Abstract:
Copious citations of the Old Testament (OT) by the New Testament (NT) writers confirm the
continuity of the divine revelation in both parts of the sacred scripture and at the same time
underscore the newness of the NT. This is evident in the theological development of the reality
of the ‘spirit of the Lord’ from the OT to the NT. In this article the writer traces the development
of this biblical concept from its occurrence in the context of Isaiah 61:1–2 to the use of this text
in a programmatic passage of Luke 4:18–19. The aim of the research is to shed light on the
concept and nature of the spirit of the Lord in its context in Isaiah and the use of this by a NT
writer. Both texts are carefully compared, using a literary approach, with the intention to
discover how the NT writer used this concept in his presentation of the person and mission of
Jesus as a charismatic figure and the anointed of the Lord.
Description:
Drs Obiorah and Uroko is
participating in the research
project ‘Socio-cultural
Readings’, directed by Prof.
Dr Ernest van Eck, Department
of New Testament Studies,
Faculty of Theology, University
of Pretoria.
