Verse
The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised – Luke 4:18
Meaning of Luke 4:18
The verse Luke 4:18 is one of the verses spoken by Jesus during his early ministry. The quote was not broken into verses during that time. ‘The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised’ means that Jesus was chosen and sent to share the gospel or good news and heal people from physical and mental ailments and help them be free from their pain. However, as Jesus was reading the scripture from the book of Isaiah in a synagogue, He addresses to the listeners that the verse is about Him, hinting that the prophecy has now been fulfilled. The claim was considered blasphemy and was not agreed upon by the Jewish community.
Interpretations of Luke 4:18
The verse Luke 4:18 is a repeated quote from the book of Isaiah and spoken by Jesus in the New Testament. It is also one of the most interpreted verses from the Old and New Testaments.
Interpretation #1 Jesus was possessed by God
In this interpretation, the reader usually ignores the entire verse and holds on to the most spoken and following part of the verse ‘The Spirit of the Lord is upon me’. Here he or she relates to the previous event of the New Testament, where Jesus was baptized and the Holy Spirit took the form of the dove while God’s voice was heard from above. Hence Jesus might have been confirming the same while also quoting from the book of Isaiah to the congregation of his home synagogue. Also, Jesus also claimed that the verse was written about him and that the Holy Spirit, which represents God was inside Jesus.
Interpretation #2 Jesus only preached to the poor
In this version, the reader believes that God didn’t love rich people and considered them to be haughty or greedy people. They also considered that by being poor they are closer to God. The phrase from the verse ‘because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted’ is applied by him or her to the living style or believing that not having enough would likely keep them humbled as Jesus spent His three and a half years of his earthly ministry on the road with people who were mostly from the poor and desperate background.
Interpretation #3 Jesus was meant to free Israelites from tyrants
During Jesus’ ministry, King Herod was selected to rule the province of Judah under the Roman empire. In general, most people were oppressed under the regime. Hence in this interpretation, the people who believed in Jesus as the promised Messiah who was sent to set people free. However, they also believed that Jesus was specifically sent to free them from the tyrannical government but not from their spiritual challenges or sin as mentioned in the New Testament. The readers also believe that the part of the verse ‘he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised’ that Jesus was meant to free people who were physically ill and also from the unjust punishment they went through under the oppressive government.
Interpretation #4 The verse is only applicable to Israelites during Jesus’ time
In this interpretation, the reader believes that Jesus was only sent to help people in the kingdom of Judah with the rebellion against King Herod or Roman Empire. This version is further accepted by very few agnostics as Jesus had declared himself as the fulfillment of Isaiah’s prophecy leading the Jewish Pharisees and Sadducees to crucify Jesus. This was expected by the people during the time of Jesus who was surrounded by people who believed that Jesus will set them free.
Interpretation #5 The verse confirms Jesus’ advent and end times
The final interpretation of the verse Luke 4:18 means that Jesus quoted this verse ‘The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised’ before starting His earthly ministry to proclaim His arrival, making Jewish temple authorities angry. At the same time, Jesus also hints about the continuance of love and protection to anyone who believes in Him. The verse is meant to be an assurance to the reader that believing in Jesus will help them heal and get through any circumstances. Jesus also expresses His compassion for the poor and brokenhearted. The church uses the verse as a reminder that the oppression doesn’t have to be an empire or kingdom, but mental or physical issues, and Jesus can provide a way to overcome them.
Historical background of Luke 4:18
The Gospel of Luke was written in 85 A.D. during the reign of the Roman Emperor Domitian. The chapter mentions Jesus’ victory after his 40 days fast and overcoming Satan’s temptation. Luke later describes Jesus’ beginning of the ministry teaching at the synagogues. The verse Luke 4:18 was read by Jesus at his native synagogue. The following quote was chosen by Him from the book of Isaiah Chapter 61. The chapter is also known as the first Galilean ministry.
Literary Devices of Luke 4:18
A few examples of the literary devices used in Luke 4:18 are given below.
Theme – The major themes of Luke 4:18 are evangelism, freedom, proclamation, and redemption. The minor themes include love and spirituality.
Alliteration – The verse has used a few consonant sounds at the start of the word in repetition and a few are in quick succession. For example, the sound of /h/ and the sound of /th/ in ‘because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor’; the sound of /h/ ‘he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted,’; the sound of /t/ and the sound of /th/ ‘recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised’.
Consonance – The verse has shown rich use of consonant sounds in repetition and a few in quick succession. For example, the sound of /r/ in ‘The Spirit of the Lord is upon me’; the sound of /t/ and the sound of /r/ in ‘he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised’.
Assonance – The verse has good use of vowel sounds as well, with few quick successions. For example, the sound of /i/, the sound of /o/, the sound of /ee/, and the sound of /oo/ in ‘The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor’; the sound of /ee/ in ‘he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted’; and the sound of /i/ in ‘and recovering of sight to the blind’
Anaphora – The verse also uses anaphor by repeating the phrase ‘he hath’ twice to emphasize the importance of God, the Father’s plan to send Jesus to earth and save mankind through Him.