Scripture · Luke 4:14-15
Luke 4:16-21
Jesus in the Synagogue
Then Jesus came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up. As was His custom, He entered the synagogue on the Sabbath. And when He stood up to read, the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to Him. Unrolling it, He found the place where it was written: “The Spirit of the Lord is on Me, because He has anointed Me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent Me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to release the oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.” Then He rolled up the scroll, returned it to the attendant, and sat down. The eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fixed on Him, and He began by saying, “Today this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.”
Jesus stands in red at the center of a plain synagogue as the seated listeners turn toward him.
About the artwork
Jesus closes a book between His hands, framed by two columns. Most listeners turn inward, but one man near the front looks back toward us. The David Collection identifies his features with Niels Larsen Stevns, Skovgaard’s assistant. The backward glance briefly interrupts the circle of attention and gives the viewer a face to meet.
Painted in 1914, this is a preliminary work for the altarpiece in Herning Church; Stevns also carved that altarpiece’s frame. His presence connects the biblical listeners with the people making a new image for worship. Skovgaard places a contemporary colleague inside the question of how to hear the familiar sacred words anew.
Featured in: Luke 4 in Art: The Temptation, the Hometown Sermon, and the Verses Worth Remembering
What does Luke 4:16-21 mean?
Luke 4:16–21 brings Jesus to the synagogue in Nazareth. He reads Isaiah’s announcement of good news to the poor, release for captives and the oppressed, and sight for the blind. After returning the scroll and sitting down, he declares that the Scripture is being fulfilled in their hearing.
Skovgaard uses a bound book and keeps Jesus standing; Luke describes a scroll returned to the attendant and Jesus sitting before He speaks. The image gathers reading and proclamation into one posture. The claim of fulfillment is the turning point: the words the listeners know are now connected to the person they have known since childhood.
The room’s shared attention accompanies Luke’s moment when Isaiah’s promise is declared fulfilled before the people of Nazareth.
Sources
The David Collection — Jesus in the Synagogue. Exact preliminary work for Herning Church, closed book and the likeness of assistant Niels Larsen Stevns, who carved the altarpiece frame.
Luke 4 in Art: The Temptation, the Hometown Sermon, and the Verses Worth Remembering. Artwork reading adapted from this guide.
Luke 4 — Berean Standard Bible. Context for Luke 4:16-21.
Also from Luke:The Angel Appearing to ZachariasAnnunciation