Luke 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 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 (Isaiah 61:1). There is no sufficient ground for supposing that our Lord fixed upon the portion for the day. The language used rather implies the contrary-that it was a portion selected by Himself for the occasion....

17._He found the passage _There is no doubt that Christ deliberately selected this passage. Some think that it was presented to him by God; (322) but, as a liberty of choice was allowed him, I choose to say that, by his own judgment, he took this passage in preference to others. Isaiah there predicts that, after the Babylonish captivity, there will still be witnesses of the grace of God, who shall gather the people from destruction, and from the darkness of death, and restore, by a spiritual power, the Church, which has been overwhelmed by so many calamities. But as that redemption was to be proclaimed in the name and authority of Christ alone, he uses the singular number, and speaks in the name of Christ, that he may more powerfully awaken the minds of the godly to strong confidence. It is certain, that what is here related belongs properly to Christ alone, for two reasons: _first, _bec...

14-30 Christ taught in their synagogues, their places of public worship, where they met to read, expound, and apply the word, to pray and praise. All the gifts and graces of the Spirit were upon him and on him, without measure. By Christ, sinners may be loosed from the bonds of guilt, and by his Spirit and grace from the bondage of corruption. He came by the word of his gospel, to bring light to those that sat in the dark, and by the power of his grace, to give sight to those that were blind. And he preached the acceptable year of the Lord. Let sinners attend to the Saviour's invitation when liberty is thus proclaimed. Christ's name was Wonderful; in nothing was he more so than in the word of his grace, and the power that went along with it. We may well wonder that he should speak such words of grace to such graceless wretches as mankind. Some prejudice often furnishes an objection agai...

Verse Luke 4:17. _AND WHEN HE HAD OPENED THE BOOK_] αναπτυζας, _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_, beginning at each end; so that, in reading from right to left, they roll _off_ with the left, while they roll _on_ with the right. Probably the place in the Prophet Isaiah, here referred to, was the lesson for that day; and Jesus _unrolled_ the manuscript till he came to the place: then, after having read, he rolled it up again, and returned it to the officer, Luke 4:20, the ruler of the synagogue, or his servant, whose business it was to take care of it. The place that he opened was probably the sectio...

THERE WAS DELIVERED UNTO HIM - By the minister of the synagogue, or the keeper of the sacred books. They were kept in an “ark” or chest, not far from the pulpit, and the minister gave them to whomsoever he chose, to read them publicly. THE BOOK - The volume contained the prophecy of Isaiah. It would seem, from this, that the books were kept separate, and not united into one as with us. WHEN HE HAD OPENED THE BOOK - Literally, when he had “unrolled” the book. Books, among the ancients, were written on parchments or vellum that is, skins of beasts, and were “rolled” together on two rollers, beginning at each end, so that while reading they rolled off from one to the other. Different forms of books were indeed used, but this was the most common. When used the reader unrolled the manuscript as far as the place which he wished to find, and kept before him just so m

EXPOSITION LUKE 4:1 THE TEMPTATION. The consecration of our Lord in his baptism was immediately followed by what is known as his temptation. It is, perhaps, the most mysterious and least understood of any of the scenes of the public ministry related by the evangelists. It is related at some length by SS. Matthew and Luke, with very slight difference of detail, the principal one being the order in which the three great temptations occurred. In St. Mark the notice of this strange episode in the life is very short, but harmonizes perfectly with the longer accounts of SS. Matthew and Luke. St John omits it altogether; first, because, with the earlier written Gospels before him, he was aware that the Church of his Master already possessed ample details of the occurrence; and secondly, the

AND THERE WAS DELIVERED UNTO HIM,.... By the "Chazan", or minister, to whom he gave it again, Luke 4:20, for the "Chazan" of the synagogue, was, שמש, "the minister" r; one part of whose business was, to deliver the book of the law to, and take it from him that read: when an high priest read, the method taken was this s; "the "Chazan", or minister of the synagogue, took the book of the law, and gave it to the ruler of the synagogue, and the ruler of the synagogue gave it to the "Sagan", and the "Sagan" gave it to the high priest, and the high priest stood and received, and read standing.'' The same method was observed, when a king read in the book of the law t; but when a common priest, or an inferior person read, so much ceremony was not used, as to hand the book from one to another: the manner in their synagogues and schools, was this u; "the "Chazan" brought

Luke 4:14. _And Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit into Galilee:_ Ah, dear brethren, if our Lord Jesus needed «the power of the Spirit», how much more do you and I need it! We have no power of our own, but he was the Son of God. He was a divine Teacher, and yet, when he went to his work, it was «in the power of the Spirit.» Tarry, brother, till you have that power; it is of no use for you to go without it. Luke 4:14. _And there went out a fame of him through all the region round about. And he taught in their synagogues, being glorified of all._ There was a wondrous power about his teaching: «Never man spake like this man.» Perhaps his hearers did not understand what the power was; but they glorified the new Teacher who had come into their midst....

LUKE 4:17 avnaptu,xaj {B} Since the synagogal copies of Old Testament books were in scroll form, the use of the verb “to unroll” is highly appropriate. Although copyists may have introduced avnaptu,xaj as a pedantic correlative to ptu,xaj in ver. Luke 4:20, it is more probable that, being accustomed to books in codex (or leaf) form, they introduced the frequently used verb avnoi,gein, “to open,” as an explanatory substitution for avnaptu,ssein (which occurs only here in the New Testament)....

III. THE MINISTRY IN GALILEE -- CHAPTER 4:14-9:50 CHAPTER 4:14-44 _ 1. In the Synagogue of Nazareth (Luke 4:14)_ 2. Unbelief and Rejection of Christ. (Luke 4:22) 3. A Demon Cast Out in Capernaum (Luke 4:33) 4. Peter's Wife's Mother Healed; Many Healed. (Luke 4:38 .) Luke 4:14 And now the description of the ministry of the Son of Man begins. The beginning is in His own city. How all written here is again in a very human manner. He had been brought up in that city and as His custom was “He went into the synagogue,” and as He had