Jesus and the CrowdAn exegesis of Luke 4Simon Nash

Business Connect 28 January 2015

My dear Theophilus…

Jesus and the crowds in Luke

AMBIVALENCEe.g. Lk 6:17-19

- Some keys for viewing Luke’s narrative matrix.

- Spot which one of the modes of interaction Luke uses and how they build up.

AMAZEMENTe.g. Lk 4:42

ACCUSATIONe.g. Lk 11:16

ANTAGONISMe.g. Lk 12:54

ASTONISHMENT leading to ANGERe.g. Lk 4:21

AVOIDANCEe.g. Lk Luke 5:16

“All in the crowd were trying to touch him…”

Luke 6:17-19

…a great multitude of people … had come to hear him and to be healed of their diseases; and those who were troubled with unclean spirits were cured. And all in the crowd were trying to touch him, for power came out from him and healed all of them…

“But he withdrew to deserted places…”Luke 5:15-16

…But now more than ever the word about Jesus[e

] spread abroad; many crowds would gather to hear him and to be cured of their diseases. But he would withdraw to deserted places and pray…

“Stay with us and heal us Jesus”Luke 4:42

…And the crowds were looking for him; and when they reached him, they wanted to prevent him from leaving them…

“Who do the crowds say I am?”

Luke 9:18-20

… he asked them, ‘Who do the crowds say that I am?’ They answered, ‘John the Baptist; but others, Elijah; and still others, that one of the ancient prophets has arisen.’ He said to them, ‘But who do you say that I am?’ and Peter answered,…

“The crowds were amazed, but some of them …”

Luke 11:14-16

…the crowds were amazed. But some of them said, ‘He casts out demons by Beelzebul, the ruler of the demons.’ Others, to test him, kept demanding from him a sign from heaven. 

The danger of the crowd

Luke 12

… Meanwhile, when the crowd gathered in thousands,

so that they trampled on one another, … He said to his

disciples, … ‘Do not be afraid, little flock,

Not unity but division…

Luke 12:51-53

…Do you think that I have come to bring peace to the earth? No, I tell you, but rather division! From now on, five in one household will be divided, three against two and two against three; they will be divided…

“You hypocrites…”

Luke 12:54-5854 He also said to the crowds, [] “You hypocrites! You know how to interpret the appearance of earth and sky, but why do you not know how to interpret the present time?”

“The whole crowd, as one…”

Luke 23: 1 - 18

23 Then the whole assembly rose and led him off to Pilate. 2 And they began to accuse him, saying, ‘We have found this man subverting our nation. He opposes payment of taxes to Caesar and claims to be Messiah, a king.’

18 But the whole crowd shouted, […] kept shouting, ‘Crucify him! Crucify him!’

The Crowd at Nazareth – 1, Background

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 Crowd at Nazareth – 2, Setting

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:

The Crowd at Nazareth – 3, Reading

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 favour.’

The Crowd at Nazareth – 3b, Targum

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.’ Pleroma = completed, finished, fulfilled, ended.

“From now on this reading ends here.”

The Crowd at Nazareth – 4, Interruption

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?’

Martureo – bore witness, testified Thaumazo – amazed, wondered, surprised, shocked.Charis - blessed, gracious, loving.

The Crowd at Nazareth – 5, Sermon23 He said to them, ‘Doubtless you will quote to me this proverb, “Doctor, cure yourself!” And you will say, “Do here also in your home town 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 home town. 25 But the truth is, there were many widows in Israel in the time of Elijah, when the heaven was shut up for 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.’

Patridi – fatherland, country, hometown1 Ki 17:9 2 Ki 5:1

The Crowd at Nazareth – 6, Reaction

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.

What did Jesus do with Isaiah?The spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me;he has sent me to bring good news to the oppressed, to bind up the broken-hearted,to proclaim liberty to the captives, and release to the prisoners;2 to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favour, and the day of vengeance of our God;

ConclusionsJesus and the Crowd• Luke presents a tension between the crowd’s

demands of Jesus and his sense of vocation.• Luke grows a separation between to dangers

of following the crowd and the calling to be a “little flock”.

• Signs and wonders are presented ambivalently as (a) a demonstration of God’s power and presence, but (b) an attraction to those who would follow any spectacle.

• Wealth and debt are seen as divisive issues.• Violent nationalism and exclusive religious

/racial identity can be seen as a provocative challenge.