FULL OF THE HOLY SPIRIT (πληρης πνευματος αγιου). An evident allusion to the descent of the Holy Spirit on Jesus at his baptism (Luke 3:21). The distinctness of the Persons in the Trinity is shown there, but with evident unity. One recalls also Luke's account of the overshadowing of Mary by the H... [ Continue Reading ]
BEING TEMPTED (πειραζομενος). Present passive participle and naturally parallel with the imperfect passive ηγετο (was led) in verse Luke 4:1. This is another instance of poor verse division which should have come at the end of the sentence. See on Matthew 4:1; Mark 1:13 for the words "tempt" and ... [ Continue Reading ]
THE SON OF GOD (υιος του θεου). No article as in Matthew 4:3. So refers to the relationship as Son of God rather than to the office of Messiah. Manifest reference to the words of the Father in Luke 3:22. Condition of the first class as in Matthew. The devil assumes that Jesus is Son of God.THIS S... [ Continue Reading ]
THE WORLD (της οικουμενης). The inhabited world. In Matthew 4:8 it is του κοσμου.IN A MOMENT OF TIME (εν στιγμη χρονου). Only in Luke and the word στιγμη nowhere else in the N.T. (from στιζω, to prick, or puncture), a point or dot. In Demosthenes, Aristotle, Plutarch. Like our "second" of time... [ Continue Reading ]
ALL THIS AUTHORITY (την εξουσιαν ταυτην απασαν). Matthew 4:9 has "all these things." Luke's report is more specific.AND THE GLORY OF THEM (κα την δοξαν αυτων). Matthew 4:8 has this in the statement of what the devil did, not what he said.FOR IT HATH BEEN DELIVERED UNTO ME (οτ εμο παραδεδοτα).... [ Continue Reading ]
WILT WORSHIP BEFORE ME (προσκυνησηις ενωπιον εμου). Matthew 4:9 has it more bluntly "worship me." That is what it really comes to, though in Luke the matter is more delicately put. It is a condition of the third class (εαν and the subjunctive). Luke has it "thou therefore if" (συ ουν εαν), in a v... [ Continue Reading ]
THOU SHALT WORSHIP (προσκυνησεις). Satan used this verb to Jesus who turns it against him by the quotation from Deuteronomy 6:13. Jesus clearly perceived that one could not worship both Satan and God. He had to choose whom he would serve. Luke does not give the words, "Get thee hence, Satan" (Mat... [ Continue Reading ]
LED HIM (ηγαγεν). Aorist active indicative of αγω. Matthew 4:5 has παραλαμβανε (dramatic present).THE WING OF THE TEMPLE (το πτερυγιον του ιερου). See on Matthew 4:5. It is not easy to determine precisely what it was.FROM HENCE (εντευθεν). This Luke adds to the words in Matthew, which see.TO... [ Continue Reading ]
IT IS SAID (ειρητα). Perfect passive indicative, stands said, a favourite way of quoting Scripture in the N.T. In Matthew 4:7 we have the usual "it is written" (γεγραπτα). Here Jesus quotes Deuteronomy 6:16. Each time he uses Deuteronomy against the devil. The LXX is quoted. It is the volitive fu... [ Continue Reading ]
EVERY TEMPTATION (παντα πειρασμον). These three kinds exhaust the avenues of approach (the appetites, the nerves, the ambitions). Satan tried them all. They formed a cycle (Vincent). Hence "he was in all points tempted like as we are" (Hebrews 4:15). "The enemy tried all his weapons, and was at a... [ Continue Reading ]
RETURNED (υπεστρεψεν). Luke does not fill in the gap between the temptations in the wilderness of Judea and the Galilean Ministry. He follows the outline of Mark. It is John's Gospel alone that tells of the year of obscurity (Stalker) in various parts of the Holy Land.IN THE POWER OF THE SPIRIT... [ Continue Reading ]
AND HE TAUGHT (κα αυτος εδιδασκεν). Luke is fond of this mode of transition so that it is not certain that he means to emphasize "he himself" as distinct from the rumour about him. It is the imperfect tense, descriptive of the habit of Jesus. The synagogues were an open door to Jesus before the h... [ Continue Reading ]
WHERE HE HAD BEEN BROUGHT UP (ου ην τεθραμμενος). Past perfect passive periphrastic indicative, a state of completion in past time, from τρεφω, a common Greek verb. This visit is before that recorded in Mark 6:1-6; Matthew 13:54-58 which was just before the third tour of Galilee. Here Jesus comes... [ Continue Reading ]
WAS DELIVERED (επεδοθη). First aorist passive indicative of επιδιδωμ, to give over to, a common verb. At the proper stage of the service "the attendant" or "minister" (υπηρετης, under rower) or "beadle" took out a roll of the law from the ark, unwrapped it, and gave it to some one to read. On sab... [ Continue Reading ]
ANOINTED ME (εχρισεν με). First aorist active indicative of the verb χριω from whichCHRIST (Χριστος) is derived, the Anointed One. Isaiah is picturing the Jubilee year and the release of captives and the return from the Babylonian exile with the hope of the Messiah through it all. Jesus here ap... [ Continue Reading ]
THE ACCEPTABLE YEAR OF THE LORD (ενιαυτον Κυριου δεκτον). He does not mean that his ministry is to be only one year in length as Clement of Alexandria and Origen argued. That is to turn figures into fact. The Messianic age has come, Jesus means to say. On the first day of the year of Jubilee the... [ Continue Reading ]
HE CLOSED THE BOOK (πτυξας το βιβλιον). Aorist active participle of πτυσσω. Rolled up the roll and gave it back to the attendant who had given it to him and who put it away again in its case.SAT DOWN (εκαθισεν). Took his seat there as a sign that he was going to speak instead of going back to h... [ Continue Reading ]
AND HE BEGAN TO SAY (ηρξατο δε λεγειν). Aorist ingressive active indicative and present infinitive. He began speaking. The moment of hushed expectancy was passed. These may or may not be the first words uttered here by Jesus. Often the first sentence is the crucial one in winning an audience. Cer... [ Continue Reading ]
BARE HIM WITNESS (εμαρτυρουν). Imperfect active, perhaps inchoative. They all began to bear witness that the rumours were not exaggerations (Luke 4:14) as they had supposed, but had foundation in fact if this discourse or its start was a fair sample of his teaching. The verb μαρτυρεω is a very ol... [ Continue Reading ]
DOUBTLESS (παντως). Adverb. Literally, at any rate, certainly, assuredly. Cf. Acts 21:22; Acts 28:4.THIS PARABLE (την παραβολην ταυτην). See discussion on Luke 4:13. Here the word has a special application to a crisp proverb which involves a comparison. The word physician is the point of compari... [ Continue Reading ]
AND HE SAID (ειπεν δε). Also in Luke 1:13. The interjection of these words here by Luke may indicate a break in his address, though there is no other indication of an interval here. Perhaps they only serve to introduce solemnly the new proverb like the wordsVERILY I SAY UNTO YOU (αμην λεγω υμιν)... [ Continue Reading ]
THREE YEARS AND SIX MONTHS (ετη τρια κα μηνας εξ). Accusative of duration of time without επ (doubtful). The same period is given in James 5:17, the popular Jewish way of speaking. In 1 Kings 18:1 the rain is said to have come in the third year. But the famine probably lasted still longer.... [ Continue Reading ]
UNTO ZAREPHATH (εις Σαρεπτα). The modern village Surafend on the coast road between Tyre and Sidon.UNTO A WOMAN THAT WAS A WIDOW (προς γυναικα χηραν). Literally, unto a woman a widow (like our vernacular widow woman). This is an illustration of the proverb from the life of Elijah (1 Kings 17:8;... [ Continue Reading ]
IN THE TIME OF ELISHA THE PROPHET (επ Ελισαιου του προφητου). This use of επ with the genitive for "in the time of" is a good Greek idiom. The second illustration of the proverb is from the time of Elisha and is another heathen,NAAMAN THE SYRIAN (Ναιμαν ο Σψρος). He was the lone leper that was... [ Continue Reading ]
THEY WERE ALL FILLED WITH WRATH (επλησθησαν παντες θυμου). First aorist passive indicative of the common verb πιμπλημ followed by the genitive case. The people of Nazareth at once caught on and saw the point of these two Old Testament illustrations of how God in two cases blessed the heathen inst... [ Continue Reading ]
THEY ROSE UP AND CAST HIM FORTH (ανασταντες εξεβαλον). Second aorist ingressive active participle and second aorist effective active indicative. A movement towards lynching Jesus.UNTO THE BROW OF THE HILL (ηος οφρυος του ορους). Eyebrow (οφρυς), in Homer, then any jutting prominence. Only here... [ Continue Reading ]
HE WENT HIS WAY (επορευετο). Imperfect tense, he was going on his way.... [ Continue Reading ]
CAME DOWN (κατηλθεν). Mark 1:21 has the historical present,THEY GO INTO (εισπορευοντα). Capernaum (Tell Hum) is now the headquarters of the Galilean ministry, since Nazareth has rejected Jesus. Luke 4:31-37 is parallel with Mark 1:21-28 which he manifestly uses. It is the first of Christ's mira... [ Continue Reading ]
Rest of the sentence as in Mark, which see, except that Luke omits "and not as their scribes" and uses οτ ην instead of ως εχων.... [ Continue Reading ]
WHICH HAD (εχων). Mark has εν.A SPIRIT OF AN UNCLEAN DEMON (πνευμα δαιμονιου ακαθαρτου). Mark has "unclean spirit." Luke's phrase here is unique in this combination. Plummer notes that Matthew has δαιμονιον ten times and ακαθαρτον twice as an epithet of πνευμα; Mark has δαιμονιον thirteen times... [ Continue Reading ]
AH! (Εα). An interjection frequent in the Attic poets, but rare in prose. Apparently second person singular imperative of εαω, to permit. It is expressive of wonder, fear, indignation. Here it amounts to a diabolical screech. For the rest of the verse see discussion on Mark 1:24 and Matthew 8:29.... [ Continue Reading ]
HAD THROWN HIM DOWN IN THE MIDST (ριψαν αυτον εις το μεσον). First aorist (effective) participle of ριπτω, an old verb with violent meaning, to fling, throw, hurl off or down.HAVING DONE HIM NO HURT (μηδεν βλαψαν αυτον). Luke as a physician carefully notes this important detail not in Mark. Βλα... [ Continue Reading ]
AMAZEMENT CAME (εγενετο θαμβος). Mark has εθαμβηθησαν.THEY SPAKE TOGETHER ONE WITH ANOTHER (συνελαλουν προς αλληλους). Imperfect indicative active and the reciprocal pronoun. Mark has simply the infinitive συνζητειν (question).FOR (οτ). We have here an ambiguous οτ as in Luke 1:45, which can... [ Continue Reading ]
WENT FORTH A RUMOUR (εξεπορευετο ηχος). Imperfect middle, kept on going forth. Our very word εχο in this word. Late Greek form for ηχω in the old Greek. Used for the roar of the waves on the shore. So in Luke 21:25. Vivid picture of the resounding influence of this day's work in the synagogue, in... [ Continue Reading ]
HE ROSE UP (αναστας). Second aorist active participle of ανιστημ, a common verb. B. Weiss adds here "from the teacher's seat." Either from his seat or merely leaving the synagogue. This incident of the healing of Peter's mother-in-law is given in Mark 1:29-34 and Matthew 8:14-17, which see for de... [ Continue Reading ]
HE STOOD OVER HER (επιστας επανω αυτης). Second aorist active participle. Only in Luke. Surely we are not to take Luke to mean that Jesus here took the exorcist's position and was rebuking a malignant personality. The attitude of Jesus is precisely that of any kindly sympathetic physician. Mark 1... [ Continue Reading ]
WHEN THE SUN WAS SETTING (δυνοντος του ηλιου). Genitive absolute and present participle (δυνω, late form of δυω) picturing the sunset scene. Even Mark 1:32 has here the aorist indicative εδυσεν (punctiliar active). It was not only cooler, but it was the end of the sabbath when it was not regarded... [ Continue Reading ]
CAME OUT (εξÂηρχετο, singular, or εξÂηρχοντο, plural). Imperfect tense, repetition, from one after another.THOU ART THE SON OF GOD (Συ ε ο υιος του θεου). More definite statement of the deity of Jesus than the witness of the demoniac in the synagogue (Luke 4:34; Mark 1:24), like the words of th... [ Continue Reading ]
WHEN IT WAS DAY (γενομενης ημερας). Genitive absolute with aorist middle participle. Mark 1:35 notes it was "a great while before day" (which see for discussion) when Jesus rose up to go after a restless night. No doubt, because of the excitement of the previous sabbath in Capernaum. He went out... [ Continue Reading ]
I MUST (με δε). Jesus felt the urge to go with the work of evangelism "to the other cities also," to all, not to a favoured few.FOR THEREFORE WAS I SENT (οτ επ τουτο απεσταλην). "A phrase of Johannine ring" (Ragg). Second aorist passive indicative of αποστελλω. Christ is the great Apostle of Go... [ Continue Reading ]
WAS PREACHING (ην κηρυσσων). Periphrastic imperfect active, describing his first tour of Galilee in accord with the purpose just stated. One must fill in details, though Mark 1:39 and Matthew 8:23-25 tell of the mass of work done on this campaign.... [ Continue Reading ]