The Lord sent me to bring glad tidings to the poor and to proclaim liberty to captives.
These words originally appear in Isaiah 61:1. God's Servant declares that He has been anointed to spread the message of God to those who need it most and to free people held in captivity.
In Luke 4:18, Jesus applies these words to Himself. He is in the synagogue in His hometown at Nazareth, and He has been chosen to read from the Scriptures. He knows exactly what He will read, and when the attendant hands Him the scroll of Isaiah, He quickly rolls it to this passage.
Imagine the sound of Jesus' voice as He reads Isaiah's words. It is a voice of authority and confidence. These are the words of God spoken by the Word of God even though the people in the synagogue do not realize this.
All are silent when Jesus finishes. They know that something remarkable has just happened, but they do not understand what it is. They have never heard Scripture proclaimed like this before. Jesus looks around at them all as they stare at Him and declares, “Today this scripture passage is fulfilled in your hearing.”
The Servant of God so mysteriously prophesied by Isaiah is right in front of the people in that synagogue at Nazareth. Most do not recognize Him.
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