The Gospel According To LukeSample

Jesus’ First Sermon in Nazareth: Luke 4:14-30

All three Synoptic Gospels emphasize Jesus’ miraculous power and gospel proclamation during his Galilean ministry. But Luke’s presentation is distinct from the others because he introduced this stage of Jesus’ ministry with the Lord’s first sermon in his hometown Nazareth. Luke reported that Jesus was in the synagogue on the Sabbath, and that he was given the scroll of Isaiah. So, he read Isaiah 61:1-2, and then made an astonishing proclamation. Consider what Jesus read and said in Luke 4:18-21:

The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor… Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.

Isaiah had prophesied that the coming of the kingdom of God would result in salvation for all God’s faithful people. And Jesus proclaimed that that day had arrived. This quotation expresses Luke’s basic model for interpreting Jesus’ entire ministry: Jesus was the messiah or Christ, the Savior prophesied by the Old Testament who would manifest God’s kingdom on earth by bringing salvation to his people.