Luke 2:10-11

2:10 But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid! Listen carefully, ¹  for I proclaim to you good news ²  that brings great joy to all the people: 2:11 Today ³  your Savior is born in the city ⁴  of David. ⁵  He is Christ ⁶  the Lord.

Luke 4:18

4:18 “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,

because he has anointed ⁷  me to proclaim good news ⁸  to the poor. ⁹ 

He has sent me ¹⁰  to proclaim release ¹¹  to the captives

and the regaining of sight ¹²  to the blind,

to set free ¹³  those who are oppressed, ¹⁴ 

Isaiah 61:1-3

The Lord Will Rejuvenate His People

61:1 The spirit of the sovereign Lord is upon me,

because the Lord has chosen ¹⁵  me. ¹⁶ 

He has commissioned ¹⁷  me to encourage ¹⁸  the poor,

to help ¹⁹  the brokenhearted,

to decree the release of captives,

and the freeing of prisoners,

61:2 to announce the year when the Lord will show his favor,

the day when our God will seek vengeance, ²⁰ 

to console all who mourn,

61:3 to strengthen those who mourn in Zion,

by giving them a turban, instead of ashes,

oil symbolizing joy, ²¹  instead of mourning,

a garment symbolizing praise, ²²  instead of discouragement. ²³ 

They will be called oaks of righteousness, ²⁴ 

trees planted by the Lord to reveal his splendor. ²⁵ 

Matthew 13:19

13:19 When anyone hears the word about the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one ²⁶  comes and snatches what was sown in his heart; ²⁷  this is the seed sown along the path.

Acts 13:32

13:32 And we proclaim to you the good news about the promise to our ancestors, ²⁸ 

Romans 10:15

10:15 And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, “How timely ²⁹  is the arrival ³⁰  of those who proclaim the good news.” ³¹ 

[2:10]  ¹ tn Grk “behold.”

[2:10]  ² tn Grk “I evangelize to you great joy.”

[2:11]  ³ sn The Greek word for today (σήμερον, shmeron) occurs eleven times in the Gospel of Luke (2:11; 4:21; 5:26; 12:28; 13:32-33; 19:5, 9; 22:34, 61; 23:43) and nine times in Acts. Its use, especially in passages such as 2:11, 4:21, 5:26; 19:5, 9, signifies the dawning of the era of messianic salvation and the fulfillment of the plan of God. Not only does it underscore the idea of present fulfillment in Jesus’ ministry, but it also indicates salvific fulfillment present in the church (cf. Acts 1:6; 3:18; D. L. Bock, Luke [BECNT], 1:412; I. H. Marshall, Luke, [NIGTC], 873).

[2:11]  ⁴ tn Or “town.” See the note on “city” in v. 4.

[2:11]  ⁵ tn This is another indication of a royal, messianic connection.

[2:11]  ⁶ tn Or “Messiah”; both “Christ” (Greek) and “Messiah” (Hebrew and Aramaic) mean “one who has been anointed.”

[4:18]  ⁷ sn The phrase he has anointed me is an allusion back to Jesus’ baptism in Luke 3:21-22.

[4:18]  ⁸ tn Grk “to evangelize,” “to preach the gospel.”

[4:18]  ⁹ sn The poor is a key term in Luke. It refers to the pious poor and indicates Jesus’ desire to reach out to those the world tends to forget or mistreat. It is like 1:52 in force and also will be echoed in 6:20 (also 1 Pet 2:11-25). Jesus is commissioned to do this.

[4:18]  ¹⁰ tc The majority of mss, especially the later Byzantines, include the phrase “to heal the brokenhearted” at this point (A Θ Ψ 0102 ˹ Ï). The phrase is lacking in several weighty mss (א B D L W Ξ Ë¹³ 33 579 700 892* pc lat sy^s co), including representatives from both the Alexandrian and Western texttypes. From the standpoint of external evidence, the omission of the phrase is more likely original. When internal evidence is considered, the shorter reading becomes almost certain. Scribes would be much more prone to add the phrase here to align the text with Isa 61:1, the source of the quotation, than to remove it from the original.

[4:18]  ¹¹ sn The release in view here is comprehensive, both at a physical level and a spiritual one, as the entire ministry of Jesus makes clear (Luke 1:77-79; 7:47; 24:47; Acts 2:38; 5:31; 10:43).

[4:18]  ¹² sn Again, as with the previous phrase, regaining of sight may well mean more than simply miraculously restoring physical sight, which itself pictures a deeper reality (Luke 1:77-79; 18:35-43).

[4:18]  ¹³ sn The essence of Jesus’ messianic work is expressed in the phrase to set free. This line from Isa 58 says that Jesus will do what the nation had failed to do. It makes the proclamation messianic, not merely prophetic, because Jesus doesn’t just proclaim the message – he brings the deliverance. The word translated set free is the same Greek word (ἄφεσις, afesi") translated release earlier in the verse.

[4:18]  ¹⁴ sn Again, as with the previous phrases, oppressed may well mean more than simply political or economic oppression, but a deeper reality of oppression by sin (Luke 1:77-79; 18:35-43).

[61:1]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “anointed,” i.e., designated to carry out an assigned task.

[61:1]  ¹⁶ sn The speaker is not identified, but he is distinct from the Lord and from Zion’s suffering people. He possesses the divine spirit, is God’s spokesman, and is sent to release prisoners from bondage. The evidence suggests he is the Lord’s special servant, described earlier in the servant songs (see 42:1-4, 7; 49:2, 9; 50:4; see also 51:16).

[61:1]  ¹⁷ tn Or “sent” (NAB); NCV “has appointed me.”

[61:1]  ¹⁸ tn Or “proclaim good news to.”

[61:1]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “to bind up [the wounds of].”

[61:2]  ²⁰ tn Heb “to announce the year of the Lord’s favor, and the day of our God’s vengeance.

[61:3]  ²¹ tn Heb “oil of joy” (KJV, ASV); NASB, NIV, NRSV “the oil of gladness.”

[61:3]  ²² tn Heb “garment of praise.”

[61:3]  ²³ tn Heb “a faint spirit” (so NRSV); KJV, ASV “the spirit of heaviness”; NASB “a spirit of fainting.”

[61:3]  ²⁴ tn Rather than referring to the character of the people, צֶדֶק (tsedeq) may carry the nuance “vindication” here, suggesting that God’s restored people are a testimony to his justice. See v. 2, which alludes to the fact that God will take vengeance against the enemies of his people. Cf. NAB “oaks of justice.”

[61:3]  ²⁵ tn Heb “a planting of the Lord to reveal splendor.”

[13:19]  ²⁶ sn Interestingly, the synoptic parallels each use a different word for Satan here: Mark 4:15 has “Satan,” while Luke 8:12 has “the devil.” This illustrates the fluidity of the gospel tradition in often using synonyms at the same point of the parallel tradition.

[13:19]  ²⁷ sn The word of Jesus has the potential to save if it germinates in a person’s heart, something the devil is very much against.

[13:32]  ²⁸ tn Or “to our forefathers”; Grk “the fathers.”

[10:15]  ²⁹ tn The word in this context seems to mean “coming at the right or opportune time” (see BDAG 1103 s.v. ὡραῖος 1); it may also mean “beautiful, attractive, welcome.”

[10:15]  ³⁰ tn Grk “the feet.” The metaphorical nuance of “beautiful feet” is that such represent timely news.

[10:15]  ³¹ sn A quotation from Isa 52:7; Nah 1:15.