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, 19 to proclaim the year of the LORD’s favor. ~ Luke 4:18b–19
Jesus was anointed or commissioned by the Father to set us free and to declare the year of the LORD’s favor. This is indeed Good News. It’s exciting news. Let’s unpack this and see how Jesus fulfilled His mission.
Because this is really exciting.
Jesus got up and read from the book of Isaiah, Isaiah 61:1-2, but in the middle of verse 2, He rolled up the scroll, handed it back to the attendant, and sat down.
We never go back to check what Jesus eliminated from verse 2. Let’s read it together. Jesus stopped reading here:
2 to proclaim the year of the LORD’s favor, (Isaiah 61:2)
Now here is the part, or the rest of verse 2 that Jesus did not read:
and the day of vengeance of or God; to comfort all who mourn;
Jesus stopped reading at “…proclaim the year of the LORD’s favor.” He outright snubbed the part about the “day of vengeance” of our God. Isn’t that amazing? Exciting even? …If it’s not, it soon will be. What does that mean for us?
Let’s break it down and see what it means for us today. Jesus said that He was anointed “to proclaim” (Greek: kēruxai pronounced as kay-roo-kai), which means to announce or herald publicly, like a messenger delivering big news, and this is significantly big news.
It is the year or the time of the LORD’s favor An acceptable year to the LORD. It’s the season of the LORD’s unfathomable grace. It’s a time of divine acceptance or goodwill toward mankind.
Peace. Love. Go Forth and Enjoy Your Goodwill.