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Advent Season · Third Sunday of Advent · Year B

Isaiah 61:1-4, 8-11

The Year of the Lord’s Favor

December 13, 2026

The Seven Works of Mercy, Caravaggio
The Seven Works of Mercy, Caravaggio, 1607Pio Monte della Misericordia, Naples
All seven works happen at once in a Neapolitan alley: a man is buried, a prisoner is fed at the breast by his own daughter, a corpse's feet stick out at the left. The painting has never left the building it was made for.The spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me; he has sent me to bring good news to the oppressed, to bind up the broken-hearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, to comfort all who mourn.CaravaggioThe painter who put street models and raking light into altarpieces, killed a man in a brawl, and changed European painting in under twenty years.Pio Monte della Misericordia, NaplesA charitable confraternity founded in 1602 and still operating, which commissioned the Caravaggio above its altar and has never let it leave.Pio Monte della Misericordia, Naples
Revised Common Lectionary
GospelJohn 1:6-8, 19-28Jn 1:6-8, 19-28
Epistle1 Thess. 5:16-241 Thes 5:16-24
Old TestamentIsa. 61:1-4, 8-11Is 61:1-4, 8-11
PsalterPs. 126Ps 126 orLuke 1:46b-55Lk 1:46b-55

Overview & Insights

“The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me to bring good news to the poor.” (Isaiah 61:1)

Chapters 61 and 62 recapitulate much of chapter 60, but they do so in a new framework. They offer five responses to those promises. Whereas the prophet’s word was a brisk preliminary to Yahweh’s word in 59:21–60:22, in chapters 61–62 the prophet speaks a number of times in a way that has significance in its own right but also introduces recapitulations of the promises.

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Take it further: Isaiah 61:1-4, 8-11

Commentary

Isaiah 61:1-4, 8-11Is 61:1-4, 8-11 Working Preacher

A scholarly read on the anointed herald of good news to the oppressed, the text Jesus later claims in the Nazareth synagogue.

Isaiah 61:1-4, 8-11Is 61:1-4, 8-11 Center for Excellence in Preaching

A Reformed commentary noting the dialogue between the human herald and God, and what it means that the lectionary trims the day of vengeance.

Isaiah 61Is 61 Enduring Word · David Guzik

An evangelical verse-by-verse treatment of the Servant's mission of release, comfort, and the garment of praise.

Isaiah 61 verse by verseIs 61 verse by verse Precept Austin

A deep inductive-study page compiling cross references, word studies, and quotations from many commentators.

Classic commentaries on Isaiah 61Classic commentaries on Is 61 BibleHub

A classic aggregator collecting historic commentators on the Spirit-anointed proclamation of the Lord's favor.

Background & Word Study

Isaiah and WorkIs and Work Theology of Work

Explores how Isaiah's vision of restored ruins and rebuilt cities speaks to justice, vocation, and economic life.

Isaiah 61 in Hebrew, with Jewish commentaryIs 61 in Hebrew, with Jewish commentary Sefaria

The original Hebrew with parallel English and linked Jewish commentary, essential for hearing the text in its own tradition.

The Church Fathers

Isaiah 61, patristic commentaryIs 61, patristic commentary Catena

Patristic comment gathering how the early church read the anointing and the year of the Lord's favor christologically.

Questions preachers ask

Why does Isaiah 61 belong to Advent?

It is the anointed servant's mandate, good news to the poor, liberty to captives, the year of the Lord's favor, the very words Jesus reads of himself in the synagogue at Nazareth.

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