“The Spirit of the Lord God is upon Me, because the Lord has anointed Me to bring good news to the poor; He has sent Me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound; to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor, and the day of vengeance of our God…”

– ISAIAH 61:1-2 ESV –

We’ve already seen Messiah will be a King and a Priest and now, we see Him as Prophet. Let’s travel to Nazareth (where Jesus grew up) as He begins His earthly ministry. One Sabbath, He was in the local synagogue and stood up to read from the Scriptures. It just so happened the priest handed Him the scroll of Isaiah and Jesus searched for and read our verses.

If you compare Luke 4:18-19 to Isaiah 61:1-2, you will notice Jesus did not read the last few words from Isaiah, “…and the day of vengeance of our God.” Why? Because the time for that vengeance is reserved for a future day when the King returns in full glory to usher in the reign of righteousness.

But notice Jesus did finish His reading with a very shocking statement, “Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing” (Luke 4:21 NASB).

Nationally, “the year of the Lord’s favor” was also known as “The Year of Jubilee” – The Year of “Yovel” (“ram’s horn”). It was celebrated on the 50th year after 7 cycles of 7 years (49 years). During this 50th year, the land would be allowed to rest, debts were forgiven, collateralized land or property was returned to the original owners, and slaves were set free.

A release.
A rest.
A return.
A restoration.

What a year of celebration and what a vivid picture Jesus steps into here!

For it was on the 10th day of the 7th month of the Hebrew calendar that the ram’s horn was blown to proclaim this Year of Jubilee. This day just happens to be The Day of Atonement – Yom Kippur – Israel’s most holy day when the High Priest would enter the Holy of Holies and make atonement for the sins of the people.

Now, do you see the power of Jesus’ proclamation declaring He fulfilled this prophecy?

Not that anyone fully understood all this in the moment, but Jesus essentially blew the ram’s horn that day in His local synagogue to trumpet the good news that He, as both High Priest and Lamb of God (Sacrifice), had come to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim release/freedom to those held captive by sin, and to proclaim the favorable year of the Lord!

And because of Jesus, every year is The Year of Jubilee.

O COME LET US ADORE HIM!