Prophecy Fulfilled

Luke 4:16-22

¹⁶ And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up. And as was his custom, he went to the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and he stood up to read. ¹⁷ And the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to him. He unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written, ¹⁸“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, ¹⁹to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.” ²⁰ And he rolled up the scroll and gave it back to the attendant and sat down. And the eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on him. ²¹ And he began to say to them, “Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.” ²² And all spoke well of him and marveled at the gracious words that were coming from his mouth. And they said, “Is not this Joseph’s son?”

At the age of 30, Jesus arrives on the world stage to complete His mission – the salvation of mankind from the sin that entangles them. He has been baptized by John and tempted in the wilderness by Satan. It is time to bring His ministry into the public eye and embrace the people with His message of forgiveness.

This is one of those scenes you would love to have witnessed. He’s a guy whom everyone already knows. This is Jesus, the son of Mary and Joseph. They had watched Him grow up and learn his father’s trade. Now He appears in the local synagogue and takes His turn as reader for the day. The text is found in Isaiah 61 and He dutifully reads it. As was the custom, He then sits down and the people wait to hear what He has to say about the text. In that moment, the Old Testament prophecies and the New Testament reality come crashing together. Jesus says, “Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.”

What a moment. The impact of His interpretation would have settled over the room with shock and surprise. I think it may have taken a few seconds for the people to realize what He had actually just claimed in their presence. Then the questions break out. He, of course, knows what they are thinking and calls them on it. He then points out that the lack of faith in them is not unknown to God or to Himself. Jesus makes a comparison between them and Naaman, a Gentile no less, who had faith that He knew they were lacking. Suddenly, everyone is included in His ministry and this enrages the people. They are prepared to do Him harm. But it’s not time for that yet and He simply walks away. (I personally think there is more to “passing through their midst” then the text speaks of but since the text is silent, I will be as well.)

This event seems to pass by fairly innocuously. But I believe it to be huge. The Old and the New converge in that time and space with epic consequences. The promises of God are about to be realized and these people are the first (other than John the Baptist) to hear about it. Sadly, their reaction is less than wonderful. But the love of God will not be stopped and Jesus moves out into His public time here on earth.

The importance of these Isaian texts (Is 58:6 and 61:1–2a quoted in Lk 4:18–19) in the literary and theological organization of Luke is widely acknowledged. The townsfolk at first are puzzled that Jesus, a local person, is claiming to be the initiator of the divine Jubilee. Then they change into a murderous mob when he defines his prophetic ministry to the “poor … captives … blind … oppressed” not as in-reach to his fellow Jews, but as evangelical outreach to dispersed Gentiles in the world. Recalling earlier OT narratives about the prophets Elijah and Elisha, who ministered to foreigners, Jesus indicates that the Jubilee target is not Israel only, but also Gentiles. How dare he announce God’s egalitarian love for the whole world! The Jews of our Lord’s day believed that Yahweh’s “good news” and “favor” in Is 61:1–2a was only for Israelites, while the divine “vengeance” announced in 61:2b was for the Gentiles. Yet Jesus completely contradicts their expectations as he remains true to the intent of these passages in their Isaian context. The Savior’s Jubilee is “fulfilled” in the hearing of the Gospel. This year of release, first articulated by Moses, announced by Isaiah, begun in Nazareth, and ongoing throughout Luke’s Gospel marches on in the church today. Wherever the Gospel is preached and the Sacraments of Baptism and the Supper are administered according to the Lord’s institution, there Jesus is releasing people from the burden of sin and setting them free from everything that weighs them down. There he is gathering citizens to reside forever in the new Zion’s splendor. At the pulpit, font, and altar, history truly is in the making!

Lessing, R. R. (2014). Isaiah 56–66. (pp. 271–272). Saint Louis, MO: Concordia Publishing House.

We are indeed blessed, for we are recipients of Jesus’ willingness to reach into all the world, including us Gentiles, and embrace us upon the Cross as He did His fellow Jews.