Gospel in Art: Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing

Christ Teaching at Capernaum, by Maurycy Gottlieb 1878-79 © National Museum, Warsaw

Source: Christian Art

Gospel of 10 January 2026
Luke 4:14-22a

At that time: Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit to Galilee, and a report about him went out through all the surrounding country. And he taught in their synagogues, being glorified by all.

And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up. And as was his custom, he went to the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and he stood up to read. And the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to him. He unrolled the scroll, and found the place where it was written,

'The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor.

He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favour.'

And he rolled up the scroll, and gave it back to the attendant, and sat down. And the eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on him. And he began to say to them, 'Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.' And all spoke well of him and marvelled at the gracious words that were coming from his mouth.

Reflection on the painting

In our Gospel today, we see Jesus standing in the synagogue, doing what we do every day at mass, or even via these daily emails: opening the Scriptures. Yet there is something striking about this moment. He is handed the scroll of Isaiah, and he does not simply read the first line before him. He searches. He looks for a passage that expresses 'who' he is and 'why' he has come. And when he finds it, he proclaims words that set the tone for his entire ministry: good news for the poor, freedom for those in chains, sight for the blind, lifting up those who are crushed, and announcing a time of God's boundless favour.

This is not just ancient poetry. It is Christ's own mission statement. And it reaches into our lives too: because in different ways, we are the poor, the blind, the burdened, the ones longing for God to put things right. Jesus came precisely for those who know they need him. Throughout the Gospels, the ones Jesus find the hardest to cope with, are those who imagine themselves self-sufficient, those convinced they already see clearly and already have enough. But the truth is… only those who hunger can be filled. So we need to keep hungry therefore and always want to know more, love more and give more.

Today, Jesus still speaks that same promise. He still stands before us with the scroll unrolled and says "Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing". His word hold the same power two thousand years later. Our painting by Jewish-Polish artist Maurycy Gottlieb (who died very young, aged only 23) depicts Christ teaching the temple, with a scroll in front of him, which may well be Isaiah's scroll as per today's reading. Men, women, children, everyone is watching on. Everyone is welcomed. The temple architecture evokes both the historic heart of Jewish worship and the fulfilment of the Old Testament tradition in Christ. Around him, the people are depicted some attentive, some uncertain, some hesitant, reflecting the varied human responses to God's word.

LINKS

Gospel in Art: https://christian.art/
Today's Reflection: https://christian.art/daily-gospel-reading/luke-4-14-22a-2026/