Isaiah 61:2
to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor
and the day of vengeance of our God,
to comfort all who mourn (NIV)
Today’s Reading: Isaiah 61:1-3
The first line of Isaiah 61:2 is the last line that Jesus read in his hometown synagogue:
“to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor” (Luke 4:19).
The year of the Lord’s favor is primarily a reference to the year of Jubilee. The Jubilee occurred every 50 years as prescribed in Leviticus 25. It required all land that was mortgaged to be returned to its owner, all debts forgiven, and all Israelite slaves freed. But as we have studied over this year, much of what occurred in the Old Testament was merely symbolic of a greater event yet to occur in the future. The best example of that is the animal sacrifice required for the forgiveness of sins that was merely a symbolic gesture pointing to the future sacrifice of Jesus.
The year of Jubilee is similar in that regard – it was symbolic of the future year when the Messiah would come and free the slaves from sin, pay the debt our sin requires and restore the land from the curse of sin. Jesus stood up in the synagogue that day and announced that this day had come. He was here to fulfill the Scriptures and usher in the year of the Lord’s favor.
However, the “year” of the Lord’s favor isn’t one 365 day calendar year. When Jesus freed us from sin and paid our debt by becoming our sacrifice, he ushered in this “year” of God’s favor on us. But it is still here. Our sins are still being forgiven and our debts are still being paid. We are currently living in God’s favor. And His favor will rest on us forever because of Jesus:
“As God’s co-workers we urge you not to receive God’s grace in vain. For he says,
‘In the time of my favor I heard you,
and in the day of salvation I helped you.’
I tell you, now is the time of God’s favor, now is the day of salvation” (2 Cor 6:1-2).
We are living in the time of God’s favor. But the “year” of Jubilee won’t reach its full conclusion until the land is restored. The year of Jubilee required that all land that was mortgaged be restored to its original Israelite owner. The entire world is still under the curse of Adam. When Jesus returns, he will finish the mission and complete the year of the Lord’s favor by restoring the earth itself and releasing it from God’s curse:
“Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, as clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb down the middle of the great street of the city. On each side of the river stood the tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, yielding its fruit every month. And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations. No longer will there be any curse” (Rev 22:1-3).
So just as Jesus came to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor, we are to proclaim it as well. If we are followers of Jesus, we are to announce the good news that God’s favor is here today for anyone that wants to be set free:
“That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched—this we proclaim concerning the Word of life. The life appeared; we have seen it and testify to it, and we proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and has appeared to us.”
Christ in the Old Testament 
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