The Great Commentary (Mossman/Cobb English)

And Jesus, being full of the Holy Ghost returned from Jordan, having been there baptized by John a little time before, and having visibly received the Holy Spirit, whose fulness He had already obtained uivisibly in the first instant of His conception

Tempted of the devil. In the Greek wi/*a£4&iwc, suffering or sustaining temptation by the devil See Commentary on Matt iv. 5

And Jesus returned0 in the power of the Spirit into Galilee In the Greek bwdfjui, in the power, strength, or force of the Spirit Under a strong impulse of the Spirit, Jesus returned to Galilee. For the Holy Ghost was moving Him, and powerfully impelling Him to put forth at this time that spiritual power which He had received from the beginning of His conception, but which He had hitherto shut up and hidden within Himself, and to begin in Galilee with immense ardour and zeal, His ministry of preaching, and confirm it by His admirable holiness of life and His stupendous miracles. Hence Theophylact renders it Momm, driven and urged on by the enthusiasm and Divine afflatus of the Holy Ghost

And He came to Nazareth . Note here that while Christ is said, in v. 14, to have gone into Galilee, He is not said to have entered Nazareth which is situated there, as S. Matthew (ch. iv. Digitized by Google i6o ) has it, but Capernaum, and there to have done the things which S. Matthew relates in chaps, iv. to xiii., all of which S. Luke passes over here, and then He is said to have come to Nazareth. S. Luke wished at the very outset to state the reason why Christ would not teach in Nazareth, namely, that He was despised by His fellow-townsmen as being the son of a carpenter. And though this only happened subsequently, yet Christ foresaw that it would be the case, and therefore turned aside from Nazareth and went to Capernaum, which He made the seat of His ministry, as S. Matthew relates in iv. 13. And stood up for to read 1 It was (and still is) the custom among the Jews that each one should read the Hebrew books of Holy Scripture in the synagogue on the Sabbath-day, both that he might learn the law of God from it, and also that he might be stirred up to the worship, love, and service of God. Moreover, it was the part of the Rabbin and the teachers, such as Jesus was, to read the Holy Scripture publicly, to interpret it, to preach, and to teach

To preach the acceptable year of the Lord— the pleasing year — in Hebrew P2H J"OD, scenat ratson ; in the Septuagint fwaurii futox/a;, that is, as S. Jerome renders it, “the placable year,” cr, as Digitized by Google THE ACCEPTABLE YEAR OF THE LORD. 1 63 others with propriety, 44 the year of the good pleasure,** of divine benevolence and liberality, such as was the year of the jubilee to which he here alludes. For the year of the jubilee was the type and figure of this evangelical year which Christ brought So the whole time of the preaching of Christ, and thenceforward all the time of Christianity, is a year of jubilee to those who obey Christ and accept His liberty — a year of grace, mercy, peace, remission, liberality, and salvation, in which, after God’s long anger against us, we are restored to His grace, His favour, His heirship. His glory, and all the former blessings which we had in Paradise in the state of innocence. This is what S. Paul says in a Cor. vi. 2, 44 Behold, now is the acceptable time ; behold, now is the day of salvation.’* The Vulgate adds, and the day of retribution , of vengeance. The year of the jubilee, that is, the time of Christianity, shall be to the enemies of Christ a time of vengeance, when God shall avenge the human race on its enemies and oppressors, the demons that oppress it ; for Christ shall deliver men from the devils, and shall cast them down, according to Isaiah xxxv. 4, “Say unto the timid, Be comforted, and fear not ; behold, your God shall bring the vengeance of retribution. God Himself shall come and shall save you.” Vulgate. And Christ says, in John xii. 31, “ Now is the judgment of the world, now shall the prince of this world be cast forth.**

And the eyes of all them that were in the synagogue were fastened on Him . “ That they might hear,” says Euthymius, 44 how He interpreted what He had read.” For already the fame of what He had said and done at Capernaum had been noised abroad everywhere, so that many held Him to be the Messiah ; and they especially desired to hear this from Christ. For they knew that the passage of Isaiah read by Him was a prophecy of the Messiah, and so they listened with eagerness to Him while He explained it

And He said unto them , ye will surely say unto Me this proverb (in the Greek flratajSoXj}* — parable, proverb, or adage, in common use), Physician , heal thyself— that is, cure Thine own people and Thine own country, which should be as dear to Thee as Thyself; cure Thy fellow-Nazarenes as Thou hast cured or art said to have cured the Capernaites. Thus it was that Christ presently explains it, He, by His Divine Spirit, seeing the hidden thoughts of Digitized by Google “PHYSICIAN, HEAL THYSELF.” 165 the Nazarenes, and that they were wishing in their hearts for that which He now said. Anticipating their secret thought, He meets and answers it “ It was common among the Jews,” says Titus, “to taunt physicians who had caught any disease with this impudent and ironical saying, Physician, heal thyself.” For the common sense of mankind holds, and reason favours the opinion, that he who can not cure himself, or neglects to do so, cannot cure others or should not attempt it In point of fact, however, experience not seldom shows that the physician who cures others is unable to effect his own cure, but hands himself over to other physicians to be treated, because appetite often blinds the reason, and diseases obscure one’s scientific knowledge. Hence we judge better and more safely about the diseases of others than about our own. Self-love often perverts our judgment, so that Solomon warns us with the words, “Lean not unto thine own understanding,” Prov. iii. 5. Tropologically, S. Anthony thus expounded the saying, “Physician, heal thyself ; ” He that will cure the faults of others let him first cure his own. For they that will help others before they cure themselves shall relapse into their own faults. Indeed experience teaches us that they who remedy any fault in themselves easily cure it in others. Whatsoever we have heard done in Capernaum, do also here in Thy country . Hence it is plain that these events took place in Nazareth after Jesus had preached and worked many miracles in the city of Capernaum, as has been said at v. 16, and S. Augustine ( De Consensu , bk. ii. cap. 42) observes. The Gloss interprets, “ VVe do not believe what a vague rumour has published, seeing that among us, on whom favours of the kind would have been more fittingly conferred, Thou hast done no such work.” Here in Nazareth, Thy fatherland which conceived Thee, nourished Thee, and brought Thee unto manhood, Thou hast brethren, sisters, kinsfolk, and neighbours, some rich, others poor, some sick, others suffering in other respects. Why then dost Thou not miraculously succour these Thine own people, to whom Thou art bound by blood, by love of home, and by natural affection ?

And He said, Verily I say unto you, No prophet is accepted in his own country . Ye, O Nazarenes, despise Me as your Digitized by Google 66 fellow-townsman, and the son of a carpenter; wherefore you are unworthy that I should confer benefits upon you. Therefore (says the Interlinear), I work not among you, not because I hate my own country, but because you are incredulous. S. Cyril adds that a citizen, being always near to his fellow-citizens, is deprived of the reverence which is his due at the hands of those who know him. Thirdly, S. Chrysostom says, “ Christ had abstained from miracles among the Nazarenes that He might not provoke them to envy.” For, as S. Ambrose says, God is a despiser of the envious ; and the Gloss remarks that it is almost natural for fellow-citizens to envy one another; nor do they take account of merit, but call to mind a man’s frail childhood. Chrysologus (Serm. 48, at the end,) remarks, “To be powerful is, among one’s own people, a biting and a burning ; to be eminent among one’s fellow-citizens and neighbours burns up one’s neighbours’ glory; and if neighbours owe honour to a neighbour they count it slavery.” There is an amusing apologue of a parrot, which touches this subject. A parrot, brought from the East to the West, where birds of this kind are not common, wondered that he was held in greater esteem and honour than he had been accustomed to in his own country. He occupied an ivory cage plaited with silver wire, and fed on the daintiest viands, such as did not fall to the share of the others, which were only western birds, but inferior to himself neither in beauty nor in the power of imitating the human voice. Then says a turtle-dove, shut up in the same cage with him, “There is nothing wonderful in this, for no one receives in his own country the honour which is his due.” Tropologically, Christ here teaches the faithful, particularly men devoted to the Apostolic calling, that they ought to curb or to divert themselves of all excessive affection for their own country and kinsfolk, that they may be useful to all men — u The fishes* native country is the boundless sea ; Let the wide earth the brave man’s country be.” S. Gregory Nazianzen (Orat. xviii.) says very well, “ For great and noble men there is one country — that Jerusalem which is perDigitized by Google THE FAMINE IN ISRAEL. 167 ceived by the mind, not those countries which we see here, now inhabited by one race of men, now by another.” And again (Ora/, xxv.) “These earthly fatherlands, these differences of race, are the scenes, the illusions, of this our short fleeting life. For whatsoever country each one has previously got possession of, whether by injustice or by misfortune, that is called his country, while we are all alike strangers and sojourners, however much we may play upon the meaning of words.” Such was S. Basil, of whom S. Gregory of Nyssa, in his life, writes, “ Basil the Great was free from the fear of exile, because he held that the only fatherland of men was Paradise, and regarded all the earth as nature’s common place of exile.” Vers. 25 and 26. — Bui 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; But unto none of them was Elias sent , save unto Sarepta , a city of Sidon , unto a woman that was a widow. Thru years and six months — This does not appear in the Old Testatment, but Jesus, as God, knew it, and revealed it to S. James, Ep. v. 17, for as to what is said in 1 Kings xviii. 1, “The word of the Lord came to Elias, in the third year, saying, Go and show thyself to Ahab that I may give rain upon the face of the earth.” This third year is not to be taken from the beginning of the drought, but as from the sojourn of Elias in Sarepta. In all the land — Israel and the neighbouring region, such as Sidon, and Sarepta, where this widow was. The sense is that, as Elias, in the time of the famine, procured food for no Israelite, but only for the widow of Sarepta, a Sidonian, a Gentile, and a foreigner, because, valuing the prophet very highly, and believing him that God would provide for her hunger according to his word, she gave him the little oil and meal which she had, postponing her own and her children’s wants to his ; so Christ, in like manner, puts the Capemaites before the Nazarenes, His own fellow-citizens, because the former hear Him as a Teacher sent from Heaven, honour Him and pay Him respect, but the latter despise Digitized by Google 1 68 Him as a carpenter, and their own fellow-townsman ; and so He imparts to the former the spiritual bread of heavenly doctrine and miracles, but leaves the latter in their spiritual want For Elias was the type and precursor of Christ, and the widow of Sarepta the type and first-fruits of the Gentiles whom Christ preferred before the Jews, His fellow-countrymen. Bede says that “Sidon”in Hebrew signifies “useless hunting;” “Sarepta,” “conflagration” or “neediness ” — namely, of bread ; that is, the Gentile world given up to the pursuit of worldly things, and suffering from the conflagration of their carnal passions and the want of spiritual bread. Elias is the prophetic word, which, being received, feeds the hearts of them that believe

And many lepers were in Israel in the time of Eliseus the prophet ; and none of them was cleansed saving Naaman the Syrian , a foreigner and a Gentile. As Elisha, following his master Elias, did not prophecy to the Jews, his own people, but to foreigners, and did not therefore heal the lepers that were in Judaea, but Naaman the Gentile, by reason of his faith and their incredulity ; so I preach and work miracles among these Capemaite strangers, on account of their faith, reverence, and goodwill towards Me, but I leave you Nazarenes alone for your infidelity, your irreverence, and your contempt of Me. For Elisha, like Elias, was a type and forerunner of Christ; and Naaman the Gentile, a type of the Gentiles to whom Christ, leaving the Jews, would, by the apostles, transfer His faith, His church, and His grace. So Bede, Titus, Theophylact, Euthymius, Jansenius, Toletus, and others

And all they in the synagogue , when they heard these things, were filled with wrath — because they knew that they were touched by these two examples of the widow and Naaman, as being incredulous, and that a slur was cast upon them as being unworthy of the miracles of Jesus ; and again because they were indignant that Jesus, their fellow-townsman and equal, should compare Himself with, and place Himself before, Elias and Elisha, nay, make Himself out the Messiah, from the prophecy of Isaiah ; and, lastly, because Christ hinted that He would transfer His gifts from the Jews to the Gentiles. So S. Thomas, Toletus, Francis Lucas, and others. Digitized by Google CHRIST THRUST OUT OF NAZARETH. 169

And rose up and thrust him out of the city , and led him unto the brow of the hill , whereon their city was built , that they might cast him down headlong — “ led him ” — dragged Him, as it seemed to them, by violence, but, in reality, Christ of His own accord allowed Himself to be led and dragged. That they might cast him down headlong — from the top of the hill to the bottom, and so kill Him, as one who had defamed his own native place, and inflicted injury and insult upon it; and therefore they brought Him forth outside of the city, as being unworthy of it, that they might cast Him from the top of the mountain, dash Him down upon the rocks, and break His whole body to pieces. This was a grievous piece of violence on the part of the Nazarenes against Christ, their fellow-citizen, and thus, as Euthymius observes, they confirmed in act, what He had spoken in words, namely, that a prophet is not held in honour in his own country, but dishonoured, nay, slain ; and that therefore the Nazarenes were unworthy of the preaching and miracles of Christ. S. Bonaventure, Toletus, and others add, that they took Christ out of the city to the top of the hill that they might slay Him as a blasphemer, because He had made Himself the Messiah. For though, by the law, the blasphemer was to be stoned, still they wished to cast Christ headlong upon the rocks and stones, because this is the same as if they had stoned Him. Whether the stones are cast at the man, or the man hurled headlong upon the stones, is all one ; indeed, the latter is more cruel and terrible. So it was that they cast S. Stephen out of Jerusalem as a blasphemer, and stoned him ; and S. James, the first Bishop of Jerusalem, was hurled down from a pinnacle of the Temple as a blasphemer, because He taught that Christ was the Messiah S. Ambrose points out that these men were worse than the devil, who did but set Christ upon a pinnacle of the Temple, and say to Him, “Cast thyself down,” while these did their best to hurl Him down by force. “The heritage of the disciples,” he says, “is worse than that of the master — he tempts the Lord by word, they attempt His life by their act — he says, ‘Cast thyself down/ they do Him violence in order to cast Him down.” Digitized by Google

But He passing through the midst of them went His way . Maldonatus thinks that Christ here made Himself invisible, S. Ambrose and Bede that He changed their wills, so that they consented to let Him go. Others hold the better opinion that Christ turned away their imagination or their eyes, or suspended their consciousness and held their hands and feet, so that, like men bereft of their senses, though they saw Him they could not or dared not lay hold of Him. Wherefore Christ here manifested His Godhead. S. Ambrose says, “ Behold ! the minds of these furious men, being suddenly changed, or stupefied, He goes down through the midst of them.” And he adds the reason, “For when He wills He is taken; when He wills He slips away ; when He wills He is slain ; because His hour had not yet come,” John vii. 30. For as yet He must preach, and at last be crucified at Jerusalem by the Fathers decree, but not cast down headlong in Nazareth. So Bede, S. Chrysostom, Euthymius, and others. Brocardus, in his “ Description of the Holy Land,” gives the tradition that Christ glided away from out of the hands of the Jews, and suddenly appeared on the opposite side of the mountain, and that therefore the place is called “the Leap of the Lord.” N. de Lyra adds that the rock on which Christ stood yielded, and received like wax the impress of His feet, just as, when ascending into heaven from Mount Olivet, He left the marks of His feet there. This is what Adrichomius says, in his “ Description of the Holy Land,” on the word “the Leap of the Lord “The tradition is that Christ fled to a high mountain, which is called from that circumstance ( the Leap of the Lord/ and that, at the touch of His garment, the rock flowed, and being melted and loosened like wax, made a kind of hollow for the Lord's body to be received in and protected, a hollow of a capacity equal to the quantity of the Lord's body. And in this, even at the present day, the lineaments and folds of the garment on the Lord's back, and the marks of His feet, are preserved, marked out as though by the hand of a sculptor.” This, however, lacks confirmation. On verse 32 see what I have said on Matthew xiii. 5, viii. 14 ; on verse 33 see Mark i. 23. Digitized by Google ( 1 7* ) CHAPTER V. I Christ teacheth the people out of Peter’s ship. 4 In a miraculous taking of fishes , sheweth how he will make him and his partners fishers of men . 12 Cleanseth the leper. 16 Prayeth in the wilderness . 1 8 Healeth one sick of the palsy. 27 Calleth Matthew the publican . 29 Eateth with sinners , as being the physician of souls. 34 Foretelleth the fastings and affitciions of the apostles after his ascension. 36 And likeneth faint-hearted and weak disciples to old bottles and worn garments. A ND it came to pass, that, as the people pressed upon him 'o hear the word of ^ God, he stood by the lake of Gennesaret, 2 And saw two ships standing by the lake : but the fishermen were gone out of them, and were washing their nets. 3 And he entered into one of the ships, which was Simon’s, and prayed him that he would thrust out a little from the land. And he sat down, and taught the people out of the ship. 4 Now when he had left speaking, he said unto Simon, Launch out into the deep, and let down your nets for a draught. 5 And Simon answering said unto him, Master, we have toiled all the night, and have taken nothing : nevertheless at thy word I will let down the net. 6 And when they had this done, they inclosed a great multitude of fishes : and their net brake. 7 And they beckoned unto their partners, which were in the other ship, that they should come and help them. And they came, and filled both the ships, so that they began to sink. 8 When Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, Depart from me ; for I am a sinful man, O Lord. 9 For he was astonished, and all that were with him, at the draught of the fishes which they had taken : 10 And so was also James, and John, the sons of Zebedee, which were partners with Simon. And Jesus said unto Simon, Fear not : from henceforth thou shalt catch men. 11 And when they had brought their ships to land, they forsook all, and followed him. 12 And it came to pass, when he was in a certain city, behold a man full of leprosy : who seeing Jesus fell on his face, and besought him, saying, Lord, if thou wilt, thou canst make me clean. 13 And he put forth his hand, and touched him, saying, I will : be thou clean. And immediately the leprosy departed from him. Digitized by Google 1 72 S LUKE, C. V. 14 And he charged him to tell no man : but go, and shew thyself to the priest, and offer for thy cleansing, according as Moses commanded, for a testimony unto them. 15 But so much the more went there a fame abroad of him : and great multitudes came together to hear, and to be healed by him of their infirmities. 16 And he withdrew himself into the wilderness, and prayed. 17 And it came to pass on a certain day, as he was teaching, that there were Pharisees and doctors of the law sitting by, which were come out of every town of Galilee, and Judaea, and Jerusalem : and the power of the Lord was present to heal them. 18 And, behold, men brought in a bed a man which was taken with a palsy : and they sought means to bring him in, and to lay him before him. 19 And when they could not find by what way they might bring him in because of the multitude, they went upon the housetop, and let him down through the tiling with his couch into the midst before Jesus. 20 And when he saw their faith, he said unto him, Man, thy sins are forgiven thee. 21 And the scribes and the Pharisees began to reason, saying, Who is this which speaketh blasphemies? Who can forgive sins, but God alone? 22 But when Jesus perceived their thoughts, he answering said unto them, What reason ye in your hearts ? 23 Whether is easier, to say, Thy sins be forgiven thee ; or to say, Rise up and walk? 24 But that ye may know that the Son of man hath power upon earth to forgive sins (he said unto the sick of the palsy), I say unto thee, Arise, and take up thy couch, and go into thine house. 25 And immediately he rose up before them, and took up that whereon he lay, and departed to his own house, glorifying God. 26 And they were all amazed, and they glorified God, and were filled with fear, saying, We have seen strange things to day. 27 And after these things he went forth, and saw a publican, named Levi, sitting at the receipt of custom : and he said unto him, Follow me. 28 And he left all, rose up, and followed him. 29 And Levi made him a great feast in his own house : and there was a great company of publicans and of others that sat down with them. 30 But their scribes and Pharisees murmured against his disciples, saying, Why do ye eat and drink with publicans and sinners? 31 And Jesus answering said unto them, They that are whole need not a physician ; but they that are sick. 32 I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance. 33 And they said unto him, Why do the disciples of John fast often, and make prayers, and likewise the disciples of the Pharisees; but thine eat and drink? 34 And he said unto them, Can ye make the children of the bride-chamber fast, while the bridegroom is with them ? 35 But the days will come, when the bridegroom shall be taken away from them, and then shall they fast in those days. 36 And he spake also a parable unto them ; No man putteth a piece of a Digitized by Google THE MIRACULOUS DRAUGHT OF FISHES. 173 new garment upon an old $ if otherwise, then both the new maketh a rent, and the piece that was taken out of the new agreeih not with the old. 37 And no man putteth new wine into old bottles; else the new wine will burst the bottles, and be spilled, and the bottles shall perish. 38 But new wine must be put into new bottles ; and both are preserved. 39 No man also having drunk old wine straightway desireth new : for he saith, The old is better. Ver. 6. — They inclosed a great multitude of fishes — for Peter had said, “ At Thy word I will let down the net.” Behold here the fruit and reward of obedience. Jesus did this — 1. In order that by providing them with food, He might prepare them for their vocation and ministry. I have chosen you to be My disciples, make not excuse that ye must work for your livelihood as fishermen. Behold this miraculous draft of fishes, and believe that I am able to provide you with all things necessary for life more easily and more abundantly than ye are able to provide them yourselves. 2. To teach from this miracle, that they were soon to become successful fishers of men