And to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord."
Jesus stopped reading before He read the words "and the day of vengeance of our God" in Isaiah 61:2 b. This is a reference to the Tribulation, among other judgments. The omission highlights the gracious nature of Messiah’s ministry then compared with its judgmental character in the future. [Note: See Gary Yates, "The Use of Isaiah 61:1 (and 58:6) in Luke 4:18-19," Exegesis and Exposition 2:1 (Summer 1987):13-27.] One writer listed many passages in addition to Isaiah 61:1-2 that contain prophecies with a nearer fulfillment of some statements and a farther fulfillment of others. [Note: J. Randall Price, "Prophetic Postponement in Daniel 9 and Other Texts," in Issues in Dispensationalism, pp. 159 and 160.] 