As It Is Written . . .
Anointed to Fulfill
by Patrick Henry Reardon
Relatively early in St. Luke's two books—the Gospel and the Acts of the Apostles—are two compact and programmatic scenes. The pronounced correspondences between them encourage the reader to examine these passages together.
The first scene presents Jesus engaged in the public reading of Isaiah in the synagogue at Nazareth: "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, / because he has anointed me / to preach the gospel to the poor; / He has sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to captives / and recovery of sight to the blind, / to liberate the oppressed, / to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord" (Luke 4:18–19). This scene and its prophetic text, placed near the beginning of the Lord's public ministry, serve to introduce the rest of the Gospel; it is a program or schedule of everything Jesus is about to accomplish.
THIS ARTICLE ONLY AVAILABLE TO SUBSCRIBERS.
FOR QUICK ACCESS:
Patrick Henry Reardon is pastor emeritus of All Saints Antiochian Orthodox Church in Chicago, Illinois, and the author of numerous books, including, most recently, Out of Step with God: Orthodox Christian Reflections on the Book of Numbers (Ancient Faith Publishing, 2019).
Get six issues (one year) of Touchstone PLUS full online access including pdf downloads for only $39.95. That's only $3.34 per month!
Get a one-year full-access subscription to the Touchstone online archives for only $19.95. That's only $1.66 per month!
bulk subscriptions
Order Touchstone subscriptions in bulk and save $10 per sub! Each subscription includes 6 issues of Touchstone plus full online access to touchstonemag.com—including archives, videos, and pdf downloads of recent issues for only $29.95 each! Great for churches or study groups.
Transactions will be processed on a secure server.
more on bible from the online archives
31.4—July/August 2018
on the Brevity & Theology of Her Recorded Words by Judith Anderson
32.2—March/April 2019
on Preserving Physical & Spiritual Nourishment by Nathanael Devlin
more from the online archives
33.3—May/June 2020
Bach's Cantata BWV 106, Gottes Zeit ist die allerbesteZeit (God's time is the very best time) by Ken Myers
calling all readers
Please Donate
"There are magazines worth reading but few worth saving . . . Touchstone is just such a magazine."
—Alice von Hildebrand
"Here we do not concede one square millimeter of territory to falsehood, folly, contemporary sentimentality, or fashion. We speak the truth, and let God be our judge. . . . Touchstone is the one committedly Christian conservative journal."
—Anthony Esolen, Touchstone senior editor
