Acceptable year of the Lord

Narrator: Chris Genthree
 •  1 min. read  •  grade level: 12
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The Lord Jesus at the beginning of His ministry entered into the synagogue at Nazareth, and on the prophecy by Isaiah being handed to Him read from Isaiah 61, the passage, “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the broken-hearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, to preach the acceptable year of the Lord” — leaving off in the middle of a sentence, for the next words are, “and the day of vengeance of our God” (Luke 4:18-1918The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, 19To preach the acceptable year of the Lord. (Luke 4:18‑19); Isa. 61:1-21The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me; because the Lord hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound; 2To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all that mourn; (Isaiah 61:1‑2)). The Lord added, “This day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears.” The vengeance will be executed for the deliverance of Israel in a coming day; but when our Lord spoke there was the fullest grace for his hearers: it was the acceptable year of Jehovah. There may be an allusion to the year of Jubilee (type of the millennium) when servants were liberated, debts canceled, and when family possessions were restored to their original owners. But the grace vouchsafed by the Lord brought lasting blessings for their souls.