Clothed in Righteousness: What Isaiah 61 Teaches About Justification
With all the debate among evangelicals regarding justification, we find a renewed vigor among Christians to mine the Pauline epistles for nuggets of gold. Even church history shows that when questions about justification arise, Christians go particularly to Romans and Galatians for their answers. Yet much of the Bible is neglected when developing our views on justification, particularly the Old Testament.
Countless passages of Scripture are passed over for more “important” ones regarding this doctrine. Isaiah 61 is such a text. Though well known for its prophecies about the Messiah’s coming, it has scarcely been examined in regard to the doctrine of justification. In this passage, Isaiah answers questions like: “How will God rescue His people and the world? How will He redeem a faithless Israel? How does God make sinners righteous? What is the function of God’s people once they are saved?” As we examine this text, we will see how it provides some important insights to these questions and more.
The Broader Context
John Oswalt states that the central theme of Isaiah 56-66 is the necessity for God’s people to live out God’s righteousness, and their inability to do so [1]. Yahweh is beside Himself. Isaiah 59:16 says that God found no one who was able to intervene for the people’s sin. This is much like Paul’s remarks in Romans 3:10: “None is righteous, no, not one.” Instead, God Himself must intervene.
Isaiah 61 shows how Yahweh will accomplish this task. God’s servant is one who is anointed with “the Spirit of the Lord” (61:1). The Messianic Servant will bring good news to the poor, freedom to the enslaved, and justice to the weak. The enemies of God’s people will now become her servants. “Strangers shall stand and tend your flocks,” says Isaiah, “Foreigners shall be your plowmen and vinedressers” (61:5). Eventually, Jesus would proclaim that He is the fulfillment of this prophecy (Lk. 4:16-20). Israel would no longer be a people exiled from God’s presence, but would be put on display for the whole world to see.
Of particular importance are verses 8-11, on which the present discussion will primarily focus. Yahweh will make an everlasting covenant with His people (6:8). Through this covenant Yahweh will bring about His people’s salvation and the world. Alec Motyer states, “In the clothing of the Anointed One a decisive point is reached in this transference of activity. At the start, recognizing that the world could not produce its own salvation, the Lord clothed himself with garments of salvation and righteousness. Now it all passes to the Anointed One” [2]. Not only is salvation wrought by God’s own hand, but He is also its sole provider. Isaiah describes how this redemption is applied: by providing His people with salvation (61:10) and making them to be priests (61:4, 10). This in turn will cause God’s salvation to go before all the nations, for His people will intercede on behalf of the world.
Garments of Salvation and a Robe of Righteousness
The images that Isaiah uses to describe how Yahweh’s redemption is applied are significant. The work of God’s Anointed One is directly concerned with the establishment of righteousness (59:15-17; 61:3, 10). Isaiah says that Yahweh will clothe His people with “garments of salvation” and a “robe of righteousness.” Yet how does this imagery function? Why is it used to describe God’s salvation?
The eschatological nature of Isaiah 61 is clear. God’s Anointed One is no mere prophet (61:2). He will come as judge, bringing vindication and deliverance for the righteous. The garments of salvation and righteousness in verse 10 could refer to Yahweh’s vindication and deliverance [3]. Isaiah likens Yahweh’s coming to that of a wedding ceremony. God’s salvation is like that of a bride and groom who are clothed with fine garments in preparation for their wedding. This wedding context is foundational for John’s understanding of Christ’s second coming. Revelation 19:9 describes the Bride, God’s people, as being given fine linen to adorn Herself with at the Lamb’s marriage supper. At the end of the age Yahweh will rescue His Bride from Her suffering and bring vindication by punishing the wicked.
However, we must not hastily argue that these garments only refer to God’s vindication and righteous deliverance. Isaiah makes it clear that Yahweh’s redemption takes place as a result of the everlasting covenant He makes with His people (61:8). This bears light on the legal or forensic dimensions of Isaiah’s prophecy, which is also Paul’s context for his teaching regarding justification [4]. J. F. Sawyer notes, “In the oracles of salvation, the argument hinges on God’s justice as well as his loyalty and love. Thus he will honor his legally binding obligation to provide protection for his kinsfolk…or pay the price of their freedom” [5]. This legal context becomes the basis upon which God provides salvation for us.
With this in mind, the law-court framework of Isaiah 61 becomes more obvious. Again, Sawyer says that the use of the terms salvation and righteousness “illustrates the application of forensic terminology to the saving relationship between God and his people” [6]. In other words, it refers to how God makes us righteous. Isaiah shows that God established salvation by His own strength. Now He bestows righteousness upon us.
But Yahweh’s purpose is not to simply make us righteous; rather He makes us righteous in order that we may be able to do what is right. Oswalt agrees, “Those whom he wraps in his robe of righteousness experience not only deliverance from unrighteousness and its effects but also divine enablement to live out his righteousness” (emphasis his) [7]. The Apostle Paul’s comments are similar to Isaiah’s when he argues that it is the doers of the Law who are justified (Rom. 2:13).
Our Priestly Garments
Isaiah embodies the ability to live righteously in our capacity to function as God’s priests. The priestly language in verses 4 and 10 further support the passage’s forensic meaning. God intends to fulfill His purpose of having His elect function as priests (Ex. 19:6; 1 Pet. 2:9-10). The priest’s primary role focuses on the removal of sin and the holiness of God’s people. Marriage and priestly imagery are wed together in verse 10. Yahweh’s salvation is like that of a bridegroom who dons a headdress as if he were a priest preparing himself to enter into Yahweh’s presence (Ex. 39:41). Here the legal, covenantal language is adorned in the clothing of marriage garments [8].
The symbolic meaning of clothing is important for Isaiah (and all the Ancient Near Eastern world). Christine Palmer notes clothing’s legal significance. She writes, “Agreements considered legally binding are enacted through symbolic actions performed on clothes” [9]. The legal dimensions of these garments become very apparent with both covenant and marriage being mentioned in the same chapter, especially when marriage itself is covenantal and legally binding.
With this legal framework in the background, the passage’s priestly imagery furthers the idea that Yahweh’s garments of salvation refer to God’s provision of righteousness for His people. In 61:3, the Anointed One will give God’s people a beautiful headdress instead of ashes, the same headdress that the bridegroom adorns as a priest in verse 10. God adorns His Bride in garments of righteousness in order to cleanse Her from sin. In turn, this righteousness allows God’s people to function as priests as they reflect and mediate God’s righteous image [10].
New Testament Teachings in Old Testament Clothes
Though New Covenant Christians understand the fulfillment of Isaiah 61 to have taken place in Christ (Lk. 4:16-21), our understanding of justification must not solely be founded upon our knowledge of the New Testament alone. The task of the New is to unearth what is in the Old. Our study in Isaiah 61 makes this clear.
As we live in a day and age where the unlimited potential and goodness of humanity is emphasized, Isaiah is quick to show the extent of man’s depravity. Man’s sinfulness is so widespread that we cannot rescue ourselves from sin. We are not capable of doing what is right. As a result, Yahweh girds Himself with His own righteousness in order to rescue us from our sin (59: 15b-20). This in turn becomes the basis for Yahweh’s provision of righteousness for us, His elect.
But our focus is on what these garments accomplish, not how they are applied. God’s provision of righteousness enables us to function as priests: “For as the soil makes the sprout come up and as a garden causes seed to grow, so the Sovereign Lord will make righteousness and praise spring up before all the nations” (Is. 61:11). As God’s priest, we are clothed with righteousness that God provides, a righteousness that reflects His presence within the world. His garments enable us to live righteously and therefore function as priests. We simply mediate that righteousness in order that the entire world may see God’s presence.
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[1] John Oswalt, The Book of Isaiah: Chapter 40-66 (Grand Rapids: Eerdmanns, 1998), 452.
[2] J. Alec Motyer, The Prophecy of Isaiah: An Introduction and Commentary (Downer Groves: InterVarsity Press, 1993), 505.
[3] The NET translation certainly translates 61:10 along these lines. It says, “For he clothes me in garments of deliverance; he puts on me a robe symbolizing vindication.” The Hebrew word yesha is what is the NET translates as “deliverance,” which can also be translated as “salvation.” Another Hebrew word of great importance is tsedaqa, which can mean “vindication” or “righteousness.”
[4] The term “forensic” refers to the law-court dimensions regarding the doctrine of justification. In other words, it makes reference to God’s decree as judge to declare the accused sinner to be righteous. The terms “legal” and “forensic” will be used interchangeably.
[5] J. F. Sawyer, “yesha,” Theological Dictionary of the Old Testament (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2003), 458.
[6] Ibid., 458-459.
[7] Oswalt, 575.
[8] The use of salvation as a clothing metaphor in reference to the priesthood is also used elsewhere. Psalm 132: 9 says, “Let your priest be clothed with righteousness.” Verse 16 also says, “Her priests I will clothe with salvation.” Job uses the clothing metaphor to characterize himself: “ I put on righteousness, and it clothed me; my justice was like a robe and a turban” (Job 29:14, ESV). Job also functions as a judge (Job 29:7), thus enhancing the law-court dimensions of righteousness. Because Job was blameless and upright (Job 1:1 8), Yahweh directed him to function in a priestly capacity on behalf of his surrounding community (Job 1:5; 42:8). As is clear of other biblical texts, the forensic nature of God’s salvation as garments has ample support.
[9] Christine Palmer, “Clothes,” in the New Dictionary of Biblical Theology: Exploring the Unity and Diversity of Scripture (Downer Groves: IVP Academic, 2000), 417.
[10] Palmer discusses at great length how the High Priest’s garments represent the image of Yahweh. The High Priest’s garments were designed to be a reflection of Yahweh in order to show that He abides with His people. See Christine Palmer, Garments of Glory: The High Priestly Reflection of Yahweh (master’s thesis, Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, 1997), 86.
April 23, 2022
I really enjoyed reading this! Gave me lots to think about and wrestle through! Thank you 🙂