This week's gospel text demonstrates well how each of the three synoptic gospel authors could use the same material, remain true to the sense and power of the story and yet sculpt it to their own purposes. Here, whereas Luke has the same basic story of Jesus' experience in Nazareth, he uses it quite differently from either Matthew or Mark.

Luke 4:14-15 combines comments scattered in Mark (1:14-15, 28, 39) to create a summary-type text, one of Luke's favorite compositions. Having already dealt with John the Baptist (3:20), Luke is ready for Jesus to begin his Galilean ministry. Verses 14-15 serve to close off the long introductory section Luke has provided his readers. That section had included an extensive documentation of pre-birth prophecies, birth narratives, childhood stories, baptisma…