Luke 4:18-21 (The Jubilee Gospel)

*Isaiah 61;1,2a quoted by Jesus in Luke 4:18,19 as now fulfilled in Him.
“The SPIRIT of the Lord is UPON Me (NOW for YOU), because: 

He has 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,

  
This layout reveals the structure of the thought. The first line contains the main point, the Gospel, that the Power of the Spirit is present now upon Him for them to receive.

Then He gives the historical basis for this claim that are centred on 2 main statements: (1) HE HAS ANOINTED Me (given Power) and (2) HE HAS SENT ME (given Authority). After ‘He has sent Me’ there are a number of sub-clauses giving specific illustrations of what He was sent (and anointed) to do, but the final statement “to preach the Acceptable Year of the Lord’ is the overall summary statement. Therefore if we strip away the subclauses we see the main thought as follows: 

“The SPIRIT of the Lord is UPON Me (NOW for YOU), because: 
(1) He has ANOINTED Me to PREACH the GOSPEL (GOOD-NEWS) to the poor 
(2) He has SENT Me to PREACH the Acceptable (Jubilee) Year of the Lord."

His hearers knew that both ‘to PREACH GOOD NEWS to the Poor’ and ‘to PREACH the Acceptable Year of the Lord’were specific terminology for THE YEAR OF JUBLIEE. 

Moreover all the subclauses were specific aspects of the Year of Jubilee. In other words Isaiah 61 was a prophecy that when Messiah came He would fulfil the Year of Jubilee on a grand scale that applied to all people and provided restoration for the whole fallen condition of man. When Jesus claimed in Luke 4 that He fulfilled Isaiah 61, He was claiming to be the Messiah (the Anointed One), and that through the preaching of the Gospel He was fulfilling the Year of Jubilee. 

Thus the Year of Jubilee is the Old-Testaament Foundation for the GOSPEL, and the Gospel (Good-News) of Christ is nothing more or less that the fulfilment of the Year of Jubilee! 

Therefore in order to understand the dynamics and emphasis of the Gospel it is essential to understand the Year of Jubilee. Jubilee means ‘trumpet-blast.’ The essence of Jubilee was that it is a now-proclamation of Good-News based on a sacrifice (it started on the Day of Atonement): “You can now go free and reclaim all you have lost. It’s yours. Believe the Good News.” Likewise the Gospel proclaims that the sacrifice of Christ for you has been accepted, and that God’s grace and power to save you in every area of life is here now for you to receive. 

Notice that the structure of this definitive passage on the Gospel and the Ministry of Jesus shows that all the blessings of Jubilee flow out of the Preaching of the Gospel (the blowing of the Jubilee Trumpet). He was sent (appointed) and anointed primarily to PREACH the Good News of the Acceptable (Jubilee) Year of the Lord, and then all the other blessings (forgiveness, deliverance, healing, liberty) came as a result of the power released through the spoken word. Likewise all the blessings of Jubilee were the result of the sounding of the Jubilee Trumpet. 

Before the Trumpet sounded the power was not present for them to go free (neither could they have the faith to receive their forgiveness and freedom), but as soon as they heard the Jubilee Trumpet they could go free. Therefore the Gospel Proclamation not only builds faith in the hearers to receive their salvation, but it also brings the power and blessings of the Kingdom of God on the scene, making them freely available to receive by faith. Preaching the Power of God is present causes the Power to be present. Preaching the Kingdom is at hand causes the Kingdom to be at hand, because: “God’s Word has the power within itself to fulfil itself” (Luke 1:37). “The Gospel is the power of God unto salvation” (Romans 1:16). So the power is in the Word and as we speak the Word the power is released, making it available to receive. Thus the Gospel proclamation uploads the power of God, bringing it online for the hearers to download.

That is why when Jesus preached He said: “TODAY, this scripture (Isaiah 61) is fulfilled IN YOUR EARS (the saving power of God is present in the very words I am speaking to you!).”