Luke 4:25
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,
English Standard Version (ESV)
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Jesus points out that during a severe drought, Elijah was sent to a Gentile widow, not to one of the many Israelite widows who surely also suffered. This highlights that God's favor isn't automatically guaranteed to those within the chosen nation, especially when their faith is lacking.
Jesus is responding to the people of his hometown, Nazareth, who are upset because he's not performing miracles for them as he has in other towns. He's explaining that prophets are often not honored in their own lands, using the examples of Elijah and Elisha who were sent to help foreigners instead of many in need within Israel. This passage highlights the theme of rejection, setting the stage for the intense opposition Jesus faces from his own people.
Understand the original words
Yiśrāʾēl · Hebrew Proper Noun
A term denoting the covenant people of God, descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, chosen to be a light to the nations and the vehicle through which the Messiah would come.
limos · Greek Noun
A period of severe scarcity of food, often associated in Scripture with divine judgment, testing, or a call to repentance, yet also serving as a context for God's miraculous provision.
Jesus uses these historical examples to show that God's favor and miraculous power are not limited to His own people, a truth the people of Nazareth struggled to accept, ultimately leading to their rejection of Him.
c. 9th century BC— this verse
Elijah's Drought and Ministry
During the reign of Ahab in Israel, the prophet Elijah declared a drought that lasted three and a half years, a period of severe famine. He was miraculously sustained and then commanded to go to Zarephath, a Gentile city, to help a widow there.
c. 9th century BC
Elisha's Ministry and Naaman's Healing
Later, the prophet Elisha ministered in Israel. While there were many lepers in Israel, he was sent by God to heal Naaman, a Syrian general, demonstrating God's power extending beyond Israel.
Early 1st century AD
Jesus' Ministry in Galilee
Jesus begins his public ministry in Galilee, performing miracles and teaching. His fame spreads throughout the region.
Early 1st century AD
Rejection at Nazareth
Jesus visits his hometown of Nazareth and reads from Isaiah in the synagogue, proclaiming himself the Messiah. The crowd, initially impressed, turns hostile when he points out God's favor shown to foreigners (like the widow of Zarephath and Naaman the Syrian) rather than solely to them.
This passage tells the story of Elijah being sent to a widow in Zarephath, a Gentile town, during the same drought Jesus references, highlighting God's work outside of Israel.
This passage shows the end of the drought and Elijah's prayer for rain after the confrontation on Mount Carmel, underscoring the duration of the famine Jesus mentions.
This account details Elisha healing Naaman, a Syrian commander, of leprosy, paralleling Elijah's story and illustrating God's favor extending to foreigners when rejected by His own people.
Luke 4:14-22This immediately precedes the verse in question, showing Jesus reading from Isaiah and proclaiming good news to the poor, setting the stage for His explanation of why His own townspeople would reject Him.
James 5:17-18This New Testament passage directly references Elijah and his prayer, connecting the Old Testament narrative of drought and God's intervention to the broader theme of persistent prayer and divine power.
cambridgeLuke 4:25: "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;"
25 . many widows were in Israel ] So far from trying to flatter them, He tells them that His work is not to be for their special benefit or glorification, but that He had now passed far beyond the limitations of earthly relationships. three years and six months ] Such was the Jewish tradition, as we see al…
jfbLuke 4:25: "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;"
25-27. But I tell you, &c.—falling back for support on the well-known examples of Elijah and Elisha (Eliseus), whose miraculous power, passing by those who were near, expended itself on those at a distance, yea on heathens, "the two great prophets who stand at the commencement of prophetic antiquity, and w…
Jesus points out that during a severe drought, Elijah was sent to a Gentile widow, not to one of the many Israelite widows who surely also suffered. This highlights that God's favor isn't automatically guaranteed to those within the chosen nation, especially when their faith is lacking.
Jesus is responding to the people of his hometown, Nazareth, who are upset because he's not performing miracles for them as he has in other towns. He's explaining that prophets are often not honored in their own lands, using the examples of Elijah and Elisha who were sent to help foreigners instead of many in need within Israel. This passage highlights the theme of rejection, setting the stage for the intense opposition Jesus faces from his own people.
Jesus is responding to the people of his hometown, Nazareth, who are upset because he's not performing miracles for them as he has in other towns. He's explaining that prophets are often not honored in their own lands, using the examples of Elijah and Elisha who were sent to help foreigners instead of many in need within Israel. This passage highlights the theme of rejection, setting the stage for the intense opposition Jesus faces from his own people.
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"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," — Jesus points out that during a severe drought, Elijah was sent to a Gentile widow, not to one of the many Israelite widows who surely also suffered. This highlights that God's favor isn't automatical…
