Chapter 4

4:1 Full of the Holy Spirit [plērēs pneumatos hagiou]. An evident allusion to the descent of the Holy Spirit on Jesus at his baptism (Lu 3:21f.). The distinctness of the Persons in the Trinity is shown there, but with evident unity. One recalls also Luke’s account of the overshadowing of Mary by the Holy Spirit (1:35). Mt 4:1 says that “Jesus was led of the Spirit” while Mr 1:12 states that “the Spirit driveth him forth” which see for discussion. “Jesus had been endowed with supernatural power; and He was tempted to make use of it in furthering his own interests without regard to the Father’s will” (Plummer). Was led by the Spirit [ēgeto en toi pneumati]. Imperfect passive, continuously led. [En] may be the instrumental use as often, for Mt 4:1 has here [hupo] of direct agency. But Matthew has the aorist passive [anēchthē] which may be ingressive as he has [eis tēn erēmon] (into the wilderness) while Luke has [en tōi erēmōi] (in the wilderness). At any rate Luke affirms that Jesus was now continuously under the guidance of the Holy Spirit. Hence in this same sentence he mentions the Spirit twice. During the forty days [hēmerās tesserakonta]. Accusative of duration of time, to be connected with “led” not with “tempted.” He was led in the Spirit during these forty days (cf. De 8:2, forty years). The words are amphibolous also in Mr 1:13. Mt 4:2 seems to imply that the three recorded temptations came at the close of the fasting for forty days. That can be true and yet what Luke states be true also. These three may be merely specimens and so “representative of the struggle which continued throughout the whole period” (Plummer).

4:2 Being tempted [peirazomenos]. Present passive participle and naturally parallel with the imperfect passive [ēgeto] (was led) in verse 1. This is another instance of poor verse division which should have come at the end of the sentence. See on Mt 4:1; Mr 1:13 for the words “tempt” and “devil.” The devil challenged the Son of man though also the Son of God. It was a contest between Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, and the slanderer of men. The devil had won with Adam and Eve. He has hopes of triumph over Jesus. The story of this conflict is given only in Mt 4:1-11; Lu 4:1-13. There is a mere mention of it in Mr 1:12f. So then here is a specimen of the Logia of Jesus (Q), a non-Markan portion of Matthew and Luke, the earliest document about Christ. The narrative could come ultimately only from Christ himself. It is noteworthy that it bears all the marks of the high conception of Jesus as the Son of God found in the Gospel of John and in Paul and Hebrews, the rest of the New Testament in fact, for Mark, Matthew, Luke, Acts, Peter, and Jude follow in this same strain. The point is that modern criticism has revealed the Messianic consciousness of Jesus as God’s Son at his Baptism and in his Temptations at the very beginning of his ministry and in the oldest known documents about Christ (The Logia, Mark’s Gospel). He did eat nothing [ouk ephagen ouden]. Second aorist (constative) active indicative of the defective verb [esthiō]. Mark does not give the fast. Mt 4:2 has the aorist active participle [nēsteusas] which usually means a religious fast for purposes of devotion. That idea is not excluded by Luke’s words. The entrance of Jesus upon his Messianic ministry was a fit time for this solemn and intense consecration. This mental and spiritual strain would naturally take away the appetite and there was probably nothing at hand to eat. The weakness from the absence of food gave the devil his special opportunity to tempt Jesus which he promptly seized. When they were completed [suntelestheisōn autōn]. Genitive absolute with the first aorist passive participle feminine plural because [hemerōn] (days) is feminine. According to Luke the hunger [epeinasen], became hungry, ingressive aorist active indicative) came at the close of the forty days as in Mt 4:2.

4:3 The Son of God [huios tou theou]. No article as in Mt 4:3. So refers to the relationship as Son of God rather than to the office of Messiah. Manifest reference to the words of the Father in Lu 3:22. Condition of the first class as in Matthew. The devil assumes that Jesus is Son of God. This stone [tōi lithōi toutōi]. Perhaps pointing to a particular round stone that looked in shape and size like a loaf of bread. Stanley (Sinai and Palestine, p. 154) on Mt. Carmel found crystallizations of stones called “Elijah’s melons.” The hunger of Jesus opened the way for the diabolic suggestion designed to inspire doubt in Jesus toward his Father. Matthew has “these stones.” Bread [artos]. Better “loaf.” For discussion of this first temptation see on Mt 4:3f. Jesus felt the force of each of the temptations without yielding at all to the sin involved. See discussion on Matthew also for reality of the devil and the objective and subjective elements in the temptations. Jesus quotes De 8:3 in reply to the devil.

4:5 The world [tēs oikoumenēs]. The inhabited world. In Mt 4:8 it is [tou kosmou]. In a moment of time [en stigmēi chronou]. Only in Luke and the word [stigmē] nowhere else in the N.T. (from [stizō], to prick, or puncture), a point or dot. In Demosthenes, Aristotle, Plutarch. Like our “second” of time or tick of the clock. This panorama of all the kingdoms of the world and the glory of them in a moment of time was mental, a great feat of the imagination (a mental satanic “movie” performance), but this fact in no way discredits the idea of the actual visible appearance of Satan also. This second temptation in Luke is the third in Matthew’s order. Luke’s order is geographical (wilderness, mountain, Jerusalem). Matthew’s is climacteric (hunger, nervous dread, ambition). There is a climax in Luke’s order also (sense, man, God). There is no way to tell the actual order.

4:6 All this authority [tēn exousian tautēn hapasan]. Mt 4:9 has “all these things.” Luke’s report is more specific. And the glory of them [kai tēn doxan autōn]. Mt 4:8 has this in the statement of what the devil did, not what he said. For it hath been delivered unto me [hoti emoi paradedotai]. Perfect passive indicative. Satan here claims possession of world power and Jesus does not deny it. It may be due to man’s sin and by God’s permission. Jesus calls Satan the ruler of this world (Joh 12:31; 14:30; 16:11). To whomsoever I will [hoi an thelō]. Present subjunctive with [an] in an indefinite relative sentence. This audacious claim, if allowed, makes one wonder whether some of the world rulers are not, consciously or unconsciously, agents of the devil. In several American cities there has been proven a definite compact between the police and the underworld of crime. But the tone of Satan here is one of superiority to Jesus in world power. He offers him a share in it on one condition.

4:7 Wilt worship before me [proskunēsēis enōpion emou]. Mt 4:9 has it more bluntly “worship me.” That is what it really comes to, though in Luke the matter is more delicately put. It is a condition of the third class [ean] and the subjunctive). Luke has it “thou therefore if” [su oun ean], in a very emphatic and subtle way. It is the ingressive aorist [proskunēsēis], just bow the knee once up here in my presence. The temptation was for Jesus to admit Satan’s authority by this act of prostration (fall down and worship), a recognition of authority rather than of personal merit. It shall all be thine [estai sou pāsa]. Satan offers to turn over all the keys of world power to Jesus. It was a tremendous grand-stand play, but Jesus saw at once that in that case he would be the agent of Satan in the rule of the world by bargain and graft instead of the Son of God by nature and world ruler by conquest over Satan. The heart of Satan’s program is here laid bare. Jesus here rejected the Jewish idea of the Messiah as an earthly ruler merely. “He rejects Satan as an ally, and thereby has him as an implacable enemy” (Plummer.)

4:8 Thou shalt worship [proskunēseis]. Satan used this verb to Jesus who turns it against him by the quotation from De 6:13. Jesus clearly perceived that one could not worship both Satan and God. He had to choose whom he would serve. Luke does not give the words, “Get thee hence, Satan” (Mt 4:10), for he has another temptation to narrate.

4:9 Led him [ēgagen]. Aorist active indicative of [agō]. Mt 4:5 has [paralambanei] (dramatic present). The wing of the temple [to pterugion tou hierou]. See on Mt 4:5. It is not easy to determine precisely what it was. From hence [enteuthen]. This Luke adds to the words in Matthew, which see. To guard thee [tou diaphulaxai se]. Not in Mt 4:6 quoted by Satan from Ps 91:11,12. Satan does not misquote this Psalm, but he misapplies it and makes it mean presumptuous reliance on God. This compound verb is very old, but occurs here alone in the N.T. and that from the LXX. Luke repeats [hoti] (recitative [hoti] after [gegraptai], is written) after this part of the quotation.

4:12 It is said [eirētai]. Perfect passive indicative, stands said, a favourite way of quoting Scripture in the N.T. In Mt 4:7 we have the usual “it is written” [gegraptai]. Here Jesus quotes De 6:16. Each time he uses Deuteronomy against the devil. The LXX is quoted. It is the volitive future indicative with [ouk], a common prohibition. Jesus points out to the devil that testing God is not trusting God (Plummer).

4:13 Every temptation [panta peirasmon]. These three kinds exhaust the avenues of approach (the appetites, the nerves, the ambitions). Satan tried them all. They formed a cycle (Vincent). Hence “he was in all points tempted like as we are” (Heb 4:15). “The enemy tried all his weapons, and was at all points defeated” (Plummer). Probably all during the forty days the devil tempted him, but three are representatives of all. For a season [achri kairou]. Until a good opportunity should return, the language means. We are thus to infer that the devil returned to his attack from time to time. In the Garden of Gethsemane he tempted Jesus more severely than here. He was here trying to thwart the purpose of Jesus to go on with his Messianic plans, to trip him at the start. In Gethsemane the devil tried to make Jesus draw back from the culmination of the Cross with all its agony and horror. The devil attacked Jesus by the aid of Peter (Mr 8:33), through the Pharisees (Joh 8:40ff.), besides Gethsemane (Lu 22:42, 53).

4:14 Returned [hupestrepsen]. Luke does not fill in the gap between the temptations in the wilderness of Judea and the Galilean Ministry. He follows the outline of Mark. It is John’s Gospel alone that tells of the year of obscurity (Stalker) in various parts of the Holy Land. In the power of the Spirit [en tēi dunamei tou pneumatos]. Luke in these two verses (14, 15) gives a description of the Galilean Ministry with three marked characteristics (Plummer): the power of the spirit, rapid spread of Christ’s fame, use of the Jewish synagogues. Luke often notes the power of the Holy Spirit in the work of Christ. Our word dynamite is this same word [dunamis] (power). A fame (phēmē]. An old Greek word found in the N.T. only here and Mt 9:26. It is from [phēmi], to say. Talk ran rapidly in every direction. It assumes the previous ministry as told by John.

4:15 And he taught [kai autos edidasken]. Luke is fond of this mode of transition so that it is not certain that he means to emphasize “he himself” as distinct from the rumour about him. It is the imperfect tense, descriptive of the habit of Jesus. The synagogues were an open door to Jesus before the hostility of the Pharisees was aroused. Being glorified [doxazomenos]. Present passive participle, durative action like the imperfect [edidasken]. General admiration of Jesus everywhere. He was the wonder teacher of his time. Even the rabbis had not yet learned how to ridicule and oppose Jesus.

4:16 Where he had been brought up [hou ēn tethrammenos]. Past perfect passive periphrastic indicative, a state of completion in past time, from [trephō], a common Greek verb. This visit is before that recorded in Mr 6:1-6; Mt 13:54-58 which was just before the third tour of Galilee. Here Jesus comes back after a year of public ministry elsewhere and with a wide reputation (Lu 4:15). Luke may have in mind 2:51, but for some time now Nazareth had not been his home and that fact may be implied by the past perfect tense. As his custom was [kata to eiōthos autōi]. Second perfect active neuter singular participle of an old [ethō] (Homer), to be accustomed. Literally according to what was customary to him [autōi], dative case). This is one of the flashlights on the early life of Jesus. He had the habit of going to public worship in the synagogue as a boy, a habit that he kept up when a grown man. If the child does not form the habit of going to church, the man is almost certain not to have it. We have already had in Matthew and Mark frequent instances of the word synagogue which played such a large part in Jewish life after the restoration from Babylon. Stood up [anestē]. Second aorist active indicative and intransitive. Very common verb. It was the custom for the reader to stand except when the Book of Esther was read at the feast of Purim when he might sit. It is not here stated that Jesus had been in the habit of standing up to read here or elsewhere. It was his habit to go to the synagogue for worship. Since he entered upon his Messianic work his habit was to teach in the synagogues (Lu 4:15). This was apparently the first time that he had done so in Nazareth. He may have been asked to read as Paul was in Antioch in Pisidia (Ac 13:15). The ruler of the synagogue for that day may have invited Jesus to read and speak because of his now great reputation as a teacher. Jesus could have stood up voluntarily and appropriately because of his interest in his home town. To read [anagnōnai]. Second aorist active infinitive of [anaginōskō], to recognize again the written characters and so to read and then to read aloud. It appears first in Pindar in the sense of read and always so in the N.T. This public reading aloud with occasional comments may explain the parenthesis in Mt 24:15 (Let him that readeth understand).

4:17 Was delivered [epedothē]. First aorist passive indicative of [epididōmi], to give over to, a common verb. At the proper stage of the service “the attendant” or “minister” [hupēretēs], under rower) or “beadle” took out a roll of the law from the ark, unwrapped it, and gave it to some one to read. On sabbath days some seven persons were asked to read small portions of the law. This was the first lesson or Parashah.This was followed by a reading from the prophets and a discourse, the second lesson or Haphtarah.This last is what Jesus did. The book of the prophet Isaiah [biblion tou prophētou Esaiou]. Literally, “a roll of the prophet Isaiah.” Apparently Isaiah was handed to Jesus without his asking for it. But certainly Jesus cared more for the prophets than for the ceremonial law. It was a congenial service that he was asked to perform. Jesus used Deuteronomy in his temptations and now Isaiah for this sermon. The Syriac Sinaitic manuscript has it that Jesus stood up after the attendant handed him the roll. Opened [anoixas]. Really it was unrolled [anaptuxas] as Aleph D have it. But the more general term [anoixas] (from [anoigō], common verb) is probably genuine. [Anaptussō] does not occur in the N.T. outside of this passage if genuine. Found the place [heuren ton topon]. Second aorist active indicative. He continued to unroll (rolling up the other side) till he found the passage desired. It may have been a fixed lesson for the day or it may have been his own choosing. At any rate it was a marvellously appropriate passage (Isa 61:1,2 with one clause omitted and some words from Isa 58:6). It is a free quotation from the Septuagint. Where it was written [hou ēn gegrammenon]. Periphrastic pluperfect passive again as in 4:16.

4:18 Anointed me [echrisen me]. First aorist active indicative of the verb [chriō] from which Christ [Christos] is derived, the Anointed One. Isaiah is picturing the Jubilee year and the release of captives and the return from the Babylonian exile with the hope of the Messiah through it all. Jesus here applies this Messianic language to himself. “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me” as was shown at the baptism (Lu 3:21) where he was also “anointed” for his mission by the Father’s voice (3:22). To the poor [ptōchois]. Jesus singles this out also as one of the items to tell John the Baptist in prison (Lu 7:22). Our word Gospel is a translation of the Greek [Euaggelion], and it is for the poor. He hath sent me [apestalken me]. Change of tense to perfect active indicative. He is now on that mission here. Jesus is God’s Apostle to men (Joh 17:3, Whom thou didst send). Proclaim [kēruxai]. As a herald like Noah (2Pe 2:5). To the captives [aichmalōtois]. Prisoners of war will be released [aichmē], a spear point, and [halōtos], from [haliskomai], to be captured). Captured by the spear point. Common word, but here only in the N.T. Set at liberty [aposteilai]. First aorist active infinitive of [apostellō]. Same verb as [apestalken], above. Brought in here from Isa 58:6. Plummer suggests that Luke inserts it here from memory. But Jesus could easily have turned back the roll and read it so. Them that are bruised [tethrausmenous]. Perfect passive participle of [thrauō], an old verb, but here only in the N.T. It means to break in pieces broken in heart and often in body as well. One loves to think that Jesus felt it to be his mission to mend broken hearts like pieces of broken earthenware, real rescue-mission work. Jesus mends them and sets them free from their limitations.

4:19 The acceptable year of the Lord [eniauton Kuriou dekton]. He does not mean that his ministry is to be only one year in length as Clement of Alexandria and Origen argued. That is to turn figures into fact. The Messianic age has come, Jesus means to say. On the first day of the year of Jubilee the priests with sound of trumpet proclaimed the blessings of that year (Le 25:8-17). This great passage justly pictures Christ’s conception of his mission and message.

4:20 He closed the book [ptuxas to biblion]. Aorist active participle of [ptussō]. Rolled up the roll and gave it back to the attendant who had given it to him and who put it away again in its case. Sat down [ekathisen]. Took his seat there as a sign that he was going to speak instead of going back to his former seat. This was the usual Jewish attitude for public speaking and teaching (Lu 5:3; Mt 5:1; Mr 4:1; Ac 16:13). Were fastened on him [ēsan atenizontes autōi]. Periphrastic imperfect active and so a vivid description. Literally, the eyes of all in the synagogue were gazing fixedly upon him. The verb [atenizō] occurs in Aristotle and the Septuagint. It is from the adjective [atenēs] and that from [teinō], to stretch, and copulative or intensive [a], not [a] privative. The word occurs in the N.T. here and in 22:56, ten times in Acts, and in 2Co 3:7, 13. Paul uses it of the steady eager gaze of the people at Moses when he came down from the mountain when he had been communing with God. There was something in the look of Jesus here that held the people spellbound for the moment, apart from the great reputation with which he came to them. In small measure every effective speaker knows what it is to meet the eager expectations of an audience.

4:21 And he began to say [ērxato de legein]. Aorist ingressive active indicative and present infinitive. He began speaking. The moment of hushed expectancy was passed. These may or may not be the first words uttered here by Jesus. Often the first sentence is the crucial one in winning an audience. Certainly this is an arresting opening sentence. Hath been fulfilled [peplērōtai]. Perfect passive indicative, stands fulfilled. “Today this scripture (Isa 61:1, 2, just read) stands fulfilled in your ears.” It was a most amazing statement and the people of Nazareth were quick to see the Messianic claim involved. Jesus could only mean that the real year of Jubilee had come, that the Messianic prophecy of Isaiah had come true today, and that in him they saw the Messiah of prophecy. There are critics today who deny that Jesus claimed to be the Messiah. To be able to do that, they must reject the Gospel of John and all such passages as this one. And it is no apocalyptic eschatological Messiah whom Jesus here sets forth, but the one who forgives sin and binds up the broken-hearted. The words were too good to be true and to be spoken here at Nazareth by one of their own townsmen!

4:22 Bare him witness [emarturoun]. 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 [martureō] is a very old and common one. It is frequent in Acts, Paul’s Epistles, and the Johannine books. The substantive [martur] is seen in our English [martyr], one who witnesses even by his death to his faith in Christ. And wondered [kai ethaumazon]. 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 [epi tois logois tēs charitos]. See on Lu 1:30; 2:52 for this wonderful word [charis] 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, [ekporeuomenois] 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? [Ouchi huios estin Iōsēph houtos;]. Witness and wonder gave way to bewilderment as they began to explain to themselves the situation. The use of [ouchi] intensive form of [ouk] 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 1:28-38; 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.

4:23 Doubtless [pantōs]. Adverb. Literally, at any rate, certainly, assuredly. Cf. Ac 21:22; 28:4. This parable [tēn parabolēn tautēn]. See discussion on Mt 13. Here the word has a special application to a crisp proverb which involves a comparison. The word physician is the point of comparison. Luke the physician alone gives this saying of Jesus. The proverb means that the physician was expected to take his own medicine and to heal himself. The word [parabolē] in the N.T. is confined to the Synoptic Gospels except Heb 9:9; 11:19. This use for a proverb occurs also in Lu 5:36; 6:39. This proverb in various forms appears not only among the Jews, but in Euripides and Aeschylus among the Greeks, and in Cicero’s Letters.Hobart quotes the same idea from Galen, and the Chinese used to demand it of their physicians. The point of the parable seems to be that the people were expecting him to make good his claim to the Messiahship by doing here in Nazareth what they had heard of his doing in Capernaum and elsewhere. “Establish your claims by direct evidence” (Easton). This same appeal (Vincent) was addressed to Christ on the Cross (Mt 27:40,42). There is a tone of sarcasm towards Jesus in both cases. Heard done [ēkousamen genomena]. The use of this second aorist middle participle [genomena] after [ēkousamen] is a neat Greek idiom. It is punctiliar action in indirect discourse after this verb of sensation or emotion (Robertson, Grammar, pp. 1040-42, 1122-24). Do also here [poiēson kai hōde]. Ingressive aorist active imperative. Do it here in thy own country and town and do it now. Jesus applies the proverb to himself as an interpretation of their real attitude towards himself.

4:24 And he said [eipen de]. Also in 1:13. The interjection of these words here by Luke may indicate a break in his address, though there is no other indication of an interval here. Perhaps they only serve to introduce solemnly the new proverb like the words Verily I say unto you [amēn legō humin]. This proverb about the prophet having no honour in his own country Jesus had already applied to himself according to Joh 4:44. Both Mr 6:4 and Mt 13:57 give it in a slightly altered form on the last visit of Jesus to Nazareth. The devil had tempted Jesus to make a display of his power to the people by letting them see him floating down from the pinnacle of the temple (Lu 4:9-11).

4:25 Three years and six months [etē tria kai mēnas hex]. Accusative of duration of time without [epi] (doubtful). The same period is given in Jas 5:17, the popular Jewish way of speaking. In 1Ki 18:1 the rain is said to have come in the third year. But the famine probably lasted still longer.

4:26 Unto Zarephath [eis Sarepta]. The modern village Surafend on the coast road between Tyre and Sidon. Unto a woman that was a widow [pros gunaika chēran]. Literally, unto a woman a widow (like our vernacular widow woman). This is an illustration of the proverb from the life of Elijah (1Ki 17:8,9). This woman was in the land of Sidon or Phoenicia, a heathen, where Jesus himself will go later.

4:27 In the time of Elisha the prophet [epi Elisaiou tou prophētou]. This use of [epi] with the genitive for “in the time of” is a good Greek idiom. The second illustration of the proverb is from the time of Elisha and is another heathen, Naaman the Syrian [Naiman ho Syros]. He was the lone leper that was cleansed by Elisha (2Ki 5:1,14).

4:28 They were all filled with wrath [eplēsthēsan pantes thumou]. First aorist passive indicative of the common verb [pimplēmi] followed by the genitive case. The people of Nazareth at once caught on and saw the point of these two Old Testament illustrations of how God in two cases blessed the heathen instead of the Jewish people. The implication was evident. Nazareth was no better than Capernaum if as good. He was under no special obligation to do unusual things in Nazareth because he had been reared there. Town pride was insulted and it at once exploded in a burst of rage.

4:29 They rose up and cast him forth [anastantes exebalon]. Second aorist ingressive active participle and second aorist effective active indicative. A movement towards lynching Jesus. Unto the brow of the hill [hēos ophruos tou orous]. Eyebrow [ophrus], in Homer, then any jutting prominence. Only here in the N.T. Hippocrates speaks of the eyebrow hanging over. Was built [ōikodomēto]. Past perfect indicative, stood built. That they might throw him down headlong [hōste katakrēmnisai auton]. Neat Greek idiom with [hōste] for intended result, “so as to cast him down the precipice.” The infinitive alone can convey the same meaning (Mt 2:2; 20:28; Lu 2:23). [Krēmnos] is an overhanging bank or precipice from [kremannumi], to hang. [Kata] is down. The verb occurs in Xenophon, Demosthenes, LXX, Josephus. Here only in the N.T. At the southwest corner of the town of Nazareth such a cliff today exists overhanging the Maronite convent. Murder was in the hearts of the people. By pushing him over they hoped to escape technical guilt.

4:30 He went his way [eporeueto]. Imperfect tense, he was going on his way.

4:31 Came down [katēlthen]. Mr 1:21 has the historical present, they go into [eisporeuontai]. Capernaum (Tell Hum) is now the headquarters of the Galilean ministry, since Nazareth has rejected Jesus. Lu 4:31-37 is parallel with Mr 1:21-28 which he manifestly uses. It is the first of Christ’s miracles which they give. Was teaching them [ēn didaskōn autous]. Periphrastic imperfect. Mark has [edidasken] first and then [en didaskōn]. ”Them” here means the people present in the synagogue on the sabbath, construction according to sense as in Mr 1:22.

4:32 Rest of the sentence as in Mark, which see, except that Luke omits “and not as their scribes” and uses [hoti ēn] instead of [hōs echōn].

4:33 Which had [echōn]. Mark has [en]. A spirit of an unclean demon [pneuma daimoniou akathartou]. Mark has “unclean spirit.” Luke’s phrase here is unique in this combination. Plummer notes that Matthew has [daimonion] ten times and [akatharton] twice as an epithet of [pneuma]; Mark has [daimonion] thirteen times and [akatharton] eleven times as an epithet of [pneuma]. Luke’s Gospel uses [daimonion] twenty-two times and [akatharton] as an epithet, once of [daimonion] as here and once of [pneuma]. In Mark the man is in [en] the power of the unclean spirit, while here the man “has” a spirit of an unclean demon. With a loud voice [phōnēi megalēi]. Not in Mark. Really a scream caused by the sudden contact of the demon with Jesus.

4:34 Ah! [Ea]. An interjection frequent in the Attic poets, but rare in prose. Apparently second person singular imperative of [eaō], to permit. It is expressive of wonder, fear, indignation. Here it amounts to a diabolical screech. For the rest of the verse see discussion on Mr 1:24 and Mt 8:29. The muzzle [phimos] occurs literally in 1Co 9:9, 1Ti 5:18, and metaphorically here and Mr 1:25; 4:39; Mt 22:12.

4:35 Had thrown him down in the midst [rhipsan auton eis to meson]. First aorist (effective) participle of [rhiptō], an old verb with violent meaning, to fling, throw, hurl off or down. Having done him no hurt [mēden blapsan auton]. Luke as a physician carefully notes this important detail not in Mark. [Blaptō], to injure, or hurt, occurs in the N.T. only here and in Mr 16:18, though a very common verb in the old Greek.

4:36 Amazement came [egeneto thambos]. Mark has [ethambēthēsan]. They spake together one with another [sunelaloun pros allēlous]. Imperfect indicative active and the reciprocal pronoun. Mark has simply the infinitive [sunzētein] (question). For [hoti]. We have here an ambiguous [hoti] as in 1:45, which can be either the relative “that” or the casual [hoti] “because” or “for,” as the Revised Version has it. Either makes good sense. Luke adds here [dunamei] (with power) to Mark’s “authority” [exousian]. And they come out [exerchontai]. So Luke where Mark has “and they obey him” [kai upakouousin autōi].

4:37 Went forth a rumour [exeporeueto ēchos]. Imperfect middle, kept on going forth. Our very word [echo] in this word. Late Greek form for [ēchō] in the old Greek. Used for the roar of the waves on the shore. So in Lu 21:25. Vivid picture of the resounding influence of this day’s work in the synagogue, in Capernaum.

4:38 He rose up [anastas]. Second aorist active participle of [anistēmi], a common verb. B. Weiss adds here “from the teacher’s seat.” Either from his seat or merely leaving the synagogue. This incident of the healing of Peter’s mother-in-law is given in Mr 1:29-34 and Mt 8:14-17, which see for details. Into the house of Simon [eis tēn oikian Simōnos]. “Peter’s house” (Mt 8:14). “The house of Simon and Andrew” (Mr 1:29). Paul’s reference to Peter’s wife (1Co 9:5) is pertinent. They lived together in Capernaum. This house came also to be the Capernaum home of Jesus. Simon’s wife’s mother [penthera tou Simōnos]. The word [penthera] for mother-in-law is old and well established in usage. Besides the parallel passages (Mr 1:30; Mt 8:14; Lu 4:38) it occurs in the N.T. only in Lu 12:53. The corresponding word [pentheros], father-in-law, occurs in Joh 18:13 alone in the N.T. Was holden with a great fever [ēn sunechomenē puretōi megalōi]. Periphrastic imperfect passive, the analytical tense accenting the continuous fever, perhaps chronic and certainly severe. Luke employs this verb nine times and only three others in the N.T. (Mt 4:24 passive with diseases here; 2Co 5:14 active; Php 1:23 passive). In Ac 28:8 the passive “with dysentery” is like the construction here and is a common one in Greek medical writers as in Greek literature generally. Luke uses the passive with “fear,” Lu 8:37, the active for holding the hands over the ears (Ac 7:57) and for pressing one or holding together (Lu 8:45; 19:43; 22:63), the direct middle for holding oneself to preaching (Ac 18:5). It is followed here by the instrumental case. Hobart (Medical Language of Luke, p. 3) quotes Galen as dividing fevers into “great” [megaloi] and “small” [smikroi].

4:39 He stood over her [epistas epanō autēs]. Second aorist active participle. Only in Luke. Surely we are not to take Luke to mean that Jesus here took the exorcist’s position and was rebuking a malignant personality. The attitude of Jesus is precisely that of any kindly sympathetic physician. Mr 1:31; Mt 8:15 mention the touch of her hand rather than the tender look over her head. Rebuked [epetimēsen]. Only in Luke. Jesus bade the fever leave her as he spoke to the wind and the waves and Luke uses this same verb (8:24). Rose up and ministered [anastāsa diēkonei]. Second aorist active participle as in verse 38, but inchoative imperfect tense [diēkonei], from [diakoneō] (note augment of compound verb). She rose up immediately, though a long high fever usually leaves one very weak. The cure was instantaneous and complete. She began to minister at once and kept it up.

4:40 When the sun was setting [dunontos tou hēliou]. Genitive absolute and present participle [dunō], late form of [duō] picturing the sunset scene. Even Mr 1:32 has here the aorist indicative [edusen] (punctiliar active). It was not only cooler, but it was the end of the sabbath when it was not regarded as work (Vincent) to carry a sick person (Joh 5:10). And also by now the news of the cure of the demoniac of Peter’s mother-in-law had spread all over the town. Had [eichon]. Imperfect tense including all the chronic cases. With divers diseases [nosois poikilais]. Instrumental case. For “divers” say “many coloured” or “variegated.” See on Mt 4:24; Mr 1:34. Brought [ēgagon]. Constative summary second aorist active indicative like Mt 8:16, [prosenegkan], where Mr 1:32 has the imperfect [epheron], brought one after another. He laid his hands on every one of them and healed them [ho de heni hekastōi autōn tas cheiras epititheis etherapeuen autous]. Note the present active participle [epititheis] and the imperfect active [etherapeuen], picturing the healing one by one with the tender touch upon each one. Luke alone gives this graphic detail which was more than a mere ceremonial laying on of hands. Clearly the cures of Jesus reached the physical, mental, and spiritual planes of human nature. He is Lord of life and acted here as Master of each case as it came.

4:41 Came out [exērcheto], singular, or [exērchonto], plural). Imperfect tense, repetition, from one after another. Thou art the Son of God [Su ei ho huios tou theou]. More definite statement of the deity of Jesus than the witness of the demoniac in the synagogue (Lu 4:34; Mr 1:24), like the words of the Father (Lu 3:22) and more so than the condition of the devil (Lu 4:3, 9). In the Canterbury Revision “devils” should always be “demons” [daimonia] as here. Suffered them not to speak [ouk eia auta lalein]. Imperfect third singular active of [eaō], very old and common verb with syllabic augment [ei]. The tense accents the continued refusal of Jesus to receive testimony to his person and work from demons. Cf. Mt 8:4 to the lepers. Because they knew [hoti ēideisan]. Causal, not declarative, [hoti]. Past perfect of the second perfect [oida]. That he was the Christ [ton Christon auton einai]. Infinitive in indirect assertion with the accusative of general reference. [Ton Christon] = the Anointed, the Messiah.

4:42 When it was day [genomenēs hēmeras]. Genitive absolute with aorist middle participle. Mr 1:35 notes it was “a great while before day” (which see for discussion) when Jesus rose up to go after a restless night. No doubt, because of the excitement of the previous sabbath in Capernaum. He went out to pray (Mr 1:35). Sought after him [epezētoun auton]. Imperfect active indicative. The multitudes kept at it until “they came unto him” [ēlthon heōs autou], aorist active indicative). They accomplished their purpose, [heōs autou], right up to him. Would have stayed him [kateichon auton]. Better, They tried to hinder him. The conative imperfect active of [katechō], an old and common verb. It means either to hold fast (Lu 8:15), to take, get possession of (Lu 14:9) or to hold back, to retain, to restrain (Phm 1:13; Ro 1:18; 7:6; 2Th 2:6; Lu 4:42). In this passage it is followed by the ablative case. That he should not go from them [tou mē poreuesthai ap’ autōn]. Literally, “from going away from them.” The use of [mē] (not) after [kateichon] is the neat Greek idiom of the redundant negative after a verb of hindering like the French ne (Robertson, Grammar, p. 1171) .

4:43 I must [me dei]. Jesus felt the urge to go with the work of evangelism “to the other cities also,” to all, not to a favoured few. For therefore was I sent [hoti epi touto apestalēn]. “A phrase of Johannine ring” (Ragg). Second aorist passive indicative of [apostellō]. Christ is the great Apostle of God to men.

4:44 Was preaching [ēn kērussōn]. Periphrastic imperfect active, describing his first tour of Galilee in accord with the purpose just stated. One must fill in details, though Mr 1:39 and Mt 8:23-25 tell of the mass of work done on this campaign.