Luke 4:18

King James Version (KJV)

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,

Adam Clarke
Bible Commentary

The Spirit of the Lord - This is found in Isaiah 61:1; but our Lord immediately adds to it Isaiah 42:7. The proclaiming of liberty to the captives, and the acceptable year (or year of acceptance) of the Lord, is a manifest allusion to the proclaiming of the year of jubilee by sound of trumpet: see Leviticus 25:8; (note), etc., and the notes there. This was a year of general release of debts and obligations; of bond-men and women; of lands and possessions, which had been sold from the families and tribes to which they belonged. Our Savior, by applying this text to himself, a text so manifestly relating to the institution above mentioned, plainly declares the typical design of that institution. - Lowth.

He hath anointed me - I have been designed and set apart for this very purpose; my sole business among men is to proclaim glad tidings to the poor, etc. All the functions of this new prophet are exercised on the hearts of men; and the grace by which he works in the heart is a grace of healing, deliverance, and illumination; which, by an admirable virtue, causes them to pass from sickness to health, from slavery to liberty, from darkness to light, and from the lowest degrees of misery to supreme eternal happiness. See Quesnel. To those who feel their spiritual poverty, whose hearts are broken through a sense of their sins, who see themselves tied and bound with the chains of many evil habits, who sit in the darkness of guilt and misery, without a friendly hand to lead them in the way in which they should go - to these, the Gospel of the grace of Christ is a pleasing sound, because a present and full salvation is proclaimed by it; and the present is shown to be the acceptable year of the Lord; the year, the time, in which he saves to the uttermost all who come unto him in the name of his Son Jesus. Reader! what dost thou feel? Sin-wretchedness-misery of every description? Then come to Jesus - He will save Thee - he came into the world for this very purpose. Cast thy soul upon him, and thou shalt not perish, but have everlasting life.

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Albert Barnes
Notes on the Whole Bible

The Spirit of the Lord is upon me - Or, I speak by divine appointment. I am divinely inspired to speak. There can be no doubt that the passage in Isaiah had a principal reference to the Messiah. Our Saviour directly applies it to himself, and it is not easily applicable to any other prophet. Its first application might have been to the restoration of the Jews from Babylon; but the language of prophecy is often applicable to two similar events, and the secondary event is often the most important. In this case the prophet uses most striking poetic images to depict the return from Babylon, but the same images also describe the appropriate work of the Son of God.

Hath anointed me - Anciently kings and prophets and the high priest were set apart to their work by anointing with oil, 1 Kings 19:15-16; Exodus 29:7; 1 Samuel 9:16, etc. This oil or ointment was made of various substances, and it was forbidden to imitate it, Exodus 30:34-38. Hence, those who were set apart to the work of God as king, prophet, or priest, were called the Lord‘s anointed, 1 Samuel 16:6; Psalm 84:9; Isaiah 45:1. Hence, the Son of God is called the “Messiah,” a Hebrew word signifying the “Anointed,” or the “Christ,” a Greek word signifying the same thing. And by his being “anointed” is not meant that he was literally anointed, for he was never set apart in that manner, but that “God had set him apart” for this work; that “he” had constituted or appointed him to be the prophet, priest, and king of his people. See the notes at Matthew 1:1.

To preach the gospel to the poor - The English word “gospel” is derived from two words - “God” or “good,” and “spell,” an old Saxon word meaning “history, relation, narration, word, or speech,” and the word therefore means “a good communication” or “message.” This corresponds exactly with the meaning of the Greek word - “a good or joyful message - glad tidings.” By the “poor” are meant all those who are destitute of the comforts of this life, and who therefore may be more readily disposed to seek treasures in heaven; all those who are sensible of their sins, or are poor in spirit Matthew 5:3; and all the “miserable” and the afflicted, Isaiah 58:7. Our Saviour gave it as one proof that he was the Messiah, or was from God, that he preached to “the poor,” Matthew 11:5. The Pharisees and Sadducees despised the poor; ancient philosophers neglected them; but the gospel seeks to bless them - to give comfort where it is felt to be needed, and where it will be received with gratitude. Riches fill the mind with pride, with self-complacency, and with a feeling that the gospel is not needed. The poor “feel” their need of some sources of comfort that the world cannot give, and accordingly our Saviour met with his greatest success the gospel among the poor; and there also, “since,” the gospel has shed its richest blessings and its purest joys. It is also one proof that the gospel is true. If it had been of “men,” it would have sought the rich and mighty; but it pours contempt on all human greatness, and seeks, like God, to do good to those whom the world overlooks or despises. See the notes at 1 Corinthians 1:26.

To heal the brokenhearted - To console those who are deeply afflicted, or whose hearts are “broken” by external calamities or by a sense of their sinfulness.

Deliverance to the captives - This is a figure originally applicable to those who were in captivity in Babylon. They were miserable. To grant deliverance to “them” and restore them to their country - to grant deliverance to those who are in prison and restore them to their families - to give liberty to the slave and restore him to freedom, was to confer the highest benefit and impart the richest favor. In this manner the gospel imparts favor. It does not, indeed, “literally” open the doors of prisons, but it releases the mind captive under sin; it gives comfort to the prisoner, and it will finally open all prison doors and break off all the chains of slavery, and, by preventing “crime,” prevent also the sufferings that are the consequence of crime.

Sight to the blind - This was often literally fulfilled, Matthew 11:5; John 9:11; Matthew 9:30, etc.

To set at liberty them that are bruised - The word “bruised,” here, evidently has the same “general” signification as “brokenhearted” or the contrite. It means those who are “pressed down” by great calamity, or whose hearts are “pressed” or “bruised” by the consciousness of sin. To set them “at liberty” is the same as to free them from this pressure, or to give them consolation.

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Matthew Henry
Concise Bible Commentary

Christ taught in their synagogues, their places of public worship, where they met to read, expound, and apply the word, to pray and praise. All the gifts and graces of the Spirit were upon him and on him, without measure. By Christ, sinners may be loosed from the bonds of guilt, and by his Spirit and grace from the bondage of corruption. He came by the word of his gospel, to bring light to those that sat in the dark, and by the power of his grace, to give sight to those that were blind. And he preached the acceptable year of the Lord. Let sinners attend to the Saviour's invitation when liberty is thus proclaimed. Christ's name was Wonderful; in nothing was he more so than in the word of his grace, and the power that went along with it. We may well wonder that he should speak such words of grace to such graceless wretches as mankind. Some prejudice often furnishes an objection against the humbling doctrine of the cross; and while it is the word of God that stirs up men's enmity, they will blame the conduct or manner of the speaker. The doctrine of God's sovereignty, his right to do his will, provokes proud men. They will not seek his favour in his own way; and are angry when others have the favours they neglect. Still is Jesus rejected by multitudes who hear the same message from his words. While they crucify him afresh by their sins, may we honour him as the Son of God, the Saviour of men, and seek to show we do so by our obedience.

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SDA Bible Commentary (limited)
Volume 1-7

18. Spirit of the Lord. For the role of the Holy Spirit in the earthly ministry of Jesus see on Matt. 3:16; 4:1.

Is upon me. The Holy Spirit came upon Jesus at the time of His baptism to empower Him for His earthly ministry (see Luke 3:21, 22; John 1:32; Acts 10:38).

Anointed. Gr. chriÅÂ, from which the title Christ, the Anointed (one), is derived (see on Matt. 1:1). In its Messianic setting, this passage might be freely translated thus: “He hath made me the Christ,” or, “He hath made me the Messiah” (see on Isa. 61:1).

The gospel. See on Mark 1:1.

The poor. The poor were usually at the mercy of unscrupulous officials, businessmen, and neighbors. Further, it was generally supposed that the suffering of poverty was due to the curse of Godâ€”that their unfortunate state was their own fault. Few felt sympathetic toward them in their unhappy plight. Jesus’ marked love for the poor was one of the great evidences of His Messiahship to which He called the attention of John the Baptist when the latter was languishing in prison (see Matt. 11:5). Those who have little of this world’s goods are frequently conscious of their needs and of their reliance upon God, and thus frequently susceptible to the preaching of the gospel. The gospel of Jesus means relief for the poor, light for the ignorant, alleviation of distress for the suffering, and emancipation for the slaves of sin.

Any person who took an interest in relieving the poor was thought to be particularly righteous, and almsgiving became synonymous with righteousness (see on Acts 10:2-4; etc.). It was often the case that almsgiving was practiced, not out of sympathetic interest in helping the poor, but from a desire to earn righteousness (see on Matt. 6:1-4; John 12:5). However, genuine, sympathetic concern for the feelings and needs of our fellow men is one of the best evidences of “pure religion” (see James 1:27), of sincere conversion (1 John 3:10, 14), of love for God (see 1 John 3:17-19; 4:21), and of readiness for entrance into the kingdom of heaven (see Matt. 25:34-46).

Perhaps Jesus was thinking also of the “poor in spirit” (see on Matt. 5:3)â€”those in need of spiritual things rather than material things. It is the “poor in spirit,” those who sense their spiritual need, to whom Christ promised the infinite resources of the kingdom of heaven. In fact, there is little use in preaching the gospel to any but those who feel their need of something more than this world has to offer (cf. Rev. 3:17, 18). It is those who are rich in faith, who hear and heed the gospel message (see on Matt. 7:24), who are to be “heirs of the kingdom” (see James 2:5). It is “treasure in heaven” that counts (see Luke 12:21, 33; 18:22).

The brokenhearted. Including, of course, those who are suffering bitter disappointment, but referring particularly to those who are “brokenhearted” and repentant over sin. The “brokenhearted” here referred to may be compared with those who “mourn” over sin, that is, those who are contrite of heart (see on Matt. 5:4; cf. Rom. 7:24). Jesus came to mend broken hearts.

Captives. This does not refer to literal captives, but to those who have been captives of Satan in body, mind, and spirit (see Rom. 6:16). Jesus did not release John the Baptist from prison. These “captives” are “spirits” that languish in the “prison” house of Satan (see 1 Peter 3:19), caught in “the snare of the devil” and “taken captive by him at his will” (see 2 Tim. 2:26).

Blind. Not only the literally blind, but also those spiritually blind (see Matt. 15:14; 23:16-19, 26; John 9:39-41).

To set at liberty. A paraphrase of the words of Isa. 58:6 (see on Luke 4:17). In the reading of the Prophets, but not the Law, it was permissible to skip from one passage to another.

Them that are bruised. The scripture quoted speaks of letting “the oppressed go free,” again essentially in the spiritual sense. The same Hebrew word translated “oppressed” in Isa. 58:6 is given as “bruised” in Isa. 42:3, where it is prophesied of Christ that “a bruised reed shall he not break.” In Isa. 42:4 the word is translated “discouraged.” Jesus came to free men from the heavy burdens of sin, and from the oppressive rabbinical restrictions placed upon the Jews (see Matt. 23:4; cf. ch. 11:28-30).

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Ellen G. White
Selected Messages Book 3, 351.1

Why All This Zeal Against Me?—Things move rapidly, and there are strange and startling developments made in quick succession. We are nearing the end. Why, I ask, is all this zeal against me? I have attended to my business given me of God. I have injured no one. I have spoken to the erring the words God has given me. Of course, I could not compel them to hear. Those who had the benefit of Christ's labors were just as enraged against Him as the enemies are against me. 3SM 351.1

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Ellen G. White
The Acts of the Apostles, 416-7

After reading the communication, Felix inquired to what province the prisoner belonged, and being informed that he was of Cilicia, said: “I will hear thee ... when thine accusers are also come. And he commanded him to be kept in Herod's judgment hall.” AA 416.1

The case of Paul was not the first in which a servant of God had found among the heathen an asylum from the malice of the professed people of Jehovah. In their rage against Paul the Jews had added another crime to the dark catalogue which marked the history of that people. They had still further hardened their hearts against the truth and had rendered their doom more certain. AA 416.2

Few realize the full meaning of the words that Christ spoke when, in the synagogue at Nazareth, He announced Himself as the Anointed One. He declared His mission to comfort, bless, and save the sorrowing and the sinful; and then, seeing that pride and unbelief controlled the hearts of His hearers, He reminded them that in time past God had turned away from His chosen people because of their unbelief and rebellion, and had manifested Himself to those in heathen lands who had not rejected the light of heaven. The widow of Sarepta and Naaman the Syrian had lived up to all the light they had; hence they were accounted more righteous than God's chosen people who had backslidden from Him and had sacrificed principle to convenience and worldly honor. AA 416.3

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Ellen G. White
The Desire of Ages, 74

Jesus was the fountain of healing mercy for the world; and through all those secluded years at Nazareth, His life flowed out in currents of sympathy and tenderness. The aged, the sorrowing, and the sin-burdened, the children at play in their innocent joy, the little creatures of the groves, the patient beasts of burden,—all were happier for His presence. He whose word of power upheld the worlds would stoop to relieve a wounded bird. There was nothing beneath His notice, nothing to which He disdained to minister. DA 74.1

Thus as He grew in wisdom and stature, Jesus increased in favor with God and man. He drew the sympathy of all hearts by showing Himself capable of sympathizing with all. The atmosphere of hope and courage that surrounded Him made Him a blessing in every home. And often in the synagogue on the Sabbath day He was called upon to read the lesson from the prophets, and the hearts of the hearers thrilled as a new light shone out from the familiar words of the sacred text. DA 74.2

Yet Jesus shunned display. During all the years of His stay in Nazareth, He made no exhibition of His miraculous power. He sought no high position and assumed no titles. His quiet and simple life, and even the silence of the Scriptures concerning His early years, teach an important lesson. The more quiet and simple the life of the child,—the more free from artificial excitement, and the more in harmony with nature,—the more favorable is it to physical and mental vigor and to spiritual strength. DA 74.3

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Ellen G. White
The Desire of Ages, 236-43

This chapter is based on Luke 4:16-30.

Across the bright days of Christ's ministry in Galilee, one shadow lay. The people of Nazareth rejected Him. “Is not this the carpenter's son?” they said. DA 236.1

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