Jesus proclaimed that He had come to proclaim the time of the Lord’s favor when He quoted from Isaiah 61 in His teaching time. Luke 4: 18 The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, for he has anointed me to bring Good News to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim that captives will be released, that the blind will see, that the oppressed will be set free, 19 and that the time of the Lord’s favor has come.[1]
His listeners would have known that this would refer to the Year of Jubilee. Leviticus 25 defines the Year of Jubilee as a year of Sabbath rest every fifty years. During this year, economic debts were to be forgiven, land was restored to families who sold to repay debt, and slaves sold to repay debt were to be liberated. While clearly specified in the biblical text, there is no biblical or extrabiblical evidence that the practice of a Year of Jubilee was ever celebrated.[2]
Conquered and Oppressed
When Isaiah wrote the words Jesus quoted, he was speaking of Israel’s release from Babylonian exile. But the return from exile had not brought all that God had promised. Rome had conquered and continued to oppress them. So, the people continued to look forward to a Messiah who would complete the job.
In His ministry, Jesus would continue the mission Isaiah spoke of—not in a political sense but in a physical and spiritual sense. He would bring the Good News of salvation by grace. Our Lord was willing to minister to the poor and outcasts. He healed blindness and freed people from the bondage of disease and demons. He wasn’t the Messiah that the people expected, but He was the One that God knew was needed.
Our Great Reset
God designed the Year of Jubilee to be an economic reset in the freeing of slaves and the return of family land. But it also forced the people to look to Him for provision as there would not be planting and harvesting of only what grew on its own. We, too, must look to Jesus for our provision. We cannot free ourselves from sin. Sin has corrupted our world and resulted in disease and demonic oppression.
Jesus paid the price for our sins on the cross. He wipes out our sin debt as we confess and repent. We get a spiritual reset which often results in physical and economic restoration. The Greek word used for “favor” in Luke 4:19 can also be translated as acceptable.[3] We become acceptable to our God as our sins are forgiven.
Titus 3: 4 But—When God our Savior revealed his kindness and love, 5 he saved us, not because of the righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He washed away our sins, giving us a new birth and new life through the Holy Spirit. 6 He generously poured out the Spirit upon us through Jesus Christ our Savior. 7 Because of his grace he made us right in his sight and gave us confidence that we will inherit eternal life.[4]
To learn more about the time of the Lord’s favor, listen here:
https://podpoint.com/light-of-christ-church-podcast/rejected-at-nazareth
[1,4] Tyndale House Publishers. (2015). Holy Bible: New Living Translation. Tyndale House Publishers.
[2] Grundmann, W. (1964–) G1184. In G. Kittel, G. W. Bromiley, & G. Friedrich (Eds.), Theological dictionary of the New Testament (electronic ed., Vol. 2, p. 59). Eerdmans.
[3] G1184, Strong, J. (1995). In Enhanced Strong’s Lexicon. Woodside Bible Fellowship.