16 So He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up. And as His custom was, He went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and stood up to read. 17 And He was handed the book of the prophet Isaiah. And when He had opened the book, He found the place where it was written: 18 “The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, Because He has anointed Me To preach the gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, To proclaim liberty to the captives And recovery of sight to the blind, To set at liberty those who are oppressed; 19 To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord.” 20 Then He closed the book, and gave it back to the attendant and sat down. And the eyes of all who were in the synagogue were fixed on Him. 21 And He began to say to them, “Today this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.”
In verses 16-30, Jesus taught in Nazareth, the first recorded sermon in Luke. They rejected His claim of Messiahship and attempted to kill Him.
4:16
So He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up.
Jesus came to His hometown of Nazareth, where He had grown up.
And as His custom was, He went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and stood up to read.
Jesus’ custom or habit was to worship in the synagogue on the Sabbath; He worshipped on the appointed day. The ruler of the synagogue invited Him to read and expound Scripture.
4:17
And He was handed the book of the prophet Isaiah. And when He had opened the book, He found the place where it was written:
Jesus began to read a messianic passage from Isaiah 61:1-2 and Isaiah 58:6. Isaiah 61 prophesied the coming Messiah who would bring salvation.
4:18
“The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, Because He has anointed Me To preach the gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted,
“The Spirit of the LORD is upon Me” references Jesus’ commissioning (Lu 3:22), a messianic anointing. Jesus both brought and heralded salvation.
The “poor” here does not refer to an economic condition but a state of the soul.
To proclaim liberty to the captives [exiles] And recovery of sight to the blind, To set at liberty those who are oppressed;
This part of the quotation is from Isaiah 58:6. The quotation of this verse makes a claim to be the Messiah. The “liberty” for prisoners is the forgiveness of sins. “Liberty” means forgiveness. Jesus would pay the penalty for sin, giving people liberty to fellowship with God.
The “blind” are those who are spiritually blind. The captives or exiles refer to those enslaved to sin.
4:19
To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord.”
Jesus stopped in the middle of Isaiah 61:2. The remainder of the verse references God’s vengeance. The first advent was not the time for judgment upon Israel. The second advent is when He will judge the world.
The “acceptable year” is the promise of a coming kingdom. The background for this “year” was the “Year of Jubilee” (Lev 25). Every seventh year was the Sabbatical year when the land was to rest. It was the year when all debts were cancelled. Every 50th year (following seven Sabbatical years) was the year of Jubilee. Jesus applied this celebration to His ministry. He brought salvation to a bankrupt nation. It was an offer of salvation, which offer would not last forever. The time of Christ’s coming sets the parameters of this offer.
4:20
Then He closed the book, and gave it back to the attendant and sat down.
The tradition was for the teacher to sit down to teach. He stood to read and sat down to expound the passage.
And the eyes of all who were in the synagogue were fixed on Him.
It was shocking to the synagogue audience that Jesus announced He would bring the kingdom to Israel.
4:21
And He began to say to them, “Today this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.”
Jesus clearly claimed to be the Messiah by this statement. He identified Himself as fulfilling Isaiah’s prophesies.
PRINCIPLE:
Jesus came to give forgiveness and universal blessedness to those enslaved by sin.
APPLICATION:
Jesus came to provide a year of Jubilee, which gave the land of Israel a rest every 50 years. When He comes again, His reign of blessedness will extend for many years. It will be an era of universal blessedness under His perfect reign.
