Luke 4:18
Context4:18 “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,
because he has anointed 1 me to proclaim good news 2 to the poor. 3
He has sent me 4 to proclaim release 5 to the captives
and the regaining of sight 6 to the blind,
to set free 7 those who are oppressed, 8
Luke 4:43
Context4:43 But Jesus 9 said to them, “I must 10 proclaim the good news of the kingdom 11 of God to the other towns 12 too, for that is what I was sent 13 to do.” 14


[4:18] 1 sn The phrase he has anointed me is an allusion back to Jesus’ baptism in Luke 3:21-22.
[4:18] 2 tn Grk “to evangelize,” “to preach the gospel.”
[4:18] 3 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] 4 tc The majority of
[4:18] 5 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] 6 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] 7 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] 8 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).
[4:43] 9 tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[4:43] 10 tn Here δεῖ (dei, “it is necessary”) indicates divine commission (cf. Luke 2:49).
[4:43] 11 sn The good news of the kingdom, the kingdom of the rule of God through the Messiah, is the topic of Jesus’ preaching.
[4:43] 13 sn Jesus was sent by God for this purpose. This is the language of divine commission.