Isaiah in the New Testament

​Isaiah 61:1-3; Luke 4:14-30

Jesus inaugurated his public ministry with a sermon preached from Isaiah 61:1-2. In it he proclaimed that the Spirit of God had anointed him to bring good news to the bankrupt, freedom for those in bondage, light and sight to the blind, and healing for the broken-hearted. 

Why, then, did the citizens of his hometown get so angry that they wanted to throw him off a cliff? In short, Jesus told them (just as Isaiah had centuries ago) that this good news, freedom, light, sight, and healing was coming not only for Jews but also for the Gentiles, including the Romans by whom the Jews had been oppressed for the previous 90 years.

Questions for personal reflection and/or group discussion

1. Imagine you are a Jew sitting in the synagogue in Nazareth the day they hand the scroll of Isaiah to Jesus. You've been oppressed by Gentile nation after Gentile nation and have longed for the Messiah to come, liberate your people, and bring in the peace and restoration that God had promised through the prophets. Then you hear Jesus say that he had come save those very nations. How would you react?
   
2. Notice the groups of people for whom Jesus' message is good news: the poor, the captives, the blind, and the broken-hearted. Is there one of these groups that you more easily identify? What good news does Jesus offer you?