What is the acceptable year of the Lord as mentioned in Luke 19:4?

Question

Dear Gramps,

I was teaching a Sunday School class and we were reading Luke 4. In verse 19 it says: “….acceptable year of the Lord.” One of the brethren asked, “What is the acceptable year of the Lord?”  I told him I would try to find out. Hope you can help. Thank you.

Sister Lydia S.

Answer

Dear Lydia,

The answer to your question lies just two verses beyond the verse 19 that you quoted.

Luke 4:17-21,

And there was delivered unto him the book of the prophet Esaias. And when he had opened the book, he found the place where it was written,.

The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised,

To preach the acceptable year of the Lord.

And he closed the book, and he gave it again to the minister, and sat down. And the eyes of all them that were in the synagogue were fastened on him.

And he began to say unto them, This day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears

Jesus read the above quoted passage from Isaiah, which closed with the phrase, To preach the acceptable year of the Lord, in the synagogue at Nazareth. Then he announced, This day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears.

Undoubtedly the acceptable year of the Lord refers to the time of His mortal ministry that culminated in His great infinite atoning sacrifice.

Gramps