Luke 4:20, commentary and pictures

On the Sabbath in the Nazareth synagogue Jesus stood to read from the roll of Isaiah, then closed the scroll, gave it back to the attendant and sat down while every eye was fastened on Him in intent, expectant watching. What He had read was the Messiah's promise of Spirit-anointed good news, healing, deliverance and favor, and in closing the book He declared it fulfilled that day in their hearing as the Anointed One Himself. He thereby revealed His work as relieving the oppressed, liberating captives from evil, healing the afflicted, restoring sight to the blind and bringing the light of truth and salvation to body and soul. His manner and words at first thrilled the hearers with divine power and joy, but familiarity with His humble life and desire for deliverance from Rome turned them to unbelief, so they thrust Him out to the brow of the hill to destroy Him until angels guarded Him and He passed through their midst unharmed. That same announcement stands as the pattern for all who follow Him to preach to the poor, bind up the brokenhearted and proclaim liberty, and the fixed gaze of Nazareth warns against first welcoming gracious light and then hardening the heart in prejudice and pride to reject it.

Synagogue Setting and Actions

On the Sabbath in the synagogue at Nazareth, during the service, Jesus stood up to read from the roll of Isaiah. After reading He closed the book or scroll, gave it back to the attendant or minister, and sat down. The closing and returning of the roll and the sitting down came after the reading and before the declaration that followed.

The eyes of all who were in the synagogue were fastened on Him as they watched Him intently with curious expectation. Their fixed attention set the scene for His words and for the response that followed. He stood before them as a living expositor and interpreter of the prophecies concerning Himself.

Prophecy Read and Fulfilled

The portion read was Isaiah's prophecy understood as referring to the Messiah, promising good news and healing and deliverance together with the favor of the Lord. It presented the Scriptures concerning His own mission, which He fulfilled by preaching good news to the poor and by healing and freeing those in need.

What was proclaimed was the Spirit-anointed preaching of the gospel to the poor, the healing of the brokenhearted, deliverance to the captives, recovering of sight to the blind, liberty to the bruised, and the acceptable year of the Lord. The reading announced the Spirit of the Lord anointing Him to preach the gospel to the poor, heal the brokenhearted, preach deliverance to the captives, give sight to the blind, set at liberty the bruised, and preach the acceptable year of the Lord.

Closing the roll or book and returning it to the attendant and sitting down while all eyes were fastened on Him led directly into the declaration that the Scripture just read was fulfilled that day in their hearing. In that moment He stood before them as a living expositor of the prophecies concerning Himself and presented Himself as the Anointed One and Messiah whose work is to bring good news to the poor, free captives, heal the afflicted, restore sight, and reveal the light of truth. Their fixed attention followed the reading of the prophecy about His mission as the Anointed One, and His authority and manner held them spellbound so that at first they responded with wonder and joy at His gracious words.

Messiah's Work Revealed

Closing the roll and sitting down before the fixed gaze of the synagogue set the moment for explaining the Messiah as the reliever of the oppressed, the liberator of captives from evil, the healer of the afflicted, the restorer of sight to the blind, and the revealer of the light of truth to the world. That explanation presented Himself as the Anointed One in whom Isaiah's prophecy of Spirit-anointed preaching to the poor, healing the brokenhearted, deliverance to captives, sight to the blind, liberty to the bruised, and the Lord's favor was fulfilled that day. His exposition confronted the hearers with their own bondage, darkness, and need for truth and close examination of their deeds.

He was sent to comfort, bless, and save the sorrowing and sinful by preaching good news to the poor and by healing and freeing those in need. In that mission He is Saviour of the body as well as of the soul. He came not only to console people, but also to restore and reprove them. He came to represent the Father and to restore and uplift humanity with peace and happiness, standing in the world as the tree of life. He revealed divine power by giving life to the dead and by restoring the sick and suffering to soundness and health, and His work stands opposite to Satan's work to condemn and destroy, to take away liberty and to destroy life.

His work was confined to a small circumference in Palestine and was not extended to the surrounding heathen nations. The heathen were not prepared for His work, and turning to them or devoting His time to the conversion of the Gentile world would have closed the door for bearing His message to the Jewish nation.

Wonder Turning to Rejection

The closing of the roll and the fixing of every eye upon Him opened a moment of spellbound wonder, for His impressive manner and the wonderful import of His words thrilled the hearers with a power they had never felt before. The tide of divine influence broke every barrier down, so that they beheld as it were the Invisible, and as their hearts were moved by the Holy Spirit they bore Him witness with wonder and joy. They responded with fervent amens and praises to the Lord, wondering at the words of grace proceeding out of His mouth, held in conviction and peace and grace and hope that He was the promised Messiah.

Their good impressions soon gave way to unbelief and doubt, and they questioned who He was. Familiarity with His humble family and working life made them unwilling to believe His claim, and prejudice about His family turned them toward rejection. They expected the Messiah to deliver them from Roman rule and to use His power for their benefit, and because He offered spiritual freedom instead, they recoiled from close examination of their deeds and hardened their hearts. When He confronted their pride and bondage and darkness and spiritual apostasy, their appreciation gave way to rage.

He showed that God had turned from rejecting Israel to favor believing Gentiles who accepted the light they had. The widow of Sarepta and Naaman the Syrian had lived up to the light they received and were more righteous than backslidden Israelites who sacrificed principle for convenience and worldly honor. The people of Nazareth thought they loved Him, but when He showed that heaven's favor was not theirs alone and extended to Gentiles, they were filled with madness because they thought He reproved them for lack of piety and loyalty to God. Enraged by His reproof, they rose up and thrust Him out of the city and out of the synagogue to the brow of the hill on which the city was built, to cast Him down headlong and murder Him there. The mob drove Him with no gentle hands and pushed Him hither and thither while quarreling among themselves how to stop His voice entirely.

His time had not yet come and His mission was not ended, so heavenly angels guarded Him and held the eyes of the infuriated priests and elders. By divine power He passed through their midst unharmed to carry on His work, until presently they lost sight of Him and He was gone they knew not where. God protected Him from harm from those enraged enough to throw Him from the precipice. His reception at Nazareth, where He had spent His youth and early manhood, was so unfavorable that He made no stay there but left to seek more fruitful fields where ears would listen and hearts would receive His message.

He was driven from the people He had labored to save, unable to reach hearts blinded by prejudice and insane hatred who resolutely rejected the light. This was true despite His healing work and powerful teaching, and despite a life of self-denial and disinterested benevolence and purity and suffering and devotion, in which He was ever touched by human woe, healed the sick, restored sight to the blind and hearing to the deaf and speech to the dumb, fed the hungry, comforted the sorrowful, walked upon the billows and silenced their roaring, cast out devils, broke the slumbers of the dead, and held thousands entranced by words of wisdom. He left to carry on His work in cities more favorable to light and truth. That scene in Nazareth later came vividly to the rulers' minds, when the Holy Spirit pressed on them the conviction that they were opposing God.

Pattern and Warning Today

The work announced when the book was closed is the pattern for all who fully follow Christ as co-laborers with Him and with God, doing the very same work of restoring the moral image of God in man. That pattern is preaching good tidings to the meek and poor, binding up the brokenhearted, proclaiming liberty to the captives, and opening the prison to those who are bound. The announcement rebukes valuing color or caste and shows the gospel is to be preached to the poor, for a Christianity that excludes people because of color is not the kind Christ accepts.

The fixed attention of the men of Nazareth warns that there is just as much danger of rejecting truth today, with men closing hearts against Jesus while supposing to preserve dignity as free men with the right to think and act, to believe or doubt. Those who have taken the course of Nazareth in controversy must take heed lest after a first rejection they harden hearts in prejudice and pride against a second call of the divine Messenger, when after excitement and confusion are over He calls again with gracious light that would work for salvation. We are less excusable than the Jews, for we have before us their example of rejecting Christ and His apostles and have been warned not to fall after the same example of unbelief.

The episode shows how people can first respond warmly under the Spirit to gracious words and feel convinced, and then resist light and promptings until good impressions give way to unbelief, doubt, prejudice, and pride. Initial attention did not prevent rejection when pointed words exposed spiritual condition and prejudice about His family arose, and the people of Nazareth opened hearts to unbelief until rejected light became a stumbling block rather than a blessing. To reject God's sent message not because it is error, to close eyes so as not to see and ears so as not to hear and darken understanding against conviction, is blindness smitten by the infatuation of the ruler of darkness, and it is dangerous to call the work of the Spirit of God the work of Satan.

It shows that a faithful messenger can find no safety among people who reject his message, for they fail to value his work while their leaders lead away from obedience and leave them without God's protection in trouble. The same enmity was in Catholic religious zealots who murdered the Vaudois, making them satanic in character, having the symbol of the cross without the spirit of Him who bore it. The rejection at Nazareth teaches that lessons in God's Word apply to teachers' own conduct, and studying and understanding them benefits teachers and students, while neglecting lessons of eternal importance leaves teachers unfit to teach others. The closing of the book is also associated with Christ's example of watching for opportunities to work personally with people and draw them to study the Scriptures.