Luke 4:37

Luk_4:37

And the fame of Him went out into every place of the country round about

The fame of Jesus

I.

Now, you will plainly perceive that my drift is as usual this morning. I want all my time, and strength, and power to spread the fame of Jesus in every place throughout the country. Well, then, WE WILL NOTICE THREE OR FOUR THINGS IN WHICH HE IS AND MUST BE FAMED. First of all, His fame is spread abroad with regard to the majesty of His Person. Moreover, He is famed for the offices which He sustains. Here a multitude will rush on my attention, but I will limit myself to the three which are well known and constantly dwelt upon. He is far-famed as a Prophet. And is He not famed as a Priest? Moreover, He is far-famed in His office as a Potentate. But we hasten on just to mark that our precious Christ is famed in the relative ties which He condescends to own. He is not ashamed to call His Church brethren. But let me just touch upon the extraordinary works which seem to have been the cause of the expression-- His fame was spread in every place of that country round about. What had He done? He had cast out devils, He had raised the dead, He had restored Simons wifes mother from the fever, He had removed the uncleanness of those who were possessed by an unclean spirit, He had wrought prodigies and miracles; and yet, though He had done so many mighty works among them, the enemies believed not on Him. And yet this caused Him to be far-famed. Moreover, His fame was not only to be published on account of the mighty works which He had done, but they were only typical, though real in their instances, of the greater work pertaining to His errand upon earth. And here I must limit myself to three things He does for sinners, that has spread His fame down to this hour, and shall do it while I have a voice to utter it, and to all eternity. He has redeemed sinners, He has rescued sinners, and He has received sinners, and all these acts publish his fame.

II. Now LET US GLANCE, IN THE SECOND PLACE, AT THE AGENTS EMPLOYED TO SPREAD HIS FAME. I cannot help mentioning, in the first place, His kindred, when He was sought for among His kinsfolks, and could not be found. And so in many other instances of His literal history which we now pass over to come to the point spiritually. It is His kindred that publish His fame. That is, those who are allied to Him by grace. Moreover, I beseech you to mark that no partaker of life Divine can consider it a matter of little importance in his life, that the fame of Jesus should be spread by him. And if you are doing nothing or saying nothing to spread the fame of Jesus, do not tell me you are related to Him. Bat not only do His kindred spread His fame; even His enemies must do it. I put this in contrast. You will recollect the Apostle Paul rejoiced in this: There are some that preach Christ of good-will, and some that preach Christ out of envy and strife. Further, mark that this precious, glorious, far-famed Jesus is exalted, and His fame is spread by the objects of His attention, for whom He wrought so much.

III. But I must hasten to a close with A WORD OR TWO RELATIVE TO THE RESULTS. And I will only mention two--the results among the wicked surrounding Him, and the results among the objects of the Fathers love given to Him. (J. Irons.)

The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Luk 4:37. Ἦχος, the sound of His fame) the rumour passing from mouth to mouth.

Bengel's Gnomon of the New Testament — English translation (T&T Clark, Edinburgh, 1860) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Luk 4:37 . ἦχος ( ἀκοὴ , Mk.), a sound, report; again in Luk 21:25 , Act 2:2 = ἠχώ in classics.

The Expositor's Greek Testament, edited by W. Robertson Nicoll (1897–1910) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Verse 37. The fame] ηχος, the sound. This is a very elegant metaphor. The people are represented as struck with astonishment, and the sound goes out through all the coasts; in allusion to the propagation of sound, by a smart stroke upon any substance, by which the air is suddenly agitated, and conveys the report made by the stroke to distant places. So this miracle was told to others by those who saw it, and they to others still, till it was heard through all the coasts of Galilee, Mr 1:28.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

37. the fame of him went out] Rather, a rumour about Him began to spread.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

And he arose out of the synagogue,.... That is, when he had dispossessed the unclean spirit, he rose up, and went out of the synagogue:

and entered into Simon's house; the house of Simon Peter, and which was also Andrew's; and in Beza's ancient copy, and in one of Stephens's, it is added, "and of Andrew"; who, though they were both natives of Bethsaida, yet, it seems, had an house at Capernaum, whither Christ went of his own accord, or by an invitation given him:

and Simons wife's mother was taken with a great fever. The Vulgate Latin version reads, "with great fevers". The fever is

"a disease, or rather a class of diseases, whose characteristic is a preternatural heat felt through the whole body, or, at least, the principal parts thereof, attended with other symptoms----"One" defines a fever, a strenuous endeavour, or effort of nature to throw off some morbific matter, that greatly incommodes the body.---- "Another", an augmented velocity of the blood; others, a fermentation of the blood; accompanied with a quick pulse and excessive heat.----The causes of fevers are innumerable, and the disease even often arises in the soundest bodies, where there was no previous morbific apparatus, as cachochymia, plethora, &c. but merely from a change of air, food, or other alteration in the non-naturals. A fever, "one" observes, is an inseparable companion of an inflammation. The symptoms are many: every fever, arising from any internal cause, is attended with a quick pulse, and unusual heat at different times, and in different degrees. Where these are intense, the fever is acute, where remiss, slow. The disease begins almost always with a sense of; chillness, and in its progress is chiefly distinguished by the velocity of the pulse: so that a too quick contraction of the heart, with an increased resistance, or impulse against the capillaries, furnishes the proper idea of a fever (z).''

The fever Peter's wife's mother lay ill of, is said to be a "great one"; which circumstance is the rather mentioned, to illustrate the miraculous cure of it by Christ; See Gill on Mat 8:14.

And they besought him for her; either his disciples Peter, Andrew, James, and John, who were all present, or the other relations and friends of the sick person, which were in the house; who having heard of his casting out the unclean spirit in the synagogue, believed that he had power to heal this disease; and therefore intreat him, for her sake, and upon her account, that he would restore her health.

(z) See Chambers's Cyclopaedia in the word "Fever".

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

37 And the fame of him went out into every place of the country round about.

Ver. 37. {See Trapp on "Mat 8:16"} {See Trapp on "Mar 1:28"}

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

And the fame of him went out; more accurately rendered, and there went out a rumor concerning him.

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

37. ἐξεπορεύετο ἦχος περὶ αὐτοῦ. ‘A loud rumour about Him began to spread.’ ἦχος is a more emphatic word, and implies a louder rumour than φήμη. The sense of the word in Act 2:2 (‘a loud voice’), Heb 12:19 (‘a trumpet blast’) is different.

Cambridge Greek Testament for Schools and Colleges (Cambridge University Press, 1896; 21 vols, various authors incl. Carr, Maclear, Plummer, Farrar, Lumby, Moule, M. R. James, Simcox) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

37. ἐξεπορεύετο ἦχος περὶ αὐτοῦ. In these sections attention is often directed to the impression which Jesus made on His audiences (vv. 20, 22, 32, 36) 26), and to the fame which spread abroad respecting Him (vv. 14, 15, 37, 40, 5:15, 17). Η῏χος (ὁ) occurs only here, Act 2:2, and Heb 12:19. In 21:25, ἦχους may be gen. of either ἡ ἠχώ or τὸ ἦχος. But the existence of τὸἦχος is doubtful. The more classical word is “ἡ ἠχή of which ὁ ἦχος is a later form. Hobart classes it as a medical word, esp. for noises in the ears or the head (p. 64).

As already stated, this healing of a demoniac is recorded by Mk., but not by Mt. Ebrard and Holtzmann would have us believe that it is to compensate for this omission that Mt. gives two demoniacs among the Gadarenes, where Mk. and Lk. have only one.

In considering the question of demoniacal possession we must never lose sight of the indisputable fact, that our sources of information clearly, consistently, and repeatedly represent Christ as healing demoniacs by commanding demons to depart out of the afflicted persons. The Synoptic Gospels uniformly state that Jesus went through the form of casting out demons.

If the demons were there, and Christ expelled them and set their victims free, there is nothing to explain: the narrative is in harmony with the facts.

If the demons were not there, and demoniacal possession is a superstition, we must choose between three hypotheses.

International Critical Commentary — older volumes (1896–1929), various authors — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

The fame [ηχος] . Lit., noise. Rev., rumor. Only here, chapter Luk 21:25, where the correct reading is hcouv, the roaring, and Act 2:2. Heb 12:19 is a quotation from the Septuagint. It is the word used in Act 2:2 of the mighty rushing wind at Pentecost. Mark uses ajkoh, in its earlier sense of a report. The same word occurs in Luke, but always in the sense in which medical writers employed it - hearing or the ears. See chapter Luk 7:1; Act 17:20; Act 28:26. Hcov was the medical tem for sound in the ears or head. Hippocrates uses both words together : " the ears [ακοαι] are full of sound [ηχου] ; ' and Aretaeus of the noise of the sea, as Luk 21:25.

38 - 41. Compare Mt 8:14 - 17; Mr 1:29 - 34.

Marvin R. Vincent, Word Studies in the New Testament (1887–1900) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.