When
it was day, he departed and went into an uninhabited place, and the multitudes looked for him, and came to him, and held on to him, so that he wouldn’t go away from them. But he said to them, “I must preach the good news of God’s Kingdom to the other cities also. For this reason I have been sent.”
Luke 4:42-43
Luke 4 [38.] He rose up from the synagogue, and entered into Simon’s house. Simon’s mother-in-law was afflicted with a great fever, and they begged him for her. He stood over her, and rebuked the fever; and it left her. Immediately she rose up and served them. When the sun was setting, all those who had any sick with various diseases brought them to him; and he laid his hands on every one of them, and healed them. Demons also came out of many, crying out, and saying, “You are the Christ, the Son of God!” Rebuking them, he didn’t allow them to speak, because they knew that he was the Christ.
Luke 4 [42.] When it was day, he departed and went into an uninhabited place, and the multitudes looked for him, and came to him, and held on to him, so that he wouldn’t go away from them. But he said to them, “I must preach the good news of God’s Kingdom to the other cities also. For this reason I have been sent.” He was preaching in the synagogues of Galilee.
Luke 5 [1.] Now while the multitude pressed on him and heard the word of God, he was standing by the lake of Gennesaret.
Meaning:
After a remarkable Sabbath in Capernaum, when Jesus taught with authority, cast out a demon and healed many sick people, the whole town wanted to keep Him. These verses show Jesus gently but firmly refusing to be held in one place, because He knew the purpose for which the Father had sent Him.
- Withdrawing at Daybreak:
“When it was day, he departed and went into an uninhabited place”: Mark tells us that Jesus rose while it was still dark and went out to pray (Mark 1:35). The hills and fields outside Capernaum offered quiet places away from the crowded houses of the fishing town. Jesus regularly made space to be alone with His Father, especially when demands on Him were greatest.
- The Crowds Held On to Him:
“the multitudes looked for him, and came to him, and held on to him, so that he wouldn’t go away from them”: The people of Capernaum had seen extraordinary things (Luke 4:36). In that culture a famous healer living in their town would bring honour, help and blessing to the whole community. Mark records that the disciples themselves hunted Jesus down and told Him, “Everyone is looking for you” (Mark 1:36-37).
Their desire was understandable, even affectionate, but it was too small. They wanted to keep Jesus for themselves, and in a sense to control Him. Jesus would not allow His mission to be limited by one town’s wishes.
- I Must Preach the Good News:
“I must preach the good news of God’s Kingdom to the other cities also”: The word “must” expresses divine necessity, a favourite idea in Luke’s Gospel. Jesus’ priority was the proclamation of the Kingdom of God, God’s saving rule breaking into the world through Him. Healing and deliverance were signs of that Kingdom, but the message itself was central. In Nazareth He had announced, “The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor” (Luke 4:18).
“For this reason I have been sent”: Jesus lived with a clear sense of being sent by the Father. His aim was not popularity but obedience, as He would later say in prayer, “I glorified you on the earth. I have accomplished the work which you have given me to do” (John 17:4). Luke then shows Him travelling, “preaching and bringing the good news of God’s Kingdom” through cities and villages (Luke 8:1).
The Significance of Luke 4:42-43 for Believers
- Knowing Our Purpose:
Jesus’ clarity about why He was sent helped Him say no to good things in order to say yes to the best. Believers, too, are sent people. Time with God in prayer helps us discern His priorities and resist pressures that would pull us off course.
- Compassion for the Many:
Jesus did not leave Capernaum because He cared less for its people, but because He cared for others who had not yet heard. “But when he saw the multitudes, he was moved with compassion for them, because they were harassed and scattered, like sheep without a shepherd” (Matthew 9:36). His heart for the next town should shape our concern for those who have not yet heard the Good News.
Cross-References:
Mark 1:36-37: Simon and those who were with him followed after him; and they found him, and told him, “Everyone is looking for you.” Mark’s account of the same morning.
Mark 1:38: He said to them, “Let’s go elsewhere into the next towns, that I may preach there also, because I came out for this reason.” Jesus’ reply as recorded by Mark.
Luke 4:18: "The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor." The mission for which Jesus was sent.
John 17:4: "I glorified you on the earth. I have accomplished the work which you have given me to do." Jesus’ lifelong commitment to the Father’s purpose.
Conclusion: Luke 4:42-43 shows Jesus withdrawing at daybreak and then refusing to be held back by the grateful crowds of Capernaum. He must preach the good news of God’s Kingdom in other cities, because that was why He had been sent. The passage calls us to seek God’s direction in prayer, to keep the message of the Kingdom at the centre, and to share Jesus’ compassion for people who have not yet heard.
PIB Scriptures are derived from the World English Bible