Expositor's Bible Commentary Commentary Luke 4:24

"And he said, Verily I say unto you, No prophet is acceptable in his own country." — Luke 4:24 (ASV)

“I tell you the truth” is used six times in Luke to introduce a solemn assertion. This expression shows the authority with which Jesus spoke and is clearly an authentic word of Jesus. This introductory formula appears often in Mark and even more frequently in Matthew. The statement so solemnly introduced anticipates Jesus’ rejection. The word “accepted” (GK 1283) is the same one used in v.19 to describe “the year of the Lord’s favor.” The double use of this word in this context may be intended to show that, though God desires to accept the people, they are not responding by accepting the prophet who tells them of God’s grace. Jesus quotes a common adage that whoever achieves greatness is never fully trusted back home. But here its meaning is the deeper one that Jesus stands in the line of the prophets who were rejected by their own people.