Luke 4:17

Luke 4:17, in plain English

He was handed the scroll of the prophet Isaiah, unrolled it, and found the passage He wanted to read.

Why it's here

This wasn't a random reading. Whether it was scheduled or chosen, the passage Jesus found in Isaiah would become the mission statement for His entire life and ministry.

Who's speaking

Luke describes Jesus preparing to read from the prophets.

Where it sits in the story

Every eye watches as Jesus carefully unrolls the ancient scroll. He finds exactly the right passage—words written centuries ago that are about to become the most personal declaration anyone has ever made.

The scholarly reading

Jesus is handed (epedothē) the scroll (biblion) of Isaiah and unrolls (anaptuxas) it to find (heuren) the passage in Isaiah 61:1-2. Whether the reading was assigned or chosen is debated among scholars.

Language and setting

The Isaiah scroll would have been a large leather or papyrus roll. Jesus 'found' (heuren) the passage, possibly indicating deliberate selection of a text that would serve as His ministry manifesto.

Voice

Luke describes Jesus receiving and opening the Isaiah scroll.

Significance

Jesus unrolls the scroll of Isaiah and locates a specific passage. Whether assigned by the lectionary or chosen deliberately, this text will become the programmatic declaration of His entire ministry.

15He taught in their synagogues and was glorified by everyone.

16Then Jesus came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up. As was His custom, He entered the synagogue on the Sabbath. And when He stood up to read,

17the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to Him. Unrolling it, He found the place where it was written:

18“The Spirit of the Lord is on Me, because He has anointed Me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent Me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to release the oppressed,

19to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”

Read all of Luke 4 — Jesus reads from Isaiah in his hometown synagogue and claims the prophecy is fulfilled in himself. The congregation tries to throw him off a cliff.