Luke 4:18

“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 liberty to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to release the oppressed,

Berean Standard Bible

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Study note

Setting — Jesus stands in the Nazareth synagogue, having unrolled the Isaiah scroll, addressing the assembled congregation. He is quoting Isaiah 61:1–2 as a self-declaration.

The words — ἔχρισεν (echrisen, "He has anointed") is the aorist of chriō, the verb behind the title Christos ("the Anointed One"); Jesus is naming himself by the title that defines the Messiah.

The thread — The verse is a direct quotation of Isaiah 61:1, and its list of acts recurs in Matthew 11:5 (blind receive sight, good news to the poor) and Psalms 146:7 (prisoners set free, justice for the oppressed).

Why it lands — Jesus is not summarizing Isaiah's message; he is applying it to himself in front of a synagogue audience. The reader is asked to weigh the claim of a man identifying himself with the anointed figure of prophecy.

Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.

The Greek words

πνεῦμαpneuma[The] Spirit κυρίουkuriouof [the] Lord [is]ἐπ᾽ep᾽upon ἐμέ,emeMe myself,οὗhouof which εἵνεκενeinekenbecause ἔχρισένechrisenHe has anointed μεmeMe εὐαγγελίσασθαιeuangelisasthaito evangelise πτωχοῖς,ptōchoisto [the] poor,ἀπέσταλκένapestalkenHe has sent μεmeMe ἰὰσασθαιiasasthaito heal τοὺςtousthe συντετριμμένουςsuntetrimmenousbruised τὴνtēn<the>καρδίανkardianheart κηρύξαιkēruxaito proclaim αἰχμαλώτοιςaichmalōtoisto [the] captives ἄφεσινaphesindeliverance καὶkaiand τυφλοῖςtuphloisto [the] blind ἀνάβλεψιν,anablepsinrecovery of sight,ἀποστεῖλαιaposteilaito send forth τεθραυσμένουςtethrausmenous[the] oppressed ἐνenin ἀφέσει,apheseideliverance,

King James Version

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,

Cross-references

Isaiah 61:1 The Spirit of the Lord GOD is on Me, because the LORD has anointed Me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent Me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and freedom to the prisoners,
Matthew 11:5 The blind receive sight, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is preached to the poor.
Psalms 146:7 He executes justice for the oppressed and gives food to the hungry. The LORD sets the prisoners free,
Acts 10:38 how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power, and how Jesus went around doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, because God was with Him.
Luke 7:22 So He replied, “Go back and report to John what you have seen and heard: The blind receive sight, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is preached to the poor.
Acts 26:18 to open their eyes, so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those sanctified by faith in Me.’
Isaiah 42:7 to open the eyes of the blind, to bring prisoners out of the dungeon and those sitting in darkness out from the prison house.
John 12:46 I have come into the world as a light, so that no one who believes in Me should remain in darkness.
1 Peter 2:9 But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God’s own possession, to proclaim the virtues of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light.
Isaiah 29:18 On that day the deaf will hear the words of the scroll, and out of the deep darkness the eyes of the blind will see.