The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to heal the broken hearted,to proclaim release to the captives, recovering of sight to the blind, to deliver those who are crushed, and to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord. Luke 4:18-19 WEB
Chapter four of Luke’s gospel begins with a description of the testing of Jesus by Satan. The Spirit of the Lord led Jesus into the wilderness. For forty days, Christ goes without food and Satan tempts our Lord. After Jesus endures this test without sinning, Satan leaves him and Jesus returns to Galilee teaching in the synagogues where the people praised him.
Then, Jesus returns to his hometown of Nazareth. On the sabbath day, Jesus went into the synagogue and began to read scriptures aloud. When handed the scroll of the prophet Isaiah, Jesus went to a prophecy about himself that predicted he would preach good news to the poor and read it to those present.
Jesus Fulfills Scripture
In that time, the bible had not yet been divided into chapters and verses. Jesus reads to the crowd what is now recorded as Isaiah 61:1 and the first sentence of what we call verse two. The Lord then identifies himself as the subject of the prophecy saying in Luke 4:21, “Today, this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing. WEB”
WIth this assertion, Jesus clearly identifies himself as the promised Messiah. This astonishes his hometown crowd. They recognized the graciousness of his words but found it difficult to accept “Joseph’s son” as fulfilling prophecy. Ultimately Jesus was not well received in his hometown.
However, in reading the descriptions of Jesus’ early ministry, we see the anointed Lord preach good news to the poor. In addition, Jesus’ love for the broken hearted and his setting free those bound by sin become staples of his ministry. Jesus continues to fulfill prophecy. He miraculously heals the blind, proclaiming hope and forgiveness to those who repent from sin and turn to live by the will of God.
Prayer: “Father God, thank you for the gift of salvation through your son, Jesus Christ. Thank you for healing the broken hearted and delivering us from our sins. Guide me to live in a way that is acceptable to you. Help me to preach the good news of salvation from sin. In Jesus’ name – Amen”
Yesterday’s Devotional: The Name of the Lord
