Luke’s Skillful Account of the Unsuccessful Inaugural Speech in Nazareth: A Narrative Study of Luke 4:16-30

Jesus’ inaugural speech in the synagogue in Nazareth opens an important part of the Gospel of Luke, i.e., the ministry of Jesus in Galilee (Luke 4:14-9:50). It serves as a temporal marker that opens a new part of the gospel that sets into motion a chain of events. It also functions as the exposé of the program which Jesus will carry out during his mission starting in Galilee and leading him up to the cross on Calvary. The present study contends that inaugural speech in the synagogue of Nazareth gives also a glimpse into Luke’s own writing skills and his intention to present an orderly account of “what happened among us” (Luke 1:1-4). Thus, the story in the synagogue of Nazareth not only presents the program of Jesus’ mission, it also familiarizes the reader with different kind of rhetorical strategies and techniques employed by the author of the Third Gospel aiming to persuade the implied reader / listener of the solidity and certainty of the teaching received.