Luke 4
Berean Standard Bible · Compare translations · AD 28 – AD 29 · Life of Jesus · Tap a verse to copy, share or highlight ·
44 verses · 932 words · ~5 min read · ~6 min listen
The Temptation of Jesus
1Then Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, 2where for forty days He was tempted by the devil. He ate nothing during those days, and when they had ended, He was hungry.
3The devil said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, tell this stone to become bread.”
4But Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone.’”
5Then the devil led Him up to a high place and showed Him in an instant all the kingdoms of the world. 6“I will give You authority over all these kingdoms and all their glory,” he said. “For it has been relinquished to me, and I can give it to anyone I wish. 7So if You worship me, it will all be Yours.”
8But Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God and serve Him only.’”
9Then the devil led Him to Jerusalem and set Him on the pinnacle of the temple. “If You are the Son of God,” he said, “throw Yourself down from here. 10For it is written:
12But Jesus answered, “It also says, ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’”
13When the devil had finished every temptation, he left Him until an opportune time.
Jesus Begins His Ministry
14Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit, and the news about Him spread throughout the surrounding region. 15He taught in their synagogues and was glorified by everyone.
The Rejection at Nazareth
16Then 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, 17the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to Him. Unrolling it, He found the place where it was written:
20Then He rolled up the scroll, returned it to the attendant, and sat down. The eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fixed on Him, 21and He began by saying, “Today this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.”
22All spoke well of Him and marveled at the gracious words that came from His lips. “Isnʼt this the son of Joseph?” they asked.
23Jesus said to them, “Surely you will quote this proverb to Me: ‘Physician, heal yourself! Do here in Your hometown what we have heard that You did in Capernaum.’”
24Then He added, “Truly I tell you, no prophet is accepted in his hometown. 25But I tell you truthfully that there were many widows in Israel in the time of Elijah, when the sky was shut for three and a half years and great famine swept over all the land. 26Yet Elijah was not sent to any of them, but to the widow of Zarephath in Sidon. 27And there were many lepers in Israel in the time of Elisha the prophet. Yet not one of them was cleansed—only Naaman the Syrian.”
28On hearing this, all the people in the synagogue were enraged. 29They got up, drove Him out of the town, and led Him to the brow of the hill on which the town was built, in order to throw Him over the cliff. 30But Jesus passed through the crowd and went on His way.
Jesus Expels an Unclean Spirit
31Then He went down to Capernaum, a town in Galilee, and on the Sabbath He began to teach the people. 32They were astonished at His teaching, because His message had authority.
33In the synagogue there was a man possessed by the spirit of an unclean demon. He cried out in a loud voice, 34“Ha! What do You want with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have You come to destroy us? I know who You are—the Holy One of God!”
35But Jesus rebuked the demon. “Be silent!” He said. “Come out of him!” At this, the demon threw the man down before them all and came out without harming him.
36All the people were overcome with amazement and asked one another, “What is this message? With authority and power He commands the unclean spirits, and they come out!” 37And the news about Jesus spread throughout the surrounding region.
Jesus Heals at Peterʼs House
38After Jesus had left the synagogue, He went to the home of Simon, whose mother-in-law was suffering from a high fever. So they appealed to Jesus on her behalf, 39and He stood over her and rebuked the fever, and it left her. And she got up at once and began to serve them.
40At sunset, all who were ill with various diseases were brought to Jesus, and laying His hands on each one, He healed them. 41Demons also came out of many people, shouting, “You are the Son of God!” But He rebuked the demons and would not allow them to speak, because they knew He was the Christ.
Jesus Preaches in Judea
42At daybreak, Jesus went out to a solitary place, and the crowds were looking for Him. They came to Him and tried to keep Him from leaving. 43But Jesus told them, “I must preach the good news of the kingdom of God to the other towns as well, because that is why I was sent.”
44And He continued to preach in the synagogues of Judea.
Footnotes (9)
- a v1 Or in the wilderness
- b v4 Deuteronomy 8:3; BYZ and TR on bread alone, but on every word of God.
- c v8 Deuteronomy 6:13; BYZ and TR Get behind Me, Satan! For it is written...
- d v11 Psalms 91:11–12
- e v12 Deuteronomy 6:16
- f v18 BYZ and TR He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives
- g v19 Or to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord; Isaiah 61:1–2(see also LXX)
- h v27 A leper was one afflicted with a skin disease. See Leviticus 13.
- i v44 BYZ and TR Galilee; see Mark 1:39.
Study notes on this chapter · 4
The year of Jubilee
Every fiftieth year slaves were freed, debts forgiven and land returned. In the Nazareth synagogue Jesus reads Isaiah 61, which speaks of a proclamation of release and the year of the LORD's favor, in language that echoes the Jubilee, and says 'Today this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing'.
When: Leviticus (Sinai era); Jesus' Nazareth sermon, c. AD 27–28.
Ways people read this (3)
- Jesus announces a spiritual Jubilee of forgiveness and freedom.
- Some also take it as a mandate for social release (debt, poverty and oppression); others say the application is primarily spiritual.
- It is uncertain how fully Israel actually kept the Jubilee.
Editorial note by BibleWay. Interpretations vary; dates are approximate scholarly estimates.
Tested in the wilderness, answering from Deuteronomy
In each of the three temptations Jesus answers with a verse from Deuteronomy, the book that recalls Israel's forty years of testing in the wilderness. Many readers see a deliberate contrast: where Israel failed the tests of hunger, testing God and false worship, Jesus, as faithful Son, succeeds.
When: Deuteronomy's speeches are set on the plains of Moab (traditionally c. 1406 BC); the temptations came after Jesus' baptism, c. AD 27–29.
Ways people read this (2)
- The wording points to Jesus as the true Israel, the Son who does what Israel did not.
- Others emphasize the quotations as a model of how any believer answers temptation with Scripture.
Editorial note by BibleWay. Interpretations vary; dates are approximate scholarly estimates.
Elijah and Elisha sent to outsiders
Preaching at Nazareth, Jesus reminds his hearers that Elijah was sent to a widow in Sidon and Elisha healed Naaman the Syrian, while many in Israel were passed over. The examples make his point that God's mercy goes beyond expected boundaries, which enrages the synagogue.
When: Elijah and Elisha, c. 870–800 BC; Jesus at Nazareth, c. AD 27–28.
Editorial note by BibleWay. Interpretations vary; dates are approximate scholarly estimates.
The Spirit of the Lord is upon me
An anointed messenger brings good news to the poor, freedom to captives, and a year of the LORD's favor. In the synagogue at Nazareth Jesus reads it and says, 'Today this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.'
When: Isaiah 56–66; read by Jesus c. AD 27–28.
Editorial note by BibleWay. Interpretations vary; dates are approximate scholarly estimates.