What Does Luke 4:18-19 Mean?

Name: Darline Morgan
Question: What does Luke 4:18-19 mean to our youth?

Answer: Thank you for the question Darline.

As we read the Bible, a verse may mean one thing to us. However, as we expand our understanding of Scripture, we will learn there are additional meanings. The Bible is like a puzzle, and the more you work on it, the more it will come together for you.

I feel that is the Holy Spirit working in our life, it is a sign we are maturing in the Word of God. So I do not necessarily feel that Scripture applies to a certain generation per se, though I understand where you are coming from.

Now, let’s go ahead and read the verse you asked about.

Luke 4:18-19
18 The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath 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,

19 To preach the acceptable year of the Lord.

This is a fantastic example for us and our youth. It explains what each of us can do to help people in the world. A world that grows colder by the day. We should all preach the Gospel to the poor. Not just the poor who lack wealth, but the poor in spirit.

Why?

If you have ever been poor, and I mean so poor you haven’t eaten for a day or two. You just about give up on life in that situation. Not to mention, the circumstances that led them into that situation to begin with.

So preaching the Gospel, which is the “good news,” can be a blessing to someone in a bad situation. That is being a “doer” of the Word, just as we were instructed in James 1.

If you’ve ever been broken hearted, maybe you lost a loved one, have a health condition, or something else altogether. Those with broken hearts need our time, love, and most importantly, they need Jesus to mend their broken hearts.

Jesus is our healer, He is our Savior, and we should take every opportunity to share Him and His Word with the world. Learning about the Bible is very encouraging, exciting, and interesting if the right person is doing the teaching.

If we have the Spirit of the Lord, which is the Holy Spirit within us, we must always remember to try and help our fellow brothers and sisters in Christ. If you know the Bible front to back, and you never share that message of Hope, how are you expanding Christ’s Kingdom?

Never hid your candle, (Matthew 5:14-16).

So I say for our youth and everyone else, remember this. Remember the message found within just two verses. Imagine the impact you could make on someone’s life, if you try, and lift up the poor and broken hearted…

The Bible Is A Puzzle

I opened this study by saying, the Bible is like a puzzle. The verses we just covered are only part of the puzzle, if we keep working at it, the picture will become more complete.

Think about this, who was speaking in Luke 4:18-19?

Jesus Christ.

Now, if we back up and read verses 16-17, we find Jesus came to Nazareth where He was raised, and He went into the synagogue to read out loud. Jesus opened the book of Isaiah, and the words He spoke were those we just read in Luke 4:18-19. Jesus was quoting the book of Isaiah.

Christ would tell those in attendance,

This day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears”…

Luke 4:21

Then, He closed the book.

Why would Jesus say that?

Jesus was there, Christ was on earth, and His ministry was taking off. He was doing the work our Father wanted Him to do. However, Jesus did not complete the quote from Isaiah 61:1-2, let us read verse two together,

Isaiah 61:2
To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all that mourn.

So in Luke 4:19, Jesus stopped reading mid-sentence. He stopped at the comma, and did not continue quoting Isaiah 61:2, as only the first part of this prophecy had been fulfilled.

You see, the Day of Vengeance is a future event from Christ’s point in time, and even today.

The Day of Vengeance is the day when “all things which are written may be fulfilled,” (Luke 21:22). Of course, we are talking about the end of the Tribulation and the return of Jesus Christ.

You see, Jesus did not come “into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through Him might be saved,” (John 3:17). Jesus will certainly judge the world, our Father provided Him that authority and power. However, that is set for a future point in time, (John 5:22, 2 Corinthians 5:10).

That is why Jesus closed the book, mid-sentence, to provide us with a marker of time that had been fulfilled, and to let us know one still remains to be fulfilled, the Day of Vengeance.

You see, the more we study, the more we continue to piece together this marvelous Biblical puzzle.

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