Discovery BoxLuke 4:16-31
Context4:16 Now 1 Jesus 2 came to Nazareth, 3 where he had been brought up, and went into the synagogue 4 on the Sabbath day, as was his custom. 5 He 6 stood up to read, 7 4:17 and the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to him. He 8 unrolled 9 the scroll and found the place where it was written,
4:18 “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,
because he has anointed 10 me to proclaim good news 11 to the poor. 12
He has sent me 13 to proclaim release 14 to the captives
and the regaining of sight 15 to the blind,
to set free 16 those who are oppressed, 17
4:19 to proclaim the year 18 of the Lord’s favor.” 19
4:20 Then 20 he rolled up 21 the scroll, gave it back to the attendant, and sat down. The eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fixed on 22 him. 4:21 Then 23 he began to tell them, “Today 24 this scripture has been fulfilled even as you heard it being read.” 25 4:22 All 26 were speaking well of him, and were amazed at the gracious words coming out of his mouth. They 27 said, “Isn’t this 28 Joseph’s son?” 4:23 Jesus 29 said to them, “No doubt you will quote to me the proverb, ‘Physician, heal yourself!’ 30 and say, ‘What we have heard that you did in Capernaum, 31 do here in your hometown too.’” 4:24 And he added, 32 “I tell you the truth, 33 no prophet is acceptable 34 in his hometown. 4:25 But in truth I tell you, there were many widows in Israel in Elijah’s days, 35 when the sky 36 was shut up three and a half years, and 37 there was a great famine over all the land. 4:26 Yet 38 Elijah was sent to none of them, but only to a woman who was a widow at Zarephath in Sidon. 39 4:27 And there were many lepers in Israel in the time of the prophet Elisha, 40 yet 41 none of them was cleansed except Naaman the Syrian.” 42 4:28 When they heard this, all the people 43 in the synagogue were filled with rage. 4:29 They got up, forced 44 him out of the town, 45 and brought him to the brow of the hill on which their town was built, so that 46 they could throw him down the cliff. 47 4:30 But he passed through the crowd 48 and went on his way. 49
4:31 So 50 he went down to Capernaum, 51 a town 52 in Galilee, and on the Sabbath he began to teach the people. 53
[4:16] 1 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “now” to indicate the transition to a new topic.
[4:16] 2 tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[4:16] 3 sn Nazareth was Jesus’ hometown (which is why he is known as Jesus of Nazareth) about 20 miles (30 km) southwest from Capernaum.
[4:16] 4 sn See the note on synagogues in 4:15.
[4:16] 5 tn Grk “according to his custom.”
[4:16] 6 tn Grk “And he.” Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.
[4:16] 7 sn In normative Judaism of the period, the OT scripture was read and discussed in the synagogue by the men who were present. See the Mishnah, m. Megillah 3-4; m. Berakhot 2. First came the law, then the prophets, then someone was asked to speak on the texts. Normally one stood up to read out of respect for the scriptures, and then sat down (v. 20) to expound them.
[4:17] 8 tn Grk “And unrolling the scroll he found.” Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style. Instead a new sentence has been started in the translation.
[4:17] 9 tn Grk “opening,” but a scroll of this period would have to be unrolled. The participle ἀναπτύξας (anaptuxa") has been translated as a finite verb due to the requirements of contemporary English style.
[4:18] 10 sn The phrase he has anointed me is an allusion back to Jesus’ baptism in Luke 3:21-22.
[4:18] 11 tn Grk “to evangelize,” “to preach the gospel.”
[4:18] 12 sn The poor is a key term in Luke. It refers to the pious poor and indicates Jesus’ desire to reach out to those the world tends to forget or mistreat. It is like 1:52 in force and also will be echoed in 6:20 (also 1 Pet 2:11-25). Jesus is commissioned to do this.
[4:18] 13 tc The majority of
[4:18] 14 sn The release in view here is comprehensive, both at a physical level and a spiritual one, as the entire ministry of Jesus makes clear (Luke 1:77-79; 7:47; 24:47; Acts 2:38; 5:31; 10:43).
[4:18] 15 sn Again, as with the previous phrase, regaining of sight may well mean more than simply miraculously restoring physical sight, which itself pictures a deeper reality (Luke 1:77-79; 18:35-43).
[4:18] 16 sn The essence of Jesus’ messianic work is expressed in the phrase to set free. This line from Isa 58 says that Jesus will do what the nation had failed to do. It makes the proclamation messianic, not merely prophetic, because Jesus doesn’t just proclaim the message – he brings the deliverance. The word translated set free is the same Greek word (ἄφεσις, afesi") translated release earlier in the verse.
[4:18] 17 sn Again, as with the previous phrases, oppressed may well mean more than simply political or economic oppression, but a deeper reality of oppression by sin (Luke 1:77-79; 18:35-43).
[4:19] 18 sn The year of the Lord’s favor (Grk “the acceptable year of the Lord”) is a description of the year of Jubilee (Lev 25:10). The year of the total forgiveness of debt is now turned into a metaphor for salvation. Jesus had come to proclaim that God was ready to forgive sin totally.
[4:19] 19 sn A quotation from Isa 61:1-2a. Within the citation is a line from Isa 58:6, with its reference to setting the oppressed free.
[4:20] 20 tn Grk “And closing.” Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the transition to a new topic.
[4:20] 21 tn Grk “closing,” but a scroll of this period would have to be rolled up. The participle πτύξας (ptuxas) has been translated as a finite verb due to the requirements of contemporary English style.
[4:20] 22 tn Or “gazing at,” “staring at.”
[4:21] 23 tn Here δέ (de) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.
[4:21] 24 sn See the note on today in 2:11.
[4:21] 25 tn Grk “in your hearing.”
[4:22] 26 tn Grk “And all.” Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.
[4:22] 27 tn Grk “And they.” Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.
[4:22] 28 sn The form of the question assumes a positive reply. It really amounts to an objection, as Jesus’ response in the next verses shows. Jesus spoke smoothly and impressively. He made a wonderful declaration, but could a local carpenter’s son make such an offer? That was their real question.
[4:23] 29 tn Grk “And he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity. Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.
[4:23] 30 sn The proverb Physician, heal yourself! means that Jesus should prove his claims. It is a “Prove it to us!” mentality that Jesus says the people have.
[4:23] 31 sn The remark “What we have heard that you did at Capernaum” makes many suspect that Luke has moved this event forward in sequence to typify what Jesus’ ministry was like, since the ministry in Capernaum follows in vv. 31-44. The location of this event in the parallel of Mark 6:1-6 also suggests this transposition.
[4:24] 32 tn Grk “said,” but since this is a continuation of previous remarks, “added” is used here.
[4:24] 33 tn Grk “Truly (ἀμήν, amhn), I say to you.”
[4:24] 34 sn Jesus argues that he will get no respect in his own hometown. There is a wordplay here on the word acceptable (δεκτός, dektos), which also occurs in v. 19: Jesus has declared the “acceptable” year of the Lord (here translated year of the Lord’s favor), but he is not “accepted” by the people of his own hometown.
[4:25] 35 sn Elijah’s days. Jesus, by discussing Elijah and Elisha, pictures one of the lowest periods in Israel’s history. These examples, along with v. 24, also show that Jesus is making prophetic claims as well as messianic ones. See 1 Kgs 17-18.
[4:25] 36 tn Or “the heaven”; the Greek word οὐρανός (ouranos) may be translated “sky” or “heaven,” depending on the context. Since the context here refers to a drought (which produced the famine), “sky” is preferable.
[4:25] 37 tn Grk “as.” The particle ὡς can also function temporally (see BDAG 1105-6 s.v. 8).
[4:26] 38 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “yet” to indicate the contrast.
[4:26] 39 sn Zarephath in Sidon was Gentile territory (see 1 Kgs 17:9-24). Jesus’ point was that he would be forced to minister elsewhere, and the implication is that this ministry would ultimately extend (through the work of his followers) to those outside the nation.
[4:27] 40 sn On Elisha see 2 Kgs 5:1-14.
[4:27] 41 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “yet” to indicate the contrast.
[4:27] 42 sn The reference to Naaman the Syrian (see 2 Kgs 5:1-24) is another example where an outsider and Gentile was blessed. The stress in the example is the missed opportunity of the people to experience God’s work, but it will still go on without them.
[4:28] 43 tn The words “the people” are not in the Greek text but have been supplied.
[4:29] 46 tn The Greek conjunction ὥστε (Jwste) here indicates their purpose.
[4:29] 47 sn The attempt to throw him down the cliff looks like “lynch law,” but it may really be an indication that Jesus was regarded as a false prophet who was worthy of death (Deut 13:5). Such a sentence meant being thrown into a pit and then stoned.
[4:30] 48 tn Grk “their midst.”
[4:30] 49 tn The verb πορεύομαι (poreuomai) in Luke often suggests divine direction, “to go in a led direction” (4:42; 7:6, 11; 9:51, 52, 56, 57; 13:33; 17:11; 22:22, 29; 24:28). It could suggest that Jesus is on a journey, a theme that definitely is present later in Luke 9-19.
[4:31] 50 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the continuation of the topic; in light of his rejection at Nazareth, Jesus went on to Capernaum.
[4:31] 51 sn Capernaum was a town on the northwest shore of the Sea of Galilee, 680 ft (204 m) below sea level. It was a major trade and economic center in the North Galilean region, and it became the hub of operations for Jesus’ Galilean ministry.
[4:31] 53 tn Grk “them”; the referent (the people) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
