Ah, dear brethren, if our Lord Jesus needed “the power of the Spirit”, Q: how much more do you and I need it!
4:15 And He taught in their synagogues, being glorified of all.
4:15 And He taught in their synagogues, being glorified of all.
being glorified of all; that heard Him: they were astonished at His doctrine; they wondered at His gracious words; they praised Him as a preacher; and glorified Him, and God for Him, because of the mighty works which were done by Him.
4:16 And He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up: and, as His custom was, He went into the synagogue on the sabbath day, and stood up for to read.
4:16 And He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up: and, as His custom was, He went into the synagogue on the sabbath day, and stood up for to read.
To Nazareth, where He had been brought up - It is likely that our Lord lived principally in this city till the 30th year of his age; but, after he entered on his public ministry, his usual place of residence was at the house of Peter, in Capernaum.
4:17 And there was delivered unto Him the book of the prophet Esaias. And when He had opened the book, He found the place where it was written,
4:17 And there was delivered unto Him the book of the prophet Esaias. And when He had opened the book, He found the place where it was written,
And when He had opened the book - Αναπτυξας, When He had unrolled it. The Sacred Writings used to this day, in all the Jewish synagogues, are written on skins of basil, parchment, or vellum, sewed end to end, and rolled on two rollers.
4:18 The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because He hath anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor; He hath sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised,
4:18 The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because He hath anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor; He hath sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised,
He was anointed to preach;
Observe, (1.) To whom He was to preach: to the poor; to those that were poor in the world, whom the Jewish doctors disdained to undertake the teaching of and spoke of with contempt; to those that were poor in spirit, to the meek and humble, and to those that were truly sorrowful for sin: to them the gospel and the grace of it will be welcome, and they shall have it.
(2.) What He was to preach. In general, He must preach the gospel. He is sent to evangelize them;
not only to preach to them,
but to make that preaching effectual;
to bring it, not only to their ears,
but to their hearts,
and deliver them into the mould of it.
Three things He is to preach: -
[1.] Deliverance to the captives, The gospel is a proclamation of liberty, like that to Israel in Egypt and in Babylon.
[2.] Recovering of sight to the blind. He came not only by the word of His gospel to bring light to them that sat in the dark, but by the power of His grace to give sight to them that were blind; -- Receive your sight.
[1.] Deliverance to the captives, The gospel is a proclamation of liberty, like that to Israel in Egypt and in Babylon.
[2.] Recovering of sight to the blind. He came not only by the word of His gospel to bring light to them that sat in the dark, but by the power of His grace to give sight to them that were blind; -- Receive your sight.
4:19 To preach the acceptable year of the Lord.
To preach the acceptable year of the Lord - The time which He willed and fixed for the redemption of His people, and in which He showed His goodwill and pleasure unto sinful men, in the gift of His Son to them, and for them.
4:20 And He closed the book, and He gave it again to the minister, and sat down. And the eyes of all them that were in the synagogue were fastened on Him.
4:20 And He closed the book, and He gave it again to the minister, and sat down. And the eyes of all them that were in the synagogue were fastened on Him.
The eyes of all them that were in the synagogue (and, probably, there were a great many) were fastened on Him, big with expectation what He would say, having heard so much of late concerning Him.
Note, It is good, in hearing the word, to keep the eye fixed upon the minister by whom God is speaking to us; for, as the eye effects the heart, so, usually, the heart follows the eye, and is wandering, or fixed, as that is. Or, rather, let us learn hence to keep the eye fixed upon Christ speaking to us in and by the minister.
4:21 And He began to say unto them, This day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears.
4:21 And He began to say unto them, This day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears.
And He began to say unto them - To preach from those words; the explanation of which He gave, though not here recorded, and applied them to Himself, to whom they belonged, saying:
this day is this Scripture fulfilled in your ears; - which is as if He should say, I am the person here spoken of; and at this present time the Spirit of God is upon Me;
4:22 And all bare Hm witness, and wondered at the gracious words which proceeded out of His mouth. And they said, Is not this Joseph's son?
this day is this Scripture fulfilled in your ears; - which is as if He should say, I am the person here spoken of; and at this present time the Spirit of God is upon Me;
4:22 And all bare Hm witness, and wondered at the gracious words which proceeded out of His mouth. And they said, Is not this Joseph's son?
Now they began to question: “Is not this the son of the carpenter?”
4:23 And He said unto them, Ye will surely say unto Me this proverb, Physician, heal Thyself: whatsoever we have heard done in Capernaum, do also here in thy country.
4:23 And He said unto them, Ye will surely say unto Me this proverb, Physician, heal Thyself: whatsoever we have heard done in Capernaum, do also here in thy country.
physician heal thyself - and which was a proverb in use with the Jews; and which is sometimes expressed thus, , "go heal thyself"; and sometimes in this form, ,"physician, heal thy lameness": the meaning of which is, that a man ought to look at home, and take care of himself, and of those that belonged to him; and Christ was aware that His townsmen would object this to Him, that if He was the person He was said to be, and could do the miracles and cures which were ascribed to Him, He ought to do something of this kind at home, among them, who were His townsmen.
4:24 And He said, Verily I say unto you, No prophet is accepted in his own country.
4:24 And He said, Verily I say unto you, No prophet is accepted in his own country.
How He answers this objection against the course He took.
--By a plain reason why He would not make Nazareth His headquarters, because it generally holds true that no prophet is accepted in his own country, at least not so well, nor with such probability of doing good, as in some other country; experience seals this. When prophets have been sent with messages and miracles of mercy, few of their own country-men, that have known their extraction and education, have been fit to receive them: Familiarity breeds contempt; and we are apt to think meanly of those whose conversation we have been accustomed to; and they will scarcely be duly honored as prophets who were well known when they were in the rank of private men.
--By a plain reason why He would not make Nazareth His headquarters, because it generally holds true that no prophet is accepted in his own country, at least not so well, nor with such probability of doing good, as in some other country; experience seals this. When prophets have been sent with messages and miracles of mercy, few of their own country-men, that have known their extraction and education, have been fit to receive them: Familiarity breeds contempt; and we are apt to think meanly of those whose conversation we have been accustomed to; and they will scarcely be duly honored as prophets who were well known when they were in the rank of private men.
4:25 But I tell you of a truth, many widows were in Israel in the days of Elias, when the heaven was shut up three years and six months, when great famine was throughout all the land;
many widows were in Israel in the days of Elias; or Elijah, the prophet; that is, there were many that were not only widows, but poor widows, and in very famishing circumstances in the land of Israel, when Elijah was the prophet of the Lord to that people:
and when the heaven was shut up three years and six months; so that no rain descended all that time: when great famine was throughout all the land of Israel; and which so long a drought must needs bring.
and when the heaven was shut up three years and six months; so that no rain descended all that time: when great famine was throughout all the land of Israel; and which so long a drought must needs bring.
4:26 But unto none of them was Elias sent, save unto Sarepta, a city of Sidon, unto a woman that was a widow.
save unto Sarepta, a city of Sidon; which in 1 Kings 17:10 is called "Zarephath"; and by the Septuagint there, "Sarepta of Sidon", as here. Pliny speaks of it by the same name, and reckons it to Sidon:
4:27 And many lepers were in Israel in the time of Eliseus the prophet; and none of them was cleansed, saving Naaman the Syrian.
4:27 And many lepers were in Israel in the time of Eliseus the prophet; and none of them was cleansed, saving Naaman the Syrian.
saving Naaman, the Syrian: who was not an Israelite, but a Syrian: he was cleansed and cured of his leprosy, being ordered by Elisha to dip himself seven times in Jordan, which he did, and was healed,
4:28 And all they in the synagogue, when they heard these things, were filled with wrath,
4:28 And all they in the synagogue, when they heard these things, were filled with wrath,
They did not mind hearing the first part of His teaching; but now that He exalts the sovereignty of God, and lays the sinner low, he speaks too plainly for them: “They were filled with wrath.”
4:29 And rose up, and thrust Him out of the city, and led Him unto the brow of the hill whereon their city was built, that they might cast Him down headlong.
4:29 And rose up, and thrust Him out of the city, and led Him unto the brow of the hill whereon their city was built, that they might cast Him down headlong.
and thrust Him out of the city - first out of the synagogue, and then out of their city, as unworthy to be in it, though an inhabitant of it; and as if He had done something deserving of death; and therefore to be punished as a malefactor without the city:
and led Him unto the brow of the hill - the edge of it, where it run out, and hung over the precipice.
and led Him unto the brow of the hill - the edge of it, where it run out, and hung over the precipice.
4:30 But He passing through the midst of them went His way,
Passing through the midst of them - Perhaps invisibly; or perhaps they were overawed; so that though they saw, they could not touch Him.
4:31 And came down to Capernaum, a city of Galilee, and taught them on the sabbath days.
4:31 And came down to Capernaum, a city of Galilee, and taught them on the sabbath days.
and taught them on the sabbath days - that is, He went into the synagogue at Capernaum, on the sabbath days, whenever He was there, and taught the inhabitants, explained some passage or other in the Old Testament, as He had done at Nazareth and instructed them in the doctrines of the Gospel.
4:32 And they were astonished at His doctrine: for His word was with power.
4:32 And they were astonished at His doctrine: for His word was with power.
Christ's preaching much affected the people; they were astonished at His doctrine, there was weight in every word He said, and admirable discoveries were made to them by it.
4:33 And in the synagogue there was a man, which had a spirit of an unclean devil, and cried out with a loud voice,
4:33 And in the synagogue there was a man, which had a spirit of an unclean devil, and cried out with a loud voice,
which had a spirit of an unclean devil - who was possessed with the devil, who is by nature and practice unclean;
4:34 Saying, Let us alone; what have we to do with Thee, Thou Jesus of Nazareth? art Thou come to destroy us? I know Thee who Thou art; the Holy One of God.
4:34 Saying, Let us alone; what have we to do with Thee, Thou Jesus of Nazareth? art Thou come to destroy us? I know Thee who Thou art; the Holy One of God.
Observe, [1.] The devil is an unclean spirit, his nature directly contrary to that of the pure and holy God, and degenerated from what it was at first.
[2.] This unclean spirit works in the children of men; in the souls of many, as then in men's bodies.
[3.] It is possible that those who are very much under the power and working of Satan may yet be found in the synagogue, among the worshippers of God.
[4.] Even the devils know and believe that Jesus Christ is the Holy One of God, is sent of God, and is a Holy One.
4:35 And Jesus rebuked him, saying, Hold thy peace, and come out of him. And when the devil had thrown him in the midst, he came out of him, and hurt him not.
4:35 And Jesus rebuked him, saying, Hold thy peace, and come out of him. And when the devil had thrown him in the midst, he came out of him, and hurt him not.
And Jesus rebuked him - Not the man, but the unclean spirit: or "that demon", as the Persic version reads it: saying, hold thy peace, or "be thou muzzled", as the word signifies, and come out of him; And hurt him not - Though he convulsed him, and threw him down in the midst of them, probably with the design to take away his life, yet our Lord permitted it not.
4:36 And they were all amazed, and spake among themselves, saying, What a word is this! for with authority and power He commandeth the unclean spirits, and they come out.
This was a very remarkable cure wrought by the Lord Jesus Christ on the Sabbath-day.
4:37 And the fame of Him went out into every place of the country round about.
The fame - Ηχος, the sound. This is a very elegant metaphor. The people are represented as struck with astonishment, and the sound goes out through all the coasts.
4:37 And the fame of Him went out into every place of the country round about.
