16 And he came to Nazareth, where he hath been brought up, and he went in, according to his custom, on the sabbath-day, to the synagogue, and stood up to read; 17 and there was given over to him a roll of Isaiah the prophet, and having unfolded the roll, he found the place where it hath been written: 18 'The Spirit of the Lord 'is' upon me, Because He did anoint me; To proclaim good news to the poor, Sent me to heal the broken of heart, To proclaim to captives deliverance, And to blind receiving of sight, To send away the bruised with deliverance, 19 To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord.' 20 And having folded the roll, having given 'it' back to the officer, he sat down, and the eyes of all in the synagogue were gazing on him. 21 And he began to say unto them—'To-day hath this writing been fulfilled in your ears;' 22 and all were bearing testimony to him, and were wondering at the gracious words that are coming forth out of his mouth, and they said, 'Is not this the son of Joseph?' 23 And he said unto them, 'Certainly ye will say to me this simile, Physician, heal thyself; as great things as we heard done in Capernaum, do also here in thy country;' 24 and he said, 'Verily I say to you—No prophet is accepted in his own country; 25 and of a truth I say to you, Many widows were in the days of Elijah, in Israel, when the heaven was shut for three years and six months, when great famine came on all the land, 26 and unto none of them was Elijah sent, but—to Sarepta of Sidon, unto a woman, a widow; 27 and many lepers were in the time of Elisha the prophet, in Israel, and none of them was cleansed, but—Naaman the Syrian.' 28 And all in the synagogue were filled with wrath, hearing these things, 29 and having risen, they put him forth without the city, and brought him unto the brow of the hill on which their city had been built—to cast him down headlong, 30 and he, having gone through the midst of them, went away.
31 And he came down to Capernaum, a city of Galilee, and was teaching them on the sabbaths,
Matthew Henry's Commentary on Luke 4:16-31
Commentary on Luke 4:14-30
(Read Luke 4:14-30)
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 against the humbling doctrine of the cross; and while it is the word of God that stirs up men's enmity, they will blame the conduct or manner of the speaker. The doctrine of God's sovereignty, his right to do his will, provokes proud men. They will not seek his favour in his own way; and are angry when others have the favours they neglect. Still is Jesus rejected by multitudes who hear the same message from his words. While they crucify him afresh by their sins, may we honour him as the Son of God, the Saviour of men, and seek to show we do so by our obedience.
Commentary on Luke 4:31-44
(Read Luke 4:31-44)
Christ's preaching much affected the people; and a working power went with it to the consciences of men. These miracles showed Christ to be a controller and conqueror of Satan, a healer of diseases. Where Christ gives a new life, in recovery from sickness, it should be a new life, spent more than ever in his service, to his glory. Our business should be to spread abroad Christ's fame in every place, to beseech him in behalf of those diseased in body or mind, and to use our influence in bringing sinners to him, that his hands may be laid upon them for their healing. He cast the devils out of many who were possessed. We were not sent into this world to live to ourselves only, but to glorify God, and to do good in our generation. The people sought him, and came unto him. A desert is no desert, if we are with Christ there. He will continue with us, by his word and Spirit, and extend the same blessings to other nations, till, throughout the earth, the servants and worshippers of Satan are brought to acknowledge him as the Christ, the Son of God, and to find redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins.