Luke 4:25-26
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, and Elijah was sent to none of them but only to Zarephath, in the land of Sidon, to a woman who was a widow.
English Standard Version (ESV)
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Jesus highlights that the prophecy he read wasn't just for "us" in Israel, but that God’s grace was extended to non-Israelites, like the widow in Zarephath, even during widespread famine. This points to a broader scope of God's mercy than his hometown audience expected.
Jesus has just read from Isaiah in his hometown synagogue, proclaiming himself the fulfillment of prophecy, but his listeners immediately turn hostile when he suggests his ministry will extend beyond their nation. He anticipates their anger by referencing two Old Testament prophets, Elijah and Elisha, who were sent to help foreigners and widows in times of great need, implying a similar pattern for his own ministry. This sets the stage for their rejection and his eventual departure from Nazareth.
Imagine a time when the very sky refused to weep, plunging a nation into desperate hunger. Jesus points to such a time.
The Sky Shut Down
Jesus isn't just recalling a historical event; he's highlighting a moment when God's direct action brought a nation to its knees. The text mentions a drought lasting "three years and six months." This wasn't just bad luck; it was a profound sign.
Why would God send His greatest prophets to help foreigners instead of His own people during a crisis?
God's Unexpected Reach
Jesus uses the stories of Elijah and Elisha to make a crucial point about God's willingness to extend His mercy beyond familiar boundaries. The people of Nazareth expected Jesus to perform miracles for them, just as they assumed prophets should always serve their own nation first.
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' reference to Elijah and Elisha highlights a pattern in God's dealings: often showing favor to outsiders when His own people, or even His hometown, reject Him. This historical context underscores the rejection Jesus faced in Nazareth and explains the crowd's fury.
c. 875-860 BC— this verse
Elijah's Ministry and Drought
During this period, the prophet Elijah confronted King Ahab and the people of Israel about their idolatry, leading to a drought that lasted three and a half years as a divine judgment. The prophet himself was sustained miraculously by God.
c. 874 BC
Elijah and the Widow of Zarephath
In the midst of the drought, Elijah was sent by God not to a widow in Israel, but to a foreign widow in Zarephath (near Sidon) where he performed miracles to sustain her and her son.
c. 874 BC
Elijah and the Prophet Challenge on Mount Carmel
Elijah challenged the prophets of Baal on Mount Carmel, God sent fire from heaven, and the drought was broken with the return of rain.
c. 850-840 BC
Elisha's Ministry Begins
Following Elijah's prophetic ministry, Elisha continued to serve as a prophet in Israel, performing many miracles and confronting religious and political corruption.
This passage recounts the story of Elijah being sent to a widow in Zarephath, a Gentile city, during the same drought Jesus mentions, highlighting God's favor extending beyond Israel.
1 Kings 18:1This verse marks the end of the drought mentioned by Jesus, stating that God told Elijah to show himself to Ahab 'before it rained,' directly referencing the fulfillment of the prophecy and the end of the famine.
2 Kings 5:1-14This account parallels Elijah's story with Elisha, where Naaman, a Syrian commander and thus a foreigner, is miraculously healed of leprosy, reinforcing Jesus' point about God's blessings reaching beyond the borders of Israel.
James 5:17James directly quotes the condition of Elijah's time as an example of fervent prayer, referencing the three years and six months of drought, which validates the historical and spiritual significance of Jesus' statement.
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 highlights that the prophecy he read wasn't just for "us" in Israel, but that God’s grace was extended to non-Israelites, like the widow in Zarephath, even during widespread famine. This points to a broader scope of God's mercy than his hometown audience expected.
Jesus has just read from Isaiah in his hometown synagogue, proclaiming himself the fulfillment of prophecy, but his listeners immediately turn hostile when he suggests his ministry will extend beyond their nation. He anticipates their anger by referencing two Old Testament prophets, Elijah and Elisha, who were sent to help foreigners and widows in times of great need, implying a similar pattern for his own ministry. This sets the stage for their rejection and his eventual departure from Nazareth.
Jesus has just read from Isaiah in his hometown synagogue, proclaiming himself the fulfillment of prophecy, but his listeners immediately turn hostile when he suggests his ministry will extend beyond their nation. He anticipates their anger by referencing two Old Testament prophets, Elijah and Elisha, who were sent to help foreigners and widows in times of great need, implying a similar pattern for his own ministry. This sets the stage for their rejection and his eventual departure from Nazareth.
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c. 840 BC
Elisha and Naaman the Syrian
During Elisha's ministry, Naaman, a commander in the Syrian army who was a foreigner and a leper, was miraculously healed by God's power through the prophet.
Early 1st century AD
Jesus' Public Ministry Begins
Jesus begins his public ministry, teaching and performing miracles throughout Galilee, drawing attention and fame.
c. AD 28
Jesus Rejected at Nazareth
Jesus returns to his hometown of Nazareth and reads from Isaiah in the synagogue, proclaiming himself the fulfillment of prophecy. When he speaks of God's favor shown to Gentiles like Elijah's Zarephathian widow and Naaman the Syrian, the crowd becomes enraged and attempts to throw him off a cliff.
"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, and Elijah was sent to none of them but only to Zarephat…" — Jesus highlights that the prophecy he read wasn't just for "us" in Israel, but that God’s grace was extended to non-Israelites, like the widow in Zarephath, even during widespread famine. This points…
