Isaiah 42:1-4 says, “Here is My Servant, whom I uphold, / My chosen One in whom My soul delights; / I have put My Spirit upon Him, / And He will bring forth justice to the nations. / He will not cry out, nor lift up His voice, / Nor make His voice heard in the street. / A bruised reed He will not break; / And a dimly burning flax He will not extinguish; / He will bring forth justice in truth. / He will not faint, nor will He be discouraged, / Until He has established justice in the earth; / And the coastlands will wait for His instruction.” This prophecy speaks of what Christ was and did as the Servant of Jehovah in His ministry and service. Matthew 12:17-21 speaks of the complete fulfillment of this prophecy.
Isaiah 61:1 prophesied concerning Christ’s being anointed to bring good news: “Jehovah has anointed Me / To bring good news to the afflicted.” This prophecy was fulfilled in Luke 4:18-19. When the Lord came to Nazareth, which was the place where He grew up, He entered into the synagogue and stood up to read the Scriptures. The scroll of Isaiah was handed to Him, and after reading Isaiah 61:1-2, He sat down and said, “Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing” (Luke 4:21). This indicates that Christ in His earthly ministry was to bring good news. To bring good news in Greek means “to bring glad tidings,” that is, to preach the gospel. To preach the gospel was the first commission of the anointed Lord; He preached the gospel to the poor, that is, to those who were the poor in heavenly, spiritual, and divine things (Luke 12:21; Rev. 3:17; cf. Matt. 5:3).
Isaiah 61:2 also prophesied that Christ will “proclaim the acceptable year of Jehovah.” This prophecy was fulfilled in Luke 4:19. Christ as the Servant of Jehovah was anointed by God to proclaim the jubilee, the acceptable year of the Lord. According to the description in Leviticus 25, the year of jubilee was the time to proclaim liberty and the return of property to the rightful owners. Hence, the year of jubilee was a time of release and freedom and a year of return of lost property. Those who had been sold into slavery were released in the year of jubilee. Thus, Isaiah’s prophecy points to the New Testament age typified by the year of jubilee (Lev. 25:8-17). In the New Testament age God accepts the returned captives of sin (Isa. 49:8; 2 Cor. 6:2), and those who are oppressed under Satan in sin or in sickness enjoy freedom (Luke 13:11-13; John 8:34), that is, the release of God’s salvation. The anointed Christ brings in the real jubilee for God’s children.
Isaiah 61:1 also prophesies that Christ would proclaim “the opening of the eyes to those who are bound.” This indicates that Christ in His earthly ministry would open the eyes of the blind, those who are physically and spiritually blind (Zeph. 1:17; John 9:39-41; 1 John 2:11; Rev. 3:17). While on earth Christ not only healed the physically blind (Matt. 9:27-30; 20:30-34; Mark 10:46-52; Luke 18:35-43; John 9:1-7), but He also opened the spiritual eyes so that people could know Him (vv. 30-38).
The anointed ministry of the Lord also released those who were exiles and prisoners under Satan’s bondage by casting out demons (Isa. 42:7). The Lord Jesus came to destroy the works of the devil (1 John 3:8). Therefore, part of the signs and wonders that He did in His ministry was to cast out demons, Satan’s subordinates, from demon-possessed people (Mark 1:34, 39; 3:15; 6:7, 13; 16:17) that they might be delivered from Satan’s bondage (Luke 13:16), out of Satan’s authority of darkness, into God’s kingdom (Acts 26:18; Col. 1:13).
Isaiah 42:4a prophesied concerning Christ in His ministry, saying, “He will not faint, nor will He be discouraged, / Until He has established justice in the earth.” The Hebrew word translated as justice has the meaning of “judgment, verdict.” This means that when we have Christ, we have judgment and justice. Christ is justice (judgment); therefore, Christ is the answer. Isaiah prophesied that Christ the Servant of Jehovah would establish justice in the earth. This means that the Gentiles will receive the all-inclusive Christ as the judgment and answer to everything, issuing in peace and satisfaction. Justice is the issue of righteousness through judgment. The judgment of righteousness is justice. The salvation that we have received is the result of God’s judgment on Christ. Christ is righteous, but as our Substitute He was judged by God according to His righteous law, completely fulfilling all the requirements of the law. The result of God’s judgment was justice, salvation. Therefore, in Isaiah’s prophecy justice is the salvation brought forth through judgment. Christ, as the Servant of Jehovah, established justice in the earth as the righteous One who passed through the verdict of the judgment of the righteous God to bring forth justice. This justice is the salvation that He has established in this earth.