The Trinity in Isaiah 61
In the book of Isaiah we have a case where YHWH speaks of YHWH anointing him by placing his Spirit upon him for the express purpose of preaching the Gospel:
The Spirit of Lord Yahweh is upon me
Because Yahweh has anointed me
To bring good news to the afflicted;
He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,
To proclaim release to captives
And freedom to prisoners,
To proclaim the favorable year of Yahweh
And the day of vengeance of our God,
To comfort all who mourn,
To grant those who mourn in Zion,
Giving them a headdress instead of ashes,
The oil of rejoicing instead of mourning,
The mantle of praise instead of a spirit of fainting.
So they will be called oaks of righteousness,
The planting of Yahweh, that He may show forth His beautiful glory.Then they will rebuild the ancient waste places;
They will raise up the former desolations;
And they will make new the ruined cities,
The desolations from generation to generation.
Strangers will stand and pasture your flocks,
And foreigners will be your farmers and your vinedressers.
But you will be called the priests of Yahweh;
You will be spoken of as ministers of our God.
You will eat the wealth of nations,
And in their glories you will boast.
Instead of your shame you will have a double portion,
And instead of dishonor they will shout for joy over their portion.
Therefore they will possess a double portion in their land;
Everlasting gladness will be theirs.For I, Yahweh, love justice,
I hate robbery in the burnt offering;
And in truth I will give them their recompense
And cut an everlasting covenant with them.
Then their seed will be known among the nations,
And their offspring in the midst of the peoples.
All who see them will recognize them
Because they are the seed whom Yahweh has blessed.I will rejoice greatly in Yahweh;
My soul will rejoice in my God,
For He has clothed me with garments of salvation,
He has wrapped me with a robe of righteousness,
As a bridegroom decks himself with a headdress,
And as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.
For as the earth brings forth its branches,
And as a garden causes the things sown in it to branch out,
So Lord Yahweh will cause righteousness and praise
To branch out before all the nations. Isaiah 61:1-11
By carefully reading of the context, and by following the pronouns closely, the readers can see that it is YHWH, rather than Isaiah, who is the Speaker all throughout the chapter.
For instance, in context it is YHWH who proclaims his love for justice, and shall repay and make an everlasting covenant with the people. It is this same YHWH who further refers to YHWH as being his God and who has anointed him with the Spirit of YHWH.
Note, once again, the verses in question:
“The Spirit of Lord Yahweh is upon ME Because Yahweh has anointed ME To bring good news to the afflicted; He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, To proclaim release to captives And freedom to prisoners… For I, Yahweh, love justice, I hate robbery in the burnt offering; And in truth I will give them their recompense And cut an everlasting covenant with them.” Isaiah 61:1, 8
The NT identifies the divine Speaker of Isa. 61 as none other than the Lord Jesus Christ, which the following chart helps to illustrate.
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“The Spirit of Lord Yahweh is upon me |
“And Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit, and news about Him spread through all the surrounding district. And He was teaching in their synagogues, being glorified by all. And He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up, and as was His custom, He entered the synagogue on the Sabbath and stood up to read. And the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to Him. And He opened the scroll and found the place where it was written, ‘The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, Because He anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor. He has sent Me to proclaim release to the captives, And recovery of sight to the blind, To set free those who are oppressed, To proclaim the favorable year of the Lord.’ And He closed the scroll, gave it back to the attendant and sat down, and the eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on Him. And He began to say to them, ‘Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.’” Luke 4:14-21 |
This helps us understand how YHWH could refer to YHWH being his God, since in his incarnation the Father became Jesus’ God.
The NT further attests that Jesus has priests that serve as his ministers.
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“But you will be called the priests of Yahweh; |
“for me to be a minister of Christ Jesus to the Gentiles, ministering as a priest the gospel of God, so that my offering of the Gentiles may become acceptable, having been sanctified by the Holy Spirit.” Romans 15:16 “Blessed and holy is the one who has a part in the first resurrection. Over these the second death has no authority, but they will be priests of God and of Christ and will reign with Him for a thousand years.” Revelation 20:6 |
Christ is also depicted as the One who comes to recompense and judge, as well as to make an everlasting covenant with the people.
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“For I, Yahweh, love justice, I hate robbery in the burnt offering; And in truth I will give them their recompense And cut an everlasting covenant with them.” |
“For the Son of Man is going to come in the glory of His Father with His angels, and will then repay each one according to his deeds.” Matthew 16:27 “Now while they were eating, Jesus took some bread, and after a blessing, He broke it. And giving it to the disciples, He said, ‘Take, eat; this is My body.’ And when He had taken a cup and given thanks, He gave it to them, saying, ‘Drink from it, all of you; for this is My blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for forgiveness of sins.” Matthew 26:26-28 |
The NT even describes Jesus as the divine Bridegroom with heavenly Jerusalem and the Church being his bride.
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“I will rejoice greatly in Yahweh; My soul will rejoice in my God, For He has clothed me with garments of salvation, He has wrapped me with a robe of righteousness, As a bridegroom decks himself with a headdress, And as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.” |
“‘Let us rejoice and be glad and give the glory to Him, for the marriage of the Lamb has come and His bride has made herself ready.’ And it was given to her to clothe herself in fine linen, bright and clean; for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints. Then he said to me, ‘Write, “Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb.”’ And he said to me, ‘These are true words of God.’” Revelation 19:7-9 “Then one of the seven angels who have the seven bowls full of the seven last plagues came and spoke with me, saying, ‘Come here, I will show you the bride, the wife of the Lamb.’ And he carried me away in the Spirit to a great and high mountain, and showed me the holy city, Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, having the glory of God. Her brilliance was like precious stone, as a stone of crystal-clear jasper. It had a great and high wall. It had twelve gates and at those gates, twelve angels; and names have been written on those gates, which are the names of the twelve tribes of the sons of Israel. There were three gates on the east and three gates on the north and three gates on the south and three gates on the west. And the wall of the city had twelve foundation stones, and on them were the twelve names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.” Revelation 21:9-14 |
Further Reading
Isaiah 6 and its Trinitarian Implications
The Deity of the Messiah in Isaiah and in light of New Testament Exegesis
The Exaltation of the Messiah in Isaiah – Additional OT Evidence for the Deity of Christ