Charles Ellicott Commentary Luke 4:18

"The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, Because he anointed me to preach good tidings to the poor: He hath sent me to proclaim release to the captives, And recovering of sight to the blind, To set at liberty them that are bruised," — Luke 4:18 (ASV)

The Spirit of the Lord is upon me.—The passage that follows reproduces, with a few unimportant variations, the LXX version of Isaiah 61:1-2. The words to heal the broken-hearted are not in the best manuscripts. To set at liberty them that are bruised is not found in the present text of Isaiah. It is a legitimate inference that the passage Jesus thus read was one in which He wished people to see the leading idea of His ministry. Glad tidings for the poor, remission of sins, comfort for the mourners—these were what He proclaimed now. These were proclaimed again in the beatitudes of the Sermon on the Mount. We cannot fail to connect the opening words with the descent of the Spirit at His baptism. That was the unction from the Holy One (1 John 2:20) which made Him the Christ, the true anointed of the Lord.

Recovering of sight to the blind.—The English version of Isaiah rightly follows the Hebrew in giving the opening of the prison to them that are bound. The blindness is that of those who have been imprisoned in the darkness.