Luke
4:14-22
The mission of the Messiah, 1:5-9:50
2. Testimonies to the Messiah, 2:41-4:30
vi] Witness of Jesus' inaugural ministry. 4:14-30
a) Good news for the poor
SynopsisJesus, the son of a village carpenter in Nazareth, is now quite famous "through the whole countryside." Returning home, he attends the local synagogue on the Sabbath and is invited to read the scriptures. The eyes of all in the synagogue are fixed on Jesus as he reads from Isaiah 61:1-2. Isaiah is writing about the promised release of captive Israel from the Babylonian bondage, and does so in terms of the Year of Jubilee, that special time when all slaves are set free and debts retired, cf., Lev.25. Having read the words, Jesus announces to the congregation that what they have heard read to them is fulfilled this very day; now is the year of the Lord's favour.
Teaching
Jesus the messiah is a rejected servant, rejected by his own people, and this in the Year of the Lord's Favour, the Year when God's people, enslaved by powers secular and satanic, are set free.
Issues
i] Context: See 2:41-53. The witness of Jesus' inaugural ministry, 4:14-30, serves as the sixth episode of the second section of Luke's gospel, Testimonies to the Messiah, 2:41-4:30. In line with the Revised Common Lectionary, this episode is divided into two parts, Good news for the poor, v14-22, and God's love is universal, v22-30.
ii] Structure: The witness of Jesus' inaugural ministry:
A summary of Jesus' Galilean ministry, v14-15;
Jesus' reading and exposition of Isaiah's prophecy concerning the Servant of the Lord, v16-21;
Setting, v16-17;
Jesus reads and expounds scripture, v18-21;
"today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing."
Rejection at Nazareth, v22-30:
The questioning of the congregation, v22;
"isn't this Joseph's son?"
A proverb on rejection, v23-27;
"no prophet is accepted in his hometown."
The hostile response of the congregation, v28-29;
Jesus withdraws, v30.
Some commentators argue for a Chiastic structure covering v16-20.
iii] Interpretation:
The witness to Jesus' person is particularly evident in the texts quoted by Jesus in v18-19. The quote seems to be a composite extract from Isaiah: 61:1, 58:6, 61:2, probably because they are the texts Jesus used in his address, rather than the actual passage he read. These texts establish that Jesus is an Elijah / Elisha type prophet announcing the coming of the kingdom, but the wider context implies that not only does he proclaim the coming kingdom, in terms of the long-awaited Jubilee year (freedom, release of slaves, wiping of debts ...), but as the messiah, he actually institutes the Jubilee himself - he is the one "anointed ... to release the oppressed".
Although an exegetical stretch, it is possible to read in these texts the methodology that Jesus employs to inaugurate the Jubilee. Given the context of Isaiah 58, Jesus the messiah / faithful Israel, is the one setting at liberty those who are oppressed. He sets at liberty by breaking the bonds of wickedness in his own life on behalf of a faithless Israel that practises fasting rather than justice. So, we are set free in the righteousness of Christ. This proposition is sound, although not quite established by these verses.
Who are the poor? This is an interesting and ongoing debate. The possibilities include the following:
•iThose in the covenant community who are without abundant wealth because they have not extorted their fellow Israelites;
•i Those who have become materially poor because of their loyalty to the covenant community (the persecuted);
•iPoor humanity in general, the materially poor;
•iThe poor in spirit, those broken before God and who desire the restoration of their relationship with him.
The last option seems best, such that the poor are those who yearn for the dawning of the kingdom of God, and it is they for whom the message is proclaimed. So, it is likely that the message is for "the lost", those who are spiritually lost and are seeking to find a way out of the bondage of sin and death. Of course, in its original context, the lost are the righteous poor of Israel, but the descriptor is rightly spiritualised and now applies to all humanity. The invitation for those who seek that better place is no longer specific to national Israel.
iv] Synoptics:
See 3:1-20. Both Matthew and Mark tell us that, following the arrest of John, Jesus moves into Galilee (from Judea??), preaching the gospel of the coming kingdom. In 4:14-15, Luke gives us a similar summary of Jesus' Galilean ministry, but it bears little agreement with Mark - Jesus comes in the power of the Spirit, teaching in synagogues and growing in fame. This is one of those occasions which seems to indicate that Luke is not working off a written copy of Mark / proto-Mark.
In 4:16-30, Luke commences Jesus' ministry with the record of his visit to Nazareth, Jesus' home town, then to Capernaum for A Day in the Life of Jesus, followed by the call of the disciples, 5:1ff. Both Mark and Matthew commence Jesus' Galilean ministry with the call of the disciples, followed by A Day in the Life of Jesus, and only later record a summary of Luke's synagogue account, Mk.6:1-6a, Matt.13:53-58 - the key elements being Jesus' entry to the synagogue, the question of kinship, and the statement that a prophet is without honour in his own country. Luke's arrangement of the narratives and his development of the Nazareth narrative, seems to indicate that he is working from his own research on the kerygma, rather than a copy of Mark. This seems a more acceptable approach than to argue that Luke has assimilated a separate narrative tradition with Mark's account, so Carson, Luce, or that Luke has creatively expanded Mark's account. Mark may well have condensed the received tradition of Jesus visit to Nazareth, while Luke provides us with a more fulsome account.
Irrespective of how this pericope moved from oral tradition to written word, for Luke, it serves as a perfect introduction to the public ministry of Jesus - in this year of God's favour, God's people reject their messiah. Thus, the pattern is set for the move of God's favour from Jerusalem to the ends of the earth.
v] Exposition: A simple exposition of this passage may be found in the linked pew-level Sermon Notes.
Text - 4:14
i] Luke first gives us a summary of Jesus' Galilean ministry, v14-15. Jesus has stood the test in the wilderness and now Luke gives an overview of his Galilean ministry; he makes a powerful impact and received wide support. Luke's comment, "in the power of the Spirit", may refer to the impact of the gospel in signs (miracles) and word, although "under the guiding hand of the Spirit" is probably what Luke intends
All the synoptic gospels presuppose a previous extended Judean ministry; Jesus already has considerable fame. These verses serve to end Jesus' Judean ministry (little of which is recorded in the gospels) and inaugurate his Galilean ministry.
en + dat. "in" - [and jesus returned] in, with, by. This preposition is adverbial, introducing an adverbial phrase modifying the verb "he returned." It is usually treated as modal, expressing the manner of his return, he returned "in the power of the Spirit." It may also express accompaniment, "Jesus returned ...... equipped with the power of the Spirit", Barclay, NJB, or instrumental where the Spirit guides Jesus in the exercise of his ministry, so "by the power of / empowered by the Spirit", "under the power of the Spirit", Goodspeed.
tou pneumatoV (a atoV) gen. "of the Spirit" - [the power] of the spirit [into galilee]. The genitive is ablative, expressing source / origin.
fhmh (h) "news" - [and] a report [went out]. Nominative subject of the verb "to go out." Probably in a neutral sense as NIV and not in the sense of the English transliteration, "fame". "The whole countryside was talking about him", Barclay.
peri + gen. "about" - about [him]. Expressing reference / respect; "concerning, with reference to." Either the news about Jesus, so NIV, or about his return to Galilee in the Spirit.
kaq (kata) + gen. "through" - throughout. Spatial, extension of space; "throughout".
thV pericwrou (oV) gen. "the [whole] countryside" - [all] the surrounding region. Probably meaning "throughout Galilee" rather than "everywhere", CEV.
v15
edidasken (didaskw) imperf. "he taught" - [and] he was teaching [in the synagogues of them]. The imperfect here may just indicate the provision of background information, but it may also express ongoing action, possibly inceptive, "he began ...", but probably iterative, repeated action, "he went on teaching", Barclay.
doxazomenoV (doxazw) perf. pas. part. "everyone praised [him]" - being praised [by all]. Attendant circumstance participle expressing action accompanying the verb "to teach", or adverbial, consecutive, expressing result; "and as a result everyone sang his praises", REB. A strong word, usually reserved for God. The cause of the praise is usually attributed to Jesus' miracles, although Luke links it to his teaching.
v16
ii] Jesus is invited to read the scriptures in his home-town synagogue and having read from Isaiah 61:1-2, he announces to the congregation - people who knew his parents and had watched him grow up - that the scripture has been fulfilled in their hearing this very day, v16-21.
a) Setting, v16-17: From a very small child Jesus, was "brought up" (raised) in Nazareth, and as was typical of devout Jews, he would regularly attend the local synagogue. On visiting his home town, Jesus maintains "his custom", and attends the Sabbath service. In the service, a rabbi would stand to read the scriptures and sit to expound them. Luke tells us in v17 that Jesus is given the privilege of both reading and expounding the scriptures. The intention of this verse is to show that Jesus not only read the passage assigned to him, most likely using the Lectionary reading set for the day, but that he then proceeded to draw out particular texts and set about commenting on them, ie., "he found" means he found what he wanted to comment on rather than just found the place on the page / in the scroll.
kai "-" - and. Transitional use of the coordinate conjunction; "Then he went to Nazareth."
ou| adv. "where" - [he came to nazareth] where. Genitive relative pronoun serving as a local adverb.
h\n teqrammenoV (trefw) perf. pas. part. "he had been brought up" - he had been fed, nourished, reared. The perfect participle with the imperfect verb to-be forms a periphrastic pluperfect construction, possibly serving to emphasise aspect = duration of living in Nazareth as a child and young man. In the sense of "raised"; "where he had grown up", NAB.
en + dat. "on" - in. Temporal use of the preposition.
twn sabbatwn (on) gen. "the Sabbath" - [the day] of the sabbath [into the synagogue]. The genitive is adjectival, attributive, limiting "day"; "the Sabbath day."
kata + acc. "as was" - according to. Expressing a standard; "in accordance with, corresponding to."
autw/ dat. pro. "his" - [the custom] to him. The dative is possibly possessive, "his custom", or adverbial, reference / respect, or association / accompaniment, with him. The participle "the thing being customary" serves as a substantive, "the custom." "And as usual / as was his habit he went to the synagogue on the Sabbath." Luke presents Jesus as a pious Jew.
anagnwnai (anaginwskw) aor. inf. "to read" - [and stood up] to read. The infinitive probably expresses purpose, "he stood up in order to read." An essential element in the synagogue service was the reading of scripture. The teacher stands to read and sits to teach. There was probably a cycle of readings, first a reading from the Torah followed by a reading from the Prophets. The reading was in Hebrew with a translation in Aramaic, Aramaic being the local language of Palestine at the time.
v17
tou profhtou (oV) gen. "of the prophet" - [and scroll, book] of the prophet [isaiah]. The genitive is adjectival, attributive, idiomatic, limiting "scroll / book", "the scroll which contains the writings of Isaiah the prophet"; "the roll containing the prophecies of Isaiah", Barclay.
autw/ dat. pro. "to him" - [was given] to him. Dative of indirect object.
anaptuxaV (anaptussw) aor. part. "unrolling" - [and] having unrolled [the scroll]. The participle is adverbial, probably temporal; "and when he unrolled the scroll."
euJren (euJriskw) aor. "he found" - he found [the place]. Jesus found the text he wanted to preach on in the scroll opened to the set reading of the day.
ou| adv. "where" - where. Local; see v16.
hn gegrammenon "it is written" - it had been written. The imperfect of the verb to-be with the perfect participle form a periphrastic pluperfect. Establishing a tense separation between the reading Jesus found, aorist, and what was written.
v18
b) Jesus reads and expounds the scripture, v18-21: The passage is from the LXX version of Isaiah 61:1-2, with some blending from 58:6, presumably the texts Jesus preached on, referencing the set reading of the day. The speaker in Isaiah is the Servant of the Lord, and Jesus ends up identifying himself with the messianic servant of the Lord (A good number of commentators hold that the citations are not messianic, cf., Fitzmyer). Liefeld identifies three functions in the text that Jesus applies to himself:
•iHe bears the Spirit;
•iHe is the eschatological prophet announcing God's important news;
•iHe brings release / redemption for God's oppressed remnant (the "lost" - "poor", "captive", "blind").
"The year of the Lord's favour", or the acceptable year, is the year of Jubilee, the fiftieth year when all slaves are released and debts are forgiven, cf., Lev.15. The Jubilee images the coming kingdom of God when forgiveness is offered even to Gentiles, and it is to this end the Servant serves.
kuriou (oV) gen. "of the Lord" - [the spirit] of the lord. The genitive is likely to be ablative, source / origin, "the Spirit poured out from the Lord", although adjectival, possessive is possible, so Culy, "the Lord's Spirit has come to me", CEV.
epi "is on [me]" - is over, upon [me]. Spatial. Expressing the fact that the Spirit has come upon Jesus to enable his ministry, which ministry he is "consecrated", set apart, to perform. This ministry is defined in the four following infinitival phrases: "to communicate ..", "to proclaim ..", "to release .." and "to preach .. (v19)."
ei{neken + gen. "because" - because of, for the sake of. Causal preposition introducing a causal clause explaining why the Spirit of the Lord has come upon Jesus. Given the lead neut. rel. pro. ou|, "because of which", the sense may be inferential, "for this reason / therefore [he anointed me]." "Anointed" in the sense of commissioned to undertake a particular task, which task is carried in the verb apestalken, "he has sent me", modified by the four adverbial infinitives.
ou| "-" - which [he anointed me]. Here the genitive relative pronoun is actually a genitive relative pronoun and not an adverb of place; see above.
euaggelisasqai (euaggelizw) aor. inf. "to preach good news" - to communicate the important news. The infinitive is adverbial, final, expressing purpose. The NIV, as with many English translations, assume that the infinitive modifies the verb "to anoint". Many commentators, on the other hand, think that it, along with the following infinitives, modifies the verb "to send." The sense being:
The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,
because he has anointed me.
He has sent me to proclaim good news to the poor,
to preach release to the captives,
and to send forth in freedom the oppressed,
to preach the year of the Lord's favour.
In the NT, this word usually includes the content of the communication, namely the announcement of the coming kingdom of God and the invitation to enter ("repent and believe"). The word by itself simply means "to communicate important news." "The spirit of the Lord is upon me, forasmuch as he has anointed me, has sent me with good tidings for the lowly", Torrey, so also Cassirer. "He has sent me to announce good news to the poor, to proclaim release to prisoners, and ...", REB.
ptwcoiV dat. adj. "the poor" - to the poor. Dative of indirect object, identifying for whom the preaching is performed. The adjective is used here as a substantive.
apestalken (apostellw) perf. "he has sent [me]" - he has sent [me]. The perfect tense indicating a past commissioning with ongoing application. "He has commissioned me."
khruxai (khrussw) aor. inf. "to proclaim" - to preach. The infinitive again introduces a final clause expressing purpose.
afesin (iV ewV) "freedom" - forgiveness, remission, pardon, freedom from captivity. Accusative direct object of the infinitive "to preach." Clearly taping into slavery imagery, the exodus and the exile, but obviously now rightly in the sense of "freedom from the slavery / oppression of sin", so "forgiveness."
aicmalwtoiV (oV) dat. "the prisoners" - to the captives, prisoners. Dative of indirect object identifying for whom the announcement of freedom is performed.
anableyin (iV ewV) "recovery of sight" - [and] restoration of sight. Accusative object of the infinitive "to preach." Obviously a spiritual sense is intended. Due to their sin, the people are blind to the Word of God and this because divine revelation is now withheld and spiritual sensitivity dulled. In Christ, the day has dawned when lost humanity will again know the living God.
tufloiV dat. adj. "for the blind" - to the blind. The adjective serves as a substantive, dative of interest, advantage, as NIV, or simply dative of indirect object.
aposteilai (apostellw) aor. inf. "to release / to set [the oppressed] free" - to send forth / let go. Here the weaker sense "let go" is intended. Infinitive again expresses purpose. Here, not just proclaiming, but actually doing. The release of the captives is very much a messianic function, rather than prophetic, and this function Jesus takes to himself. This Exodus / exile image finds some literal application in that under the jurisdiction of Rome, Israel was still in bondage, although as far as the post exilic prophets are concerned, the failure of the restoration of Israel pushed fulfilment into the spiritual realm. Israel's problem is that she remains in the bondage of sin, held by the powers of darkness. It is this enemy that Christ will defeat and whose captives he will free.
en afesei (iV ewV) "-" - in freedom, liberty. The preposition here is adverbial, modal, expressing manner, modifying the infinitive "to release"; "to send away in freedom those who have been broken by life", Barclay.
teqrausmenouV (qrauw) perf. pas. part. "the oppressed" - the ones having been oppressed. The participle serves as a substantive; "the down-trodden", Cassirer.
v19
khruxai (khrussw) aor. inf. "to proclaim" - to preach. Introducing the fourth and final infinitival phrase where the infinitive is adverbial, expressing purpose; "in order to proclaim."
eniauton (oV) "the year" - the [favourable] year, period. Accusative object of the infinitive "to proclaim."
kuriou (oV) gen. " of the Lord's" - of the lord. The genitive is ablative, of source, identifying the agent of the acceptable / favourable year; "this is God's year to act!", Peterson.
dekton adj. "favour" - acceptable, welcome, agreeable / favourable. Attributive adjective limiting eniauton, "year". Either "acceptable", "to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord", Phillips, ie., the year in which God's will and purpose in Christ is operative for salvation, or "favourable", "to proclaim the favourable year of the Lord", ie., the year in which the Lord bestows his favour. Both ideas can relate to the fulfilment of the Jubilee, Leviticus 25, the fiftieth year when slaves are released, debts cancelled, etc. Thus, in Christ, the Jubilee is spiritually realised, which, of course, is the point Jesus draws from the texts - "this very day this scripture has been fulfilled."
v20
ptuxaV (ptussw) aor. part. "Then he rolled up" - [and] having rolled up [the scroll]. The participle is adverbial, probably temporal, as NIV.
apodouV (apodidwmi) aor. part. "gave it back" - and having given back. Attendant circumstance participle expressing action accompanying the verb "to sit down"; "gave it back ...... and sat down."
tw/ uJphreth/ (hV ou) dat. "the attendant" - the scroll to the assistant. Dative of indirect object.
ekaqisen (kaqizw) aor. "sat down" - he sat down. A teacher would normally sit down to teach; "he took the preacher's seat", Barclay.
pantwn gen. adj. "of everyone" - [and the eyes] of all [in the synagogue]. The genitive is adjectival, possessive.
h\san atenizonteV (atenizw) pres. part. "were fastened on" - were looking on. The imperfect of the verb to-be with the present participle forming a periphrastic imperfect construction; possibly emphasising aspect, "continued to stare", or intensity. The word expresses an intense focused gaze and is used by Luke at important moments when people's attention is concentrated, eg. the ascension; "everyone in the meeting place looked straight at Jesus", CEV.
autw/ dat. pro. " him" - him. Dative of direct object after the a prefix verb "to look at, focus on."
v21
hrxato (arcw) aor. "he began" - [and] he began. The use of this word differs depending on the context. Often it simply serves to emphasise the importance of what is said. "Then he proceeded to say to them", Weymouth; "then he started in", Peterson.
legein (legw) pres. inf. "to say" - to speak. Complementary infinitive, completing the sense of the verb "began".
oJti "-" - that. Here introducing a dependent statement, direct speech, expressing what Jesus said.
shmeron adv. "today" - today. The position is emphatic serving to underline the fact that the fulfilment of Isaiah's prophecy is "now", salvation is "now".
peplhrwtai (plhrow) perf. pas. "is fulfilled" - [the scripture] has been fulfilled, completed. The perfect tense expresses a past act with ongoing consequences - "has come true and is happening now", TH. "This passage of scripture (from Isaiah) has come true", Barclay.
en + dat. "in [your hearing]" - in [the ears of you]. In literal terms, the preposition is local, expressing space / place, although the prepositional phrase itself is idiomatic, expressing the immediate hearing of what was just said; "what you have just heard", CEV. Sometimes handled as adverbial, temporal, "The text is being fulfilled today even while you are listening", NJB, "as you listen to it", Barclay. It is unclear what is "in the ears." Is it the scripture, or that which is fulfilled. Probably the latter - the promise of scripture is being realised at the moment of their hearing.
v22
c) Having summarised Jesus' sermon, Luke now describes the response of the congregation, v22. As far as Luke is concerned, the response of the congregation bears testimony to the fulfilment of Isaiah's words in Jesus. The congregation is initially "amazed" at Jesus' message of grace, but their response quickly moves to doubt. Jesus' audience is faced with a dilemma, they can remember Jesus as a child and so find it difficult to accept him as anything more than a Rabbi (teacher), and even this is difficult, given his trade as a carpenter / builder. In the following verses, doubt will move to anger and outright rejection.
emarturoun (marturew) imperf. "spoke well of" - [and everyone] was witnessing, bearing testimony to = speaking well of. "Witnessing" in the sense of giving testimony concerning something, and so possibly the people bear testimony in the sense of "approved of / were impressed with"; "he won the approval of all", NJB. Yet, the question that follows evidences skepticism on the part of the congregation, so possibly a more general "everyone noticed what he said", Phillips. It is even possible that the following dative of direct object autw/ is to be read as a dative of interest, disadvantage; "everyone spoke up against him, amazed at ....."
autw/ dat. pro. "him" - him. Dative of direct object / interest, advantage (disadvantage ???) after the verb emarturoun.
eqaumazon (qoumazw) imperf. "were amazed" - [and] they were amazed. The imperfect indicating ongoing action. Amazement is an important initial response to the gospel; it is the kind of response a person makes when confronted with a theophany, so is a pre-faith response. From Luke's perspective, the people's response of amazement serves as a testimony that Isaiah's words were being fulfilled in Jesus.
epi + dat. "at" - upon = at. A spatial sense, "at", is likely, although this preposition at times introduces a causal clause; "on the basis of = because of [the gracious words that were coming from his mouth."
thV caritoV (iV itoV) gen. "the gracious [words]" - [the words] of grace. The genitive is adjectival, possibly verbal, objective, so "words about the grace of God", but it is more likely attributive, limiting "words", as NIV, "gracious words." The word "grace" is handled in many and varied ways here: "winning words", Goodspeed; "how well he spoke", Thompson; "the wonderful things he said", CEV; "the beautiful words", Phillips; "astonished at his eloquence", Rieu; "the words of charm", Montgomery. It is possible that "grace" is used here of the gracious power of God most notably evident in salvation, evident here in Jesus' words, so Nolland, ie., they were amazed at his message, not his presentation; "Jesus speaks gracious words", Bock. At least we can say that the congregation was impressed by his sermon, but ..... "They were astonished that words of such grace should fall from his lips", REB.
toiV ekporeuomenoiV (ekporeuomai) pres. part. "that came" - coming out. The participle is adjectival, attributive, "which were coming out."
ek + gen. "from" - from [the mouth of him]. Expressing source / origin.
ouci "[Isn't this Joseph's son?]" - [and they were saying, is] not [this the son of joseph]? This strong negation is used where a question presumes a positive answer. The congregation is impressed by Jesus' sermon, but at the same time sceptical. They knew Jesus well, they saw him grow up as a runny nosed child, so how could he be the messiah? Well the adage applies: familiarity breeds contempt.
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