Yes — Jesus deliberately stopped at the comma in Isaiah 61:2 because only the first part of the verse was fulfilled at His first coming.
Jesus stopped reading after "the acceptable year of the Lord" because that was the only portion being fulfilled on that day in the synagogue. Les Feldick explains that the rest of the verse — "the day of vengeance of our God" and "to comfort all that mourn" — belongs to future Tribulation and Kingdom events that would not take place then. Because Jesus is God and knows the end from the beginning, He knew precisely where to stop.
Luke 4:16-21 — This is the event itself: Jesus reads from Isaiah in the Nazareth synagogue and stops before finishing Isaiah 61:2.
Isaiah 61:1-2 — This is the Old Testament passage Jesus read; its second verse continues past the point where Jesus stopped.
The event is recorded in Luke 4:16-21. Jesus went into the synagogue at Nazareth on the Sabbath and stood up to read. The scroll of the prophet Isaiah was delivered to Him, and when He opened it He found the place where it was written. He read from Isaiah 61:1-2, beginning, "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me..." and continuing through "To preach the acceptable year of the Lord." Then He closed the book, gave it again to the minister, and sat down.
Les Feldick teaches that Jesus' stop in Luke 4 was no accident. Les emphasizes that Jesus is God and knows the end from the beginning, so He knew exactly where to stop in Isaiah 61. The phrase "he found the place" in Luke 4:17 indicates that Jesus looked for a specific portion of Scripture rather than merely opening the scroll randomly.
In Luke 4:16-17, Jesus stood up in the synagogue and was given the scroll of the prophet Isaiah. When He opened it, He found the place where it was written. Les Feldick points out that the word "found" shows Jesus looked for this specific passage rather than just reading wherever the scroll opened (Clip 7). Jesus read from Isaiah 61:1-2 through "the acceptable year of the Lord" and then stopped (Clips 4,5). He closed the book, gave it to the minister, and sat down (Luke 4:20; Clips 4,7).
Les Feldick teaches that the punctuation in Isaiah 61:2 is key. After the phrase "to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord," your Bible has a comma, not a period. The sentence continues, "and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all that mourn." Because the Old Testament text runs straight through, Jesus could easily have continued reading. Instead, He stopped at the comma. Les says Jesus knew the end from the beginning and knew exactly where to stop (Clips 1,2,3).
Les identifies the rest of Isaiah 61:2 as future events. "The day of vengeance of our God" is the Tribulation, the time of wrath and vexation (Clips 2,3). "To comfort all that mourn" refers to the Kingdom, when those mourners will be comforted (Clips 2,3). Neither of these events was happening at Jesus' first coming, so He did not read them.
Les explains that Israel never accepted the King, and that opportunity was taken from them (Clip 0). The Old Testament prophetic program was going to be interrupted shortly after Jesus' ascension, so the day of vengeance and the Kingdom would not come in until a later day (Clip 2). He also notes that God's prophetic clock had been running through 483 years of the 490-year program with Israel, and the clock stopped at the crucifixion (Clip 2).
Jesus then said, "This day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears" (Luke 4:21). Les Feldick says Jesus could truthfully say this because the part He read was the part being fulfilled at that moment. The rest of Isaiah 61 was still future and would not take place until about 2,000 years later (Clips 1,3,6).
Les contrasts Jesus' deliberate stop with Peter's quotation of the Old Testament at Pentecost. Peter, still on covenant ground, could not place a break between the verses he was using; he read or quoted the whole portion as though it would all take place consecutively. Jesus, however, being God, knew the end from the beginning and stopped because the remaining events were far in the future (Clip 6).
Israel's Rejection and the Lost Opportunity
Les connects the stop in Luke 4 to Israel's later rejection of the King: because Israel never accepted Jesus as King, the opportunity for the next prophetic events was removed until a future time.
Jesus Knew Exactly Where to Stop
Les points out that Jesus is God and knows the end from the beginning, so He deliberately stopped after "the acceptable year of the Lord" even though Isaiah 61:2 has a comma, not a period.
The Prophetic Clock Stops
Les explains that the Old Testament program was about to be interrupted after Jesus' ascension, so the day of vengeance and the Kingdom were delayed; God's clock stopped after 483 of 490 years.
Vengeance and Comfort Are Future
Les identifies the rest of Isaiah 61:2 as the day of God's wrath (the Tribulation) and the comfort of mourners (the Kingdom), which is why Jesus stopped before reading them.
Jesus Closed the Book
Les recites what Jesus read and the action that followed — closing the book, giving it to the minister, and sitting down — showing a deliberate end to the reading.
The Reading Ends at the Acceptable Year
Les walks through Luke 4:17-18 and shows that the reading ended at "the acceptable year of the Lord," which is the boundary of Jesus' first-coming fulfillment.
The Rest Was 2,000 Years Away
Les says Jesus knew the rest of Isaiah 61 would not take place until about 2,000 years later, and he contrasts Peter, who could not make that interruption known.
Deliberate Search for the Passage
Les emphasizes the word "found" in Luke 4:17 — Jesus looked for a particular place in the scroll, not merely opening it at random.
Luke 4:18: 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,
This is the beginning of the Isaiah passage Jesus read in the synagogue.
Luke 4:19: To preach the acceptable year of the Lord.
This is exactly where Jesus stopped reading, mid-sentence in the Isaiah passage.
Luke 4:20: 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.
This records His deliberate action of closing the scroll and sitting down.
Luke 4:21: And he began to say unto them, This day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears.
This is His declaration that only this portion was fulfilled that day.
Isaiah 61:1: 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;
This is the Old Testament passage Jesus found and read in the synagogue.
Isaiah 61:2: To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all that mourn;
This verse continues past the point where Jesus stopped, describing future Tribulation and Kingdom events.
Jesus stopped there because that portion of Isaiah 61:2 was the part being fulfilled that day in the synagogue. Les Feldick says Jesus knew the end from the beginning and deliberately stopped because the rest of the verse was still future.
No. In Isaiah 61:2, there is a comma after "the acceptable year of the Lord," not a period. Jesus stopped in the middle of the sentence because the remaining words described events that were not going to happen at His first coming.
The verse immediately continues with "and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all that mourn." Les identifies the day of vengeance as the Tribulation and the comforting as the Kingdom.
He could have continued reading the scroll, but then He could not truthfully have said, "This day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears," because only the first part was being fulfilled. The rest awaited a future day.
Watch the Teaching: Why the 12 Disciples Never Preached to Gentiles — Acts 1:8