The Pulpit Commentary — Luke — Volume 1 — Section 100

BBrily e. mJroole. There ii nothing hinted on the lake-shore, are generally believed to horo thcit our Lord rendered himself in- be the remains of the once rich and populous visible, or thcit he smote hie enemies with e. Capern:mm. And taught them on the Sab- tompomry blindness. He probably quietly bath days. ovomwed these e.ngry men with hie ccilm Ver. 32.-And they were astonished at his eelf-poseeesion, eo thcit they forbore their doctrine : for his word wae with power. We cruel purpose, e.nd thus he pciss(ld through have here again a pictnre which gives a their miwit, e.nd left Nazareth-as far as we general summary of Jesus' life extending know-for ever The foregoing is probcibly over a consiclerable period. This is the Ii fth the ecime visit very briefly alluded to by of these pictures of St. Luke. It rc·prceents St. Mcitthew (xiii. 51-58) and by St. Mark the Master dwelling quietly at Capernanm, (vi. 1-6), in both Gospcle related in unchro- in the midst of hie disciples, t-eaching c.nd nologice.l order. Most likely they were aware preaching; on the sahbath days gathering of tl1e incident, but ignorant of the exact a considerable concourse drawn from the plcice it held among the early events of the people at large, and generally surprising l'lfoeter'e life. St. Luke, who gives it with the listeners with bis earnestness, freshness, far greater detail, inserts it evidently in its and ability, which carried conviction into right place. Is it not at least probable that many a heart, Gentile as well e.s Jew. St. Luke derived hia accurate knowledge of Although this period of the life of Jesus this Nazciretb incident from Mary, or from was signalized by many miracles, it does some of her intimate circle, from whom be not seem that bis ordinary preaching e.ncl procured the informe.tion which he embodied teaching needed any such snpernatural tes- in the ee.rlier che.pters of hie Gospel? She, timony to enable it to win its way. St. and others of her friends, would be likely Luke especially tells as it was with power, to have preserved some accurate memorits and that the crowds beard it amazed e.nd of this painful visit of Jesus to hie old home. astonished. St. Matthew gives us (vii. W) Vere. 81--44.-AT CAPERNAUM, one reason, which helps us to understand Ver. 81.-And came down to Ce.pernaum. something of this success which attended Capemaum was the real home of the Master hie teaching. It was "not as the scribes." during the two years and a half of hie public In the Talmud we have many a fair speci- ministry. He obese this flourishing lake- men of the sacred instruction of the" schools" oity partly beosuse his kinsmen and first in the time of our Lord. Frivolous minutia, disciples lived in it or its immediate neigh- hair-splitting of texts, weary repetition of bourhood, but more especially on account of the sayings of the men of old, questions con- its situation. n has been termed tl.e very nected with the exact keeping oftlie sabbath, centre of the manufacturing distri,Jt of with the tithing of mint, anise, and curnmin, Palestine; it lay on the high-road which led a singular lack of all dealing with th" from Damascus and the Syrian cities to weightier matters of the Law-justice, judg- Tyre, Bidon, and Jerusalem. " It was. in ment, truth-were among the characteristics fact, on 'the way of the sea.' (lea.. ix. 1), the of the scribes' popular instruction. The great caravan-road which led (from the East) practical heart-searching words of Jesus t.o the Mediterranean. It was hence pecu- were in strong contrast with the curious liarly fitted to be the centre of a far-raacbing but useless themes dwelt on by the offioial ministry, of which even Gentiles would teachers of the clay. It was with the thirty- bear" (Farrar). The evangelist speaks of first verse of this chapter that the greo.t " coming down " to the shore of the lo.ke, in Gnostic heretic, Marden (second century) contrast with Nazareth, which was placed began his Gospel, which, in the early <lays in the bills. We do not meet with the name of Christianity, had a. vast circulation. Capernaum in the Old Testament; it there- Marcion, while preferring St. Luke's Gospd, fore appears not to have been a city belong- as emanating from St. Paul, before putting ing to remote antiquity. Its nnme is gcuc- it out as the authorifative Listorv to be used r11l!y interpreted as being compounded of by his numerous followers, cut out the earlier two worcls, signifying " town of consola- cha.pters of our Gospel, which bore on the tion," o,ni ,DJ-a beautiful and significant birth and infancy of the Lord, commencing derivation. It mciy, however, originally here-prefixing, however, a note of tirue, have taken ile no.me from the Prophet thus: "In the fifteenth year of the govern- Nahum. Josephus, the historian, tells us ment ofTiberius,Jesus went clown" (l\Iaroion the name originally belonged to a fountciin. probably intended it to be nnderstood fro,ra He dwells also on tb.e mildness of the cli- heav611) "into the town of Galilee name<l mate; it would therefore seem as though, in Caperncium." the first place, Capernaum wa1 used as a Ver. 83.-And in the synagog11e there was health resort, and then its admirable situa- a man, whioh had a spirit of an unclean tion favoure<l its cidoption as a convenient devil. After the generul picture of Jcdu,i' oeutro. 'l'ho oxtonsive ruiWI of Tel-Hum, life aaJ w~rk in Ce.peruauw, St. Luk,i pro-  92 TEIE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO BT. LUKE. [on. tv. 1-44.