“But unto none of them was Elias sent, save unto Sarepta, a city of Sidon, unto a woman that was a widow.”
Yet Elijah was not sent to any of them, but to a widow in Zarephath in the region of Sidon — the yet Elijah was not sent to any of them is the shocking element: the many Israelite widows were bypassed. The specific Gentile widow (1 Kings 17:8–16) who received the miraculous provision is the illustration of God's sovereign freedom to extend the kingdom beyond the expected boundaries. The crowd will recognize the implication: if Jesus is the new Elijah, he may not confine his ministry to Nazareth either.
Church Fathers on Luke 4:26
When our Lord came to Nazareth, He refrains from miracles, lest He should provoke the people to greater malice. But He sets before them His teaching no less wonderful than His miracles. For there was a certain ineffable grace in our Savior’s words which softened the hearts of the hearers. Hence it is said, And they all bare him witness.
They bare Him witness that it was truly He, as He had said, of whom the prophet had spoken.
But what prevents Him from filling men with awe, though He were the Son as was supposed of Joseph? Do you not see the divine miracles, Satan already prostrate, men released from their sickness?
Read all 24 entries in the readerCatena Aurea · St. Thomas Aquinas, tr. J. H. Newman · public domain
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