the Prophets, a sermon, and a prayer to close.110
Jesus, the son of law-abiding parents (2:22–23, 39, 41), has the habit of going to the synagogue on the Sabbath (4:16). As he is about to read Scripture, the narrative time is slowed down considerably. The chiastic structure of the ensuing verses describing Jesus’ actions moves the reader toward the quotation from Isaiah, and then all the way back until Jesus sits down (4:16–20):
Jesus stood up to read (16c)
The scroll was given to him (17a)
He unrolled the scroll (17b)
He read from Isaiah (18–19)
He rolled up the scroll (20a)
He gave the scroll back to the attendant (20b)
He sat down (20c)
The quotation from Isaiah, handpicked by Jesus to read, sits at the focal point of the chiasm (4:18–19). Segments of Isa 61:1–2 and 58:6 may be found in the composite quotation in 4:18–19. Aside from the glaring omission of the phrase, “the day of vengeance of our God” (Isa 61:2b), Jesus’ reading captures the positive manifestations of “the year of the lord’s favor.” It is not that God’s final judgment is taken lightly, but the emphasis here is on the good news for “the poor” who are willing to receive it. In Luke “the poor” are not limited to those who are economically poor, such as peasants, slaves, beggars, and day laborers. Others viewed by their contemporaries as having low status are also considered to be “poor”—children, barren women, widows, gentiles, tax collectors, sinners, the demon possessed, and those with physical deformities and diseases. Some are relegated to a low status because of their age, gender, ethnicity, and socio-economic status; others due to moral and ritual impurity. In verse 19 the captives, the blind, and the oppressed constitute “the poor” to whom Jesus brings the good news of the kingdom of God.
The news is good because “the poor” will experience a reversal of conditions: the captives will be released, the blind will see, the oppressed will go free (4:18). This list is illustrative, not exhaustive. Jesus’ reading of Isaiah puts the spotlight on the theme of reversal already introduced in Mary’s song (1:51–53). This note will be repeatedly sounded as the narrative proceeds (6:20–26; 7:21–22; 16:19–31). Behind the quotations from Isaiah lies the OT concept of Jubilee. Every fifty years, Israel was to “proclaim liberty throughout the land to all its inhabitants” (Lev 25:10–17). In the year of Jubilee, the Jews were to leave the land fallow, set their slaves free, and forgive all debts. Although the Israelites never properly observed the year of the Jubilee, this image is evoked in later Jewish writings to describe the ideal conditions at the time of God’s final salvation.111
But Jesus is more than a social reformer; his ability to reverse a person’s situation goes far beyond writing off a debt or manumitting a slave. In conjunction with release and reversal on the physical and socio-economic level, Jesus effects spiritual renewal that reconciles the penitent to God through the forgiveness of sins (cf. 5:17–26; 7:36–50). Those who claim high social status by human standards can still find themselves in spiritual poverty, rendering them in dire need of salvation like everyone else (cf. 3:7–9).
Where does Jesus see himself in this depiction of the eschatological Jubilee? In Isa 61:1, the one anointed by the Spirit is God’s prophet and servant. Reading the passage alone does not necessarily draw an immediate link between this figure in Isaiah, his message, and Jesus. But when Jesus sits down, assuming the posture of a teacher, he declares, “Today (sēmeron) this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing” (4:20–21). He claims that the future hope of the Jews is now present reality. The identification of Jesus with the Isaianic prophet may not be immediately apparent to those sitting in the synagogue at Nazareth, but the same Spirit who descended upon Jesus at his baptism (3:22) and led him through the tests in the wilderness (4:1, 14) now anoints Jesus as God’s end-time prophet that inaugurates God’s eschatological Jubilee here and now. The Greek word, sēmeron (“today”) is more than a reference to that particular day in Nazareth (4:21). It is a catchword in Luke to denote the immediacy of God’s salvation (2:11; 5:26; 19:9; 23:43). Jesus is making a bold claim that the salvation hoped for by generations of Israelites has arrived and he is the Spirit-anointed agent through whom all forms of oppression will be lifted.
At first “all spoke well of him” (4:22a), but by the end of the pericope, “all were filled with rage” (4:28). What causes the crowd’s response to swing from one side of the pendulum to the other? Initially, the villagers are impressed and receive Jesus’ words as words of grace. They hear the message as spoken for them, that they are the beneficiaries of God’s redemption. Without the tone, it is difficult to determine the attitude behind the ensuing question, “Isn’t this Joseph’s son?” (4:22b; cf. 3:23). Does this question ride on the momentum of the people’s amazement or is it a sign of doubt? On the one hand, Jesus enjoyed divine and human favor while growing up (2:52), so his reputation must have been quite good. It is possible to interpret the question as a sense of hometown pride: “Isn’t this Joseph’s son? Look how well he has turned out!” On the other hand, the question may betray a tinge of contempt. According to Mark, not only do they claim to know Jesus’ father, but also his mother and siblings, “and they took offense at him” (Mark 6:2–3). Are they mumbling to themselves, “Who does he think he is? How dare he make such a claim?” Some ambiguity remains as to when the shift in the public sentiment toward Jesus begins. Regardless of whether Jesus’ familial background is used as a basis for parochial pride or a reason for skepticism, what he says next is bound to ignite a negative reaction from those who have yet to embrace his mission.
Having read their minds, Jesus reveals what the villagers were thinking, “Doctor, cure yourself! . . . Do here also in your hometown the things we have heard you did in Capernaum” (4:23). One might read the idiom as a challenge to walk one’s talk: “If you are telling us what to do then you should do so yourself.” A different take on the proverb reflects a provincial mindset: “If you have any benefit to offer, start with your own kinsfolk.” The latter sense fits the current context better, given the reference to the deeds that Jesus has already performed in nearby Capernaum. Coupled with their view that Jesus is merely Joseph’s son, they may be seeking a sign, at least implicitly, to validate his prophetic utterance.
Only at this point does Jesus identify himself with the Isaianic figure: “No prophet is accepted in the prophet’s hometown” (4:24; cf. Mark 6:4; Matt 13:57). Because Israel had a track record of rejecting God’s prophets, Jesus is comparing his contemporaries with their forebears and indicting them for their hardness of heart. In the rest of the narrative, Luke will continue to present Jesus as a rejected prophet whose message of salvation will fall on deaf ears again and again (11:47–50; 13:33–34; 20:9–19).
Specifically, Jesus alludes to Elijah and Elisha to illustrate that God’s mercy is broad enough to embrace outsiders (4:25–27). At the time of King Ahab and his wife Jezebel, severe drought struck the land when God punished Israel for its idolatry and wickedness. Elijah was sent to Zarephath to the home of a Sidonian widow and her son. Through God’s miraculous provision, Elijah, the woman, and her son survived because their meal and oil never ran out. When the widow’s son died, Elijah prayed and brought him back to life (1 Kgs 17:8–24). Elisha ordered Naaman the commander of the King of Aram to wash seven times in the Jordan to cleanse his flesh from leprosy (2 Kgs 5:1–14). Common to Elijah’s and Elisha’s stories was their mission to those despised by reason of their gender (woman), marital status (widowed), gentile origin (Sidonian and Syrian), and physical deformity (leper). It was not as though Elijah and Elisha did not help their fellow Israelites, but Jesus emphasizes that even with the needy among Israel, God chose to send his prophets to those of even lower status—a gentile widow and a gentile leper. Indeed, God’s grace
