“And many lepers were in Israel in the time of Eliseus the prophet; and none of them was cleansed, saving Naaman the Syrian.”
And there were many in Israel with leprosy in the time of Elisha the prophet, yet not one of them was cleansed — only Naaman the Syrian — the Naaman illustration (2 Kings 5) doubles the point: many Israelite lepers, and the miracle goes to the Syrian general. The Gentile who humbles himself and obeys is cleansed; the Israelite lepers who presumably did not seek Elisha are passed by. The two illustrations together communicate the same theme: the kingdom's grace is not the exclusive possession of those who expect it.
Church Fathers on Luke 4:27
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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