Why Did King Jesus Stop Reading in Isaiah 61?

In Luke 4 we read the story of Jesus coming into His hometown of Nazareth to preach in the local synagogue.  As I read the story I was engrossed in this event of Jesus' homecoming at the onset of His three year ministry.  This is where He grew up and of course, everyone knew the carpenter's son.  As Jesus stood up in the synagogue that morning there must have been a host of nostalgic mothers who were enraptured with Christ's commanding presence.  He stood up, asked for the Isaiah scroll and immediately opened it to the area of what we know as Isaiah 61, and He began to read the opening verses,

The Spirit of Lord is upon me; because Jehovah has anointed me to preach good tidings to 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 year of Jehovah's favor, ..........

Then right in the middle of that verse, the text then says that Jesus rolled the scroll back up and handed it to the attendant and sat down.  The Scripture then says,

And all the eyes of all in the synagogue were fastened on him. And He began to say unto them, Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your ears.

Among the many incredible things we could point out about this event, there are two I want to draw your attention to today.  The first  is simply the list of those things that Jesus included in explaining His first coming to earth.  Every one of these items points to why Jesus came!  

He came to seek and to save that which was lost!  (Luke 19:10)

Each point that Jesus read that fateful morning in Nazareth spelled out to the townspeople that Jesus was the Christ of God who came to deliver them from sin's penalty, and yet, they attempted to kill him when He spoke the awful truth regarding their unbelief in Him as Savior.  Yes, even those mothers who were at first so proud of their homegrown son!  

Carefully notice the second point of interest where Jesus stopped reading right in the middle of the verse declaring 

to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor......

Why did He do that?  The very line where Jesus stopped and didn't read was,

........And the day of vengeance of our God.

Do you see the point of why Jesus did not include that verse?  It is because Jesus did not comr in His first coming to judge unbelievers or establish His physical, earthly kingdom.  Those issues would have to wait for His second advent or coming.  His first coming was focused on redeeming the world lost in sin.  Everyone of the things Isaiah mentioned related directly to Christ's salvific mission.  He said Himself,

God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through Him.

If you have believed on and trusted Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, there is no need to fear the future or the present uncertainties of our broken planet.  However, what the Scriptures state will happen in that part of the verse Jesus didn't read that morning in Nazareth, God will ultimately fulfill!  Make no mistake about that.

Please make certain that you are standing on the salvation side of Jesus Christ before that day of judgement unfolds.