Proclaim the Acceptable Year of the Lord

The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor … to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor. Then he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant and sat down. The eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fastened on him. He began by saying to them, Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.

Luke 4:18-21

As Jesus finished his message in Nazareth, he ended with these words, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor. Look up the passage in Isaiah from which Jesus read and you will discover that the sentence is not complete at that point. In the original passage it goes on to say, and to declare the day of vengeance of our God (Isaiah 61:1,2). The Lord Jesus did not read that part. He abruptly closed the book and handed it back, saying, Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing. Why did Jesus stop reading at that point? He was implying that the rest of Isaiah's prophecy was not yet fulfilled, and it is still unfulfilled. That fulfillment might take place a second from now, a year from now, or a thousand years from now. The day of vengeance of our God awaits the second return of Jesus Christ. But the present age is the acceptable year of the Lord. Salvation is still possible. The people of our world today desperately need to hear Christians proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord.

It is the work of Christ's body today to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord. When we do this, we explain and make clear what is happening in our world. We relieve the cold grip of fear which clutches at the hearts of thousands who get up every morning scared to death. They open their newspapers or turn on the TV, and they see reports of terrorist attacks, bombings, random murders, gang violence, racial strife, political upheaval, wars and rumors of wars — and they are afraid that history is spinning out of control. They fear that God has lost command over human events — if he ever had control! They feel lost, hopeless and out of control.

The people of our world today desperately need to hear Christians proclaim to them the acceptable year of the Lord. They need to see from the Scriptures that God knows what he is doing in our day and age. They need to hear that God is restraining the forces of evil for a season, in order to permit the Gospel to go out, while permitting a sufficient demonstration of the evil in man so that we will see our own sinfulness and helplessness, and recognize our need of God. The Lord is governing human events according to his own purposes and timetable. The acceptable year of the Lord will go on only as long as God decrees, and then comes the day of vengeance of our God. But until the acceptable year of the Lord ends and the terrible day of vengeance falls, no human being can go beyond God's limits of restraint.

Lord, teach us to proclaim your acceptable year and offer people the great news that you are in control and you can save us.