Jim Mann
“The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because He has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.” (Luke 4:18–19)
The quotation above was from Jesus’ inaugural sermon at the synagogue in his hometown of Nazareth. Luke tells us Jesus searched for and chose this specific text. He didn’t have a Bible with chapters and page numbers. It was a scroll. So, Jesus found the right scroll (from among many) and then found the passage he was looking for. The passage was Isaiah 61:1-2.
If you were to take a moment to look at the passage in Isaiah, you would see that Jesus left out a significant part of the last sentence.
The end of Isaiah 61:2 says, “…to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor,” then there’s a comma, which is where Jesus stopped. But the prophecy in Isaiah continues, “and the day of vengeance of our God.”
Jesus proclaimed the year of favor, not vengeance. It was not the day of vengeance. Jesus’ ministry ushered in the year, or season, of God’s favor. “For God loved the world in this way: He gave His one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through Him.” (John 3:16–17)
Everyone there that day knew immediately that Jesus hadn’t quoted the verse correctly … or at least fully. Why would he stop at a comma and not go until the end of the sentence? The answer is found in the next few verses of his Nazareth sermon, “Today this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.” (Luke 4:21)
Jesus’ message was, “God is for you. He’s sent me here to set you free. Vengeance, judgment, will come, but that is still off in the future. Today is the day for new life, for you to let me set you free.”
The season of favor began with Jesus’ arrival, and it continues today. You see, we are still living in that comma; the longest comma in history. So far, that comma has lasted 2000-plus years. We don’t know when it will end. No one knows when the day of judgment will come. Soon? It must be soon, right?
The Bible itself ends with these words: “He who testifies about these things says, ‘Yes, I am coming soon.’ Amen! Come, Lord Jesus! The grace of the Lord Jesus be with everyone. Amen.” (Revelation 22:20–21)
I’m praying that 2022 is the year of the Lord’s favor in your life! May the grace of the Lord Jesus be with everyone.
Jim Mann, Ph.D., pastors New Life Church at Robson Ranch. This interdenominational church meets at the Robson clubhouse on Sunday mornings at 8:30 a.m. and online at 10 a.m. Visit www.newlifedenton.org or www.drjimmann.com for more information.