Luke

4:23-30

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

b) God's love is universal

Luke continues the story of Jesus' preaching mission in his home-town synagogue at Nazareth, 4:14-30. The congregation was impressed with Jesus' sermon, but their memory of him growing up in their town and working as their local carpenter-builder, devalued his words. "Whereas people were willing enough to hear a general exposition on the blessings of the Messianic Age, it was a different matter when they were taunted with unpatriotic notions from the prophets; when the coming Messianic Age was somehow identified with the humble teacher who now sat before them and whose parents were their own neighbours. From admiration the congregation turned to anger, and the mob intended to lynch Jesus", Browning.

The congregation's rejection of Jesus is a rejection of the gospel and a rejection of God's suffering Servant, the messiah. Consequently, they are a people who are themselves rejected - lost to liberation. The episode serves as a sign of troubles to come and of the movement of the gospel from Israel to the Gentiles.

i] Context: See 4:14-21.

ii] Structure: The witness of Jesus' inaugural ministry:

iii] Interpretation:

iv] Synoptics: See 4:14-21.

v] Exposition: A simple exposition of this passage may be found in the linked pew-level Sermon Notes.

Jesus' ministry in Nazareth: i] Jesus condemns the congregation for their little faith, v23-27. Amazement and skepticism is not a worthy response for the arrival of Israel's messiah. If the people of Nazareth refuse to believe they place themselves with rebellious Israel of old who witnessed God's grace pass them by; Naaman and the widow of Zarephath were blessed while Israel was left wanting. God's grace is unlocked with hearing and believing, not with genetics.

proV + acc. "to [them]" - [and jesus said] toward [them]. Luke's favoured use of this preposition + acc. instead of a dative of indirect object. "Jesus answered them", indicating that Jesus' reply is an indirect response to the question put by the people in v22. Jesus doesn't address the insult directed toward him (always a good policy - never complain and never explain), but rather, addresses the substance of their doubt, namely, that if Jesus is really something more than just Joseph's bastard son, where's the evidence?

pantwV adv. "Surely" - by all means, doubtless, no doubt. Expressing strong affirmation indicating that Jesus is sure he understands what the people are thinking. "You are bound to quote the proverb to me", Barclay.

epeite (eipon) fut. "you will quote" - you will speak. Probably not a prophetic future tense, but rather indicating what is now on their mind; "you are on the point of saying", Nolland.

thn parabolhn (h) "proverb" - [this] parable, illustration. A common saying, so "proverb" as NIV. The proverb is critical of those who claim the ability to act for others when they seem unable to act for themselves.

moi dat. pro. "to me" - to me. Dative of indirect object.

seauton pro. "[heal] yourself" - [physician heal] yourself. Reflective pronoun. Obviously referring to Jesus, but somewhat incongruous, given the explanation of the proverb in the following clause. Usually understood to mean "you profess, so now produce", Godet, Ellis, Plummer, Bock. "Show your stuff!"

oJsa rel. pro. "what [we have heard]" - [we heard] as much things as = everything which, all that. The pronoun serves as a substantive, direct object of the verb "to hear." "Everything / all such things" = the miracles they had heard about.

genomena (ginomai) aor. part. "that you did" - having happened [into capernaum, do also here in the hometown of you]. The participle may be classified as introducing an object clause / dependent statement of perception expressing what the people have heard, namely, that Jesus had performed miracles in Capernaum, on the other hand, it may be classified as the complement of the direct object "as much things as", stating a fact about the object. Did the congregation actually believed that Jesus did do anything worthy of note in Capernaum? They are certainly sceptical of Jesus' credentials and Jesus knows it, but are probably keen to see some magic tricks - signs and wonders. "All that we have heard about you doing", Barclay.

The phrase, "I tell you the truth", "truly I say unto you", possibly equates with the Old Testament phrase, "thus saith the Lord." Luke uses it six times, and on each occasion the phrase introduces a prophetic word concerning the coming kingdom of God. So here, Jesus reminds his audience of Israel's tendency to reject their prophets, and aligns this with his own rejection, not just by the citizens of Nazareth, but by Israel as a whole. Of course, in rejecting Jesus the "prophet", they actually reject the messiah.

de "-" - but/and. Transitional, indicating a step in the discourse.

amhn "the truth" - [he said] truly [i say to you]. A phrase that serves to give weight to what follows, even possibly a "thus saith the Lord"; "Then he added", Phillips.

oJti "-" - that. Here introducing a dependent statement of direct speech.

dektoV adj. "accepted" - [no prophet is] welcome, acceptable. The adjective serves as a predicate nominative. As in the sense of "receive", "because people of a town do not wish to accept one of their fellow townsmen as a prophet"*. Bock suggests a wordplay in that Jesus has proclaimed the "acceptable" year of the Lord, but he, even as a prophet, is not "acceptable" to the people of Israel.

en + dat. "in" - in [the hometown of him]. Expressing space / place.

Only Luke records the Elijah and Elisha sayings, alluding to 1 Kings 17-18 and 2 Kings 5:1-14, v25-27. During this time in history, Israel faced God's chastisement for their rebellion. What few blessings that did flow from God at this time, flowed to Gentiles rather than Jews. Jesus is making the point that God in the past has turned from rebellious Israel and has ended up blessing outsiders. The congregation's rejection of Jesus serves only to align them with the foolishness of that previous generation.

ep (epi) + gen. "I assure" - [but/and] upon truth [i say to you]. Here the preposition epi functions adverbially, introducing an adverbial phrase virtually synonymous with "truly I say to you", so Culy. Serving to underline the veracity of what follows. "I can assure you", NJB.

en + dat. "in the days of Elijah" - [many widows were] in [the days of elijah]. Here the preposition en functions adverbially, introducing the temporal phrase "in Elijah's day", NJB.

en + dat. "in" - in [israel]. Expressing space / place; "in the land of Israel."

oJte "when" - when. Temporal conjunction serving to introduce a temporal clause.

ekleisqh (kleiw) aor. pas. "was shut" - [the heaven] was shut up, closed. "When no rain fell for three and a half years", Rieu.

epi + acc. "for" - upon [three years and six months]. Temporal use of the preposition expressing an extent of time, "over a period of", as NIV.

wJV "-" - while. Here the conjunction takes a temporal, rather than comparative sense, so serving to introduce a second temporal clause, possibly with consecutive force, ie., the famine was a consequence of the drought.

epi + acc. "throughout" - [a great famine became] over, on, upon. Spatial use of the preposition.

thn ghn (h) acc. "the land" - [all] the land. "people everywhere in the land of Palestine were starving."

It is a surprising situation when God's blessings flow to a Gentile rather than a Jew. Such a situation should serve as a warning to a people who, like an earlier generation of Israelites, are similarly devoid of faith.

oudemian adj. "not [sent to] any" - [and toward] not one, no one. Stressing that Elijah was sent to no Israelite during that faithless time.

autwn gen. pro. "of them" - of them. The genitive is adjectival, partitive.

epemfqh (pempw) aor. pas. "sent" - [elijah] was sent. An example of a divine passive, so "God did not send Elijah to any of them."

ei mh "but" - except. Introducing an exceptive clause which establishes a contrast by designating an exception; "however, but only, except that, instead."

chran (a) "a widow" - [toward a woman,] a widow. Taken as a substantive, it stands in apposition to the accusative "woman"; as an adjective it is attributive, limiting "woman", "a widower woman." "A woman who was a widow", ESV.

eiV + acc. "to" - to, into. Spatial, expressing the direction of the action and arrival at.

thV SidwniaV gen. adj. "in the region of Sidon" - [zarephath] of sidon. The adjective serves as a substantive, the genitive being adjectival, idiomatic / local, "Zerephath located in the region of Sidon", as NIV. A town North of Israel between Tyre and Sidon.

This second illustration repeats the point made in the first illustration, namely that the people's defiant rejection of God's word in Jesus aligns them with a previous generation (Israel of Elisha's time) who similarly ignored God's word and so failed to experience His promised blessings.

kai "and" - and. Here coordinative, as an additive, so "and".

leproi adj. "with leprosy" - [many] lepers. Here as a substantive, nominative subject of the verb to-be; "there were many lepers in Israel", Berkeley.

en + dat. "in" - [were] in [israel]. Local, expressing space / place.

epi + gen. "in the time of" - upon = during time of [elisha the prophet]. Temporal use of the preposition, expressing extent of time, so "during"; "during the period when Elisha the prophet was serving Israel."

kai "yet" - and. Again, the adversative use of this conjunction; "and yet."

oudeiV "not one" - not one. A strong negation emphasising that no Israelite was touched by God's kindness.

autwn gen. pro. "of them" - of them. Adjectival, partitive / wholative.

ekaqarisqh (kaqarizw) aor. pas. "was cleansed" - A divine (theological) passive identifying God as the agent of the action.

ei mh "only" - except [naaman the syrian]. Introducing an exceptive clause, as v26.

ii] Faced with Jesus' words of condemnation, the congregation explodes in anger and acts to run him out of town, v28-29. By hustling him out of the village, the congregation is symbolically marking Jesus out as a Gentile.

qumou (oV) gen. "were furious" - [and all were filled] of anger [in the synagogue]. The genitive is adjectival, attributive, idiomatic / of content, "full of anger" = "furious". The strong reaction of the crowd indicates that Jesus' words are highly provocative. The people display similar fury at the stoning of Stephen. "Everyone in the synagogue was furiously angry", Phillips.

akounteV (akouw) pres. part. "when they heard" - hearing [these things]. The participle is adverbial, temporal, as NIV.

It is not overly clear what the congregation intends. Prior to a stoning, the victim is rolled down a sharp slope, often into a pit, followed by a large stone. Yet, Luke is not describing any sort of pit, so this is not the stoning of a false prophet. It looks more like an excommunication than an attempted murder / lynching. It's likely that they are just bundling him out of town by the lower gate, as they would a Gentile sinner.

anastanteV (anisthmi) aor. part. "they got up" - [and] having go up, risen up. Attendant circumstance participle expressing action accompanying the verb "they drove out"; "they got up and drove him out of town." Possibly adverbial, consecutive, " so they got up ...." "They rose from their seats", Barclay.

exebalon (ekballw) aor. "drove" - they drove out, cast out / sent out, led out [him]. The first sense, expressing the use of force, is probably what is intended here. "Hustled him out of town", NJB.

exw + gen. "out" - outside [the city]. Spatial; typical repetition of a verbal prefix, here the ek prefix of the verb "to cast out."

e{wV +gen. "to" - up to, as far as. Here spatial, expressing extension up to, here of space; "they took him up to the brow of the hill."

ofruoV (uV oV) gen. "the brow" - the edge, brow. Nazareth was not built on the top of a hill, but on its side, so it is unclear where the crowd actually takes Jesus. Probably just to the lower gate.

tou orouV (oV) gen. "of the hill" - of the hill, mountain. The genitive is adjectival, partitive.

ef (epi) + gen. "on [which]" - upon, on [which]. Spatial; "down upon".

w/kodomhto (oikodomew) pluperf. pas. "was built" - [the town of them] had been built. Pluperfect expressing a past state which is the result of a previous action. Probably intensive, expressing the abiding results of the action.

wJste + inf. "in order" - so that, in order that. This construction usually forms a consecutive clause expressing result, but sometimes final expressing purpose, as here - so, expressing their unfulfilled desire.

katakrhmnisai (katakrhmnizw) aor. inf. "to throw [him] down the cliff" - to throw down a slope [him]. Not necessarily off a cliff. "Purposing to throw him down headlong", Torrey.

iii] Jesus withdraws, v30. Jesus' "passing through them on his way" is a rather enigmatic expression, but probably simply describes Jesus regaining his composure at the edge of town, eyeing the people off and walking through them on his way. As John in his gospel often puts it, "his hour had not yet come." Jesus must go the "way" of Calvary and not even the powers of darkness can interfere with this divine "way". Although probably not intended, Jesus' "passing through them" may be a resurrection image following on from the crucifixion image in v29.

autoV de "but he" - but/and he. Transitional, indicating a change in subject from the action of the crowd to that of Jesus.

dielqwn (diercomai) aor. part. "walked" - having gone, passed through, gone through, went through. Attendant circumstance participle expressing action accompanying the verb "was walking away", as NIV, but adverbial, temporal or modal is possible. Often a miracle is proposed here, although there would be nothing unusual in Jesus picking himself up, dusting himself off, staring the crowd down and walking straight through them and on his way.

dia + gen. "[right] through" - through (in time or place). Here again a customary repetition of a verbal prefix, here dia of the verb "to go through."

autwn gen. pro. "the crowd" - [midst] of them. The genitive is adjectival, partitive. "He walked straight through the middle of them", Barclay.

eporeueto (poreuomai) imperf. "went on his way" - was walking away, going away. The imperfect expressing ongoing action (descriptive). It is hard to read this word as if implying that God's hand is directing Jesus, although obviously the Spirit is doing just that.

Luke Introduction

Exposition

Exegetical Commentaries

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