Robertson's Word Pictures of the NT

Luke 4:22

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 old and common one. It is frequent in Acts, Paul's Epistles, and the Johannine books. The substantive μαρτυρ is seen in our English μαρτψρ, one who witnesses even by his death to his faith in Christ.And wondered

(κα εθαυμαζον). Imperfect active also, perhaps inchoative also. They began to marvel as he proceeded with his address. This verb is an old one and common in the Gospels for the attitude of the people towards Jesus.At the words of grace

(επ τοις λογοις της χαριτος). See on Luke 1:30; Luke 2:52 for this wonderful word χαρις so full of meaning and so often in the N.T. The genitive case (case of genus or kind) here means that the words that came out of the mouth of Jesus in a steady stream (present tense, εκπορευομενοις) were marked by fascination and charm. They were "winning words" as the context makes plain, though they were also "gracious" in the Pauline sense of "grace." There is no necessary antithesis in the ideas of graceful and gracious in these words of Jesus.Is not this Joseph's son?

(Ουχ υιος εστιν Ιωσηφ ουτοσ;). Witness and wonder gave way to bewilderment as they began to explain to themselves the situation. The use of ουχ intensive form of ουκ in a question expects the answer "yes." Jesus passed in Nazareth as the son of Joseph as Luke presents him in Luke 3:23. He does not stop here to correct this misconception because the truth has been already amply presented in Luke 1:28-38; Luke 2:49. This popular conception of Jesus as the son of Joseph appears also in John 1:45. The puzzle of the people was due to their previous knowledge of Jesus as the carpenter (Mark 6:3; the carpenter's son, Matthew 13:55). For him now to appear as the Messiah in Nazareth where he had lived and laboured as the carpenter was a phenomenon impossible to credit on sober reflection. So the mood of wonder and praise quickly turned with whispers and nods and even scowls to doubt and hostility, a rapid and radical transformation of emotion in the audience.

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Robertson's Word Pictures of the NT

Luke 4:22

Old Testament

New Testament