Ambrose of Milan : We have shown by the clear evidence of the Scripture that the apostles and prophets were appointed, the latter to prophesy, the former to preach the gospel, by the Holy Spirit in the same way as by the Father and the Son. Now we add what all will rightly wonder at and not be able to doubt, that the Spirit was on Christ; and that as he sent the Spirit, so the Spirit sent the Son of God. For the Son of God says, "The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has appointed me, he has sent me to preach the gospel." And having read this from the book of Isaiah, he says in the Gospel, "Today has this Scripture been fulfilled in your ears," that he might point out that it was said of himself. — On the Holy Spirit 3.1.1 Ambrose of Milan : Here is the one who says, "My teaching is not mine but his who sent me. If anyone wants to do his will, let him know about the teaching, whether it is from God or I am speaking by my own authority." For one is teaching from God, the other is human teaching. Thus, the Jews, when they asked whether his teaching was taken from people, saying, "How has he known these writings without learning them?" Jesus replied, "My teaching is not mine." — Exposition of the Christian Faith 2.9.79 Athanasius of Alexandria : What is there to wonder at, what to disbelieve, if the Lord who gives the Spirit, is here said himself to be anointed with the Spirit, at a time when, necessity requiring it, he did not refuse in respect of his manhood to call himself inferior to the Spirit? — Discourses Against the Arians 1.50 Basil of Caesarea : For the naming of Christ is the confession of the whole, shewing forth as it does the God who gave, the Son who received, and the Spirit who is, the unction. So we have learned from Peter, in the Acts, of "Jesus of Nazareth whom God anointed with the Holy Ghost;" and in Isaiah, "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because the Lord hath anointed me;" and the Psalmist, "Therefore God, even thy God, hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows." — On The Holy Spirit, Chapter 12 Cosmas Indicopleustes : The spirit of the Lord is upon me—a passage which the Lord having read in the synagogue on the Sabbath said: Verily I say unto you, to-day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears. — The Christian Topography, Book 5 Cyril of Alexandria : He who said in the preceding words concerning those who would be called in faith: "I the Lord will gather them at the proper times," as the time was already present, in which he promised to gather them, and as one who had already become man, and had undergone the likeness to us, and had lowered himself to emptiness, "The Spirit of the Lord," he says, "is upon me," although being by nature God the Only-begotten is the Holy of holies, and he himself sanctifies all creation, since indeed he is begotten of a holy Father, and pours forth the Spirit from himself, and sends it into the powers above as his own, and moreover to those who have recognized his epiphany. How then was he sanctified? For being at once God and the same one man, he gives the Spirit divinely to creation, but he receives it from God the Father according to his humanity. This we say is the use. And he makes clear the cause of the incarnation. For having said that it was from the Father, he necessarily added, "Because of which he has anointed me; he has sent me to preach good news to the poor, to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim release to those in captivity, and to grant recovery of sight to the blind, and in addition to these to call also a day of recompense:" many at the same time are the manifest achievements of the incarnation of the Only-begotten. For in order that he might win the world under heaven, and bring those throughout the whole inhabited world to God the Father, having transformed all things to a better state, and as it were renewed the face of the earth, he took the form of a servant, although being Lord of all. — Commentary on Isaiah Ephrem the Syrian : "The Spirit of the Lord God is on me, because the Lord has anointed me to bring good tidings to the afflicted," that is, God anointed him with the Holy Spirit. Therefore, after being incarnated and clothed with a human body, as is said, he has received the Spirit and has been anointed with the Spirit, because he has received the Spirit for us and has anointed us with it."The Spirit of the Lord is on me." That Spirit, which proceeds from the Father and is his essence, is in me, who am the Word and the Son of the Father, and through my incarnation I received the anointment of the economy of salvation. — COMMENTARY ON Isaiah 61:1 Eusebius of Caesarea : "The Spirit of the Lord is on me because he has anointed me." Clearly this happened to those who thought that the Christ of God was neither a mere man nor an unfleshed and unembodied Word who did not take on a mortal nature. Instead they say he is both God and human, God in that he is the only-begotten God who was in the bosom of the Father, and man … from the seed of David according to the flesh. Thus, God the Word, who through the prophecy has been called Lord, speaks out this prophecy that is preeminent among other promises: "I am the Lord, and in the right time I will draw them together." … Taking the chrism in the Holy Spirit, he, chosen from among all, appears as the only-begotten Christ of God. And the verse "he has sent me to proclaim good news to the poor," he fulfilled in that time when he "was preaching the kingdom of heaven" and explaining the beatitudes to the disciples by saying, "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of God." … And for those nations then imprisoned in their souls by the invisible and spiritual powers he preached release to his newly encouraged disciples.… Therefore, he preached release to the prisoners and to those suffering from blindness who were those enslaved by the error of polytheism, and he creates a year that is acceptable, through which he made all time his own year. And from the passing years of humanity he provides days of created light for those close to him. He never kept hidden the age that is to come after the perfecting of the present. For that age will be a time much on the Lord's mind, being an age and day of requiting. For he will grant a change of fortune or a year of favor to those struggling in the present life. — COMMENTARY ON Isaiah 2:51 Fulgentius of Ruspe : But afterward [the Spirit] came on him as he was baptized … and Jesus returned to Galilee. Considering all those things, we remember and acknowledge the Holy Spirit, who is one like the Father and the Son, without measure, and one who fills every creature and does the works that only God does, since one such cannot be sent from place to place since he is one who, we are taught, is immeasurable by nature. — AGAINST FABIANUS, FRAGMENT 28:10-11 Irenaeus : For Christ did not at that time descend upon Jesus, neither was Christ one and Jesus another: but the Word of God-who is the Saviour of all, and the ruler of heaven and earth, who is Jesus, as I have already pointed out, who did also take upon Him flesh, and was anointed by the Spirit from the Father-was made Jesus Christ, as Esaias also says, "There shall come forth a rod from the root of Jesse, and a flower shall rise from his root; and the Spirit of God shall rest upon Him: the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and piety, and the spirit of the fear of God, shall fill Him. He shall not judge according to glory, nor reprove after the manner of speech; but He shall dispense judgment to the humble man, and reprove the haughty ones of the earth." And again Esaias, pointing out beforehand His unction, and the reason why he was anointed, does himself say, "The Spirit of God is upon Me, because He hath anointed Me: He hath sent Me to preach the Gospel to the lowly, to heal the broken up in heart, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and sight to the blind; to announce the acceptable year of the Lord, and the day of vengeance; to comfort all that mourn." For inasmuch as the Word of God was man from the root of Jesse, and son of Abraham, in this respect did the Spirit of God rest upon Him, and anoint Him to preach the Gospel to the lowly. But inasmuch as He was God, He did not judge according to glory, nor reprove after the manner of speech. For "He needed not that any should testify to Him of man, for He Himself knew what was in man." For He called all men that mourn; and granting forgiveness to those who had been led into captivity by their sins, He loosed them from their chains, of whom Solomon says, "Every one shall be holden with the cords of his own sins." Therefore did the Spirit of God descend upon Him, [the Spirit] of Him who had promised by the prophets that He would anoint Him, so that we, receiving from the abundance of His unction, might be saved. Such, then, [is the witness] of Matthew. — Against Heresies (Book III, Chapter 9), Section 3 Irenaeus : ...the Son of God having been made the Son of man, as the very name itself doth declare. For in the name of Christ is implied, He that anoints, He that is anointed, and the unction itself with which He is anointed. And it is the Father who anoints, but the Son who is anointed by the Spirit, who is the unction, as the Word declares by Isaiah, "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because He hath anointed me," -pointing out both the anointing Father, the anointed Son, and the unction, which is the Spirit. — Against Heresies (Book III, Chapter 18), Section 3 Isaac of Nineveh : Do not fall into despair because of stumblings. I do not mean that you should not feel contrition for [your sins], but that you should not think them incurable. For it is more expedient to be bruised than dead. There is, indeed, a Healer for the person who has stumbled, even He Who on the Cross asked that mercy be shown to His crucifiers, He Who pardoned His murderers while He hung on the Cross. … For a brief moment of mourning He pardoned Simon, who had denied Him.… Christ came in behalf of sinners, to heal the broken of heart and to bandage their wounds. "The Spirit of the Lord," He says, "is upon Me, to preach good tidings to the poor." … And the Apostle says in his epistle, "Jesus Christ came into the world to save sinners." — ASCETICAL HOMILIES 64 Ishodad of Merv : "The Spirit of the Lord is on me," etc. These words are manifestly said with regard to Zerubbabel but actually with regard to our Lord, as he has testified by himself. "Today," he said, "that Scripture has been fulfilled at your ears." — COMMENTARY ON Isaiah 61:1 Jerome : (Chapter 61—Verse 1 and following) The Spirit of the Lord God (in the Vulgate it is "God") is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me: to bring good news to the meek, He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted (in the Vulgate it is "broken-hearted"), to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound; to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all who mourn, to grant to those who mourn in Zion: to give them a beautiful headdress instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, the garment of praise instead of a faint spirit. LXX: The spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn, to provide for those who mourn in Zion— to give them a garland instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, the mantle of praise instead of a faint spirit. They will be called oaks of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, to display his glory. To whom the Psalmist had already said: You have loved righteousness and hated iniquity; therefore God, your God, has anointed you with the oil of gladness above your companions (Ps. 45:7). When "companions" are mentioned, understand the nature of the flesh, because God does not have companions of his own substance. And because it was a spiritual anointing, and by no means of the human body, as it was in the priests of the Jews, therefore it is mentioned that he was anointed above his companions, that is, above the other saints. Whose anointing was completed at that time, when he was baptized in the Jordan, and the Holy Spirit descended upon him in the form of a dove, and remained in him (John 1). Of whom this same Prophet also said: A branch shall come forth from the root of Jesse, and a flower shall rise up from his root, and the spirit of God, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and fortitude, the spirit of knowledge and piety, shall rest upon him (Isaiah 11:1, 2). And when the Savior came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, after being baptized in the Jordan, he entered, according to his custom, into the synagogue on the Sabbath day. And when he had risen to read, the book of the prophet Isaiah was given to him. And opening the book, he found the place where it was written: The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor, he has sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovery of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, to preach the acceptable year of the Lord. When He had rolled up the scroll, He gave it back to the attendant and sat down. The eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on Him. Then He began to say to them, "Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing." And all were speaking well of Him and marveling at the gracious words that were falling from His lips. They were saying, "Is this not Joseph's son?" He said to them, "No doubt you will quote this proverb to Me: 'Physician, heal yourself! Do here in Your hometown what we have heard that You did in Capernaum.'" And He continued, "Truly I tell you that no prophet is accepted in his hometown. But in truth, I tell you, there were many widows in Israel in the days of Elijah, when the sky was shut for three and a half years and great famine swept over all the land. Yet Elijah was not sent to any of them, but to a widow in Zarephath in the region of Sidon. And there were many lepers in Israel in the time of Elisha the prophet, yet not one of them was cleansed—only Naaman the Syrian." When they heard this, everyone in the synagogue was enraged. They got up, drove Him out of the town, and led Him to the brow of the hill on which their town was built, in order to throw Him off the cliff. But Jesus passed through the crowd and went on His way. For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known. So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love. He has been anointed with the Holy Spirit to proclaim good news to the poor or meek, saying to them in the Gospel: Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. And: Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth. And he was sent to heal those who are brokenhearted and say: A broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise. Or according to Symmachus and Theodotion, to preach the remission of sins to captives, the ability for the blind to see, or the opening for the closed, which Symmachus interpreted more clearly as the release of the bound. As it is said above, or rather to whom it is said: Behold, I have set you as a light to the Gentiles, to open the eyes of the blind, to bring out those who are bound, and those who sit in darkness out of the prison house (Isaiah 42:6-7). But understand that the acceptable year and day of retribution, the entirety of his preaching in which he was present in the flesh, refers to a specific time. This is also interpreted by the Apostle Paul in reference to the first coming of the Savior, saying: Behold, now is the acceptable time; behold, now is the day of salvation (1 Corinthians 6:2). We have spoken more fully about this above (Chapter 60). However, if retribution is understood not in the rewards of the good, but in the punishments of sins, then it should be understood in relation to the day of vengeance, which pertains to the Jewish people, upon whom immediately after his passion, the wrath of God came. He consoled all those mourning, saying: Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted (Matt. 5); so that he would console those who mourn for Zion and give them a glorious crown instead of ashes. Among them was also the Apostle Paul who mourned for Zion and said: I have great sorrow and unceasing anguish (Rom. 9): And again: I wished myself to be cursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my brothers, my kin according to the flesh, who are Israelites (Ibid., 3). And therefore, mourning and lamenting, they received the oil of joy, seeing that many of the Jews had believed, and received the most pure garment, instead of mourning clothing. — Commentary on Isaiah Origen of Alexandria : Let us therefore contemplate what those things are which he spoke in the prophet and afterward sounds forth about himself in the synagogue. "He sent me", it says, "to evangelize the poor". The "poor" signifies the nations; for these were "poor", possessing nothing at all, not God, not the law, not the prophets, not justice and the remaining virtues. For which cause God sent him to announce to the poor: "to preach release to the captives". Captives we were, whom for so many years Satan had bound, holding us captive and subject to himself. Jesus came "to preach release to the captives and to the blind, that they might see"; for indeed by the word and preaching of his teaching the blind see. Let the preaching therefore be understood ἀπὸ κοινοῦ (in common), not only over the captives, but also over the blind. "To send forth the broken into liberty". What was ever so broken and crushed as man, who was released and healed by Jesus? "To preach the acceptable year of the Lord". According to the simple understanding they say that the Savior preached the Gospel in Judea for one year, and that this is what is said: "to preach the acceptable year of the Lord and the day of retribution", unless perhaps the divine word signifies something of a mystery in the preaching of the year of the Lord. For there are to be other days, not such as we now discern in the world, and other months, and a different order of the Kalends. Just therefore as those are other, so also the year of the Lord to come is pleasing. But all these things have been foretold, that after sight from blindness, after liberty from chains, after health from diverse wounds, we may come to the "acceptable year of the Lord". — HOMILIES ON THE GOSPEL OF Luke 32 Theodoret of Cyrus : After completing these predictions, Isaiah now turns the prophecy to Christ the Master, who in the present life has given these things to the church and has promised the commonwealth to come.… We do not need many examples to explain the meaning of this prophecy. For the Master himself has made it clear to us. For, entering the synagogue he took the book, unrolled it … and he was anointed by the All-Holy Spirit, not as God but as man. For we have often made this manifest already in our other writings.…Isaiah calls "poor" those who have lost heavenly riches, "broken-hearted" those who have corrupted their reason, "blind" those who do not know God and who worship creation, "prisoner" those brought into the enemy's camp and who have lost their original freedom.… Christ did not only give to us the forgiveness of sins and free us from the tyranny of the devil and reveal to us the divine light, but he also announced the future existence and warned of the righteous judgment. For I think that "the year of grace" means his first coming and "day of recompense" the day of judgment. To console all who mourn with the hope of the resurrection, he has tempered the despair of death.… "Perfume of joy," which Theodotion and Symmachus translate by "oil of gladness," refers to the mystical anointing through which those made worthy receive the cloak of glory; for "cloak" must be understood as spiritual clothing.… As the blessed David says, "This is the generation that seeks the Lord." The three interpreters, instead of "the generations of justice," have "the strong ones of justice, a plantation of the Lord for his glory." In this way, the finest generals of godliness, as they roam the globe, remove impiety, and they plant in the desert the first plantations of the Lord. — COMMENTARY ON Isaiah 19:61.1-3