190
The Desire of Ages
“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,
To preach the acceptable year of the Lord.”
“And He closed the roll, and gave it back to the attendant: ... and
the eyes of all in the synagogue were fastened on Him.... And all bare
Him witness, and wondered at the words of grace which proceeded
out of His mouth.”
Luke 4:20-22
, R. V., margin.
Jesus stood before the people as a living expositor of the prophecies
concerning Himself. Explaining the words He had read, He spoke of
the Messiah as a reliever of the oppressed, a liberator of captives, a
healer of the afflicted, restoring sight to the blind, and revealing to
the world the light of truth. His impressive manner and the wonderful
import of His words thrilled the hearers with a power they had never
felt before. The tide of divine influence broke every barrier down; like
Moses, they beheld the Invisible. As their hearts were moved upon by
the Holy Spirit, they responded with fervent amens and praises to the
Lord.
But when Jesus announced, “This day is this scripture fulfilled in
your ears,” they were suddenly recalled to think of themselves, and
of the claims of Him who had been addressing them. They, Israelites,
children of Abraham, had been represented as in bondage. They had
been addressed as prisoners to be delivered from the power of evil; as
in darkness, and needing the light of truth. Their pride was offended,
and their fears were roused. The words of Jesus indicated that His
work for them was to be altogether different from what they desired.
Their deeds might be investigated too closely. Notwithstanding their
exactness in outward ceremonies, they shrank from inspection by those
clear, searching eyes.
Who is this Jesus? they questioned. He who had claimed for
Himself the glory of the Messiah was the son of a carpenter, and had
worked at His trade with His father Joseph. They had seen Him toiling
up and down the hills, they were acquainted with His brothers and