The passage
      v22. In typical fashion, Jesus has just read some verses from Isaiah in Hebrew, translated them, and then, as a visiting Rabbi, expounded their meaning. The congregation is taken by how Jesus speaks; they are amazed at how his words radiate divine grace. For Luke, this initial response witnesses to Jesus' true character. Yet, the people's awe is mixed with scepticism; they know of Jesus' origins. As a boy, Jesus had played in their streets; some even remember the hurried marriage of Mary and Joseph and the rather early arrival of their first child. So, his authority is not easily accepted. The reference to Joseph may simply be a restating of Jesus' name; "Jesus Barjoseph" = "Jesus, Son-of-Joseph", or it could serve to link Jesus with Joseph, a well-remembered citizen (now likely dead).
      v23. Jesus reads the mind of his audience; they do not believe he is any sort of prophet, let alone the long-awaited messiah, but of course, if he is willing to produce the goods, an Elijah/Elisha miracle or two, then they may be willing to consider his credentials. Yet, for Jesus, signs are not for skeptics, but for believers. The person who believes sees. As for the proverb, the gist is: "you profess, now produce." If Jesus is something more than Joseph's (bastard) son, then where is the evidence?
      v24. The term, "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 the "prophet" Jesus, they actually reject the messiah.
      v25-27. Only Luke records the Elijah and Elisha sayings, alluding to 1 Kings 17-18 and 2 Kings 5:1-14. 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 that previous generation's foolishness.
      v28. The members of the congregation clearly understand the point made by Jesus and are "furious".
      v29. In typical fashion, the congregation set about to excommunicate Jesus by hustling him out of the village and thus, symbolically make him a Gentile. There may be a crucifixion image here in the way the incident is described - a picture of things to come.
      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. It may imply divine protection, a miracle even. 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". Also, Jesus' "passing through them" may be a resurrection image following on from the crucifixion image in v29.

Called to love
      The gospel expresses a depth of love that is more radical and more inclusive than the fragile relationships we mere mortals are ever able to create. In matters related to Christian relationships, we are always called to struggle for a depth of love and acceptance that reflects the amazing inclusivity of God's love. How much more might God be able to do with us if we were ready to transcend the boundaries of community and the limits of love that we ourselves have erected? For example, for those of us privileged to exercise a teaching ministry, how much more effective might our ministry be if we could appreciate the insight and energy of the prophetic voices that critique us? It is never too late to respond to God's call to love beyond our self-imposed limits.
      God has often reached beyond the confines of his hardened people and in Jesus he is willing to do the same today. The gospel proclaims God's universal love, yet we can easily allow that love to bypass us. Like the good citizens of Nazareth, it is very easy to profess our faith, but be hardened to it. The fact is, God bypasses those who are hardened to his word. So, be warned!
      We are also reminded that as God's mercy in Christ reaches beyond the impermanent social confines of institutional religion, so should we look beyond those confines as well. The doors of our church, as of our life, should be wide open to the world.

v22
      emarturoun (marturew) imperf. "spoke well of" - [all] witnessing, bearing testimony of. "Witnessing" in the sense of giving testimony concerning something, and so either the people bear testimony, probably in the sense of "approved of, were impressed with", "he won the approval of all", NJB, or Luke regards the people's response of amazement as a testimony that Isaiah's words were being fulfilled in Jesus. Probably the latter.
      eqaumazon (qoumazw) imperf. "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 by a theophany. Note how Mark plays with this response: his gospel begins and ends with people being amazed. "Amazement" is a pre faith response, but sadly, for most, it is their only response to Christ.
      thV caritoV (iV itoV) gen. "the gracious [words]" - [the words] of grace. Possibly an objective genitive, so "words about the grace of God", but it is more likely that the genitive is descriptive. Possibly "gracious", so NIV, note the variety of possibilities: "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. Yet, it is more likely that the descriptive "grace" = the gracious power of God notably evident in salvation, but particularly here in Jesus' words, cf. Nolland. "They were astonished that words of such grace should fall from his lips", REB.
      toiV ekporeuomenoiV ek tou stomatoV outou "that came from his lips" - proceeding out of the mouth of him. An idiomatic expression giving weight to Jesus' act of speaking and nicely expressed in the NIV. "Which fell from his lips", Weymouth.
      ouci "[isn't this .....?] - Interrogative particle indicating that the question expects a positive answer. The question serves to undermine the weight of Jesus' words, by recalling his origins. Probably "familiarity breeds contempt", although a person's humble/common origins would not disqualify them as a teacher/prophet, but rather, would qualify them for the job. It is possibly that the illegitimacy of his birth is the issue here - there are no secrets in a small town!

v23
      eipen (eipon) aor. "[Jesus] said [to them]" - Possibly "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. Expressing strong affirmation indicating that Jesus is sure he understand's 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" - 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.
      oJsa rel. pro. "what [we heard you did]" - everything which, as much as. Introducing a relative clause. "All such things" = the miracles they had heard about.
      genomena (ginomai) aor. part. "that you did" - having happened. The participle functioning as a complementary (supplementary) infinitive, complementing the sense of the verb "we have heard." It is unlikely the people actually believed that Jesus did do anything worthy of note in Capernaum. They are sceptical of Jesus' credentials and Jesus knows it. "All that we have heard about you doing", Barclay.

v24
      amhn "the truth" - truly [I say to you]. A phrase that serves to give weight to what follows, even possibly a "thus saith the Lord."
      eipen de "he continued" - but he said. "He added", Phillips.
      "No prophet is accepted in his hometown" - For Jesus, a statement of truth, but it has become a common proverb. Possibly explaining why Jesus' former neighbors have found it so difficult to believe in him, but more likely a prophetic observation about Israel's ongoing rejection of those who bring a word from the Lord to them. Certainly this seems to be Luke's point, although note Mark 6:4.
      dektoV adj. "acceptable" - welcomed, acceptable. 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.

v25
      Verses 25-27 may serve to imply that miracles fall within the divine will of God and are not something that Jesus, as with the prophet Elijah, can stage when he wants to. Yet, given the context, it does seem likely that Jesus' is making the point that Israel's faithlessness in the past, during the time of Elijah and Elisha, resulted in the replacement of grace with chastisement (the famine), and a shift of divine mercy from Israel to Gentiles. By rejecting Jesus, the people of Nazareth are aligning themselves with that rebellious generation of long ago, and thus are denying themselves divine grace.
      epi alhqeiaV "I assure [you]" - [but] upon truth [I say to you]. Serving to underline the veracity of what follows. "I can assure you", NJB.
      en taiV hJmeraiV Hliou "in the days of Elijah" - A temporal expression. "In Elijah's day", NJB.
      en tw/ Israhl "in Israel" - "In the land of Israel."
      oJte "when" - Serving to form a temporal clause.
      ekleisqh (kleiw) aor. pas. "was shut" - was shut up, closed. "When no rain fell for three and a half years", Rieu.
      wJV "-" - as, like, while. Here with a temporal sense and so serving to introduce the second temporal clause, possibly with consecutive force, ie. the famine was a consequence of the drought.
      thn ghn (h) "the land" - "people everywhere in the land of Palestine were starving.

v26
      kai "yet" - Here the not so common sense of "and yet" expressing surprise. 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" - not one, no one. Stressing that Elijah was sent to no Israelite during that faithless time.
      epemfqh (pempw) aor. pas. "sent" - [and yet to none of them Elijah] was sent. An example of a divine passive, so "God did not send Elijah to any of them."
      Zarepta "Zerephath" - A town North of Israel between Tyre and Sidon.

v27
      This second illustration repeats the point made in the first, 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 blessings.
      kai "and" - Here as an additive, so "and".
      leproi adj. "with leprosy" - leprosy. Here as a substantive, "there were many lepers in Israel."
      kai "yet" - and yet. See above.
      oudeiV "not one" - no one. A strong negation emphasizing that no Israelite was touched by God's kindness.
      ekaqarisqh (kaqarizw) aor. pas. "was cleansed" - A divine (theological) passive identifying God as the agent of the action. Aorist for a punctiliar action.

v28
      kai "-" - and. Here introducing a new sentence so untranslated as NIV.
      eplhsqhsan (pimplhmi) aor. pas. "furious" - [all] were filled [of anger]. "Furious" = "filled [with anger]. The strong reaction of the crowd indicates that Jesus' words are highly provocative. "Everyone in the synagogue was furiously angry", Phillips.
      qumou (oV) gen. "furious" - of anger. The genitive is partitive (wholative) identifying the whole of which the substantive is a part - all are furious. The people display similar fury at the stoning of Stephen.

v29
      anastanteV (anisthmi) aor. part. "they got up" - getting up, rising up. "They rose from their seats", Barclay.
      exebalon (ekballw) aor. "drove" - they drove out, cast out / sent out. The first sense, expressing the use of force, is probably what is intended here. "Hustled him out of town", NJB.
      exw + gen. "out" - outside.
      ofruoV "the brow" - the edge. 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.
      w/kodomhto (oikodomew) pluperf. pas. "was built" - 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 "in order" - so that, in order that. Expressing either purpose or result, obviously here purpose, their unfulfilled desire.
      katakrhmnisai (katakrhmnizw) aor. inf. "to throw [him] down the cliff" - to throw down a slope. Not necessarily off a cliff. This looks more like an excommunication than an attempted murder. If the crowd regarded him as a false prophet they would have set about stoning him, but it is likely that they are just bundling him out of town by the lower gate. "Purposing to throw him down headlong", Torrey.