Yes — Jesus stopped reading because the rest of Isaiah 61 was not being fulfilled at that time.
In the Isaiah scroll, the sentence continues after a comma with 'the day of vengeance of our God' and 'to comfort all that mourn.' Jesus closed the book after 'the acceptable year of the Lord' because those later events were reserved for a future time. Les Feldick explains that Jesus, knowing the end from the beginning, knew exactly where to stop and could truthfully say, 'This day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears.'
Luke 4:17-21 — The Gospel record of Jesus reading from Isaiah 61 and stopping after 'the acceptable year of the Lord' before closing the book.
Luke 4:16-20 records that Jesus came to Nazareth, entered the synagogue on the Sabbath, and stood up to read. He was given the scroll of the prophet Isaiah, and He found a specific place. He read, '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.' Then He closed the book, gave it to the minister, and sat down. In the original passage, Isaiah 61:1-2, the verse continues without a period: '...to proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all that mourn.' The Luke account does not record Jesus reading those later words. Instead, He said, 'This day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears.'
Les Feldick emphasizes that in the Isaiah scroll, after 'the acceptable year of the Lord' there is a comma, not a period. The prophecy goes on to the day of God's vengeance, which Les connects to the wrath and vexation of Psalm 2, and then to the comforting of all that mourn, which he identifies as the Kingdom. Jesus, knowing the end from the beginning, knew exactly where to stop. He read only through 'the acceptable year of the Lord,' put a period where the scroll had a comma, closed the book, and said that portion was fulfilled that day. Les also contrasts Peter with Jesus. Peter, at Pentecost, did not yet know the break in the prophetic program, so he quoted the whole portion as though it would all happen one thing right after another. Les further notes that the rest of the verse would not take place until 2,000 years down the road. This same principle, he says, appears in Acts 1:8, where Jesus could have stopped at Samaria because that was where the gospel proclamation to the ends of the earth was not yet going.
Jesus was in the synagogue at Nazareth. The scroll of Isaiah was delivered to Him, and He found a particular place. He read from Isaiah 61:1 through 'to preach the acceptable year of the Lord' and then stopped. Luke records that He closed the book, gave it again to the minister, and sat down.
In the Isaiah scroll, the sentence continues after 'the acceptable year of the Lord' with 'and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all that mourn.' Les Feldick points out that the comma is not the end of the sentence. The next part speaks of the day of God's wrath and vexation, and then the comforting of mourners, which he calls the Kingdom. Those events were not happening in the synagogue that day.
Les teaches that Jesus knew the end from the beginning and therefore knew exactly where to stop. He could not have said 'This day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears' if He had read the whole verse, because the latter part had not yet been fulfilled. He put a period and sat down because He knew the rest was not going to happen at that time.
Les Feldick contrasts Jesus with Peter. Peter did not yet know the break in the prophetic program, so he quoted the whole portion as though all of it would take place one thing right after another. Jesus, however, stopped in the middle of the verse because He knew that the rest of Isaiah's words were not for that immediate moment.
Les uses the same principle in Acts 1:8. He says Jesus could have stopped at the word Samaria, because that is where the disciples' proclamation of the Gospel of the Kingdom did stop. The disciples never went to the ends of the earth with that message at that time because the nation was rejecting it. Just as Jesus stopped at the comma in Isaiah, the prophetic program stopped where its current fulfillment stopped.
Finding the Right Passage
Les notes that 'found' means Jesus looked for a particular verse, showing that His stopping point was intentional.
Why the 12 Disciples Never Preached to Gentiles — Acts 1:8
Verse 17, "...so they were delivered unto him the book of the prophet Isaiah, and when he had opened the book, or the scroll, he found," in other words, he looked for a particular verse that he wanted, "...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.
Peter's Inability to Place the Break
Les contrasts Peter with Jesus: Peter quoted the whole prophecy as consecutive because he did not yet know the gap between the acceptable year and the day of vengeance.
Why the Whole Verse Could Not Be Fulfilled
Les says Jesus could not have said 'this day is fulfilled' if He had read the last part of the verse, and he applies the same stop-at-Samaria principle to Acts 1:8.
The Comma Not a Period
Les explains that in Isaiah the text has a comma after the acceptable year, with the day of vengeance and the comforting of mourners still ahead; Jesus knew the end from the beginning and stopped.
Why the Old Testament Never Mentions the Church Age
"...He closed the book, and He gave it to the minister, and He 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." All right, now let's go back and read what He read, and that is in Isaiah chapter 61. Go back to Isaiah chapter 61, and I'll write it in verse 1. Isaiah 61, verse 1.
The Synagogue Setting
Les describes Jesus reading from the scroll and stopping at 'the acceptable year of the Lord,' putting a period where the scroll had a comma.
Jesus Knew the Rest Was Not for That Time
Les says Jesus put a period and sat down because He knew the rest of the verse was not going to happen at that time.
Isaiah 61:1-2: The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me; because the LORD hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound; To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all that mourn;
Shows the full sentence Jesus was reading; the comma after 'the acceptable year of the Lord' is followed by the day of vengeance and the comforting of mourners.
Luke 4:18-20: 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.
Luke's account of Jesus' synagogue reading, showing where He stopped and closed the scroll.
No. In Luke 4, Jesus read from Isaiah 61:1 through 'to preach the acceptable year of the Lord' and then closed the book. He did not read the next phrase, 'and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all that mourn.'
Les Feldick explains that Jesus stopped because the remainder of the verse was not being fulfilled at that time. The day of vengeance and the comforting of mourners were future events, so Jesus knew exactly where to stop.
Les points out that in the Isaiah scroll it is a comma, not a period, after 'the acceptable year of the Lord.' The prophecy continues with the day of vengeance and the Kingdom comfort. Jesus stopped at the comma because only the first part was being fulfilled that day.
Watch the Teaching: The Mystery of the Church: Why It’s Not in the Old Testament