Jesus Opens the Book, Jesus Closes the Book
Jesus Fulfilled the First Half of Isaiah 61:2 in Nazareth in Luke 4:18-21
In Luke 4:16&17 we read where Jesus came to Nazareth, Jesus’s home town, and on the sabbath day He stood up and opened the book of Isaiah (Esaias in Greek) as we read here, “And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up: and, as his custom was, he went into the synagogue on the sabbath day, and stood up for to read. And there was delivered unto him the book of the prophet Esaias. And when he had opened the book, he found the place where it was written,“…
Jesus then began reading from Isaiah 61:1–2, “¶The Spirit of the Lord GOD [is] upon me; because the LORD hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to [them that] are bound; To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all that mourn;”
The reading of the above by Jesus is recounted next in Luke 4:18–21 with Jesus saying, “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 book, and he gave [it] again to the minister, and sat down. And the eyes of all them that were in the synagogue were fastened on him. And he began to say unto them, This day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears.”
It is clear that after Jesus had spoken “the Word”, that the eyes all the people were locked on Jesus (Jesus is the “Word made flesh” John 1:14) and Jesus spoke into their ears.
Jesus Closed the Book Half Way Through Isaiah 61:2
Very interestingly, what was not read by Jesus in the Luke account, but which is recorded in the second part of the verse of Isaiah 61:2, right after the last words that Jesus spoke before closing the book “To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD,” were the additional words that Jesus did not read, “and the day of vengeance (נָקָם (nāqām))H5359 of our God; to comfort (נָחַם (nāḥam))H5162 all that mourn;”
Jesus stopped going any further before making reference to the day of God’s “vengeance” נָקָם (nāqām))H5359, which will be Judgment Day…and it most certainly could not have been fulfilled when Jesus was reading in the Nazareth synagogue (and even not as yet, if you are still able to read this article). That Day of Vengeance (Judgment Day) is still to come…albeit shortly.
We should all pay close attention to these three points…
1) In the Luke account, It was Jesus Who “opened the book” of Isaiah in verse 17, because it is really only Jesus, as the Son of God, Who can “open” “the book.”
Note how this is later reiterated in Revelation 5:1-9, where Jesus Is The Only One Who Is Worthy to open the “sealed” book, closed up with “seven seals” that is held by God the Father on His Throne…
“¶ And I saw in the right hand of him that sat on the throne a book written within and on the backside, sealed with seven seals. And I saw a strong angel proclaiming with a loud voice, Who is worthy to open the book, and to loose the seals thereof? And no man in heaven, nor in earth, neither under the earth, was able to open the book, neither to look thereon. And I wept much, because no man was found worthy to open and to read (ἀναγινώσκω (anaginōskō))G314 the book, neither to look thereon. And one of the elders saith unto me, Weep not: behold, the Lion of the tribe of Juda, the Root of David, hath prevailed to open the book, and to loose the seven seals thereof.
¶And I beheld, and, lo, in the midst of the throne and of the four beasts, and in the midst of the elders, stood a Lamb as it had been slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God sent forth into all the earth. And he came and took the book out of the right hand of him that sat upon the throne.
¶And when he had taken the book, the four beasts and four [and] twenty elders fell down before the Lamb, having every one of them harps, and golden vials full of odours, which are the prayers of saints. And they sung a new song, saying, Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof: for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy bloodout of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation;”
And note also that there is one remaining reference to the “open book” in Revelation 10:1 “¶And I saw another mighty angel come down from heaven, clothed with a cloud: and a rainbow [was] upon his head, and his face [was] as it were the sun, and his feet as pillars of fire:And he had in his hand a little book open: and he set his right foot upon the sea, and [his] left [foot] on the earth, And cried with a loud voice, as [when] a lion roareth: and when he had cried, seven thunders uttered their voices.”
Jesus Christ is the Lion of the Tribe of Judah Genesis 49:9. Jesus is the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world Revelation 13:8. Jesus Is The Mighty Messenger from Heaven, Who shines like the sun, and will be coming on the clouds of Glory, with the rainbow of Noah, and His feet in Judgment.
It should also be noted that it was setting was at the end of the world, because if we read a little later in Revelation 10:6&7, it says, “…that there should be time no longer: But in the days of the voice of the seventh angel, when he shall begin to sound, the mystery of God should be finished, as he hath declared to his servants the prophets.” Then the last verse says that the angel (The Messenger, Who is Jesus) had the Apostle John eat the little open book and told him that, “…Thou must prophesy again before many peoples, and nations, and tongues, and kings.” The little book is the Bible, and it is the means by which the believers prophesy the revealed mystery of the Gospel of Salvation through Jesus Christ Alone.
2) and it was Jesus Who “closed the book” half way through the second verse of Isaiah 61:2, after which Jesus said “This day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears.”; and
3) The reason that Jesus “closed the book” at that point is because the rest of the verse is pointing directly to Judgment Day, at which time Jesus will bring vengeance for God’s enemies and comfort to the believers.
Jesus had to “close the book” if He was going to say the prophesy was “fulfilled” in their ears that day!
Jesus could not go any further in the text, and had to stop mid-verse, because Judgment Day is only going to be fulfilled at when Jesus comes back from Heaven at the “end of the world”!
That is pretty amazing if anyone stops to think about it!
Jesus Has the “Key of David” to Open and Close (the Book/the Bible)!
Remember also that in Revelation 3:7 we read that only Jesus has the “key of David” and Jesus Is The ONLY One Who “openeth, and no man shutteth; and shutteth, and no man openeth;”
Revelation 3:7, “¶And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write; These things saith he that is holy, he that is true, he that hath the key of David, he that openeth, and no man shutteth; and shutteth, and no man openeth;”
And please note how perfectly this ties back to the prophecy in Isaiah 22:22, “And the key of the house of David will I lay upon his shoulder; so he shall open, and none shall shut; and he shall shut, and none shall open.“
And by the way, the two verses previous to this Isaiah 22:20&21, were indeed spiritually pointing to Jesus, as we find the following, “”And it shall come to pass in that day, that I will call my servant Eliakim the son of Hilkiah: [Eliakim אֶלְיָקִים (‘elyāqîm)H471 means “God raises up” (hence just like Jesus), and he is the son of Hilkiah חִלְקִיָּה (ḥilqîyâ),H2518 meaning “Portion of Jehovah” (hence like God the Father)] And I will clothe him with thy robe [The Kingly robe of eternal rulership], and strengthen him with thy girdle [as previous], and I will commit thy government into his hand” [the eternal government under Jesus’ Authority]: and he shall be a father to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and to the house of Judah.” It’s all about Jesus! Jesus made this clear and He told that the whole Bible speaks of Him. Please see how this is the case in this post: “Becoming a Berean“.
It is also interesting to note that there is at least one other believer who understood these allegories, which all point us to Jesus, because Matthew Henry, Circa 1708, wrote this exposition of Isaiah 22:23&24, “Our Lord Jesus, having the key of the house of David, is as a nail in a sure place, and all the glory of his father’s house hangs upon him, is derived from him, and depends upon him; even the meanest that belong to his church are welcome to him, and he is able to bear the stress of them all. That soul cannot perish, nor that concern fall to the ground, though ever so weighty, that is by faith hung upon Christ.”
Moreover, this is even more clear when we read in Revelation 5:5, that Only Jesus, “the Lion of the tribe of Juda, the Root of David, hath prevailed to open the book“.
Revelation 5:5, “And one of the elders saith unto me, Weep not: behold, the Lion of the tribe of Juda, the Root of David, hath prevailed to open the book, and to loose the seven seals thereof.“
And regarding God’s sovereignty, these two verses in Revelation are both also consistent with Job 11:10, “If he cut off, and shut up, or gather together, then who can hinder him?“
Comfort to the Believer
What is also a comfort for the believer, is that Jesus said that He would send the “Comforter” the “Spirit of Truth” Who would lead His sheep into “all Truth” and He would speak of Jesus (John 15:26, and John 16:13). Believers are given the promise that Jesus, through the Holy Spirit, would open the book (the Bible) for us to see Jesus. In Luke 4, Jesus specifically said that He would open the eyes of the blind…”recovering of sight to the blind.” See also: Proverbs 25:2, Proverbs 20:12, Psalms 119:18.
And let us not forget that it was the Lord, Jesus Christ, Who OPENED Lydia’s heart in Acts 16:14, “And a certain woman named Lydia, a seller of purple, of the city of Thyatira, which worshipped God, heard [us]: whose heart the Lord opened, that she attended unto the things which were spoken of Paul.” This entails the new birth, which includes the gift of the Holy Spirit, Who enables all understanding, as we read in 1 Corinthians 2:14-16, “But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know [them], because they are spiritually discerned. But he that is spiritual judgeth all things, yet he himself is judged of no man. For who hath known the mind of the Lord, that he may instruct him? But we have the mind of Christ.“
Finally, it is most interesting that, in Isaiah 34:16, God tells us directly to read “the book” (the Bible), “Seek ye out of the book of the LORD, and read: no one of these shall fail, none shall want her mate: for my mouth it hath commanded, and his spirit it hath gathered them.”
Note to the reader: This post is excerpted in part from the-hearing-ear-and-the-seeing-eye/.
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