Luke 4:20

Or, by the acceptable year of the Lord, he means this day extended through endless ages, which knows of no return to a world of labour, and grants to men everlasting reward and rest. It follows, And he closed the book, and he gave it again.

And when he had folded the scroll, he gave it back to the minister, and sat down. The Lord read the scroll aloud to all those present, and having read it, gave it back to the minister. For as he testifies elsewhere, when he was …

And the eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed upon him. And he began to say to them: "Today this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing." Indeed, it was fulfilled in that, as it had predicted: "And the Lord did great things, and preached …

He read the book to those who were present to hear Him, but having read it, He returned it to the minister; for while He was in the world He spoke openly, teaching in the synagogues and in the temple; but about to return to heaven, He committed the office of preaching the Gospel to those who from the beginning were eye-witnesses and ministers of the word. He read standing, because while explaining those Scriptures which were written of Him, He condescended to work in the flesh; but having returned the book, He sits down, because He restored Himself to the throne of heavenly rest. For standing is the part of the workman, but sitting of one who is resting or judging. So also let the preacher of the word rise up and read and work and preach, and sit down, i. e. wait for the reward of rest. But He opens the book and reads, because sending the Spirit, He taught His Church all truth; having shut the book, He returned it to the minister, because all things were not to be said unto all, but He committed the word to the teacher to be dispensed according to the capacity of the hearers. It follows, And the eyes of all in the synagogue were fastened on him.

Here in the fourth place, after the congruity in the testimony has been described, the belief among the people is noted. To express this, there is indicated maturity in the teacher, eagerness to hear in the people standing by, truth in the instruction, and belief …

5 ); so did Christ here, when he read in the book of the prophets. Now the book being delivered to him, [1.] He opened it. The books of the Old Testament were in a manner shut up till Christ opened them, Isa. xxix.

quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-citation-number+unbalanced-parens

And he closed the book,....

Note, It is good, in hearing the word, to keep the eye fixed upon the minister by whom God is speaking to us; for, as the eye effects the heart, so, usually, the heart follows the eye, and is wandering, or fixed, as that is. Or, rather, let us learn hence to keep the eye fixed upon Christ speaking to us in and by the minister.

These verses relate events which are only recorded in the Gospel of Luke. They describe the first visit which our Lord paid — after entering on His public ministry — to the city of Nazareth, where He had been brought up. Taken together with the two verses which immediately follow, they furnish an solemnly striking proof that "the carnal mind is enmity against God." (Romans 8:7.) We should observe, in these verses — what marked honor our Lord Jesus Christ gave to public means of grace.

These verses relate events which are only recorded in the Gospel of Luke. They describe the first visit which our Lord paid — after entering on His public ministry — to the city of Nazareth, where He had been brought up. Taken together with the two verses which immediately follow, they furnish an solemnly striking proof that "the carnal mind is enmity against God." (Romans 8:7.) We should observe, in these verses — what marked honor our Lord Jesus Christ gave to public means of grace. We are told that "He went into the synagogue of Nazareth on the Sabbath day, and stood up to read" the Scriptures. In the days when our Lord was on earth, the Scribes and Pharisees were the chief teachers of the Jews. We can hardly suppose that a Jewish synagogue enjoyed much of the Spirit's presence and blessing under such teaching. Yet even then we find our Lord visiting a synagogue, and reading and preaching in it. It was the place where His Father's day and word were publicly recognized — and, as such, He thought it good to do it honor. We need not doubt that there is a practical lesson for us in this part of our Lord's conduct. He would have us know that we are not lightly to forsake any assembly of worshipers which professes to respect the name, the day, and the book of God. There may be many things in such an assembly which might be done better. There may be a deficiency of fullness, clearness, and distinctness in the doctrine preached. There may be a lack of unction and devoutness in the manner in which the worship is conducted. But so long as no positive error is taught, and there is no choice between worshiping with such an assembly, and having no public worship at all — it befits a Christian to think much before he stays away. If there are but two or three in the congregation who meet in the name of Jesus — there is a special blessing promised.

Were fastened on him - Were attentively fixed on him. The proper import of ατενιζοντες αυτῳ.

And he closed the book - That is, he rolled it up again. See the notes at Luk 4:17. And he gave it again to the minister - That is, to the one in the synagogue who had charge of the books. The word means “servant,” and the office was not much unlike that of a sexton now. It was his duty, among other things, to take charge of the books, to hand them to the reader of the law, and then return them to their place. And sat down - This was usual in speaking in their synagogues.