volume, from the Latin volumen, a thing rolled up. Opened the book. Rather unrolled the volume. Found the place, &c. Isaiah lxi. 1, 2. Probably the appointed lesson for the day; though this is not certain. The portion which Jesus read he declared had reference to himself and his ministry. It has been supposed to refer, in the first instance, to a temporal blessing near at hand when the prophet wrote. But the testimony of Jesus is sufficient to fix its principal and most important meaning.

18. The spirit of the Lord is upon me. As God appointed his Son to perform a special work, fully qualified him therefor by all necessary gifts and graces, and continually afforded him his pres ence and assistance, the Son might well be said to be filled with the divine spirit, or to have that spirit upon him. Anointed. See note on Matt. i. 1. As Jesus was consecrated both priest and king by the divine anointing, he was called Messiah and Christ, both which names signify, in the original languages, anointed. In this place, the reference is especially to his consecration as a priest, or religious teacher: he hath anointed or consecrated me to preach, &c. The great object of his ministry, the leading truth he was to preach, is set forth in what follows. To preach the gospel to the poor. See note on Matt. xi. 5. "The gospel means good news, the good news of salvation. By the poor are meant all those who are destitute of the comforts of this life, and who, therefore, may be more readily disposed to seek treasures in heaven; all those who are sensible of their sins, or are poor in spirit, Matt. v. 3; and all the miserable and afflicted, Isa. lviii. 7. Our Saviour gave it as one proof that he was the Messiah, or was from God, that he preached to the poor. Matt. xi. 5.

It is also one proof that the gospel is true. If it had been of men, it would have sought the rich and mighty. But it pours contempt on all human greatness, and seeks, like God, to do good to those whom the world overlooks or despises."-Barnes. To heal the broken-hearted. Either, those whose spirits are crushed by the calamities and

ance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised,

afflictions to which mortality is subject; or, those who are borne down by a sense of their own sinfulness and imperfection, and filled with sorrow for their transgressions. Deliverance to the captives. A literal deliverance from captivity is often accomplished by the operation of that benevolent spirit which the gospel requires. But deliverance from spiritual bondage is probably intended here. No chains are more strong, and none eat more deeply into the flesh, than those of sin. The sacred writers frequently use this figure, to denote the miserable and helpless condition of sinners. Rom. vii. 23; 2 Tim. ii. 26. See also Rom. vi. 12-16. And a spiritual renovation, or a change from sinfulness to holiness, is described as a liberation from bondage. John viii. 32-36; Rom. vi. 18-22.

Recovering of sight to the blind. In a literal sense, our Lord gave sight to the blind, in several instances. But the reference here is undoubtedly to that spiritual illumination which is denoted in the prediction, that he should be a light to lighten the Gentiles, that he should give light to those who sat in darkness and in the region of the shadow of death. It is one of the most common figures in the scriptures, to represent sin as darkness, and holiness as light; sinners as blind, and those who are purified from sin as able to see. Rom. xiii. 12; 2 Cor. vi. 14; 1 Pet. ii. 9. The commission to Paul has a striking resemblance to the passage under consideration. Jesus sends him to the Gentiles, "to open their eyes, and to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins, and inheritance among them which are sanctified by faith that is in me." Acts xxvi. 18.

To set at liberty them that are bruised. This is similar to the deliverance of the captives before mentioned; but it embraces also an additional idea. It more distinctly refers to the misery produced by sin, and gives assurance of deliverance from it. Men are bruised and crushed by sin; its effects are exceedingly painful. They sometimes feel that their punishment is greater than they can bear. Gen. iv. 13; Prov. vii. 26;

19 To preach the acceptable year of the Lord.

20 And he closed the book, and he gave it again to the minister, and sat down. And the eyes of all them that were in the syna

xviii. 14; Isa. i. 6; Rom. ii. 8, 9; vi. 21. From this state of misery, the consequence of sin, men are to be delivered, as well as from sin itself. When the captives come out from the prison house, and the fetters of sin are broken, their wounds and bruises shall also be healed. To deliver men from sin, but make them to suffer eternally for their former sins, or to remit the penalty of former sins, but leave them under the power of sin to repeat their transgressions, and inflict upon themselves new wounds and bruises, either of these would be a trivial blessing, compared with that entire deliverance from the power of sin, and that entire healing of all the hurts it has inflicted, which are here promised together.

19. The acceptable year of the Lord. This phrase is supposed to refer to the year of jubilee, when, by divine appointment, the trumpet of the jubilee was sounded throughout the land, and liberty was proclaimed to the inhabitants; then all estates which had been pledged returned to their owners, and those who had been sold into bondage became free. It was indeed a day of general restitution and restoration, a day of redemption and temporal salvation. See Lev. ch. xxv. By this figure, our Lord teaches that God will grant a like spiritual deliverance from the power of sin, from its servitude, from its miseries, and will reinstate men in purity and happiness which sin had defaced, and to a great extent destroyed. The time had now come when the trumpet of the gospel was to be sounded, proclaiming a spiritual jubilee to mankind. The kingdom of God was now to be manifested; its principles were to become operative; and by their influence the whole creation was to be delivered from this bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God. Rom. viii. 21. The year or time had come, and the Saviour, the mighty and strong deliverer, had come. The mystery hid from former ages was revealed, and all flesh should now see the salvation of God.

gogue were fastened on him.

21 And he began to say unto them, This day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears.

22 And all bare him witness, and wondered at the gracious words

20. Closed the book. Or rolled it up. The minister. See note on Matt. iv. 23. Were fastened, &c. They regarded him attentively. This word is often used by Luke, and twice by Paul. It uniformly denotes a peculiar earnestness in the beholder. See Luke xxii. 56; Acts iii. 4, 12; vii. 55; 2 Cor. iii. 7, 13. There was something unusual in the attention with which the men in the synagogue regarded Jesus. It could not have been the language of the prophet which thus excited them; for this they had doubtless heard read in the synagogue frequently. Either the fame which they had heard of Jesus, as a prophet mighty in word and in deed, ver. 22, or that "divine gracefulness," with which he was endowed, enabling him to speak as never man spake and to produce an effect without parallel on the minds of his hearers, was probably the reason why they thus attentively and anxiously regarded him, expecting and desiring he would address them. And it may be supposed he read the prophecy in such a manner as led them to perceive it had some more sublime meaning than they had discovered, and excited a strong desire that he should explain and apply it.

21. He began to say unto them. It is evident that Luke records only the substance of our Lord's address. The theme of his discourse was the fulfilment of the prophecy he had read, showing its true meaning, and its application to spiritual blessings which he came to preach and to bestow. This scripture.

That is, the portion just read from the

fulfilled.

Is

prophet, ver. 18, 19. The time has come, even the acceptable year of the Lord. The deliverance darkly predicted is now openly announced, and the Deliverer is here, engaged in his glorious work. We may properly suppose, that our Lord proceeded to unfold the divine plan which embraced the deliverance of all men from the power of sin, and their translation into the kingdom of righteousness. Col. i. 13.

which proceeded out of his mouth. And they said, Is not this Joseph's son?

22. All bare him witness. This phrase is variously interpreted. Hammond paraphrases it thus:-"And all that heard him did with acclamations express that they were amazed at the power and wisdom with which he spake," &c. Bishop Pearce, on the other hand, says, "Their wonder seems to have been not the effect of approbation, but of dislike; and, if so, they could only bear him witness by marking his words with a view to give them in evidence against him." There can be no question that the word martured, (μαρτυρέω,) is often used to indicate a favorable testimony. See Acts vi. 3; x. 22; xvi. 2. And such I should feel confident was its meaning here, were it not so manifest from what follows that the men in the synagogue did not helieve in Jesus or in the truth of his testimony. Perhaps the word may have the same sense here as in Matt. xxiii. 31; in which case, the meaning would be, all were witnesses; they heard him distinctly, and were surprised at the character of his message. Wondered at the gracious words, &c. Literally, at the words of grace. "The words of grace or favor; the kind, affectionate and tender exposition of the words, and

23 And he said unto them, Ye will surely say unto me this proverb, Physician, heal thyself: what

bondage; the blind are to receive sight, not the lamp of reason to be extinguished; the bruised are to be healed, not the happy pierced through with many sorrows; in short, the proclamation of the gospel is to impart happiness, not grief. (2.) The promises of good are not limited in extent. There is no intimation that only a part of the afflicted shall be relieved; but the expressions are all general, and their most obvious import is, that all who have need of divine assistance have an equal interest in the promise. Such a message was truly full of grace. It differed much from what had passed for truth, and from what has more recently passed for gospel. It occasioned surprise then, as it has often produced the same effect, at other times. It was regarded as too good to be true; even too good to be satisfactory to those who had been taught from childhood that God loved the children of Israel, and would bless them to the exclusion of the Gentiles. It has always been regarded as too good to be true, by those who believe God is partial in the distribution of his richest spiritual gifts, and that he will bestow salvation on a part of his children and withhold it from the remainder. on Matt. xiii. 55. One cause of their wonder was the fact, that a man, whom they had known from his youth, and who had enjoyed no visible advantages for acquiring wisdom, should have become such a powerful speaker, and should undertake to interpret the sublime language of the prophet.

23. Physician, heal thyself. A common proverb among the Jews. If one should attempt to heal another, when he himself had the same disease, it would be natural to say, heal thyself first, that we may have evidence of thy skill. So, if one rebuked sin in another, when guilty of the same, it might be said, heal thyself, that is, reform thy own conduct, first, that we may have evidence of thy sincerity. The application of the proverb here is not literal but figurative; give the same evidence here which you are reported to have given elsewhere, that we may judge whether your pretensions to the Mes

soever we have heard done in Capernaum, do also here in thy country.

24 And he said, Verily, I say unto you, No prophet is accepted in his own country.

25 But I tell you of a truth, many widows were in Israel in the days of Elias, when the heaven was shut up three years and six months, when great famine was throughout all the land :

siahship are well founded. In his answer is found the reason why he would not comply with their demand. Done in Capernaum. See note on Matt. iv. 13. It would seem that Jesus had already visited Capernaum, and performed mighty works there. Pearce supposes the order of time is not observed here, and that the visit to Capernaum, mentioned ver. 31, was previous to this scene at Nazareth. But others, and with apparently better reason, suppose that the miracles were wrought at Capernaum at the time referred to by John, ii. 12, during a visit which is not particularly noticed by the other evangelists.

24. No prophet is accepted, &c. That is, acknowledged to be a prophet, and honored as such. See note on Matt. xiii. 57.

25-27. Jesus illustrates two facts in this passage: (1.) That prophets are not ordinarily honored in their own country; and (2.) that those, who thus foolishly and inconsiderately dishonor true prophets, cannot reasonably demand the performance of miracles; and, indeed, that there would be an impropriety in yielding to such a demand. See note on Matt. xiii. 58.

25. Elias. Elijah. Three years and six months. See 1 Kings xvii. 1; xviii. 1. It seems that the rain fell after an interval of three years from the time when it was expected. The rains in Judea fall in the autumn and spring, called the former and the latter rain. To the three years during which rain was expected but fell not, should be added the six months which elapsed before it was expected; the whole period will correspond with that here mentioned. Great famine. A natural consequence of such long continued

26 But unto none of them was Elias sent, save unto Sarepta, a city of Sidon, unto a woman that was a widow.

27 And many lepers were in Israel in the time of Eliseus the prophet; and none of them was cleansed, saving Naaman the Syrian.

28 And all they in the synagogue, when they heard these things, were filled with wrath,

29 And rose up, and thrust him

drought, during which the ground would necessarily become parched and unfruitful. See 1 Kings xviii. 2.

26. The event here referred to is recorded at length, 1 Kings xvii. 8-24.

Sarepta. Hebrew Zarephath. This was a city of the Sidonians, on the Mediterranean Sea, situated between Tyre and Sidon. The meaning of this vers verse is better expressed by Campbell: "yet to none of them was Elijah sent, but to a widow in Sarepta of Sidonia." That is, though there were many widows in Israel, at that time, Elijah was not sent to them, but was directed to visit a widow in a Gentile city.

27. Lepers. See note on Matt. viii. 2. Eliseus. Elisha. Naaman the Syrian. For an account of this person and his miraculous cure, see 2 Kings, ch. v. The disease of which he was thus healed was one of the most loathsome and fatal which ever afflicted men.

28. Filled with wrath. Three circumstances especially enraged them. (1.) By comparing his own conduct with that of Elijah and Elisha, two very eminent prophets, or, at the least, by citing their example in justification of himself, Jesus was understood to claim that he was a prophet; and his townsmen were filled with envy and wrath, that one whom they had so long known in humble life should at once profess to be so much superior to them. (2.) By the examples he quoted, they understood him to decline a compliance with their demand of miraculous proof that his claim was well founded. This they regarded as a slight, if not in fact an evidence that he was an impostor. (3.) By the same examples, it was strongly intimated that the Jews had no exclusive title to the blessings of the Mes