Luke 4:30

But he passing through the midst of them went his way,

EXPOSITORY (ENGLISH BIBLE)

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers

(30) He passing through the midst of them.—The words do not necessarily involve a directly supernatural deliverance, as though the multitude had been smitten with blindness, or our Lord had become invisible. We have no right to insert miracles in the Gospel records. Calmness, silence, the moral power of self-possessed righteousness have in themselves a power, often proved, to baffle the fury of an angry mob.

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary

4:14-30 Christ taught in their synagogues, their places of public worship, where they met to read, expound, and apply the word, to pray and praise. All the gifts and graces of the Spirit were upon him and on him, without measure. By Christ, sinners may be loosed from the bonds of guilt, and by his Spirit and grace from the bondage of corruption. He came by the word of his gospel, to bring light to those that sat in the dark, and by the power of his grace, to give sight to those that were blind. And he preached the acceptable year of the Lord. Let sinners attend to the Saviour's invitation when liberty is thus proclaimed. Christ's name was Wonderful; in nothing was he more so than in the word of his grace, and the power that went along with it. We may well wonder that he should speak such words of grace to such graceless wretches as mankind. Some prejudice often furnishes an objection against the humbling doctrine of the cross; and while it is the word of God that stirs up men's enmity, they will blame the conduct or manner of the speaker. The doctrine of God's sovereignty, his right to do his will, provokes proud men. They will not seek his favour in his own way; and are angry when others have the favours they neglect. Still is Jesus rejected by multitudes who hear the same message from his words. While they crucify him afresh by their sins, may we honour him as the Son of God, the Saviour of men, and seek to show we do so by our obedience.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

Passing through the midst of, them, went his way - This escape was very remarkable. It is remarkable that he should escape out of their hands when their very object was to destroy him, and that he should escape in so peaceful a manner, without violence or conflict. A similar case is recorded in John 8:59. There are but two ways of accounting for this:

1. That "other Nazarenes," who had not been present in the synagogue, heard what was doing and came to rescue him, and in the contest that rose between the two parties Jesus silently escaped.

2. More probably that Jesus by divine power, by the force of a word or look, stilled their passions, arrested their purposes, and passed silently through them. That he "had" such a power over the spirits of people we learn from the occurrence in Gethsemane, when he said, "I am he; and they went backward and fell to the ground," John 18:6.

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

30. passing through the midst, &c.—evidently in a miraculous way, though perhaps quite noiselessly, leading them to wonder afterwards what spell could have come over them, that they allowed Him to escape. (Similar escapes, however, in times of persecution, are not unexampled.)

Matthew Poole's Commentary

See Poole on "Luke 4:28"

Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible

But he passing through the midst of them,.... Either in so strong and powerful a manner, and with so much swiftness, that being once out of their hands, they could not lay hold on him again; or else he put on another form, or made himself invisible to them; or he held their eyes that they could not see him, or know him, as in Luke 24:16 however it was, he made use of, and showed his divine power; and which he did, because his time to die was not yet come, nor was he to die such a death: and this also shows, that when he did die, he laid down his life freely and voluntarily, since he could then have exerted his power, and delivered himself out of the hands of his enemies, as now: and

went his way; from Nazareth elsewhere; nor do we read of his returning there any more.

Geneva Study Bible

But he passing through the midst of them went his way,

EXEGETICAL (ORIGINAL LANGUAGES)

Meyer's NT Commentary

Luke 4:30. Αὐτὸς δέ] But He, on His part, while they thus dealt with Him.

διὰ μέσου] emphatically: passed through the midst of them. According to Paulus, it was sufficient for this, “that a man of the look and mien of Jesus should turn round with determination in the face of such a mobile vulgus.” Comp. Lange, L. J. II. p. 548: “an effect of His personal majesty;” and III. p. 376: “a mysterious something in His nature.” Comp. Bleek. According to Schenkel, the whole attempt on the person of Jesus is only a later tradition. On the other hand, the old commentators have: φρουρούμενος τῇ ἡνωμένῃ αὐτῷ θεότητι, Euthymius Zigabenus; comp. Ambrosius, in addition to which it has been further supposed that He became invisible (Grotius and others). The latter view is altogether inappropriate, if only on account of διὰ μέσου αὐτ. But certainly there is implied a restraint of his enemies which was miraculous and dependent on the will of Jesus. It is otherwise in John 8:59 (ἐκρύβη). Why Jesus did not surrender Himself is rightly pointed out by Theophylact: οὐ τὸ παθεῖν φεύγων, ἀλλὰ τὸν καιρὸν ἀναμένων.

ἐπορεύετο] went on, that is to say, towards Capernaum, Luke 4:31, and therefore not back again to Nazareth as has been harmonistically pretended.

Expositor's Greek Testament

Luke 4:30. αὐτὸς δὲ, but He, emphatic, suggesting a contrast: they infuriated, He calm and self-possessed.—διελθὼν: no miracle intended, but only the marvel of the power always exerted by a tranquil spirit and firm will over human passions.

Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

30. passing through the midst of them] This is rather a mirabile than a miraculum, since no miracle is asserted or necessarily implied. The inherent majesty and dignity of our Lord’s calm ascendency, seem to have been sufficient on several occasions to overawe and cow His enemies; John 7:30; John 7:46; John 8:59; John 10:39-40; John 18:6 (see Psalm 18:29; Psalm 37:33).

went his way] Probably never to return again. Nazareth lies in a secluded valley out of the ordinary route between Gennesareth and Jerusalem. If after thirty sinless years among them they could reject Him, clearly they had not known the day of their visitation. It is the most striking illustration of St John’s sad comment, “He came unto His own possessions (τὰ ἴδια) and His own people (οἱ ἴδιοι) received Him not” (John 1:11).

Bengel's Gnomen

Luke 4:30. Ἐπορεύετο, He went His way) unimpeded as before.

Pulpit Commentary

Verse 30. - But he passing through the midst of them went his way. Not necessarily a miracle. There is nothing hinted here that our Lord rendered himself invisible, or that he smote his enemies with a temporary blindness. He probably quietly overawed these angry men with his calm self-possession, so that they forbore their cruel purpose, and thus he passed through their midst, and left Nazareth - as far as we know - forever. The foregoing is probably the same visit very briefly alluded to by St. Matthew (Matthew 13:54-58) and by St. Mark (Mark 6:1-6), in both Gospels related in unchronological order. Most likely they were aware of the incident, but ignorant of the exact place it held among the early events of the Master's life. St. Luke, who gives it with far greater detail, inserts it evidently in its right place. Is it not at least probable that St. Luke derived his accurate knowledge of this Nazareth incident from Mary, or from some of her intimate circle, from whom he procured the information which he embodied in the earlier chapters of his Gospel? She, and others of her friends, would be likely to have preserved some accurate memories of this painful visit of Jesus to his old home. Luke 4:30