Since many have undertaken to compile a narrative of the eventsthat have been fulfilled among us,just as those who were eyewitnesses from the beginningand ministers of the word have handed them down to us,I too have decided,after investigating everything accurately anew,to write it down in an orderly sequence for you,most excellent Theophilus, so that you may realize the certainty of the teachingsyou have received.Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit,and news of him spread throughout the whole region.He taught in their synagogues and was praised by all.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 and was handed a scroll of the prophet Isaiah.He unrolled the scroll and found the passage where it was written: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 captivesand recovery of sight to the blind,to let the oppressed go free,and to proclaim a year acceptable to the Lord.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.He said to them,“Today this Scripture passage is fulfilled in your hearing.”
REFLECTION
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 captivesand recovery of sight to the blind,to let the oppressed go free,and to proclaim a year acceptable to the Lord. (Isaiah 61:1)
After His baptism in the River Jordan where He was identified as the Son of God. Jesus is made known. He returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit and all knew about Him. He was praised.
He then went to Nazareth, His hometown, and on the Sabbath went into the synagogue. In His own town He reads the prophetic words of Isaiah. He has arrived and declared Himself. And all there just looked intently at Him.
Who was Isaiah? He was a prophet of the seventh century B.C. His name in Hebrew means "God saves". The book of Isaiah is the first book of the major prophets. His is the longest and the most important of all the prophetic books. It is the most quoted Old Testament book in the New Testament. All that he prophesied came to be. It is divided up into three parts. The first part of the book covers the times of the kings of Judah. The second part occurs during the fall of Jerusalem and the people are exiled in Babylon. They hear about divine salvation, the return of the exile and the restoration of Zion. The third part (chapters 56-66) have the returned exiles see the harsh realities of their exile. Judah is in ruins. The people are encouraged to stay faithful to God and they look forward to the restoration of Jerusalem and the whole world.
Having read the passage, Jesus points out that He is the prophet of whom Isaiah spoke. He is the Messiah, the Christ, the anointed one by the Holy Spirit.
All we need is Jesus. Have faith in Him. We adore the Anointed One.
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