Esther 7:1-10

7 1 So the king and Haman went in to feast with Queen Esther. 2 On the second day, as they were drinking wine, the king again said to Esther, “What is your petition, Queen Esther? It shall be granted you. And what is your request? Even to the half of my kingdom, it shall be fulfilled.” 3 Then Queen Esther answered, “If I have won your favor, O king, and if it pleases the king, let my life be given me-that is my petition-and the lives of my people-that is my request. 4 For we have been sold, I and my people, to be destroyed, to be killed, and to be annihilated. If we had been sold merely as slaves, men and women, I would have held my peace; but no enemy can compensate for this damage to the king.” 5 Then King Ahasuerus said to Queen Esther, “Who is he, and where is he, who has presumed to do this?” 6 Esther said, “A foe and enemy, this wicked Haman!” Then Haman was terrified before the king and the queen. 7 The king rose from the feast in wrath and went into the palace garden, but Haman stayed to beg his life from Queen Esther, for he saw that the king had determined to destroy him. 8 When the king returned from the palace garden to the banquet hall, Haman had thrown himself on the couch where Esther was reclining; and the king said, “Will he even assault the queen in my presence, in my own house?” As the words left the mouth of the king, they covered Haman’s face. 9 Then Harbona, one of the eunuchs in attendance on the king, said, “Look, the very gallows that Haman has prepared for Mordecai, whose word saved the king, stands at Haman’s house, fifty cubits high.” And the king said, “Hang him on that.” 10 So they hanged Haman on the gallows that he had prepared for Mordecai. Then the anger of the king abated. (Esther 7:1-10, NRSV)

The following comments are repeated here with some editing and supplement from September 28, 2006 (Thursday in the week of the Sunday closest to September 21, Year Two):

At the conclusion of yesterday’s reading from Esther, chapter 6, Haman finally realizes that he has a serious problem. As his wife says, “you will not prevail against him [Mordecai], but will surely fall before him” (Esth. 6:13). But as he is hurried off to the queen’s banquet (v. 14), whether by choice or by force, he still does not know the full extent of his trouble. At the banquet, the king again asks about Esther’s petition, and, for the third time, promises her anything “to the half of my kingdom (7:2). The queen’s answer is respectful, “If I have won your favor, O king, and if it pleases the king,” she says (v. 3a), let my life be given me–that is my petition–and the lives of my people–that is my request” (v. 3b, emphasis added). Adele Berlin says, “Esther’s words are heavy with formal language. She builds her case on her personal relationship to the king (cf. 8:5)” (The Jewish Study Bible, 2004, p. 1634, on Esth. 7:3). By way of explanation Esther reports that she and her people have been “sold”: “For we have been sold (Unr4K1m4n9 yK9, kî nimkarnû) . . . to be destroyed, to be killed, and to be annihilated” (v. 4a). Berlin, citing the recent Jewish translation, comments on the three verbs, “destroyed, massacred, and exterminated” (v. 4a, NJPS 1985, 1999), says, “The same three terms are used in Haman’s edict” (ibid., on v. 4). Linda Day agrees that “sold . . . is “probably a reference to Haman’s bribe in 3:[9-]11 (see 4:7),” and she adds, “but note the metaphorical use of the verb in Deut. 32:30; Judg. 2:14; 3:6; 4:2, 9; 10:7).” With the words “to be destroyed,” adds Day, “Esther quotes from the king’s edict (3:13)” (NOAB, 3^rd ed., 2001, on v. 4). Esther adds that this amounts to more than being sold into slavery, for which she would have remained silent. “If we had been sold merely as slaves, men and women, I would have held my peace” (v. 4b). And she interprets this planned assault on her people as personal damage to the king, adding, “but no enemy can compensate for this damage to the king” (v. 4c). “Esther,” says Berlin, “may be subtly recasting Haman’s offer of money as a treasonous act against the king. An entire people could become enslaved only if another political entity conquered them. The implication is that Haman was taking over the king’s loyal subjects–an act of treason, trivial compared with the real danger. How ironic, for in 3:8 Haman had framed the Jews as traitors” (op. cit., on v. 4).

When the king asks, “Who is he, and where is he, who has presumed to do this?” (v. 5) her answer is simple and direct: “A foe and enemy, this wicked Haman!” (v. 6a). This answer, though he might have anticipated it, left Haman terrified. “The Haman was terrified before the king and the queen” (v. 6b). The king is clearly angered by this news. “The king rose from the feast in wrath and went into the palace garden” (v. 7a). In his terror, Haman, now alone with the queen, stays “to beg his life from Queen Esther, for he saw that the king had determined to destroy him” (v. 7b). In his desperate pleading, Haman “throws himself on the couch where Esther [is] reclining,” and is found there by the king when he returns “from the palace” (v. 8a). The recent Jewish translation puts it this way: “When the king returned from the palace garden to the banquet room, Haman was lying prostrate on the couch on which Esther reclined” (v. 7a NJPS 1985, 1999). “Lying prostrate,” says Berlin, “lit. ‘to fall,’ the gesture of a supplicant, as in 8:3 (cf. 1 Sam. 25:24).” Day contrasts this “gesture . . . with Mordecai’s in 3:2” (op. cit., on v. 8).

When the king returns and sees Haman in this position, he is further shocked, and asks, “Will he even assault the queen in my presence, in my own house?” (v. 8b). “In the mode of a comic farce,” says Berlin, “Ahasuerus misinterprets Haman’s pose, casting the supplicant as a seducer” (op. cit., on v. 8). If the king is in any doubt about what to do next, Harbona, “one of the eunuchs in attendance to the king,” says: “Look, the very gallows that Haman has prepared for Mordecai, whose word saved the king, stands at Haman’s house, fifty cubits high” (v. 9a). And the king immediately agrees. “Hang him on that” (v. 9b). The narrator emphasizes the irony of the reversal. “So they hanged Haman on the gallows that he had prepared for Mordecai,” which abated the anger of the king (v. 10).

Judith 12:1-20

Judith as a Guest of Holofernes (Cp Dan 1.3-8)

12:1 Then he commanded them to bring her in where his silver dinnerware was kept, and ordered them to set a table for her with some of his own delicacies, and with some of his own wine to drink. 2 But Judith said, “I cannot partake of them, or it will be an offense; but I will have enough with the things I brought with me.” 3 Holofernes said to her, “If your supply runs out, where can we get you more of the same? For none of your people are here with us.” 4 Judith replied, “As surely as you live, my lord, your servant will not use up the supplies I have with me before the Lord carries out by my hand what he has determined.”

5 Then the servants of Holofernes brought her into the tent, and she slept until midnight. Toward the morning watch she got up 6 and sent this message to Holofernes: “Let my lord now give orders to allow your servant to go out and pray.” 7 So Holofernes commanded his guards not to hinder her. She remained in the camp three days. She went out each night to the valley of Bethulia, and bathed at the spring in the camp. 8 After bathing, she prayed the Lord God of Israel to direct her way for the triumph of his people. 9 Then she returned purified and stayed in the tent until she ate her food toward evening.

Judith Attends Holofernes’ Banquet

10 On the fourth day Holofernes held a banquet for his personal attendants only, and did not invite any of his officers. 11 He said to Bagoas, the eunuch who had charge of his personal affairs, “Go and persuade the Hebrew woman who is in your care to join us and to eat and drink with us. 12 For it would be a disgrace if we let such a woman go without having intercourse with her. If we do not seduce her, she will laugh at us.”

13 So Bagoas left the presence of Holofernes, and approached her and said, “Let this pretty girl not hesitate to come to my lord to be honored in his presence, and to enjoy drinking wine with us, and to become today like one of the Assyrian women who serve in the palace of Nebuchadnezzar.” 14 Judith replied, “Who am I to refuse my lord? Whatever pleases him I will do at once, and it will be a joy to me until the day of my death.” 15 So she proceeded to dress herself in all her woman’s finery. Her maid went ahead and spread for her on the ground before Holofernes the lambskins she had received from Bagoas for her daily use in reclining.

16 Then Judith came in and lay down. Holofernes’ heart was ravished with her and his passion was aroused, for he had been waiting for an opportunity to seduce her from the day he first saw her. 17 So Holofernes said to her, “Have a drink and be merry with us!” 18 Judith said, “I will gladly drink, my lord, because today is the greatest day in my whole life.” 19 Then she took what her maid had prepared and ate and drank before him. 20 Holofernes was greatly pleased with her, and drank a great quantity of wine, much more than he had ever drunk in any one day since he was born. (Judith 12:1-20, NRSV)

The following comments are repeated here with some editing and supplement from September 28, 2006 (Thursday in the week of the Sunday closest to September 21, Year Two):

At the close of yesterday’s reading, we found Judith in the Assyrian camp, where “all marveled at her beauty (Jdt. 10:19). When she was led into the presence of Holofernes, “she prostrated herself and did obeisance to him, but his slaves raised her up” (v. 23b).

In the interval, in response to Holofernes’s invitation, “But now, tell me why you have fled from them and have come over to us” (11:3a), after his assurance that she will be well treated (v. 3b), she explains in detail. After assuring Holofernes that she “will say nothing false to my lord this night” (v. 5), Judith pays “due respect” to Holofernes’s role in securing Nebuchadnezzar’s divine power (vv. 6-8), assures him of the truth of Achior’s earlier speech (5:5-21) and the view that “the sword [cannot] prevail against them [i.e., against Israel], unless they sin against their God” (vv. 9-11, esp. v. 11; cf. 5:20-21). But, she explains, the Israelites have in fact sinned (11:11-15). Since they have run out of food (v. 12), “they have decided to consume the first fruits of the grain and the tithes of the wine and oil, which they had consecrated and set aside for the priests who minister in the presence of our God in Jerusalem–things it is not lawful for any of the people even to touch with their hands” (v. 13). Linda Day comments on the words, “sin has overtaken them” (v. 11), saying, “Judith earlier asserted that the Israelites’ crisis was not caused by their own sin (see 8:25-27n)” (NOAB, 3^rd ed., 2001, on Jdt. 11:11). In chapter eight, Judith was addressing the leaders of Bethulia (8:3, 9). Day’s note there says, “In Judith’s mind the present calamities are occurring because God is testing the people, not, as they think, because of their own sinfulness (7:28)” (ibid., on 8:25-27). In chapter eleven, of course, Judith is following her plan, announced in prayer, “by the deceit of my lips [to] strike down the slave with the prince [i.e., Holofernes] and the prince with his servant; [to] crush their arrogance by the hand of a woman” (9:10).

According to Judith’s account to Holofernes, when she learned what the Israelites had done, which made them vulnerable to the Assyrian attack, she fled (11:16), will remain with Holofernes (v. 17), and will assist him in taking Jerusalem (vv. 17-19). Day characterizes Judith’s speech as “a masterwork of double meanings. Every verse contains an equivocation, half-truth, or deliberate misrepresentation” (ibid., on 11:5-23). Holofernes responds by praising her “wisdom” and her actions (vv. 20-23), and promises that she will “live in the palace of King Nebucnadnezzar and be renowned throughout the whole world” (v. 23b).

As today’s reading proper begins, Holofernes invites Judith to dine with him. “Then he commanded them to bring her in where his silver dinnerware was kept, and ordered them to set a table for her with some of his own delicacies, and with some of his own wine to drink” (12:1). But Judith remind him of her religious restrictions. “I cannot partake of them,” she says, that is, of the general’s own delicacies, “or it will be an offense; but I will have enough with the things I brought with me.” Her response reminds us of Daniel’s response, who “would not defile himself with the royal rations of food and wine” (Dan. 1:8). Day also notes that, “Judith, like Daniel, is careful to maintain Jewish dietary conventions even when living in a foreign environment (Dan. 1:8-19)” (ibid., on v. 2). Holofernes continues to play the gracious host. “If your supply [of food] runs out,” he asks, “where can we get you more of the same? For none of your people are here with us” (v. 3). In response, Judith assures him that she will have sufficient supplies. “As surely as you live, my lord, your servant will not use up the supplies I have with me before the Lord carries out by my hand what he has determined” (v. 4). Day notes that the phrase, “before the Lord carries out by my hand, foreshadows the murder” (ibid., on v. 4). If Holofernes fails to catch the hint that he will soon die at Judith’s hand, the reader surely does not miss it.

Next, Judith begins “the first of a three-day pattern” (Amy-Jill Levine, The Oxford Bible Commentary, 2001, p. 639 on Judith 12:1-9). Taken to the tent by “the servants of Holofernes,” she sleeps until midnight (v. 5a). But she gets up very early (v. 5b) and sends a message to Holofernes that she wishes to leave the camp to pray (v. 6), which, with his permission, she does each night, and each night she bathes “at the spring of the camp” (v. 7). Her prayer each night is for “the Lord God of Israel to direct her way for the triumph of his people” (v. 8), after which she returns “purified” to her tent and her food (v. 9).

It turns out that Holofernes had ulterior motives for his kindness to this beautiful woman. “On the fourth day Holofernes held a banquet for his personal attendants only, and did not invite any of his officers” (v. 10), but he sends for Judith to come (v. 11). With perhaps more presumption than cynicism, he says, “it would be a disgrace if we let such a woman go without having intercourse with her. If we do not seduce her, she will laugh at us” (v. 12). Day calls this “a comical statement, to think it offensive to a woman not to be sexually harassed” (on v. 12). Levine offers a different perspective. “Were she [Judith] not to [come as invited], he and his associates will be disgraced. Were Judith able to refuse his advances (the term [oJmilhsanteV, homilēsantes] refers to sexual intercourse; see Sus. 54), she would make him a laughing-stock” (ibid.). In any case, at the invitation of Bagoas, “the eunuch who had charge of his [Holofernes’] personal affairs” (v. 11), the invitation “to come to my lord to be honored in his presence, and to enjoy drinking wine with us, and to become today like one of the Assyrian women who serve in the palace of Nebuchadnezzar” (v. 13), Judith readily responds. “Who am I,” she asks, “to refuse my lord? Whatever pleases him I will do at once, and it will be a joy to me until the day of my death” (v. 14). Day points out the “masterful irony” of this response. “Bagoas thinks that Judith is referring to Holofernes as her lord, but the reader can understand it to be God” (on v. 14). “Bagoas’ request is itself of double meaning,” says Levine. Addressing Judith as paidiskē [paidivskh] (12:13), he could be complimenting her as ‘maiden’ or insulting her as ‘serving girl’ or even ‘prostitute’. With his invitation that she become as the women who serve Nebuchadnezzar in the palace (11:4) the sexual undertone continues” (op. cit., p. 640 on Judith 12:10-13:10). So she dresses herself “in all her woman’s finery” and proceeds to the banquet in grand style, treading on the lambskins which were Holofernes’ gift to her for reclining (v. 15).

Judith enters and reclines, and the sight of her ravishes Holofernes’ heart, “and his passion was aroused, for he had been waiting for an opportunity to seduce her from the day he first saw her” (v. 16). His “appetite becomes uncontrolled,” says Levine, for “he can almost taste conquest” (ibid.). He offers her wine to “drink and be merry with us!” (v. 17), and though she appears to accept the offer, “I will gladly drink, my lord, because today is the greatest day in my whole life” (v. 18), she actually takes food and drink prepared by her maid (v. 19). Holofernes, however, fails to notice this deception, but “was greatly pleased with her, and drank a great quantity of wine, much more than he had ever drunk in any one day since he was born” (v. 20). At this point he is set up for the kill–but that comes tomorrow.

Acts 19:11-20

11 God did extraordinary miracles through Paul, 12 so that when the handkerchiefs or aprons that had touched his skin were brought to the sick, their diseases left them, and the evil spirits came out of them. 13 Then some itinerant Jewish exorcists tried to use the name of the Lord Jesus over those who had evil spirits, saying, “I adjure you by the Jesus whom Paul proclaims.” 14 Seven sons of a Jewish high priest named Sceva were doing this. 15 But the evil spirit said to them in reply, “Jesus I know, and Paul I know; but who are you?” 16 Then the man with the evil spirit leaped on them, mastered them all, and so overpowered them that they fled out of the house naked and wounded. 17 When this became known to all residents of Ephesus, both Jews and Greeks, everyone was awestruck; and the name of the Lord Jesus was praised. 18 Also many of those who became believers confessed and disclosed their practices. 19 A number of those who practiced magic collected their books and burned them publicly; when the value of these books was calculated, it was found to come to fifty thousand silver coins. 20 So the word of the Lord grew mightily and prevailed. (Acts 19:11-20, NRSV)

On August 9, 2007 (Thursday in the week of the Sunday closest to August 3, Year One), comments were repeated with editing and supplement from July 9, 2006 (the Sunday closest to July 6, Year Two); the revised comments are repeated here:

Paul’s ministry at Ephesus leads many to burn their books of magic, but in the end will alienate the silversmiths (tomorrow’s reading). Through Paul’s ministry at Ephesus, “God did extraordinary miracles” (Acts 19:11), including various healings and exorcisms (v. 12). This apparently attracted enough attention that some sought to imitate his methods. “Then some itinerant Jewish exorcists [‘seven sons of a Jewish high priest,’ v. 14] tried to use the name of the Lord Jesus over those who had evil spirits” (v. 13), but without success. “But the evil spirit said to them in reply, ‘Jesus I know, and Paul I know; but who are you?” (v. 15). Their attempted exorcism in fact led to disastrous consequences. “Then the man with the evil spirit leaped on them, mastered them all, and so overpowered them that the fled out of the house naked and wounded” (v. 16). In reference to “Jewish exorcists,” Beverly Roberts Gaventa says, “See Josephus, Antiquities 8:45-49; see also Acts 13:6-11; cf. Deut. 18:10-14” (HarperCollins Study Bible, rev. ed., 2006, on Acts 19:13). Christopher R. Matthews notes a reference to “Jewish exorcists” in Luke 11:19, and “use of the name outside the circle of Jesus” in Mark 9:38-39 (NOAB, 3^rd ed. 2001, on Acts 19:13). Matthews adds:

The story makes it clear that the name (v. 17 . . .) does not belong to the realm of magic. On a number of occasions Acts attempts to distinguish Christian miracle working from the activities of religious charlatans and profiteers (8:18-24; 13:6-12; 16:16-19). (Matthews on Acts 19:15-16)

According to Gaventa, “The humorous account of the defeat of seven exorcists contrasts sharply with the report of Paul’s successful healings and exorcisms in 19:11-12” (op. cit., on Acts 19:13-16). By way of further contrast, Paul’s ministry met with acclaim, “When this became known . . . everyone was awestruck; and the name of the Lord Jesus was praised” (v. 17), and success, “Also many of those who became believers confessed and disclosed their practices” (v. 18). Proof of the latter was the public burning of books by “a number of those who practiced magic” (v. 19a). Matthews points out that “Ephesus was such a noted center of magic that magical books were often called ‘Ephesian Scripts’ ” (on v. 19). The books burned had a “calculated” value of “fifty thousand silver coins” (ajrgurivou muriavdaV pevnte, argyriou myridas pente), defined as “50,000 (Attic silver) drachmas Ac 19:19 (= a worker’s wage for 137 years with no days off; cp. Jos., Ant. 17, 189)” (Bauer-Danker-Arndt-Gingrich [BDAG], A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and other Early Christian Literature, 3^rd ed., 2000, s.v. ajrguvrion, argyrion [p. 128]). In other words, the silver coin in question was the day’s wage of a worker. The woman in Jesus’ Parable of the Lost Coin (Lk. 15:8-10) had “ten silver coins” (drachmas . . . deka) before losing one, only to find it again. So Paul’s ministry met with success, and “the word of the Lord grew mightily and prevailed” (v. 20).

Luke 4:14-30

The Beginning of the Galilean Ministry (Mt 4.17; Mk 1.14-15)

14 Then Jesus, filled with the power of the Spirit, returned to Galilee, and a report about him spread through all the surrounding country. 15 He began to teach in their synagogues and was praised by everyone.

The Rejection of Jesus at Nazareth (Mt 13.54-58; Mk 6.1-6)

16 When he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, he went to the synagogue on the sabbath day, as was his custom. He stood up to read, 17 and the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to him. He unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written:

18 “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,

because he has anointed me

to bring good news to the poor.

He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives

and recovery of sight to the blind,

to let the oppressed go free,

19 to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”

20 And he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant, and sat down. The eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on him. 21 Then he began to say to them, “Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.” 22 All spoke well of him and were amazed at the gracious words that came from his mouth. They said, “Is not this Joseph’s son?” 23 He said to them, “Doubtless you will quote to me this proverb, ‘Doctor, cure yourself!’ And you will say, ‘Do here also in your hometown the things that we have heard you did at Capernaum.’ “ 24 And he said, “Truly I tell you, no prophet is accepted in the prophet’s hometown. 25 But the truth is, there were many widows in Israel in the time of Elijah, when the heaven was shut up three years and six months, and there was a severe famine over all the land; 26 yet Elijah was sent to none of them except to a widow at Zarephath in Sidon. 27 There were also many lepers in Israel in the time of the prophet Elisha, and none of them was cleansed except Naaman the Syrian.” 28 When they heard this, all in the synagogue were filled with rage. 29 They got up, drove him out of the town, and led him to the brow of the hill on which their town was built, so that they might hurl him off the cliff. 30 But he passed through the midst of them and went on his way. (Luke 4:14-30, NRSV)

On April 23, 2007 (Monday in the week of the Third Sunday of Easter, Year One), comments were repeated with revision and supplement from April 11, 2005, (Monday in the week of the Third Sunday of Easter, Year One). The revised comments are repeated here:

After the narrative of Jesus’ temptations, Luke reports his return to Galilee “filled with the power of the Spirit,” and Luke adds that “a report about him spread through all the surrounding country” (Lk. 4:13). This emphasis on the power of the Spirit relates to the earlier report that “the Holy Spirit descended upon him in bodily form like a dove” (3:22; cf. Mk. 1:10) and anticipates the theme of Jesus’ Nazareth sermon (Lk. 4:16-27). It further anticipates the Spirit’s role in Jesus’ ministry (e.g. 10:21; 12:10, 12), and the role of the Spirit in the ministry of the Apostles throughout the Book of Acts.

When Jesus came to Nazareth “he went to the synagogue on the sabbath day, as was his custom” (Lk. 4:16). He stood to read from the Isaiah scroll. Luke’s text of the reading follows the Septuagint (Greek trans.) in the first three lines: “The Spirit of the Lord (pneu:ma kurivou, pneuma kuriou) for “The spirit of the Lord GOD” (hv9hy4 yn!dox3 H1Ur, rûach ’^adōnāy YHWH), and “good news to the poor” (ptwcoi:V, ptōchois) for “good news to the oppressed” (Myv9n!f3, ‘^anāwîm) (Isa. 61:1 LXX & Heb.). The words “he has sent me” (yn9H1l!w4, š^elāchanî) in the line “he has sent me to bring good news to the oppressed” (Isa. 61:1c Heb.) come at the end, and are taken with what follows rather than with what precedes in the Septuagint translation. Luke’s text does the same, but passes over the words “to bind up the brokenhearted” (Isa. 61:1d Heb. & LXX). The next line also follows the Septuagint: “to proclaim (khruvxai, kēryxai) release (a[fesin [a[fesivV], aphesin) to the captives and recovery of sight (ajnavbleyin [ajnavbleyiV], anablepsin) to the blind (tufloi:V, typhlois)” (Lk. 4:18d, e = Isa. 61:1e, f LXX), where the Hebrew text has “to proclaim (xroq4l9, liqrō’) liberty (rOrD4, d^erôr) to the captives, and to the prisoners (Myr9Usx3l1, la’^asûrîm) opening of eyesight (H1Oq-Hq1P4, p^eqach-qôach)” (Isa. 61:1e, f). For the meaning of H1Oq-Hq1P (p^eqach-qôach), an expression that occurs only here in the Hebrew Bible and for which there is some uncertainty, see William L. Holladay, A Concise Hebrew and Aramaic Lexicon of the Old Testament, 1971, 10^th corrected impression 1988, s.v. H1Oq-Hq1P, p^eqach-qôach).

Luke’s next line, “to let the oppressed go free” (Lk. 4:18f) comes from Isaiah 58:6d: “Is not this the fast that I choose / to loose the bonds of injustice, / to undo the thongs of the yoke, / to let the oppressed go free, / and to break every yoke?” (Isa. 58:6). Jesus closes the reading, returning to Isaiah 61, with the first line of the next verse, “to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor” (Lk. 4:19 = Isa. 61:2a), omitting Isaiah’s reference to “the day of vengeance of our God” (Isa. 61:2b).

For Luke’s Gospel, this passage from Isaiah, and Jesus’ proclamation, “Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing” (Lk. 4:21), is programmatic. It reminds us again of the Holy Spirit’s role, both in the ministry of Jesus himself and in the ministry, especially in Acts, of the apostles (as noted above). It anticipates Jesus’ healing miracles and his proclamation of salvation. Ironically, his “home-town” audience at Nazareth was unreceptive. At first, they “spoke well of him” (v. 22a), but some question was raised. “Is not this Joseph’s son?” (v. 22b). Jesus, sensing their doubt, replies, “Doubtless you will quote to me this proverb, ‘Doctor, cure yourself!’” (v. 23a). By including Jesus’ reference to earlier work in Capernaum, “And you will say, ‘Do here also in your hometown the things that we have heard you did at Capernaum’” (v. 23b), Luke tips his hand, as it were. For reasons noted above and explained in more detail below, he puts this event at Nazareth at the beginning of his narrative of Jesus’ public ministry, though he is aware of earlier work at Capernaum (cf. Mk. 1:21-28; Mt. 4:13; 7:28-29; Lk. 4:31-37).

At this point Jesus includes another “proverb”: “Truly I tell you, no prophet is accepted in the prophet’s hometown” (Lk. 4:24; cf. Mk. 6:4; Mt. 15:57). In Luke’s account, Jesus continues with reference to the times of Elijah and Elisha. “But the truth is,” says Jesus, “there were many widows in Israel in the time of Elijah, when the heaven was shut up three years and six months, and there was a severe famine over all the land; yet Elijah was sent to none of them except to a widow at Zarephath in Sidon” (Lk. 4:25-26). Jesus adds, “There were also many lepers in Israel in the time of the prophet Elisha, and none of them was cleansed except Naaman the Syrian” (v. 27). “Traditions of the prophets,” says Marion Lloyd Soards, “illustrate that foreigners sometimes experienced God’s aid when Israel did not” (NOAB, 3^rd ed., 2001, on Lk. 4:24-27). This was enough to enrage the people of Nazareth. “When they heard this, all in the synagogue were filled with rage” (v. 28). According to Soards, “The hostile reaction comes in response to Jesus’ references to Gentiles (vv. 24-27), not to his apparent messianic claims (v. 21)” (ibid., on v. 28). But though the hostility turned to action as “they got up, drove him out of the town, and led him to the brow of the hill on which their town was built, so that they might hurl him off the cliff” (v. 29), Jesus was able to evade them as “he passed through the midst of them and went on his way” (v. 30). Mark’s version of this story (Mk. 6:1-6a; cf. Mt. 13:53-58)–if indeed it reports the same event–lacks this attempted violence. “And he could do no deed of power there, except that he laid his hands on a few sick people and cured them. And he was amazed at their unbelief” (Mk. 6:5, 6a). Matthew simply reports that “he did not do many deeds of power there, because of their unbelief” (Mt. 13:58).

The beginning of each of the Gospels reveals interests and emphases that recur throughout that Gospel’s narrative. In each Gospel, the description of the beginning of Jesus’ public ministry again points to the focus and character of that Gospel’s presentation of Jesus. Matthew starts with the Infancy Narratives (chaps. 1, 2) that we associate with Christmas. After John the Baptist’s ministry, the baptism and temptation of Jesus, he returns to Galilee for ministry, fulfilling prophecy (Mt. 4:15-16, citing Isa. 9:1-2), calls four disciples (Mt. 4:18-22) and tours “throughout Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the good news of the kingdom and curing every disease and sickness among the people” (4:23, cf. vv. 23-25). But this is reported in summary fashion and functions to call a crowd together for the Sermon on the Mount (chaps. 5-7), the first event of Jesus’ ministry that Matthew reports in detail, which points to the extensive accounts of Jesus’ teaching throughout the Gospel. Mark’s introduction is a brief title: “The beginning of the good news of Jesus Christ, the Son of God” (Mk. 1:1). He quickly reports John the Baptist’s life style and preaching, his baptism of Jesus, Jesus’ temptation, and gives a brief summary of Jesus’ preaching (1:14-15). After calling four disciples (1:16-20), Jesus first public act of ministry is teaching in the synagogue at Capernaum, where he is confronted with recognition by the unclean spirit: “What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are, the Holy One of God” (Mt. 1:24, cf. vv. 21-28). John begins with Jesus’ divinity, “the Word was with God, and the Word was God,” his pre-existence, “In the beginning was the Word” (John 1:1), his agency in creation (v. 3, 10), his incarnation (v. 14), his giving of “grace and truth” (v. 17) and revealing of the Father (v. 18), and, of course, “power to become children of God” (v. 12). The Prologue reads like an epitome of the Gospel as a whole, except that the opposition and crucifixion are only anticipated very indirectly: “the world did not know him” (v. 10), “and his own people did not accept him” (v. 11). But here again the first events of his public ministry are opportunities for people to recognize him in the terms of the Prologue, Andrew and another disciple, Peter, Philip and Nathaniel in chapter one, people at the wedding in Cana, where “his disciples believed in him” (2:11), many at the Passover festival in Jerusalem (2:24), though he “would not entrust himself to them” (v. 25), Nicodemus (chap. 3), the Samaritan woman (chap. 4), and so forth. In John, people either recognize Jesus and believe in him, or reject and oppose him.

Luke begins with Infancy Narratives, but they are more focused on ordinary people, for example, shepherds, than Matthew’s. In Luke, the first public act of ministry, after the brief summary in Luke 4:12-13, is found in today’s reading. Luke clearly makes a conscious decision to begin with Jesus’ reading of scripture and his brief sermon in the synagogue at Nazareth, followed by their rejection of his claims. For those who count Mark as one of those who “have undertaken to sent down an orderly account” of the Gospel (Lk. 1:1-2), and see that Luke followed Mark’s account as one of his own sources, the following table will show that though Luke usually keeps to Mark’s sequence, the placement of the Nazareth Sermon is a significant exception. Luke begins with this sermon, which emphasizes the role of the Holy Spirit in Jesus’ ministry, and is continued through Jesus’ ministry and the ministry of the disciples in Acts. With a few exceptions (e.g. Mk. 6:45-8:26, which Luke omits), Luke follows Mark’s order of events in his chapters three through nine (cf. Mk., chaps. 1-9). After a long “Travel Narrative,” with Jesus on the way to Jerusalem (Lk. 9:51-18:14), which presents much of Jesus’ teaching, such as the Parable of the Good Samaritan (10:29-37), the Lord’s Prayer (11:1-4), the Parable of the Rich Fool (12:16-21), the Parable of the Prodigal Son (15:11-32–part of a sequence: the lost sheep, the lost coin, and the lost boy), and so forth, Luke resumes his use of Mark’s narrative order. But just how closely Luke follows the narrative of Mark, chapter one, is indicated in the following table:

Note that Luke adds three sections not included in Mark. Note that the Nazareth Sermon comes much later in Mark (and Matthew as well, 13:53-58), and represents one of only three significant differences in sequence in the table. Luke probably had additional information about this occasion, based in his having investigated everything carefully (Lk. 1:3), for his account differs significantly from that of Matthew and Mark.

We can rejoice in the promises that Jesus quotes from Isaiah, that the gospel is about “release to the captives,” “recovery of sight to the blind,” letting “the oppressed go free,” and also about “the year of the Lord’s favor” (Lk. 4:18-19). We can also rejoice in the promise that he sends the Holy Spirit to help us in our Christian living and witness.

Ronald D. Worden, Ph.D.

rdworden@hgst.edu

deanworden@comcast.net