And Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit into Galilee: and there went out a fame of him through all the region round about.
Read Chapter 4
Ambrose of Milan
AD 397
The Lord in every thing so humbled Himself to obedience, that He did not despise even the office of a reader, as it follows, Andhe rose up to read, and there was delivered to him the book He received the book indeed, that He might show Himself to be the same who spoke in the Prophets, and that He might stop the blasphemies of the wicked, who say that there is one God of the Old Testament, another of the New; or who say that Christ had His beginning from a virgin. For how did He begin from a virgin, who spoke before that virgin was?.
You see the Trinity coeternal and perfect. The Scripture speaks of Jesus as perfect God and perfect man. It speaks of the Father, and the Holy Spirit, who was shown to be a cooperator, when in a bodily form as a dove He descended upon Christ.
Or, He is anointed all over with spiritual oil, and heavenly virtue, that He might enrich the poverty of man's condition with the everlasting treasure of His resurrection.
Or, by the acceptable year of the Lord, he mea...
He says this to explain to us the cause of the revelation made Or to the world, and of His taking upon Him the human nature. For as the Son, though He is the giver of. the Spirit, does not refuse to confess as man that by the Spirit He casts out devils, so, inasmuch as He was made man, He does not refuse to say, The Spirit of the Lord is upon me.
Or, He came to heal the broken hearted, i.e. to afford a remedy to those that have their heart broken by Satan through sin, because beyond all other things sinlays prostrate the human hears.
By the power of the Spirit he means showing forth of miracles.
And because wisdom belongs to teaching, but power to works, both are joined here, as it follows, And he taught in the synagogue.
They flocked together on the Sabbath day in the synagogues, that, resting from all worldly occupations, they might set themselves down with a quiet mind to meditate on the precepts of the Law. Hence it follows, And he entered as was his custom on the Sabbath day into the synagogue.
He is sent also to preach the Gospel to the poor, saying, Blessed are the poor, for yours is the kingdom of heaven.
Or, because it is written, A broken and a contrite heart God will not despise. He says therefore, that He is sent to heal the broken hearted, as it is written, Who heals the broken hearted.
Or, to set at liberty them that are bruised; i.e. to relieve those who had been heavy laden with the intolerable burden of the Law.
For not only was that year acceptable in which our Lord preached, but that also in whic...
And Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit into Galilee. In the Greek ε̉ν δυνάμει, in the power, strength, or force of the Spirit. Under a strong impulse of the Spirit, Jesus returned to Galilee. For the Holy Ghost was moving Him, and powerfully impelling Him to put forth at this time that spiritual power which He had received from the beginning of His conception, but which He had hitherto shut up and hidden within Himself, and to begin in Galilee with immense ardour and zeal, His ministry of preaching, and, confirm it by His admirable holiness of life and His stupendous miracles. Hence Theophylact renders it ε̉νθουσιω̃ν,driven and urged on by the enthusiasm and Divine afflatus of the Holy Ghost.
After he mightily defeated Satan—after he crowned human nature in his own person with the spoils won by the victory over Satan—he returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit, both exercising might and authority. He performed very many miracles and greatly astonished his people. He performed miracles, because he is by nature and in truth the Son of God the Father, not because he received the grace of the Spirit from the outside as a gift, as the company of the saints do. He took what was his as his own proper inheritance. Yes, he said to the Father, “All that is mine is yours, and yours mine, and I am glorified in them.” He is glorified therefore by exercising as his own might and power the power of the Spirit who shares his substance. Commentary on Luke, Homily
Now He performed miracles not from any external power, and from having as it were the acquired grace of the Holy Spirit, as other saints, but rather as being by nature the Son of God, and partaking of all things which are the Father's, He exercises as by His own power and operation that grace which is of the Holy Spirit. But it was right that from that time He should become known, and that the mystery of His humanity should shine forth among those who were of the seed of Israel. It therefore follows, And his fame went out.
He communicates the knowledge of Himself to those among whom He was brought up according to the flesh. As it follows, And he came to Nazareth.
In like manner we confess Him to have been anointed, inasmuch as He took upon Him our flesh, as it follows, Because he has anointed me. For the Divine nature is not anointed, but that which is cognate to us. So also when He says that He was sent, we must suppose Him speaking of His human nature. For it follows, He has sent me ...
What was the custom of him who had come just now? He had come to Galilee and had begun to teach, not outside of the synagogue but within it. Since the matter was known through their worship service, he came to talk to them about their God. Otherwise it would have been in order for him to proclaim to them outside their synagogue. Commentary on Tatian’s Diatessaron
The word captivity has many meanings. There is a good captivity, which St. Paul speaks of when he says, Bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ. There is a bad captivity also, of which it is said, Leading captive silly women laden with sins. There is a captivity present to the senses, that is by our bodily enemies. But the worst captivity is that of the mind, of which he here speaks. For sin exercises the worst of all tyrannies, commanding to do evil, and destroying them that obey it. From this prison of the soul Christ lets us free.
Of my family, for a light of Gentiles, that Thou mayst open the eyes of the blind"-of course, such as err-"to out loose from bonds the bound"-that is, to free them from sins-"and from the house of prison"-that is, of death-"such as sit in darkness"
That Hemight teach us to benefit and instruct first our brethren, then to extend our kindness to the rest of our friends.
But these things may be understood also of the dead, who being taken captive have been loosed from the dominion of hell by the resurrection of Christ. It follows, And recovering of sight to the blind.
