He makes his way to Nazareth, where he had been brought up. As was custom, he went to the synagogue on the Sabbath day. Next is a moment I wish I could have seen firsthand.
He stood up to read. Luke 4 says the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to him. Isaiah's a long book in my bible - I imagine it was a big scroll. He unrolls it - imagine the silence as he's unrolling and looking for his spot. He finds it - Isaiah 61:1-2. He reads the 700 year old scripture:
The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me,
because the Lord has anointed me
to bring good news to the poor;
he has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,
to proclaim liberty to the captives,
and the opening of the prison to those who are bound;
to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor.
He then rolls it up, gave it back, and sat down. Then everyone in the synagogue fixed their eyes on him. So he said to them, Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing. 700 year old prophecy read by and fulfilled by Joseph's son, the 30 year old man they've known all his life.
As I flip back to Isaiah 62 in my bible, I see that Jesus stopped reading halfway through verse 2. He stops at "to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor."
Here's how it reads in Isaiah 62:
The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me,
because the Lord has anointed me
to bring good news to the poor;
he has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,
to proclaim liberty to the captives,
and the opening of the prison to those who are bound;
2 to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor,
and the day of vengeance of our God.
My study notes say Jesus stopped short because the display of his wrath awaits Christ's second coming. Imagine Jesus' thoughts as he came to this section of scripture. He thinks, I'll stop here for now.
