Luke 4:19

4:19 to proclaim the year 1  of the Lord’s favor.” 2 

Luke 2:52

2:52 And Jesus increased 3  in wisdom and in stature, and in favor with God and with people.

Luke 1:30

1:30 So 4  the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, 5  Mary, for you have found favor 6  with God!

Luke 2:40

2:40 And the child grew and became strong, 7  filled with wisdom, 8  and the favor 9  of God 10  was upon him.

1 sn The year of the Lord’s favor (Grk “the acceptable year of the Lord”) is a description of the year of Jubilee (Lev 25:10). The year of the total forgiveness of debt is now turned into a metaphor for salvation. Jesus had come to proclaim that God was ready to forgive sin totally.

2 sn A quotation from Isa 61:1-2a. Within the citation is a line from Isa 58:6, with its reference to setting the oppressed free.

3 tn Or “kept increasing.” The imperfect tense suggests something of a progressive force to the verb.

4 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate that Gabriel’s statement is a response to Mary’s perplexity over the greeting.

5 sn Do not be afraid. See 1:13 for a similar statement to Zechariah.

6 tn Or “grace.”

sn The expression found favor is a Semitism, common in the OT (Gen 6:8; 18:3; 43:14; 2 Sam 15:25). God has chosen to act on this person’s behalf.

7 tc Most mss (A Θ Ψ Ë1,13 33 Ï) read πνεύματι (pneumati, “in spirit”) after “became strong,” but this looks like an assimilation to Luke 1:80. The better witnesses (א B D L N W pc lat co) lack the word.

8 sn With the description grew and became strong, filled with wisdom Luke emphasizes the humanity of Jesus and his growth toward maturity.

9 tn Or “grace.”

10 sn On the phrase the favor of God see Luke 1:66.