Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Luke 4:22
And all bare him witness, and wondered at the gracious words which proceeded out of his mouth. And they said, Is not this Joseph’s son?
22. gracious words ] Rather, words of grace. The word grace does not here mean mercy or favour ( Gnade), but beauty and attractiveness ( Anmuth). This verse and Joh 7:46 are the chief proofs that there was in our Lord’s utterance an irresistible majesty and sweetness. Comp. Psa 45:2; Joh 1:14.
And they said, Is not this Joseph’s son?] This points to a gradual change in the feeling of the listening Nazarenes. The Jews in their synagogues did not sit in silence, but were accustomed to give full expression to their feelings, and to discuss and make remarks aloud. Jealousy began to work among them, Mat 13:54; Joh 6:42. “The village beggarly pride of the Nazarenes cannot at all comprehend the humility of the Great One.” Stier.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
All bare him witness – All were witnesses of the power and truth of what he said. Their reason and conscience approved of it, and they were constrained to admit the force and propriety of it, and on this account they wondered.
They wondered – They were struck with the truth and force of his words; and especially when they remembered that he was a native of their own place, and that they had been long acquainted with him, and that he should now claim to be the Messiah, and give so much evidence that he was the Christ.
The gracious words – The words of grace or favor; the kind, affectionate, and tender exposition of the words, and explanation of the design of his coming, and the nature of the plan of redemption. It was so different from the harsh and unfeeling mode of the Pharisees; so different from all their expectations respecting the Messiah, who they supposed to be a prince and a bloody conqueror, that they were filled with astonishment and awe.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Luk 4:22-24
Ye will surely say unto Me this proverb, Physician, heal Thyself
The treatment of Christ by the Nazarenes
1.
No man should be undervalued on account of humble parentage. If a man behave well himself, even the sins of his parents ought not to be imputed to him as a fault, much less ought their lowly condition in life. Indeed, the greater the obscurity from which a man has emerged, and the more numerous and formidable the difficulties with which he has had to struggle, the more praise is due to him for aiming at honourable distinction. Let us be ready to acknowledge ability, and to esteem worth, wherever found. And let not those who have risen in life be ashamed of their humble parentage, or undervalue or forget their kindred and early friends.
2. We should not neglect the lessons taught in the proverb, No prophet is accepted in his own country, or of his own kindred. Honourable exceptions there may be to this; but it states what is generally the case among men.
(1) Prejudice against those who have risen above the station in which they were born.
(2) Envy at their rising above ones own position.
(3) Curiosity, and desire for novelty influence men against those they are well acquainted with. What comes from a great distance is generally reckoned of great value.
3. The sinfulness of objecting to the more extensive diffusion of religious privileges, and of refusing to rejoice in the good of other countries, under the pretence that all our exertions should be limited to our own country. Home has the first, but not the only claim. We ought not to shut our hearts against any call to attend to the spiritual welfare of men. There is a tide in the affairs of men and of the Church–a tide, not of chance, but of providential influence and arrangement; that tide of favourable circumstances we cannot command; it is our duty, therefore, to avail ourselves of its flow, lest it ebb away, and the opportunity be lost. And as neither at Nazareth, nor at Capernaum, was the ministry of our Lord without some success, so may we hope that no Scriptural attempts, whether at a distance or at our own door, will ultimately prove altogether in vain.
4. Let us beware of resembling in any way the Nazarenes in their more violent hatred of Christ, and of the truth, here described; and beware also of the causes which led to that hatred. They began by cavilling at His plans, and ended by raging and setting themselves against the Lord and His anointed. They were too proud to submit to the righteousness of God. This spirit is rife still. Let us remember we have no rights with respect to God; let us gladly fall in with His plans, and thankfully accept of His offered mercy. Submission to free grace is the only way of safety, and of holiness and comfort; it changes the slavish and mercenary spirit into the spirit of the freedman and child; and the obedience of the life will be secured as the cheerful homage of the reconciled and grateful heart. (James Foote, M. A.)
The preaching of Christ a pattern for His ministers
I. THE CHARM OF CHRISTS PREACHING.
1. He was not simply a human teacher. Hence the tone of authority which He alone might assume.
2. Preaching was in His hands altogether a new thing.
3. A singular gracefulness in His manner.
4. Popular style of discourse.
5. Evangelical doctrine, suited to mens needs. He spoke of those Divine truths which are the hope of guilty captives, and the balm of the brokenhearted; He brought tidings of great joy, messages of mercy suited to their nature as intelligent, immortal, responsible creatures, and at the same time to their circumstances as lost sinners.
II. Some of the chief QUALITIES REQUISITE TO SECURE SUCCESS to a human ministry.
1. It should give a prominent exhibition to the great peculiarities of the gospel. Redemption through the Cross of Christ must be the preachers constant theme.
2. This prominent exhibition of the Cross should always be combined with a tender solicitude for the salvation of souls. Eternal consequences are at stake. With all earnestness the message, therefore, must be urged.
3. Simplicity of style. Brilliant images and pompous language may excite wonder, but will not instruct or convince. Plain truths should be con veyed in plain words. Illustrations may be used, but only such as add clearness to the discourse.
III. BY WHAT MEANS SUCH A MINISTRY MAY BE FORMED AND SUSTAINED.
1. A profound acquaintance with the gospel, in its adaptation to all the varieties of human character and condition.
2. Entire consecration to the ministerial office.
3. Eminence in personal piety.
4. The habitual recognition of scriptural encouragements and motives, and especially the anticipation of the final results of the ministry, wilt not fail to exert a beneficial influence on the mind of the minister. (E. Steane.)
The rejection of Gods prophets and its results
I. 1. The spirit of detraction is the surest sign of a small and vulgar soul.
2. Jesus goes on to anticipate the objection with which His opponents will meet this announcement of Himself, and in which they will demand a miracle as proof of His claim. To such a spirit He could vouchsafe no sign; indeed, miracles would have been no sign to such.
3. At the same time He would warn them that God ever finds work for His prophets to do. If their own countrymen will not receive them, there are others who will. The widows and the lepers of Israel may not care to be comforted or healed by them, but there are widows in Sarepta and lepers in Syria who enter upon the blessings which are despised by the children of the kingdom.
4. The passive rejection of the Christ cannot for long remain passive. They who reject Him passively are miserably conscious that it is He who is rejecting them. Roused to anger (which is, in reality, terror), they actively rebel against Him, and seek to destroy Him.
II. Not infrequently we are conscious that the voice of God is speaking to us through one whom we have known familiarly, who, it may be, is inferior to us in age or worldly position, or whom in past years we ourselves have patronized. There is a temptation to weaken the force of the call by depreciating the instrument through which it comes. (Canon Vernon Hutton, M. A.)
Self-healing
In one of his familiar epistles to Romes greatest orator, then dejected at the loss of Tullia, Sulpicius made this appeal: Do not forget that you are Cicero; one who has been used always to prescribe for and give advice to others; do not imitate those paltry physicians who pretend to cure other peoples diseases, yet are not able to cure their own; but suggest rather to yourself the same lesson which you would give in the same case. Dr. South asks in one of his sermons, adverting to the study of physic, Do not many shorten their days, and lose their own health, while they are learning to restore it to others? But the proverb invites to a larger than merely professional application. Selden, in his Table-talk, says, Preachers say, Do as I say, not as I do. But if a physician had the same disease upon him that I have, and he should bid me do one thing, and he do quite another, could I believe him? The practice of men, says Sir Thomas Browne, in his Religio Medici, holds not an equal part with, yea, often runs contrary to, their theory: we naturally know what is good, but naturally pursue what is evil; the rhetoric wherewith I persuade another cannot persuade myself. Byron chuckled crowingly over Beccaria, when he was told in Italy of that philosopher, who had published such admirable things against the punishment of death, that as soon as his book was out, his servant, having read it, I presume, stole his watch, and the master while correcting the proofs of a second edition, did all he could to have the man hanged. Angelo, in Measure for Measure, with all his fair show in the flesh, of superiority to it, was no such perfect practitioner. Rather he was to be consigned to the category of those ungracious pastors of whom Ophelia spoke, when she thanked Laertes for his excellent counsel and hoped withal he would abide by it in his own life and conversation.
But, good my brother,
Do not, as some ungracious pastors do,
Show me the steep and thorny way to heaven;
Whilst, like a puffd and reckless libertine,
Himself the primrose path of dalliance treads,
And recks not his own read.
(Francis Jacox.)
The art of healing
Our Lords choice of this proverb in reference to Himself was peculiarly appropriate, when we remember how large a portion of his work consisted of healing the sick. It is probable that already His fame had gone abroad, not only as a teacher but as a healer, and that the wonderful cures which He had effected caused His name to be in all mens mouths, and led to the expectation in Nazareth to which He referred, that He would do in His own home what He had already been doing elsewhere. All through His career He represents Himself as the great physician. He is the wise physician who can combine with his knowledge of the body the more subtle knowledge of the soul. Few men depend for effective work more upon their character than doctors. Perhaps the only class of persons whose labour becomes useless when character is departed, to a more marked degree than that of physicians, is that of ministers of religion. Of course there have been cases, well-known to fame, of physicians failing utterly in the moral side of their nature, and yet, by reason of a peculiar genius and indomitable energy, still gaining a name, and becoming wealthy and influential. But such persons are rather the marks and beacons whereby we must direct our way, and avoid the dangerous places where we may become utterly wrecked. As a general, almost universal rule, the reputation of the physician must be spotless. He must know no fear and be subject to no reproach. Where can be found a better strength and inspiration for such noble life than in the religion of Jesus Christ? (D. D. Bevan, LL. D.)
The proverb applied to our relation to foreign missions
Is it not a fact, and is not the slow progress of mission-work among the heathen to be accounted for, to some extent, by the fact, that we, add other so-called Christian nations supply in our relations to heathen peoples, and in the aspect which much of our own national and social life presents to them, the very worst commentary imaginable upon the truths which our missionaries teach them? Can we expect to be able to win the world for Christ so long as it is evident that we have not submitted ourselves to His gracious yoke, and do not carry into practice the precepts He enjoined? Have not many of these heathen nations a right to turn round upon us, when we send them missionaries, attack their systems of religion, and make long prayers for their conversion, and to address us in the words of our text, Physician, heal thyself?
1. Take first the figure we cut in the matter of our international relations.
2. Are we as a mercantile community possessed of clean hands in the matter of the fabrics we send out into the markets which these peoples necessities provide.
3. What do Chinese, and Hindoos, and Japanese, find among us, in our own land, when they visit us? Should we have any right to resent the taunt, if, when we bid them embrace our religion, they should point the finger of scorn at us, and say, Physician, heal thyself?
4. But it may be said, It is a merely nominal Christian nation or society which exhibits these wide and gross departures from the spirit and practice of the Christian religion. It is the Christian Church which sends out missionaries to the heathen. Well, what is likely to be the feeling with which intelligent heathens regard the attempts of the Christian Church to convert them? Are they not sure to smile at our efforts, and to say to us, Heal yourselves before you undertake to cure us. Apply the knife to the cancer which festers at the heart of your own society, before you undertake the amelioration of the condition of ours; convert your own countrymen first and then shall you have free access to ours; then will you prove to us, in the most convincing way, that your religion is all that you profess it to be?
5. Have not our denominational rivalries been often transplanted, and set in operation among peoples who cannot understand the merits of our disputes, or the grounds of our contending polities; and have they not inclined them, confused and confounded as they must be by distinctions and claims which are to them incomprehensible, to wash their hands of the responsibility of deciding between so many conflicting opinions, and to say to us, Learn to agree among yourselves as to what your religion is: learn, above all, to manifest more of its spirit in your relations to one another, before bringing it to is, and trying to persuade us to accept it?
6. What, then, is the practical outcome of all this? Not that we should withdrawn single missionary from his work, or relax a single aggressive endeavour, or reduce by a single penny the amount of our contributions to the missionary cause, No! let us rather redouble our zeal and multiply our gifts. But above all let us see to it, that as a people, as Churches, as members of Christs Church, we no longer belie our teachings and profession by our example and our life. (J. R. Bailey.)
To the inconsistent Christian
I. BY WHOM ARE THE INCONSISTENCIES OF CHRISTIANS CHIEFLY DENOUNCED?
1. By infidels.
2. By rationalizing believers.
3. By eminent Christians.
II. FOR WHAT PURPOSE ARE THE INCONSISTENCIES OF CHRISTIANS DENOUNCED?
1. TO invalidate the evidence of the Divine origin of Christianity.
2. To bring discredit on evangelical religion.
3. To elevate the standard of Christian attainment.
III. CHRISTIANS ARE NOT SO INCONSISTENT AS THEY ARE REPRESENTED TO BE.
1. All are not Christians who usurp the name.
2. All Christians are not responsible for the shortcomings even of genuine Christians.
3. All Christians are men, and in trying them by the standard of their religion, the same allowance must be made for them as for other men.
4. Christians should be judged by their general conduct, and not by individual actions.
5. Christians should be compared with men who are their peers in everything except their religion.
IV. THE INCONSISTENCIES OF CHRISTIANS FURNISH NO VALID OBJECTION AGAINST THE DIVINE ORIGIN OF CHRISTIANITY.
1. It does not recommend, or palliate, or defend them.
2. It makes ample provision for their removal by the doctrines it teaches, by the precepts it delivers, by the motives it presents, by the spiritual influence it promises.
3. It has produced many of the finest specimens of human character the world, throughout the whole course of its history, has ever witnessed.
4. It has exercised an indirect influence, of a most elevating description, on multitudes who are strangers to its saving power.
5. It has exercised on its most inconsistent disciples an ameliorating efficacy, to which no system of philosophy or religion can adduce parallels.
V. THE INCONSISTENCIES OF CHRISTIANS FURNISH NO VALID OBJECTION TO THE DOCTRINES OF GRACE, AS THEY ARE CALLED.
1. These doctrines leave all the usual arguments for a holy life untouched.
2. They remove that invincible obstruction to a holy life which arises from a sense of guilt, and from a self-righteous and superstitious attempt to earn, by personal merit, pardon and acceptance.
3. They furnish, in the love of God in Christ, the most powerful motive to a holy life that has ever been urged.
4. They secure an adequate supply of the influence of the Holy
Spirit.
VI. THE GRIEF WHICH THE INCONSISTENCIES OF CHRISTIANS SHOULD AWAKEN IN FELLOW-CHRISTIANS.
1. Because inconsistent professors bring dishonour on the names of God and of the Saviour.
2. Because inconsistent professors lower the general standard of Christian attainment.
3. Because inconsistent professors hang as a dead weight on the energies of the Church.
4. Because inconsistent professors are little likely to be brought to a saving acquaintance with Christ.
VII. THE DUTIES WHICH THE INCONSISTENCIES OF CHRISTIANS IMPOSE ON THE FRIENDS OF CHRIST.
1. A habitual watchfulness over their conduct.
2. A conscientious discharge of relative duty.
3. A foregoing of certain rights and privileges for the good of others.
4. Thorough adoption of the great principles of Christianity.
5. Prayer.
VIII. REAL INCONSISTENCIES OF CHRISTIANS.
1. It is inconsistent to live in the wilful and habitual practice of known sin.
2. It is inconsistent to pursue a doubtful course of action, without seeking to ascertain whether it is right or wrong.
3. It is inconsistent to conform to worldly habits of thinking and acting.
4. It is inconsistent to be chargeable with vices which respectable men of the world abhor.
5. It is inconsistent to be indifferent to the progress and prosperity of the cause of Christ. (G. Brooks.)
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
Verse 22. At the gracious words] To the words of grace, , or the doctrines of grace, which he then preached. It is very strange that none of the evangelists give us any account of this sermon! There was certainly more of it than is related in Lu 4:21. To-day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears; which seems to have been no more than the first sentence he spoke on the occasion. Had it been necessary for our salvation, it would have been recorded. It was a demonstration to those Jews, that Jesus, who preached to them, was the person of whom the prophet there spoke: it was not designed for general edification. Let us make a good use of what we have got, and we shalt not regret that this sermon is lost. The ear is never satisfied with hearing: we wish for another and another revelation, while sadly unacquainted with the nature and design of that which God’s mercy has already given us.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
All that heard our Saviour in the synagogue bare him witness. Of what? Not that he was the Messias, much less the Son of God; but they praised his discourse in opening the prophecy: they did not believe in him, but they admired the wisdom and piety of his discourses, they admired the effects of the grace of God in him, his
gracious words. But see the wretchedness of carnal hearts, in their proneness to take no prejudices, to choke the beginnings of any convictions in themselves. They do not admire the power of Divine grace, that it could so far influence one of so mean an education as they took Christ to have had; but dreaming that the kingdom of God must come with observation, and the coming of the Messiah must be in great outward splendour and glory, they stumble at his parents, because (though of the house of David) they were of so mean a visible quality.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
22. gracious words“thewords of grace,” referring both to the richness of His matterand the sweetness of His manner (Ps45:2).
Is not this, &c.(Seeon Mt 13:54-56). They knew He hadreceived no rabbinical education, and anything supernaturalthey seemed incapable of conceiving.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
And all bare him witness,…. That he was right in applying the words to the Messiah; but not that he himself was the Messiah, and that he was right in applying them to himself; for they did not believe in him, as appears from what follows
and wondered at the gracious words which proceeded out of his mouth; not so much at the matter, the sum, and substance of them, as expressive of the love, grace, and favour of God shown in the mission and unction of the Messiah, and in that liberty, deliverance, and salvation he was sent to effect and proclaim; as at the graceful manner in which he delivered himself, and the aptness of his words, the propriety of his diction, and the majesty, power, and authority, with which his expressions were clothed; and they were more amazed at all this, since they knew his parentage and education, and in what manner he had been brought up among them; and therefore it was astonishing to them, where he had his learning, knowledge, and wisdom:
and they said, is not this Joseph’s son? the carpenter, and who was brought up, by him, to his trade, and never learned letters; from whom had he this doctrine? of whom has he learned this way of address, and to speak with so much eloquence and propriety, since his education was mean, and he has never been at the feet of any of the doctors, or has been brought up in any of the academies and schools of learning?
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
Bare him witness (). Imperfect active, perhaps inchoative. They all began to bear witness that the rumours were not exaggerations (4:14) as they had supposed, but had foundation in fact if this discourse or its start was a fair sample of his teaching. The verb is a very old and common one. It is frequent in Acts, Paul’s Epistles, and the Johannine books. The substantive is seen in our English , one who witnesses even by his death to his faith in Christ.
And wondered ( ). Imperfect active also, perhaps inchoative also. They began to marvel as he proceeded with his address. This verb is an old one and common in the Gospels for the attitude of the people towards Jesus.
At the words of grace ( ). See on Luke 1:30; Luke 2:52 for this wonderful word so full of meaning and so often in the N.T. The genitive case (case of genus or kind) here means that the words that came out of the mouth of Jesus in a steady stream (present tense, ) were marked by fascination and charm. They were “winning words” as the context makes plain, though they were also “gracious” in the Pauline sense of “grace.” There is no necessary antithesis in the ideas of graceful and gracious in these words of Jesus.
Is not this Joseph’s son? ( ;). Witness and wonder gave way to bewilderment as they began to explain to themselves the situation. The use of intensive form of in a question expects the answer “yes.” Jesus passed in Nazareth as the son of Joseph as Luke presents him in 3:23. He does not stop here to correct this misconception because the truth has been already amply presented in Luke 1:28-38; Luke 2:49. This popular conception of Jesus as the son of Joseph appears also in Joh 1:45. The puzzle of the people was due to their previous knowledge of Jesus as the carpenter (Mr 6:3; the carpenter’s son, Mt 13:55). For him now to appear as the Messiah in Nazareth where he had lived and laboured as the carpenter was a phenomenon impossible to credit on sober reflection. So the mood of wonder and praise quickly turned with whispers and nods and even scowls to doubt and hostility, a rapid and radical transformation of emotion in the audience.
Fuente: Robertson’s Word Pictures in the New Testament
Bare him witness. Compare verse 14. They confirmed the reports which had been circulated about him. Note the imperfect tense. There was a continuous stream of admiring comment. Similarly, were wondering. At the gracious words [ ] . Literally and correctly, as Rev., words of grace. See on chapter Luk 1:30.
Is not [] . Expecting an affirmative answer.
Fuente: Vincent’s Word Studies in the New Testament
1) “And all bare him witness,” (kai pantes emarturoun auto) “And all in the synagogue bare witness to him,” saw and heard what he did and said-all responded in awe.
2) “And wondered at the gracious words,” (kai ethaumazon epi tois logois tes charitos) “And they marvelled at the words of grace,” Psa 45:2; Joh 7:46, the announcement about the kind of good things He had said that He would do, Luk 4:18-19.
3) “Which proceeded out of his mouth.” (tois ekporeuomenois ek tou stomatos autou) “Which flowed with such liberty from his mouth,” as He both read, then explained the Scriptures, for the “testimony of Jesus in the Spirit of prophecy,” Rev 19:10.
4) “And they said, is not this Joseph’s son?” (kai elegon ouchi huios estin loseph houtos) “and they said (among themselves) this is the (heir son) first born son of Joseph, isn’t it?” No, not his first born, but the first born of God, Joh 1:14; Joh 3:16; Joseph was His legal, foster father, Mat 1:25; Mat 13:55.
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
22. And all gave testimony to him Here Luke draws our attention, first, to the truly divine grace, which breathed in the lips of Christ; and then presents a lively picture of the ingratitude of men. Using a Hebrew idiom, he calls them discourses of grace, — that is, discourses which manifested the power and grace of the Holy Spirit. The inhabitants of Nazareth are thus compelled to acknowledge and admire God speaking in Christ; and yet they voluntarily refuse to render to the heavenly doctrine of Christ the honor which it deserves. Is not this the son of Joseph? Instead of regarding this circumstance as an additional reason for glorifying God, they bring it forward as an objection, and wickedly make it a ground of offense, that they may have some plausible excuse for rejecting what is said by the son of Joseph. Thus we daily see many who, while they are convinced that what they hear is the word of God, seize on frivolous apologies for refusing to obey it. And certainly the only reason why we are not affected, as we ought to be, by the power of the Gospel, is, that we throw hinderances in our own way, and that our malice quenches that light, the power of which we are unwilling to acknowledge.
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
(22) The gracious words.Literally, the words of grace. It is noticeable that the latter noun does not occur at all in St. Matthew or St. Mark, becomes prominent in the Acts, and is afterwards the most characteristic word of the Epistles of St. Paul and St. Peter.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
22. Gracious words Words of grace. For as the text is full of words of grace and mercy to those who needed them, so was the sermon. Hence even these rude Nazarene highlanders
bare witness that is, fully felt and acknowledged the blessed power with which that grace was proclaimed. When they had arrived thus far, and had fully felt and confessed themselves touched by his winning pathos, who would not have hoped that good would come of it? But though grace be the theme, and Jesus be the preacher, there is a power in a wicked human will and perverse human passions that can defeat all the appliances that God, within the laws of his wise government, can bring to bear upon them. In the very pathos of the blessed orator in this synagogue there was a point in which they could find offence. The very grace and mercy assumed that it was THEY who needed it, and HE who was to bestow it. Their rude pride could not brook two such haughty and humbling assumptions from this carpenter’s son to them.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
‘And all bore him witness, and wondered at the words of grace which proceeded out of his mouth. And they said, “Is not this Joseph’s son?”
They all took note of what He had said. This probably refers not only to His opening words, but also to words which followed. Luke is only giving us the gist of what is being said. From what follows we would expect to read antagonism in this verse, and it can in fact be read like that. They bore witness to what He said, were quite astonished at it, even though they were words of grace, and queried how Joseph’s son could talk like this. Other, however see it as their at first being impressed by Him, but eventually reacting when they remembered Who He was.
‘Bore witness’ could mean favourably or antagonistically. The fact that they wondered at how he could speak such gracious words might suggest that it meant favourably, in which case the atmosphere is to be seen as changing when they suddenly shook themselves and realised Who it was Who was speaking. He was only the local carpenter! But it may be that they were antagonistic from the start, even though they had to admit that for a carpenter He spoke well.
Or it may be that here Luke is describing the words from the onlookers point of view. They are words proclaiming the grace of God. But these people were so hardened that these words of grace did not touch them, and instead raised their antagonism.
And then they looked at one another in even more wonder, and said, “Is this not Joseph’s son?” They could not understand it. Here was the village carpenter and yet He was speaking such profound and impossible words. The words that follow demonstrate that they were not happy about it. They felt that He was taking too much on Himself. And they no doubt recognised that there had been none of the miracles in Nazareth that they had heard had happened in Capernaum.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
Luk 4:22 . . ] testified in His behalf , praising Him. See Kypke, Loesner, and Krebs. Frequently in the Acts, Rom 10:2 , Gal 4:15 , and elsewhere.
] at the sayings of graciousness (genitivus qualitatis ), comp. on Col 4:6 ; Hom. Od. viii. 175: ; Sir 21:16 ; Sir 37:21 .
] not: at nonnulli dicebant , Kuinoel, Paulus, and older commentators; but their amazement, which ought to have been expressed simply at the matter of fact, showed itself, after the fashion of the Abderites, from the background of a limited regard for the person with whom they knew that these . did not correspond.
] If Luke had intended to anticipate the later history of Mat 13 . and Mark 6., for what purpose would he have omitted the brothers and sisters?
Fuente: Heinrich August Wilhelm Meyer’s New Testament Commentary
22 And all bare him witness, and wondered at the gracious words which proceeded out of his mouth. And they said, Is not this Joseph’s son?
Ver. 22. Is not this Joseph’s son? ] And what of that? But it is still the course of our hearers, to look round about us, if possibly they may find any hole in our coat, through which to slight and slip the cords of our doctrine, though they cannot but admire it.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
22. ] . ., bore witness to him (that it was so). The . . must be the discourse of which Luk 4:21 is a compendium.
. ] i.e. , not . While acknowledging the truth of what He said, and the power with which He said it, they wondered, and were jealous of Him, as being the son of Joseph asking : see Mar 6:2-4 . Between this verse and the next, the is implied, for that is in a tone of reproof.
Fuente: Henry Alford’s Greek Testament
Luk 4:22-30 . The sequel .
Fuente: The Expositors Greek Testament by Robertson
Luk 4:22 . ., bore witness to Him, not = in Luk 4:15 ; the confession was extorted from them by Christ’s undeniable power. , not, admired , but, were surprised at (Hahn). , words of grace . Most take here not in the Pauline sense, but as denoting attractiveness in speech (German, Anmuth ), suavitas sermonis (Kypke, with examples from Greek authors, while admitting that may be an objective genitive, “sermo de rebus suavibus et laetis”). In view of the text on which Jesus preached, and the fact that the Nazareth incident occupies the place of a frontispiece in the Gospel, the religious Pauline sense of is probably the right one = words about the grace of God whereby the prophetic oracle read was fulfilled. J. Weiss (in Meyer), while taking = grace of manner, admits that Lk. may have meant it in the other sense, as in Act 14:3 ; Act 20:24 . Words of grace, about grace: such was Christ’s speech, then and always that is Lk.’s idea. , etc.: this fact, familiarity, neutralised the effect of all, grace of manner and the gracious message. Cf. Mat 13:55 , Mar 6:3 .
Fuente: The Expositors Greek Testament by Robertson
at. Greek. epi. App-104.
the gracious words = the words of grace. See note on Luk 1:30. Genitive of character, App-17.
out of. Greek. ek. App-104.
Joseph’s Son. See note on Luk 3:23.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
22.] . ., bore witness to him (that it was so). The . . must be the discourse of which Luk 4:21 is a compendium.
.] i.e. , not . While acknowledging the truth of what He said, and the power with which He said it, they wondered, and were jealous of Him, as being the son of Joseph-asking : see Mar 6:2-4. Between this verse and the next, the is implied, for that is in a tone of reproof.
Fuente: The Greek Testament
Luk 4:22. ) sometimes signifies, I praise, I express admiration in words.- , of the words) Luke wrote out, not an account of all the details, but a summary of the chief particulars.- , of grace) The discourses of Christ have indeed a sweetness and a weighty impressiveness peculiar to them, and in respect to both of these qualities a certain kind of grace or becomingness, which is not to be found perceptible even in the apostles. For instance, it was not unbecoming in Paul to write in the way that he has written in 1Co 7:25, where see the notes; also in 2Co 12:13; Phm 1:9. Moreover Christ, as is natural to expert, speaks both more weightily and more sweetly.- , and they were saying) Wondering admiration is good: but such an emotion, where it is not accompanied by firm faith, is readily succeeded by perversity, so that the mental gaze degenerates from being of a spiritual to a carnal character; and often one sentence or remark flowing from this state of mind may be deserving of great censure.
Fuente: Gnomon of the New Testament
the gracious: Luk 2:47, Luk 21:15, Psa 45:2, Psa 45:4, Pro 10:32, Pro 16:21, Pro 25:11, Ecc 12:10, Ecc 12:11, Son 5:16, Isa 50:4, Mat 13:54, Mar 6:2, Joh 7:46, Act 6:10, Tit 2:8
Is not: Mat 13:55, Mat 13:56, Mar 6:3, Joh 6:42
Reciprocal: Job 29:11 – the ear Psa 141:6 – for they Pro 10:13 – the lips Pro 22:11 – for the grace of his lips Ecc 10:12 – words Son 4:3 – lips Son 5:13 – his lips Mat 1:16 – Joseph Mat 7:28 – the people Mat 22:33 – they Mar 11:18 – astonished Luk 3:23 – being Joh 1:45 – the son Joh 7:15 – How Joh 7:27 – we know Act 13:12 – being Eph 4:29 – that which Col 4:6 – your
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
2
The first reaction was not so unfavorable but it caused them to begin to wonder in their minds. Is this not Joseph’s son? The idea was whether this humble native could speak such wonderful things.
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
THREE great lessons stand out on the face of this passage. Each deserves the close attention of all who desire spiritual wisdom.
We learn for one thing, how apt men are to despise the highest privileges, when they are familiar with them. We see it in the conduct of the men of Nazareth when they had heard the Lord Jesus preach. They could find no fault in His sermon. They could point to no inconsistency in His past life and conversation. But because the preacher had dwelt among them thirty years, and His face, and voice, and appearance were familiar to them, they would not receive His doctrine. They said to one another, “Is not this Joseph’s son?” Is it possible that one so well-known as this man can be the Christ?-And they drew from our Lord’s lips the solemn saying, “No prophet is accepted in his own country.”
We shall do well to remember this lesson in the matter of ordinances and means of grace. We are always in danger of undervaluing them, when we have them in abundance. We are apt to think lightly of the privilege of an open Bible, a preached Gospel, and the liberty of meeting together for public worship. We grow up in the midst of these things, and are accustomed to have them without trouble. And the consequence is that we often hold them very cheap, and underrate the extent of our mercies. Let us take heed to our own spirit in the use of sacred things. Often as we may read the Bible, let us never read it without deep reverence. Often as we hear the name of Christ, let us never forget that He is the One Mediator, in whom is life. Even the manna that came down from heaven was at length scorned by Israel, as “light bread.” (Num 21:5.) It is an evil day with our souls, when Christ is in the midst of us, and yet, because of our familiarity with His name, is lightly esteemed.
We learn, for another thing, how bitterly human nature dislikes the doctrine of the sovereignty of God. We see this in the conduct of the men of Nazareth, when our Lord reminded them that God was under no obligation to work miracles among them. Were there not many widows in Israel in the days of Elijah? No doubt there were. Yet to none of them was the prophet sent. All were passed over in favor of a Gentile widow at Sarepta.-Were there not many lepers in Israel in the days of Elisha? No doubt there were. Yet to none of them was the privilege of healing granted. Naaman the Syrian was the only one who was cleansed.-Such doctrine as this was intolerable to the men of Nazareth. It wounded their pride and self-conceit. It taught them that God was no man’s debtor, and that if they themselves were passed over in the distribution of His mercies, they had no right to find fault. They could not bear it. They were “filled with wrath.” They thrust our Lord out of their city, and had it not been for an exercise of miraculous power on His part, they would doubtless have put Him to a violent death.
Of all the doctrines of the Bible none is so offensive to human nature as the doctrine of God’s sovereignty. To be told that God is great, and just, and holy, and pure, man can bear. But to be told that “He hath mercy on whom He will have mercy,”-that He “giveth no account of His matters,” that it is “not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that showeth mercy,”-these are truths that natural man cannot stand. They often call forth all his enmity against God, and fill him with wrath. Nothing, in short, will make him submit to them but the humbling teaching of the Holy Ghost.
Let us settle it in our minds that, whether we like it or not, the sovereignty of God is a doctrine clearly revealed in the Bible, and a fact clearly to be seen in the world. Upon no other principle can we ever explain why some members of a family are converted, and others live and die in sin,-why some quarters of the earth are enlightened by Christianity, and others remain buried in heathenism. One account only can be given of all this. All is ordered by the sovereign hand of God. Let us pray for humility in respect of this deep thing. Let us remember that our life is but a vapor, and that our best knowledge compared to that of God is perfect folly. Let us be thankful for such light as we enjoy ourselves, and use it diligently while we have it. And let us not doubt that at the last day the whole world shall be convinced, that He who now “gives no account of His matters” has done all things well.
We learn, lastly, from this passage, how diligently we ought to persevere in well doing, notwithstanding discouragements. We are doubtless meant to draw this lesson from the conduct of our Lord, after His rejection at Nazareth. Nothing moved by the treatment He received, He patiently works on. Thrust out of one place, He passes on to another. Cast forth from Nazareth He comes to Capernaum, and there “teaches on the Sabbath days.”
Such ought to be the conduct of all the people of Christ. Whatever the work they are called to do, they should patiently continue in it, and not give up for want of success. Whether preachers, or teachers, or visitors, or missionaries, they must labor on and not faint. There is often more stirring in the hearts and consciences of people than those who teach and preach to them are at all aware of. There is preparatory work to be done in many a part of God’s vineyard, which is just as needful as any other work, though not so agreeable to flesh and blood. There must be sowers as well as reapers. There must be some to break up the ground and pick out the stones, as well as some to gather in the harvest. Let each labor on in his own place. The day comes when each shall be rewarded according to his work. The very discouragements we meet with enable us to show the world that there are such things as faith and patience. When men see us working on, in spite of treatment like that which Jesus received at Nazareth, it makes them think. It convinces them that, at all events, we are persuaded that we have truth on our side.
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Notes-
v22.-[Bare him witness.] The meaning of this appears to be that they could not deny the truth, correctness, and reasonableness of what He said.
[Joseph’s son.] This expression shows us in what light our Lord was regarded at Nazareth, and how little the miraculous circumstances of His conception and birth were generally known.
v23.-[This proverb.] Let it be noted here that our Lord answers one proverb by another. It is a singular peculiarity about proverbs, that they can generally be found in defence of either side of a question. The men of Nazareth were ready to quote a proverb to prove that our Lord should work miracles first at home. Our Lord reminds them that there was another proverb, which taught that teachers were more valued anywhere rather than at home.
v25.-[Days of Elias.] Let us not fail to note that our Lord speaks of the times of Elijah, and the events which happened in them, as realities. His language is one among many strong arguments to prove that the historical books of the Old Testament are authentic, and not mere collections of instructive fables, as some have dared to assert.
v28.-[Filled with wrath.] Two reasons may be assigned for the violent anger of the men of Nazareth. One was the doctrine of God’s sovereignty in saving sinners. The other was the favour shown to Gentiles instead of Jews, of which our Lord reminded them, with an evident intention of warning them that the same thing would happen again.
v30.-[Passing through the midst of them.] That this was a miracle is clear. In what way it was effected we are not told. Enough for us to know that His enemies could not lay hands upon Him against His will, and that when finally He was delivered up to be crucified, it was only because He was willing to allow Himself to be slain.
Fuente: Ryle’s Expository Thoughts on the Gospels
Luk 4:22. And all bore witness, i.e., favorable witness.
Words of grace. He had evidently spoken at some length. Grace here refers to the beauty of His discourse, and not to its moral quality. They liked His manner, and as this was all, so soon as the matter, began to affect them unpleasantly, they rose in anger against Him. Marvel at words of gracefulness is a small result for the preacher.
Is not this Josephs son? The wonder was that such graceful words could be spoken by Josephs son, implying a contempt of His supposed origin, and envy of Him as such a preacher. The feeling was natural, but not the less sinful. No mention is made of His brothers and sisters, as in the accounts of Matthew and Mark.
Fuente: A Popular Commentary on the New Testament
Observe here, 1. The effect of our Saviour’s ministry at Nazareth: it created wonder, but did not produce faith; they marvelled, but not believed; they admired the wisdom of his discourse, but will not own him to be the promised Messiah, because of the poverty and meanness of Christ’s condition: Is not this Joseph’s son? They expected the son of a prince, not the son of a carpenter to be their Messiah.
Thence note, that the poverty and meanness of Christ’s condition was that which multitudes stumbled at, and which kept many, yea, most, from believing on him. None but a spiritual eye can discern beauty in an humbled and abased Saviour.
Observe 2. Our Saviour wonders not that so few of his countrymen, among whom he had been bred and brought up, and with whom he had lived most part of his time, did despise his person, and reject his doctrine; he tells them, No prophet has honor in his own country: that is, very seldom has.
Teaching us that usually the ministers of God are most despised where they are most familiarly known; sometimes the remembrance of their mean original and extraction, sometimes the poverty of their parents, sometimes the indecencies of their childhood, sometimes the follies of their youth, sometimes the faults of their families and relations, are ript up, and made occasion of contempt; and therefore that prophet that comes from afar, and has not been much known, gains the greatest reputation amongst a people, who, being ignorant of his extraction, look upon his breeding, as well as his calling to be divine.
This good use ought to be made of our Saviour’s observation, that his ministers be very wise and discreet in conversation with their people, not making themselves cheap and common in every company, nor light and vain in any company; for such familiarity will breed contempt, both of their persons and their doctrine.
But our duty is by strictness and gravity of deportment to keep up an awe and esteem in the consciences of our people; always tempering our gravity with courtesy and a condescending affability. That minister which prostitutes his authority, frustrates the end of his ministry, and is the occasion of his own contempt.
Fuente: Expository Notes with Practical Observations on the New Testament
Luk 4:22. And all the congregation bare him witness, and wondered at the gracious words, &c. By this it appears, that our Lord proved and illustrated his assertion, (that the passage he had read was that day fulfilled,) in a discourse of considerable length, the subject of which only is mentioned by Luke. And it seems also, that on this occasion he delivered his thoughts with such strength of reason, clearness of method, and, perhaps also, beauty of expression, that his townsmen, who all knew he had not had the advantage of a liberal education, were so astonished, that in their conversation one with another they could not forbear expressing their admiration. At the same time, however, their carnal and worldly spirit, not to say the malevolence also of their disposition, led them to mingle with their praises a reflection, which they thought sufficiently confuted his pretensions of being the Messiah, and showed the absurdity of the application which he had made of Isaiahs prophecy to himself, in that character; And they said, Is not this Josephs son? &c.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Verse 22
It is not meant that they interrupted the exercises to say this aloud. The phraseology is only a pointed mode of representing that this was the prevailing impression upon their minds,–that is, surprise that the untaught son of their humble townsman Joseph should preach with such power.
Fuente: Abbott’s Illustrated New Testament
4:22 {4} And all {e} bare him witness, and {f} wondered at the {g} gracious words which proceeded out of his mouth. And they said, Is not this Joseph’s son?
(4) Familiarity causes Christ to be condemned and therefore he often goes to strangers.
(e) Approved those things which he spoke with common consent and voice: for this word “witness” signifies in this place (and many others) “to allow and approve a thing with open confession”.
(f) Present at this meeting of the scriptures were not only the learned, but also the common people: and besides that, their mother tongue was used, for how else could the people have wondered? Paul appointed the same manner for doing things in the Church at Corinth; 1Co 14:1-40 .
(g) Words full of the mighty power of God, which appeared in all his doings, and as well allured men marvellously unto him; see Psa 45:2 , “grace is poured into thy lips”.
Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes
These words about God’s grace (cf. Act 14:3; Act 20:24) evoked a positive response from Jesus’ hearers and amazed them (Gr. ethaumazon). They were glad to hear these things. However they balked at Jesus’ claim to be the Messiah. They did not understand how He could be the Messiah since He had grown up with them and seemed so similar to them.