Luke 4:16 - Coke's Commentary on the Holy Bible

He went into the synagogue on the sabbath-day, &c.— They who are acquainted with Jewish literature know, that the five books of Moses have long ago been divided in such a manner, that by reading a section of them every sabbath, the whole is gone through in the space of a year. For though the sections or parashoth be fifty-four in number, by joining two short ones together, and byreading the last and the first in one day, they reduce the whole within the compass of the year. It is generallythought that Ezra was the author of these divisions; and that the Jews from his time read Moses publicly on the sabbaths, till Antiochus Epiphanes prohibited that part of their service on pain of death. Awed by the terror of so severe a punishment, the Jews forbore reading their law for a time, and substituted in its place certain sections of the prophets, which they thought had some affinity with the subjects handled by Moses; and though more peaceable times came, in which they again brought the law into their worship, they continued to read the prophets, joining the two together, as is evident from St. Luke's account of the synagogue service, Acts 13:15. By the rules of the synagogue, any person whom the directors called up, might read the portion of scripture allotted for the service of the day. Our Lord therefore read, by the appointment of those who presided in the service. Vitringa, indeed, and Surenhusius imagine, that he did not officiate on this occasion in the low capacity of a reader, but as a teacher; alleging, that none of the circumstances which usually attended the reading of the law are to be found here; particularly, it is not said that Jesus was called to read; nothing is spoken of the benedictions with which this part of the service was accompanied; and only one verse, with part of another, was read. Vitringa also affirms, that, as far as he knows, the passage which he mentioned makes no part of any section of the prophets now read in the synagogue. De Vet. Synag. p. l000.—But the first objection proves too much; for the fore-cited passage, Acts 13:15 shews that a call from the rulers was necessary to a person's preaching in the place of public worship. It is therefore strange that Vitringa should have insisted on the omission of this circumstance, to prove that Jesus now performed the office, not only of a reader, but a teacher: the truth is, an omission of this kind can prove nothing at all, as it is well known that the evangelists, in their narrations, have omitted many circumstances which really existed. But to pass this, the historian himself appears to have determined the matter in dispute; for he says expressly, that Jesus went into the synagogue on the sabbath-day, and stood up for to read; which seems to imply, that he did read the section for the day, and that he was authorized to do so. The reason is, it does not appear that any portion of scripture was used in the synagogue-service besides the appointed sections, the shemas excepted, which were three passages in the books of Moses, beginning with the word shema, whose signification is Hear thou, and which were written on the phylacteries. See on Matthew 23:5. As for the benedictions, it was quite foreign to the evangelist's purpose to take notice of them at all; and that there was only one verse read, with a part of another, if I mistake not, Vitringa will find it hard to prove from any thing that St. Luke has said. He tells us, that Jesus stood up for to read, Luke 4:17 and there was delivered to him the book of the prophet Isaias; and when he had opened the book, he found the place.—No sooner had he separated the two rolls of the volume, (αναπτυξας το βιβλιον) than that lesson of the prophet presented itself—where it is written, The Spirit of the Lord is upon me. Therefore, since the evangelist says expressly that Jesus stood up for to read, those who understand the customs of the synagogues, and the manner in which the books of the ancients were written and rolled up, must acknowledge that what he read was in all probability the section for the day, which presented itself of course, and that he did not deliver the book to the minister till he had finished it. For, consistently enough with these suppositions, St. Luke might characterize the lesson read, by that particular passage of it which Jesus chose to make the subject of his sermon to the congregation, especially as that sermon occasioned his removal to Capernaum, which was the principal point that the historian had in view.—To Vitringa's last argument it may be replied, that though the passage read should not be found in any section of the prophets read at present in the synagogue, it will byno means follow, that it was not used in the synagogue anciently; especially as it is well known that all the Jews do not now observe one rule in this matter: nor, though they were perfectly agreed about the lessons, should the practice of men, who in many instances have deviated from the institutions of their fathers, outweigh, in a matter of antiquity, the testimony of anauthor who lived in the age that he wrote of, and who could not but know the form of worship then practised. Nevertheless, if the reader be pleased to consult the table printed at the end of Vender Hooght's edition of the Hebrew Bible, he will find that Isaiah 61:1 according to the custom of all the synagogues, fallsto be read with the fiftieth section of the law. For the section of the prophets corresponding with the fiftieth section of the law, begins at Isaiah 60:1 and ends where the next section begins, viz. at Isaiah 61:11. It was therefore the section for the day which Jesus read in the synagogue of Nazareth:—If so, the chronology of this part of the history is determined; for the first section of the law being anciently read on the fifth sabbath of Tisri, the seventh month, according to our September, because Ezra, the father of the synagogue, began the public reading on the first day of that month, (Nehemiah 8:2.) thefiftieth section, with its corresponding passage in the prophets, fell to be read on the last sabbath of August, or the first of September. The Jews at present begin the law, answering to the primitive institution of Moses, Deuteronomy 31:10-11 on the last day of the feast of tabernacles, that is, the twenty-second day of Tisri. By this commencement it was a week or two later in the year when our Lord read the scriptures publicly in the synagogue of Nazareth, was expelled the town, and fixed his residence at Capernaum. We may just remark further, that the attitude observed in reading the Scripture was standing; but when they commented upon or explained what had been read, they sat down. There was a settled reader in every synagogue, but it was likewise customary to compliment any person with this honour, though a stranger, provided he was any way famous for his mental abilities or gravity; therefore, though Jesus was not one of the stated ministers of religion in the town of Nazareth, the office now assigned him was agreeable to the regulations of the synagogue. Perhaps the rulers, having heard the report of his miracles, (see Luke 4:14.) and of the Baptist's testimony concerning him, were curious to hear him read and expound the scriptures, and the rather, because it was well known in Nazareth that he had not had the advantage of a learned education. Some would point the latter part of this verse thus: He went into the synagogue, as he was wont to do, on the sabbath-day, and stood up to read.