Typology of the "Year of the Lord's Favor"

I wrote a paper recently that traces the development of the "Year of the Lord's Favor" in the Bible. This process of study is called "typology." There are three components to typology: 1) Rooted in history, 2) Types are God-ordained, 3) Typology involves heightening or intensification. A "type" is an event, person, institution in the OT that reveals something about God’s purposes and plans, and points in some way to the full revelation of God’s purposes and plans in the person of Jesus Christ / Kingdom of God.

With this introduction, here is the abstract of my paper. Hopefully this will be a helpful study for you folks.

The New Testament passage under examination in this paper is Luke 4:14-21. In this account, Jesus reads from the scroll of Isaiah in the synagogue at Nazareth. He quotes from Isaiah 61:1-2a (and 58:6) and claims, “Today this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.” Prior to this passage, Luke’s record of Jesus’ life leans heavily on Isaiah themes: a virgin from Galilee will give birth (Is. 7:14; 9:1ff), John the Baptist’s prepares the way (Is. 40:3-5), Jesus is anointed by the Holy Spirit (Is. 11:2; 42:1; 61:1), and he comes from the Davidic line (Is. 16:5; 55:3). Therefore, Luke 4:14-21 builds Luke’s case for Jesus’ messiahship.

The concept of the year of the Lord’s favor is emphasized in Luke 4:18-20, and therefore is examined in greater detail in the Old Testament study of this paper. The typological trajectory of the year of the Lord’s favor can be summarized in three points: 1) The “type” of the year of the Lord’s favor is the Jubilee tradition of Leviticus 25, which upholds these principles: release, liberty, and restoration of inheritance. These principles of social justice were based on the prototypes of rest (Genesis 1:1-2:3) and the Sabbath laws (Exodus 20:8-11). Jubilee was intended to be a means for God’s creative provision for the Israelites and security of their inheritance. 2) The prophet Isaiah developed this basic framework of Jubilee into a prophecy concerning a Spirit-endowed individual who will bring about the reform needed to implement the restoration of the Israelites’ inheritance and favor with God (Is. 42:1-9; 61:1-2). 3) After the return from exile, the concept of the year of the Lord’s favor gained a marked eschatological emphasis. For example, the concept of Jubilee was eschatologized in the Dead Sea Scrolls. 11QMelch 2:1-9 is important in tying together Jubilee and Sabbath motifs through Leviticus 25; Deuteronomy 15:2; Isaiah 52:7; 61:1-2; and Psalm 7:8-9; 82:1-2. Furthermore, the use of Isaiah 61 in 4Q521 develops a distinctly messianic prophecy concerning an individual who will implement the year of the Lord’s favor. This development is the trajectory that Jesus stepped into in his Nazareth sermon.

Because of the development of the typology of the year of the Lord’s favor in the OT and the Second Temple period, the eschatological Jubilee is more than just social justice. Jesus came to usher in a whole new era of salvation where the Godly social values of Jubilee are present. God himself is again doing a creative work, much like his creative provision through the Sabbath and Jubilee laws, to graciously provide salvation and restoration for his people. Thus, Luke incorporated the typology of the year of the Lord’s favor in order to communicate the messianic, prophetic, and salvific nature of Jesus’ ministry.