Biblical Studies and Hermeneutics. The Anointed Prophet: Jesus’s Sermon at Nazareth and Luke’s Christology

Luke 4:16-30 anticipates the pattern of Jesus’s ministry in Luke’s Gospel. The claim that Isaiah 61:1-2 is fulfilled is the first of several references to Jesus’s prophetic calling and ministry. These progressively reveal links between the Spirit-anointed prophet and Isaiah’s earlier predictions about the Spirit-anointed Son of David and the servant of the Lord. Luke also portrays Jesus as the prophet like Moses. Jesus’s rejection at Nazareth occurs when he links his experience with that of Elijah and Elisha. This prepares for later claims about the inevitability of his suffering and death as a prophet. Thus, Luke emphasizes a degree of continuity between Jesus, his Old Testament predecessors, and his sunccessors in the early church while highlighting the uniqueness of Jesus as prophet-redeemer.