Bible Study Notes on Luke 4:23-44 – 20180523

Bible Study Notes

Luke 4:24  “…no prophet is accepted in his own country”
Jesus recognizes their refusal to accept Him due to their familiarity.  They insist He prove Himself to them by miracles like they have heard He’s done elsewhere.  Basically, You claim to be the Messiah and to have done miracles elsewhere, prove it by doing them here.  Other places brought their sick to Him based on what they heard He did elsewhere.  But His own people wouldn’t believe.

25  “…many widows were in Israel in the days of Elijah…”
Elijah was sent to a widow in Zarephath, a city between Tyre and Sidon, a Gentile city.  Elisha healed Naaman the Syrian.  God had used both to assist Gentiles instead of Israelites due to the unbelief and unrepentant behavior His people.  Commentaries suggest a possible foreshadowing of Jesus’s contact with the Phoenician woman later.

28  “…were filled with wrath”
Didn’t sit well with the listeners.  Didn’t like being confronted with their sin like the ancient Israelites.  Jesus would make the same argument time and again with them.  Their ancestors wouldn’t listen to and killed the prophets God sent to them.  They would do the same with Jesus.

29  “…that they might throw Him down over the cliff”
Mob mentality had taken over.  They attempted to kill Him.

30  “…passing through the midst of them, He went His way”
Not His time.  He was able to simply walk away from them.  Some commentaries suggest a supernatural aspect, others refrain from doing so.  We’re not given any more information to make a specific determination as to how He was able to calmly walk away.  Most suggestions which discount any supernatural method require other aspects which Luke doesn’t record.  With the absence of those in the text, it seems the most likely idea that He used a bit of His power to walk away from them.

32  “…they were astonished at His teaching…”
He spoke with authority, but they also weren’t hindered by familiarity.  They could hear the teaching without thinking about knowing Him.  So odd to consider how familiarity breeds unbelief.  Must be based on the heart of the listener.  I assumed it was based on what was known of the speaker, the recognition that they were no different than the hearer.  But Jesus had no sin nature, so His behavior had always been above reproach.  Those whose hearts were open to the truth could look beyond familiarity and recognize He was different.  Others could not.

38  “…entered Simon’s house…”
Simon Peter.  Evidence that Peter was from Capernaum.

38  “…Simon’s wife’s mother was sick…”
Wonder how many of the disciples were married.

39  “…immediately she arose and served them”
Reminds me of my Grandmother.  She would have been distressed if she couldn’t serve others, especially around mealtime.  Even when she was older and couldn’t prepare for the family, she would still ask if we had everything we needed.  Jesus healed her physical issue and restored her sense of self.  Complete package.

40  “When the sun was setting, all those who had any that were sick with various diseases brought them to Him…”
He had been in the synagogue, then in Simon’s house, so it was the Sabbath.  People waited until after sundown so the Sabbath would be over before bringing the others to be healed.

41  “…demons also came out of many…”
Why such a proliferation of demons during that time.  Why not now.  Could be the arrival of the Spirit after His resurrection.  Certainly demons could posses those who don’t belong to Christ, and do, but maybe it’s the fact there are many who do have the Holy Spirit so the demons refrain from actual possession.  They still certainly influence a lot.

41  “…He, rebuking them, did not allow them to speak…”
From the text, we see the reason He didn’t allow them to speak was because they knew He was the Christ.  Would seem obvious He didn’t want more attention on that fact rather than His teaching.  Some commentaries suggest He also didn’t want anyone to assume He had some alliance with the demons because they knew Him.  The Pharisees would accuse Him of such later.  But the demons always told who He was, not just that they knew Him.  If you’re going to accept the demons’ claim of knowledge of Him, why not accept who they say He is.

42  “…when it was day…”
Daylight of the first day of the week.

44  “…He was preaching in the synagogues of Galilee”
Initial focus and method was teaching in the synagogues.  Would later try other methods to spread His message.



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