Isaiah 61:1-3

The LORD sent me to bring good news to the poor, to bind up the broken-hearted and to proclaim freedom to those in captivity.

In the gospel of Luke, Jesus reads this passage in the synagogue in Nazareth after the Holy Spirit leads him into the wilderness and he resists the temptations of the devil. When Jesus announces in the synagogue that he is the fulfillment of this passage from scripture, the people are outraged and threaten to kill him. This incident and teaching is not mentioned in any of the other gospel accounts. In the gospel of Mark the first teaching of Jesus is: "The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent, and have faith in the gospel." (Mk. 1:14-15). The gospel of Matthew shortens this to: "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand." (Mt. 4:17) The gospel of Luke substitutes for this proclamation the announcement about the prophecy from Isaiah.

Either the author of the gospel of Luke has knowledge of a tradition about the teaching of Jesus that is unknown or disregarded by the authors of the gospels of Mark and Matthew, or the author of the gospel of Luke has created this scene in the synagogue in Nazareth and has attributed these words to Jesus. Whether or not Jesus understood himself as the fulfillment of Isaiah 61:1-3, it seems clear that the Greek-speaking Christian community for which the gospel of Luke was written affirmed this relationship.

Does Jesus also bring to us good news for the poor? Can we become part of that proclamation of freedom to those in captivity in our time? How might the church, as the body of Christ, live out this gospel?

Grace and peace...Bob