The Prophet Isaiah circa 700 BC: “The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me, therefore hath the Lord anointed me: He hath sent me to preach good tidings unto the poor, to bind up the broken hearted, to preach liberty to the captives, and to them that are bound, the opening of the prison, to preach the acceptable year of the Lord, and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all that mourn, to appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, and to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of gladness for the spirit of heaviness, that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that He might be glorified.” Isaiah 61:1-3 1599 Geneva Bible

Jesus circa 30 AD: And He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up. And as was His custom, He went to the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and He stood up to read. And the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to Him. He unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written, “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because He has anointed Me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent Me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.” And He rolled up the scroll and gave it back to the attendant and sat down. And the eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on Him. And He began to say to them, “Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.” Luke 4:16-21 ESV

Seven hundred years before Jesus was born, Isaiah spoke a prophetic word describing the purpose and nature of the ministry of the coming Messiah.

On a Saturday morning 730 years later, Jesus arrived at the synagogue in His hometown of Nazareth for Sabbath worship services. Jesus was called upon to read the Torah passage. The reading was the messianic prophecy by Isaiah.

Coincidence? Not. For hundreds of years Jewish rabbis followed an established order for Sabbath Torah readings (Triennial Lectionary Cycle). Jesus didn’t randomly select that passage that day. It would have been the proscribed reading set for that particular Sabbath. Further confirmation that there are no coincidences in the providence of God.

As with every tittle of Jesus’s life and ministry, this reading was an important event in God’s preordained plan, and a pivotal inflection point in Jesus’s ministry: “Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.” It is also a resounding confirmation that Scripture is an intricately woven narrative of God’s creation and plans of redemption. Beauty for ashes.