Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit, and news of him spread throughout the whole region. 15 He taught in their synagogues and was praised by all. 16 He came to Nazareth, where he had grown up, and went according to his custom into the synagogue on the sabbath day. He stood up to read 17 and was handed a scroll of the prophet Isaiah. He unrolled the scroll and found the passage where it was written: 18 “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring glad tidings to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, 19 and to proclaim a year acceptable to the Lord.” 20 Rolling up the scroll, he handed it back to the attendant and sat down, and the eyes of all in the synagogue looked intently at him. 21 He said to them, “Today this scripture passage is fulfilled in your hearing.” 22 And all spoke highly of him and were amazed at the gracious words that came from his mouth. They also asked, “Isn’t this the son of Joseph?”
Luke resumes the story with a simple but important emphasis: Jesus returns to Galilee “in the power of the Spirit,” and His reputation spreads (Lk. 4:14). Luke has already highlighted the Holy Spirit’s role at key moments, and now he underlines that Jesus’ public ministry unfolds under that same divine initiative. Jesus teaches in the synagogues and is “praised by all” (Lk. 4:15). Mark gives a similar early summary, noting that Jesus comes proclaiming God’s reign and teaching with urgency (Mk. 1:14-15). Luke’s distinctive focus here is not only that Jesus teaches, but that His identity and mission are about to be made explicit through Scripture.
When Jesus comes to Nazareth, the town “where he had grown up,” Luke notes that He goes into the synagogue on the sabbath “according to his custom” (Lk. 4:16). In other words, He regularly worshiped with the community on the sabbath. In the synagogue, people would gather to pray and to hear the Scriptures read aloud, usually from the Law and the Prophets, followed by a brief explanation. On this day, Jesus stands to read when the Isaiah scroll is handed to Him. Luke emphasizes that He “found the passage” that speaks of the Spirit-anointed messenger (Lk. 4:17), because the Scripture He chooses will reveal the mission He is about to carry out. The words from Isaiah describe a Spirit-filled figure sent to bring “glad tidings” and liberation: good news to the poor, liberty to captives, sight to the blind, freedom for the oppressed, and “a year acceptable to the Lord” (Lk. 4:18-19).
This is not a random text. Isaiah’s language gathers up themes that reach deep into Israel’s story. The mention of “release,” “freedom,” and the Lord’s “acceptable year” evokes the biblical Jubilee ideal—a God-given reset every fifty years meant to restore the community by releasing people from bondage, relieving debts, and returning families to what they had lost (see Lev. 25). Deuteronomy also speaks of remission of debts and care for the poor in a way meant to shape Israel’s common life (see Deut. 15).. Luke’s point is not that Jesus is announcing a merely economic reset, but that He is proclaiming the kind of restoration God intends, one that reaches the roots of human bondage. In Luke’s Gospel, the language of “release” also belongs to forgiveness, because the deepest captivity is sin and the deepest poverty is separation from God. This is why Luke will repeatedly connect salvation with the forgiveness of sins and a restored relationship with God (see Lk. 1:77; 24:47).
After reading, Jesus rolls up the scroll, returns it, and sits. Luke pauses to paint the scene: “the eyes of all in the synagogue looked intently at him” (Lk. 4:20). The moment turns on a single sentence. Jesus does not offer a lecture about Isaiah. He announces fulfillment: “Today this scripture passage is fulfilled in your hearing” (Lk. 4:21). The word “today” is not a throwaway. Luke uses it to mark decisive moments when God’s saving work is not only promised, but present and active. The fulfillment is not only that Jesus will do works that match Isaiah’s promises, but that He Himself embodies the arrival of what God pledged. Luke presents Jesus as the One in whom God’s long purposes come to their appointed moment.
This also clarifies what kind of Messiah Jesus is. In the first century, many hoped for liberation in a political sense, and it was easy to hear prophetic promises as a prediction of national independence. Luke’s presentation of Jesus resists that narrowing. Jesus proclaims deliverance that is real and concrete, yet deeper than a change of rulers. John’s Gospel captures how quickly crowds could press Him toward an earthly kingship, as when they try to take Him and make Him king after being fed (Jn. 6:15). Luke, by placing Isaiah on Jesus’ lips at the start of His ministry, frames His mission as God’s salvation reaching the poor and broken, the captive and oppressed, in the full human sense. He will heal bodies and restore lives, but He will also confront the deeper disorder that binds humanity.
The response in the synagogue begins positively. “All spoke highly of him” and they are amazed at “the gracious words that came from his mouth” (Lk. 4:22). Yet Luke immediately shows the tension that will grow: “Isn’t this the son of Joseph?” (Lk. 4:22). The question sounds ordinary, even affectionate, but it reveals a limit they are placing on Him. They are measuring what they hear against what they think they know. John notes the same kind of hometown skepticism in the blunt remark, “Can anything good come from Nazareth?” (Jn. 1:46). Mark likewise portrays the shock of familiarity when Jesus teaches in His hometown and people take offense because they cannot reconcile His authority with His ordinary origins (Mk. 6:1-3).
Lord God, thank you for sending your Son in the power of the Spirit to bring glad tidings to the poor and freedom to those who are bound. Open our ears to receive your word with humility, and give us faith to welcome your saving work in our lives. This we pray through Christ our Lord. Amen.
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Sources and References
- The Holy Bible, New American Bible, Revised Edition (2011).
- The Ignatius Catholic Study Bible: Luke (Ignatius Press), commentary on Lk. 4 (p. 114, as provided).
- Faculty of the University of Navarre, The Navarre Bible: Luke (Four Courts/Scepter), commentary on Lk. 4 (pp. 261-263, as provided).
- José Enrique Aguilar Chiu et al., eds., The Paulist Biblical Commentary (2018), commentary on Lk. 4 (pp. 1047-1048, as provided).
- Raymond E. Brown et al., The New Jerome Biblical Commentary (1990), commentary on Luke 4 (pp. 689-690, pars. 55-60, as provided).
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