The Jewish Annotated New Testament (36 page)

⁵
Then the devil
^*
led him up and showed him in an instant all the kingdoms of the world.
⁶
And the devil
^*
said to him, “To you I will give their glory and all this authority; for it has been given over to me, and I give it to anyone I please.
⁷
If you, then, will worship me, it will all be yours.”
⁸
Jesus answered him, “It is written,

‘Worship the Lord your God,
           and serve only him.’”

⁹
Then the devil
^*
took him to Jerusalem, and placed him on the pinnacle of the temple, saying to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down from here,
¹⁰
for it is written,

‘He will command his angels concerning
             you,
          to protect you,’

¹¹
and
      ‘On their hands they will bear you up,
       so that you will not dash your foot
              against a stone.’”

¹²
Jesus answered him, “It is said, ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’”
¹³
When the devil had finished every test, he departed from him until an opportune time.

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.

¹⁶
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:

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 favor.”

JESUS’ SYNAGOGUE SERMON (LK 4.16–30)

Replacing Mark’s account (Mk 6.2–6) of Jesus’ rejection in Nazareth, this depiction of Jesus’ preaching in the local synagogue is generally recognized as the Gospel’s signature story: Jesus announces that Isaiah’s predictions about the one “anointed” (4.18: the Greek
echrisen
is related to the term “Christ”) are fulfilled in his ministry; the Gentile mission is suggested; and the Jews in the synagogue violently reject him.

Rather than manifest the “recovery of sight to the blind” or the letting “the oppressed go free” (4.18), Jesus first goes on the offensive against the people in the synagogue and next cites two precedents to his ministry: the prophets Elijah and Elisha performed miracles not for Jews but for Gentiles. Luke then describes how the congregation was “filled with rage,” “drove Jesus out of the town,” and sought to “hurl him off the cliff” (4.28–29). Christian sermons occasionally explain the fury of the congregation by claiming that the Jews, as not only ethnocentric but also xenophobic, wanted to reserve the messianic benefits for themselves; therefore, they seek to kill Jesus because he has a positive message for the Gentiles.

Such conclusions misread Jewish history. Jews in general had positive relations with Gentiles, as witnessed by the Court of the Gentiles in the Jerusalem Temple, Gentiles as patrons of synagogues (7.1–10), and Gentiles as god-fearers (Acts 10). They also expected the redemption of righteous Gentiles, who would come streaming to Zion, as Zech 8.23 states, “In those days ten men from nations of every language shall take hold of a Jew, grasping his garment and saying, ‘Let us go with you, for we have heard that God is with you.’” The rejection of Jesus is not prompted by xenophobia; it is prompted by Jesus’ refusal to provide his hometown with messianic blessings.

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.”
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?”
²³
He said to them, “Doubtless you will quote to me this proverb, ‘Doctor, cure yourself!’ And you will say, ‘Do here also in your hometown 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 hometown.
²⁵
But the truth is, there were many widows in Israel in the time of Elijah, when the heaven was shut up 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 lepersa in Israel in the time of the prophet Elisha, and none of them was cleansed except Naaman the Syrian.”
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.

³¹
He went down to Capernaum, a city in Galilee, and was teaching them on the sabbath.
³²
They were astounded at his teaching, because he spoke with authority.
³³
In the synagogue there was a man who had the spirit of an unclean demon, and he cried out with a loud voice,
³⁴
“Let us alone! What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are, the Holy One of God.”
³⁵
But Jesus rebuked him, saying, “Be silent, and come out of him!” When the demon had thrown him down before them, he came out of him without having done him any harm.
³⁶
They were all amazed and kept saying to one another, “What kind of utterance is this? For with authority and power he commands the unclean spirits, and out they come!”
³⁷
And a report about him began to reach every place in the region.

³⁸
After leaving the synagogue he entered Simon’s house. Now Simon’s mother-in-law was suffering from a high fever, and they asked him about her.
³⁹
Then he stood over her and rebuked the fever, and it left her. Immediately she got up and began to serve them.

⁴⁰
As the sun was setting, all those who had any who were sick with various kinds of diseases brought them to him; and he laid his hands on each of them and cured them.
⁴¹
Demons also came out of many, shouting, “You are the Son of God!” But he rebuked them and would not allow them to speak, because they knew that he was the Messiah.
^*

⁴²
At daybreak he departed and went into a deserted place. And the crowds were looking for him; and when they reached him, they wanted to prevent him from leaving them.
⁴³
But he said to them, “I must proclaim the good news of the kingdom of God to the other cities also; for I was sent for this purpose.”
⁴⁴
So he continued proclaiming the message in the synagogues of Judea.
^*

The geography of the Gospel of Luke.

5
Once while Jesus
^*
was standing beside the lake of Gennesaret, and the crowd was pressing in on him to hear the word of God,
²
he saw two boats there at the shore of the lake; the fishermen had gone out of them and were washing their nets.
³
He got into one of the boats, the one belonging to Simon, and asked him to put out a little way from the shore. Then he sat down and taught the crowds from the boat.
⁴
When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Put out into the deep water and let down your nets for a catch.”
⁵
Simon answered, “Master, we have worked all night long but have caught nothing. Yet if you say so, I will let down the nets.”
⁶
When they had done this, they caught so many fish that their nets were beginning to break.
⁷
So they signaled their partners in the other boat to come and help them. And they came and filled both boats, so that they began to sink.
⁸
But when Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, “Go away from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man!”
⁹
For he and all who were with him were amazed at the catch of fish that they had taken;
¹⁰
and so also were James and John, sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon. Then Jesus said to Simon, “Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching people.”
¹¹
When they had brought their boats to shore, they left everything and followed him.

PHARISEES IN LUKE (LK 5.17–39)

Scholars correctly describe the Gospel’s presentation of Pharisees as puzzling, inconsistent, and complex. Positively, Luke mentions no Pharisees in the passion narrative, but does mention Pharisees as members of the Christian community (Acts 15.5). However, in the Gospel, the first words attributed to Pharisees—“Who is this who is speaking blasphemies” (5.21)—show them at best misunderstanding Jesus, if not in opposition to him. They next appear grumbling at Jesus’ disciples, where they accuse Jesus of inappropriate table fellowship (5.30; a point repeated in 15.2) and question the disciples for their failure to fast (5.33). By 6.1–5 “some” Pharisees are accosting the disciples for violating Sabbath injunctions, and in 6.6–11, Pharisees seek to accuse Jesus directly of Sabbath violation.

Luke 7.29–30 depicts the Pharisees as rejecting John’s baptism, which for the Gospel means rejecting the plan of God. The story continues in 7.36–50, which, together with 11.37–54; 14.1–24, depict Pharisees hosting Jesus at table. In each case, Jesus verbally attacks his hosts, for example, by the accusation that they “neglect justice and the love of God” (11.42). Teaching his disciples, but within the hearing of several thousand listeners, Jesus advises, “Beware of the yeast of the Pharisees, that is, their hypocrisy” (12.1). In 16.14–15, Luke has added that Pharisees are self-righteous (a point potentially reinforced by 18.9–14) and “lovers of money.” Josephus would beg to differ: he states, “Pharisees simplify their standard of living, making no concession to luxury” (
Ant
. 13.171–73).