The Prophet and the Prophet in Chapter 61

The one anointed by the spirit in this chapter is seemingly the one through whom the lord is going to accomplish his saving purpose. Many commentators have identified the speaker here as the prophet himself, not unnaturally considering the first person's singular forms that are used. Yet even though we might reasonably see some resemblance to the prophet here, identifying the figure as the prophet leaves us with some challenging questions too. As garry smith argues, for instance, the figure seems to be operating within the escatological era that is being described in these chapters.