Luke 4:18

Luke 4:18

¹⁸ “The ^uSpirit of the Lord is upon Me,

Because He has anointed Me

To preach the gospel to the poor (meek);

He has sent Me ⁹to heal the brokenhearted (downtrodden),

[those who were discouraged because of their plight-unfortunate, difficult or precarious situation in life]

To proclaim liberty to the captives (liberty from sin)

And recovery of sight to the blind,(a ref to Jesus’ miraculous works—7:22)

To ^vset at liberty those who are ¹oppressed; NKJV

Oppress/ed: to govern people in an unfair and cruel way and prevent them from having opportunities and freedom (Cambridge Dictionaries Online), also see: oppression in Blue Letter Bible

Downtrodden: not provided with opportunities because of having been treated unfairly by someone in authority. (Cambridge Dictionaries Online)

Broken-hearted: extremely unhappy; a feeling of great sadness, especially when someone you love dies or does not love you. [Cambridge Dictionaries Online] (I think the healing would come after their eternal salvation and they begin to grow spiritually to maturity rather than a bail-out from financial or other issues). People who feel their spiritual bankruptcy and helplessness, and who long for the help and salvation of God. Such people are in the right condition to be met and blessed by God. (Blue Letter Bible)

(In that day, when someone was to teach in the Synagogue, it was the

custom to read from the OT before teaching; therefore, Jesus was quoting from Isa 61:1)

“The Spirit of the Lord God is upon Me,

Because the Lord has anointed Me

To preach good tidings to the poor (meek);

He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted,

To proclaim liberty to the captives (sin),

And the opening of the prison to those who are bound;  NKJV

I did a big search on Luke 4:18 of all the websites that I think teach accurate bible truth and searched the Nelson Study Bible, Grace NT Commentary, CTS, GES, The Majority Text Greek New Testament-Interlinear, and more, the following is what I was able to find.

The following regarding Luke 4:18 is an excerpt from a GES article I found by by Bob Wilkin, the article is titled: An Enormous Debt Forgiven (or: http://www.faithalone.org/magazine/y2002/02A1.html)

“Two other NT words for forgiveness are ἄφεσις  aphesis and apoluō. The former is translated forgiveness six times. Its remaining eleven uses are always translated remission, except in Luke 4:18 where it is translated “liberty.”  The latter word, apoluō, almost always carries a sense of to let go, to send away, or to release. In only one verse, Luke 6:37, is it translated forgive.”

The Nelson NKJV Study Bible notes say the following about Luke 4:18

Jesus proclaimed “liberty to the captives.”  In the OT captivity refers to Israel’s exile (1:68-74); here captivity refers to sin (see 1:77; 7:47; 24:47; Acts 2:38; 5:31; 10:43; 13:38; 26:18).

OT view: from Luke 1:68-74 - ⁶⁸ "Blessed is the Lord God of Israel, For He has visited and redeemed His people,  ⁶⁹ And has raised up a horn of salvation for us In the house of His servant  David,  ⁷⁰ As He spoke by the mouth of His holy prophets, Who have been since the world began,  ⁷¹ That we should be saved from our enemies And from the hand of all who hate us,  ⁷² To perform the mercy promised to our fathers And to remember His holy covenant,  ⁷³ The oath which He swore to our father Abraham:  ⁷⁴ To grant us that we, Being delivered from the hand of our enemies, Might serve Him without fear,  NKJV

NT view: Luke 1:77 - To give ^b knowledge of salvation to His people

By the remission [pardon] of their sins,

7:47   Therefore I say to you, her sins, which are many, are forgiven, for she loved much. But to whom little is forgiven, the same loves little.”

24:47  and that repentance and ^p remission of sins should be preached in His name ^q to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem.

Acts 2:38  Then Peter said to them, ⁱ “Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the ² remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.

Acts 2:38 - Repentance provided the answer to their dilemma. They needed to reestablish their relationship with the Messiah they had just believed in. Peter does not here require additional conditions for eternal life. Belief in Jesus counts as the singular condition for guaranteed eternal life in both the OT and the NT. Apparently in the case of those who had had the privilege of seeing Jesus’ earthly ministry (cf. v 22), and yet disbelieved both Him and John (cf. Luke 7:31-35), God required a public identification with Jesus by baptism (and a corresponding rescinding of participation in the sin of that generation). Much like the way God requires confession of sins in order for Christians to maintain and enjoy fellowship with Him, in these unique cases God required repentance and baptism for the initiation of the Christian life.

The Gentile Cornelius and those in his household who believed received the Holy Spirit before their baptism (10:43-48; 11:15-18). Palestinian Jews, however, believed in Jesus and received eternal life before receiving the Holy Spirit (2:37-39). The initial Samaritans who believed—after the Crucifixion—also received the Holy Spirit after their baptism as well as the laying on of hands by the apostles Peter and John (cf. 8:14-17). Repentance, although required for fellowship, did not constitute a condition for eternal life, since Peter recommended it to believers in Jesus already. Likewise, baptism was not a condition for eternal life.

Jesus had likened His own baptism to the death He would suffer (cf. Luke 12:50). Furthermore, the Holy Spirit came upon Him at His baptism (cf. Luke 3:21-22). Now those of that generation who condemned Him would publicly associate themselves with Him and receive the Holy Spirit by whom they would join other believers in the Body of Christ. They did not recant their Jewishness, but rather their role in the crucifixion of the Messiah. Furthermore these conditions do not hold today, since no one of that particular generation remains. GNTC

5:31  Then Peter said to them, ⁱ “Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the ² remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.

10:43  To Him all the prophets witness that, through His name, ^o whoever believes in Him will receive ^p remission ⁵ of sins.”

13:38  Therefore let it be known to you, brethren, that ^a through this Man is preached to you the forgiveness of sins;

26:18  to open their eyes, in order ^s to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, ^t that they may receive forgiveness of sins and ^u an inheritance among those who are ^v sanctified ⁴ by faith in Me.’

·        It seems to me that Christ, based upon what I’m able to glean from the Nelson Study Bible notes, is referring more to freeing unbelievers (evidently the recipients understood what he was speaking about in the synagogue) through forgiveness of their sins and from the captivity of their old sin nature—meaning the liberty they received at eternal salvation, they would no longer be slaves to sin after they believed in Him. I suppose this could also allude somewhat to liberating the Jews from the Law.

The Nelson Study Bible notes on Isaiah 61:1

“To proclaim liberty to the captives,” Proclaim liberty probably alludes to the official inauguration of the “Year of Release” or jubilee (Lev. 25:10).  Captives refers to those in bondage to the wicked (58:6) or to wickedness in general—not to the exiles as in 51:14.  Those who are bound is translated prisoners in 4:9, where it refers in part to the exiles; here it means “captives.”

·        Leviticus 25:10 “And you shall consecrate the fiftieth year, and proclaim liberty throughout all the land to all its inhabitants. It shall be a Jubilee for you; ^hand each of you shall return to his possession, and each of you shall return to his family.”

o   The Nelson Study Bible notes say the following about Lev 25:10 – To proclaim liberty: in that age meant specifically that all debts were canceled, all Israelites who had had to sell themselves into slavery were freed, and all land reverted to its original owner. The same phrase occurs in Isa 61:1, the passage Jesus read in the synagogue in Nazareth at the beginning of His earthly ministry. Jesus’ mission on this earth was to proclaim liberty to all who have lost inheritance and become servants to the Evil One.

The Majority Text is translated: “To preach release to the captives”. (I’m assuming this means or implies release from slavery of and to sin).  The word (ἄφεσις  aphesis translated “liberty”) Bob Wilkin used in his article where he mentioned Luke 4:18(d) appears to be about the same in the Majority Text according to the interpreters (Arthur Farstad and Zane Hodges and three others), they use the English word “release” rather than “liberty”; but it appears to have about the same meaning.

MT - Luke 4:18(d) - πνευμα κυριου επ εμε ου εινεκεν εχρισεν με ευαγγελισασθαι πτωχοις απεσταλκεν με ιασασθαι τους συντετριμμενους την καρδιαν κηρυξαι αιχμαλωτοις αφεσιν (to preach release to the captives) και τυφλοις αναβλεψιν αποστειλαι τεθραυσμενους εν αφεσει

Luke 4:18 N-AFS
BIB: κηρύξαι αἰχμαλώτοις ἄφεσιν καὶ τυφλοῖς
NAS: ME TO PROCLAIM RELEASE TO THE CAPTIVES,
KJV: to preach deliverance to the captives,
INT: to proclaim to captives deliverance and to [the] blind

The phrase in 4:18 – “He has sent Me ⁹to heal the brokenhearted,” [referring to those who were discouraged because of their plight [Cambridge Dictionary meaning: an unpleasant condition, especially a serious, sad, or difficult one in life]. (Nelson Study Bible notes pg 1696). Brokenhearted also refers to those believers who confidently hope in God in spite of their present distress (11:4; Ps. 34:18; 51:17).

·        The MT Greek NT Interlinear says: “He has sent Me to heal the ones having been broken in heart,” or “the brokenhearted,”

The phrase in 4:18 that says: “To set (used in the NKJV) [ref. Dan 9:24—referencing those who were a part of the70 year captivity ] at liberty those who are oppressed [or downtrodden];”

·        The MT Greek NT Interlinear says: “To send forth those who are oppressed to freedom” or “To send forth oppressed ones in release.”

I normally would use some excerpts from the Grace New Testament Commentary by GES but it skates right over the passage and doesn’t give anything worth discussing.

My personal summary of Luke 4:18 – “To proclaim liberty to the captives”

It appears to me that this verse, including “To proclaim liberty to the captives”, along with the rest of the above information about Luke 4:18(d) and the OT verse Jesus was reading from (Isa. 61:1-2), does not appear to suggest or imply or in my opinion, set a principle that a local church could justify starting a formal program of making loans available to church members.

Therefore, unless I am persuaded otherwise that it is mandated in Luke 4:18(d), I believe we should not do a formal loan program but rather continue as we have been at the very most.

As a side note regarding Romans 13:8 (in case you may be thinking about this verse as to how it may or may not refer to our subject).  It says: ⁸ Owe no one anything except to love one another, for he who loves another has fulfilled the law. NKJV – The Nelson Study Bible notes says: “In the present context, owe no one anything: primarily means respect and honor (see v 7). No doubt money is also included, but this passage does not prohibit borrowing (Ps 37:21—²¹ The wicked borrows and does not repay, But the righteous shows mercy and gives. NKJV;  Matt. 5:42—⁴² Give to him who asks you, and from him who wants to borrow from you do not turn away. NKJV).”