Luke 4:25 - Printer Friendly

ESV: But in truth, I tell you, there were many widows in Israel in the days of Elijah, when the heavens were shut up three years and six months, and a great famine came over all the land,

NIV: I assure you that there were many widows in Israel in Elijah's time, when the sky was shut for three and a half years and there was a severe famine throughout the land.

NASB: But I say to you in truth, there were many widows in Israel in the days of Elijah, when the sky was shut up for three years and six months, when a severe famine came over all the land;

CSB: But I say to you, there were certainly many widows in Israel in Elijah's days, when the sky was shut up for three years and six months while a great famine came over all the land.

NLT: Certainly there were many needy widows in Israel in Elijah’s time, when the heavens were closed for three and a half years, and a severe famine devastated the land.

KJV: But I tell you of a truth, many widows were in Israel in the days of Elias, when the heaven was shut up three years and six months, when great famine was throughout all the land;

NKJV: But I tell you truly, many widows were in Israel in the days of Elijah, when the heaven was shut up three years and six months, and there was a great famine throughout all the land;

When Jesus arrives in His childhood hometown, the people struggle to believe He's anything more than another common Nazarene (Luke 4:22; Matthew 13:55; Mark 6:1–4). Jesus points out that this is a common problem for mankind (Luke 4:24). His former neighbors are stubbornly skeptical, but not hostile—yet.

Here, Jesus begins to point out that Israel has not always listened to God's messengers. When that happens, God sometimes sends those messengers to Gentiles (Luke 4:26–27). In Jesus' era, there was a heightened sense of angst against non-Jews. This was mostly thanks to the Roman occupation of Jerusalem and Judea. As soon as Jesus implies that God is willing to speak to Gentiles just as much as the Jews, the crowd will attack Him in a rage (Luke 4:28–30). Paul, speaking in Jerusalem, would suffer a similar reaction when speaking well of Gentiles (Acts 22:21–22).

The example Jesus uses here is recorded in 1 Kings chapter 17. As explained in the next verse (Luke 4:26), during a severe drought, the prophet Elijah was sent outside of Israel to perform miracles (1 Kings 17:14–16; 22–24).

Luke 4:14–30 records the earliest days of Jesus' public ministry. He begins teaching in synagogues before returning to His hometown of Nazareth. There, He reads a prophecy from Isaiah and claims that He has fulfilled it. When those familiar with Him imply that Jesus has no place making such claims, Jesus implies that God will send signs to Gentiles if Israel refuses to believe. This results in an uproar, though Jesus makes what seems to be a miraculous escape.

Jesus is taken into the wilderness by the Holy Spirit. While fasting there, He is tempted by Satan. These temptations share an element of ignoring God in favor of what seems easier or quicker. Jesus resists all of these, citing Scripture as He does. When Jesus returns, He preaches and heals to great publicity in Judea and Galilee. While His hometown responds with stubborn skepticism, others are eager to hear His teaching and experience His miraculous power.

Chapter 3 explained how John the Baptist preached to prepare others to receive Jesus Christ. Luke then provided Jesus' earthly ancestry. Chapter 4 begins with Jesus in the wilderness being tempted by Satan. He returns to preach and perform healing miracles in Judea and Galilee. Chapter 5 shows Him calling disciples and demonstrating further proofs of His authority.

Luke was a traveling companion of Paul (Acts 16:10) and a physician (Colossians 4:14). Unlike Matthew, Mark, and John, Luke writes his gospel as an historian, rather than as a first-hand eyewitness. His extensive writings also include the book of Acts (Acts 1:1–3). These are deliberately organized, carefully researched accounts of those events. The gospel of Luke focuses on the earthly ministry of Jesus Christ. Luke's Gentile perspective presents Christ as a Savior for all people, offering both forgiveness and direction to those who follow Him.