Luke 4:19

Acceptable year. That is, the gospel age, when those who feel their spiritual need (the poor in spirit), those with contrite hearts (the brokenhearted), those who have been captives of sin and blinded to spiritual things, and those who have been wounded and crushed by the evil one, may expect release from sin. The “acceptable year of the Lord” is reminiscent of the year of jubilee, when slaves were freed, debts were canceled, and entailed land was turned back to its original owner (see on Lev. 25:10, 15, 24).

At this point Jesus ended His reading of Isa. 61:1,2. The next clause, which was to the patriotic Jew the climax of the entire passage — “the day of vengeance of our God” — He did not read. The Jews fondly believed that salvation was for them and retribution for the Gentiles (see Ps. 79:6). The Jewish idea that salvation was a matter of nationality rather than a personal submission to God blinded the people to the true nature of Christ’s mission and led them to reject Him. They expected the Messiah to appear as a powerful prince at the head of a mighty army, to vanquish all their oppressors and bring the world under Israel’s power (DA 30, 236).

This fundamental misconception arose from the fact that the Jews deliberately overlooked those prophecies that spoke of a suffering Messiah and misapplied those that pointed to the glory of His second coming (DA 30). It was pride, prejudice, and preconceived opinion that led them into this state of spiritual blindness (see DA 65, 212, 242). They were blind to the fact that it is not the amount of light that shines upon a man that counts, but the use made of that light. They delighted to dwell on the idea that the judgment of God was reserved for others, and may have been surprised when Jesus did not so much as mention this. When, in His sermon, Jesus extolled the faith of the heathen, thus implying the Jews’ own lack of it, the audience was beside itself with resentment and fury (see vs. 25-29).

For further comment on the false concepts of the Jews concerning the Messianic kingdom see on Matt. 3:7; 4:9; 5:2, 3; Luke 1:68. For comment on the true nature of the kingdom see on Matt. 3:2, 3; 4:17; 5:2, 3; Mark 3:14.