Luke 4:16-20

Read Luke 4:16-20

Helpful Background Information: 

• After being baptized, tempted in the wilderness, and beginning to preach around Galilee, Jesus returns to His hometown of Nazareth. The people there knew Him well. This was where He grew up, worked, and lived when He was a young man. As was His custom, Jesus went to the synagogue on the Sabbath. When He stood to read, the attendant handed Him the scroll of Isaiah, and Jesus intentionally found the passage we now call Isaiah 61:1–2. Isaiah 61 was a well-known prophecy about the coming Messiah. It describes someone anointed by the Spirit to bring good news, heal the brokenhearted, proclaim liberty to captives, open blind eyes, and release the oppressed. This passage paints a picture of undoing the damage that sin causes in every part of life. When Jesus read those words and then sat down to teach, everyone watched Him closely. Then He announced, “Today this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.” Jesus openly declared that He is the promised Messiah and that His mission is to set people free. 

Reflection Questions: 

• In what ways do you feel “poor” or “brokenhearted” right now, and how does this passage remind you of Jesus’s care for you?

• Jesus proclaims freedom for captives. Are there areas in your life (habits, fears, sins, or patterns) where you still feel stuck and need His freedom?

• The people in Nazareth had known Jesus for years, yet they had never recognized Him as the Messiah. What keeps us from seeing Jesus clearly, even when He’s right in front of us?

• Isaiah’s prophecy points to a complete reversal of the damage sin brings. Where have you seen Jesus bring restoration in your own life or the life of someone close to you?