The Gospel of Jubilee

In Luke 4:14-30, Jesus reads from Isaiah 61 to the congregation in Nazareth. His message is “good news to the poor,” both the materially poor and the “poor in spirit” who come like beggars—humble and desperate enough to receive grace. He also announces freedom for captives (pardon from sin’s enslaving power), sight for the blind (spiritual awakening), and release for the crushed and oppressed. He shocks everyone with the statement: “Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing,” claiming the promises are being fulfilled in him right now. This moment marks the “year of the Lord’s favor," Jubilee, when mercy cancels debt, sets people free, restores hope, and sends God’s people out to carry that same grace into the world.