30. passing through the midst, &c.—evidently in a miraculous way, though perhaps quite noiselessly, leading them to wonder afterwards what spell could have come over them, that they allowed Him to escape. (Similar escapes, however, in times of persecution, are not unexampled.) read more
IV. JESUS’ MINISTRY IN AND AROUND GALILEE 4:14-9:50Luke commenced his account of Jesus’ public ministry with His return to Galilee following His temptation. This section of his Gospel ends with Jesus’ decision to leave Galilee for Jerusalem and the Cross (Luke 9:51). Luke did not give as much information about Jesus’ Galilean ministry as the other synoptic writers did (cf. Matthew 4:12 to Matthew 16:12; Mark 1:14 to Mark 8:26). He chose, rather, to emphasize Jesus’ ministry as He traveled from... read more
2. Jesus’ teaching in Nazareth 4:16-30In contrast to most people, the inhabitants of Jesus’ hometown did not praise Him. When Jesus began to speak of God extending salvation to the Gentiles, a particular interest of Luke’s, the Jews there opposed Him violently. Perhaps Luke meant this incident to represent a classic case of rejection in which Nazareth symbolizes all Israel. [Note: Marshall, The Gospel . . ., p. 178.] If so, this is another instance of metonymy. He may also have intended that it... read more
Jesus allowed the crowd to drive Him out of town and to the brow of the hillside near where Nazareth stood. Later He allowed another crowd to drive Him out of Jerusalem and nail Him to a cross. However this was not the time for Him to die, and Nazareth was not the place. Luke did not give the details whereby He escaped His neighbors’ wrath. We need not suppose that His deliverance came through some supernatural act or intervention. The description of His escape does picture Jesus in sovereign... read more
The Temptation. Nazareth. Capernaum1-13. The Temptation (Matthew 4:1; Mark 1:12). See on Mt.5. Lk inverts 2nd and 3rd Temptations.13. For a season] ’These words signify “until a favourable time.” The conflict foretold so precisely, can be none other than that of Gethsemane. “This is your hour and the power of darkness,” said Jesus at this very time (Luke 22:53), and a few moments before He had said, “The prince of this world cometh” (John 14:30)’ (Godet).14, 15. Return to Galilee. Beginning of... read more
(29) The brow of the hill.—See Notes on Luke 1:26. The hill now shown as the Mount of Precipitation is about two miles from the city, and could hardly have been the place referred to. There is, however, a cliff about forty feet high close to the city.That they might cast him down headlong.—The Greek word implies casting down from a cliff or precipice. It was not a recognised Jewish punishment, as flinging from the Tarpeian rock was at Rome; but we have an instance of it as an improvised method... read more
(30) He passing through the midst of them.—The words do not necessarily involve a directly supernatural deliverance, as though the multitude had been smitten with blindness, or our Lord had become invisible. We have no right to insert miracles in the Gospel records. Calmness, silence, the moral power of self-possessed righteousness have in themselves a power, often proved, to baffle the fury of an angry mob. read more
Luke 4:4 The Greeks... knew that man does not live by bread alone, that livelihood is not life, that mere wealth is not well-being. The satisfaction of material wants is not the end of human endeavour. The wealth of nations, like the happiness of individuals, has its source deeper than in the accumulation of riches or the expansion of commerce. The true value of the goods of life is determined by the sense of life as a whole, and by their relation to the higher and distinctively human ends of... read more
Chapter 8THE GOSPEL OF THE JUBILEE.IMMEDIATELY after the Temptation Jesus returned "in the power of the Spirit," and with all the added strength of His recent victories, to Galilee. Into what parts of Galilee He came, our Evangelist does not say; but omitting the visit to Cana, and dismissing the first Galilean tour with a sentence-how "He taught in their synagogues, being glorified of all"-St. Luke goes on to record in detail the visit of Jesus to Nazareth, and His rejection by His townsmen.... read more
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Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible - Luke 4:29
29. rose up—broke up the service irreverently and rushed forth. thrust him—with violence, as a prisoner in their hands. brow, c.—Nazareth, though not built on the ridge of a hill, is in part surrounded by one to the west, having several such precipices. (See 2 Chronicles 25:12 2 Kings 9:33.) It was a mode of capital punishment not unusual among the Romans and others. This was the first insult which the Son of God received, and it came from "them of His own household!" (2 Kings 9:33- :). read more