhearted, proclaimed liberty to the captives, opened the eyes of the blind (physically and spiritually), and proclaimed the acceptable year of Jehovah (Isa. 61:2a), which is the year of jubilee. Thus, He brought in the real jubilee.

Verse 2b goes on to say that the Anointed will also proclaim "the day of vengeance of our God." This refers to the Lord's second coming, for in His first coming He did not carry out vengeance. In His second coming He will avenge Israel, proclaiming the vengeance of God.

Verse 2 also indicates that in His second coming Christ will "comfort all who mourn." Verse 3 continues, "To grant to those who mourn in Zion, / To give to them a headdress instead of ashes, / The oil of gladness instead of mourning, / The mantle of praise instead of a spirit of heaviness; / That they may be called the terebinths of righteousness, / The planting of Jehovah, that He may be glorified." Here ashes signifies shame and headdress signifies glory. According to Hebrews 1:9, the oil of gladness is the Spirit. Instead of mourning, restored Israel will have the Spirit as the oil of gladness. Furthermore, instead of a spirit of heaviness, there will be a mantle of praise. As a result, Israel will be called the terebinths of righteousness, the planting of Jehovah, so that He may be glorified.

The first part of Isaiah 61:1-3 refers to the Lord's ministry in His first coming (vv. 1-2a), and the second part refers to the restoration of Israel in His second coming (vv. 2b-3). Hence, this portion of the Word implies both Christ's first coming and His second coming. In Isaiah's prophecy the Lord's two comings are like two mountain peaks which, when viewed from a distance, seem to be one peak. For this reason, Isaiah put Christ's first coming and second coming together.