Luke 4

Chapter 4

The Temptation of Jesus

1 Then Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan River. He was led by the Spirit in the wilderness,t

2 where he was tempted by the devil for forty days. Jesus ate nothing all that time and became very hungry.

3 Then the devil said to him, “If you are the Son of God, tell this stone to become a loaf of bread.”

4 But Jesus told him, “No! The Scriptures say, ‘People do not live by bread alone.’t”
5 Then the devil took him up and revealed to him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time.6 “I will give you the glory of these kingdoms and authority over them,” the devil said, “because they are mine to give to anyone I please.

7 I will give it all to you if you will worship me.”

8 Jesus replied, “The Scriptures say,
‘You must worship the LORD your God
and serve only him.’t”9 Then the devil took him to Jerusalem, to the highest point of the Temple, and said, “If you are the Son of God, jump off!

10 For the Scriptures say,
‘He will order his angels to protect and guard you.11 And they will hold you up with their hands
so you won’t even hurt your foot on a stone.’t”

12 Jesus responded, “The Scriptures also say, ‘You must not test the LORD your God.’t”

13 When the devil had finished tempting Jesus, he left him until the next opportunity came.

Jesus Rejected at Nazareth

14 Then Jesus returned to Galilee, filled with the Holy Spirit’s power. Reports about him spread quickly through the whole region.

15 He taught regularly in their synagogues and was praised by everyone.
16 When he came to the village of Nazareth, his boyhood home, he went as usual to the synagogue on the Sabbath and stood up to read the Scriptures.

17 The scroll of Isaiah the prophet was handed to him. He unrolled the scroll and found the place where this was written:
18 “The Spirit of the LORD is upon me,
for he has anointed me to bring Good News to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim that captives will be released,
that the blind will see,
that the oppressed will be set free,19 and that the time of the LORD’s favor has come.t”20 He rolled up the scroll, handed it back to the attendant, and sat down. All eyes in the synagogue looked at him intently.

21 Then he began to speak to them. “The Scripture you’ve just heard has been fulfilled this very day!”

22 Everyone spoke well of him and was amazed by the gracious words that came from his lips. “How can this be?” they asked. “Isn’t this Joseph’s son?”
23 Then he said, “You will undoubtedly quote me this proverb: ‘Physician, heal yourself’—meaning, ‘Do miracles here in your hometown like those you did in Capernaum.’

24 But I tell you the truth, no prophet is accepted in his own hometown.
25 “Certainly there were many needy widows in Israel in Elijah’s time, when the heavens were closed for three and a half years, and a severe famine devastated the land.26 Yet Elijah was not sent to any of them. He was sent instead to a foreigner—a widow of Zarephath in the land of Sidon.

27 And there were many lepers in Israel in the time of the prophet Elisha, but the only one healed was Naaman, a Syrian.”
28 When they heard this, the people in the synagogue were furious.29 Jumping up, they mobbed him and forced him to the edge of the hill on which the town was built. They intended to push him over the cliff,

30 but he passed right through the crowd and went on his way.

Jesus Casts Out a Demon

31 Then Jesus went to Capernaum, a town in Galilee, and taught there in the synagogue every Sabbath day.

32 There, too, the people were amazed at his teaching, for he spoke with authority.
33 Once when he was in the synagogue, a man possessed by a demon—an evilt spirit—began shouting at Jesus,

34 “Go away! Why are you interfering with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are—the Holy One of God!”

35 Jesus cut him short. “Be quiet! Come out of the man,” he ordered. At that, the demon threw the man to the floor as the crowd watched; then it came out of him without hurting him further.
36 Amazed, the people exclaimed, “What authority and power this man’s words possess! Even evil spirits obey him, and they flee at his command!”

37 The news about Jesus spread through every village in the entire region.

Jesus Heals Many People

38 After leaving the synagogue that day, Jesus went to Simon’s home, where he found Simon’s mother-in-law very sick with a high fever. “Please heal her,” everyone begged.

39 Standing at her bedside, he rebuked the fever, and it left her. And she got up at once and prepared a meal for them.
40 As the sun went down that evening, people throughout the village brought sick family members to Jesus. No matter what their diseases were, the touch of his hand healed every one.

41 Many were possessed by demons; and the demons came out at his command, shouting, “You are the Son of God!” But because they knew he was the Messiah, he rebuked them and refused to let them speak.

Jesus Continues to Preach

42 Early the next morning Jesus went out to an isolated place. The crowds searched everywhere for him, and when they finally found him, they begged him not to leave them.43 But he replied, “I must preach the Good News of the Kingdom of God in other towns, too, because that is why I was sent.”

44 So he continued to travel around, preaching in synagogues throughout Judea.t

LUKE 4

Jesus and the Devil

(Matthew 4.1-11; Mark 1.12,13)

1 When Jesus returned from the Jordan River, the power of the Holy Spirit was with him, and the Spirit led him into the desert.

2 For 40 days Jesus was tested by the devil, and during that time he went without eating.t When it was all over, he was hungry.

3 The devil said to Jesus, “If you are God's Son, tell this stone to turn into bread.”

4  t Jesus answered, “The Scriptures say, ‘No one can live only on food.’ ”
5 Then the devil led Jesus up to a high place and quickly showed him all the nations on earth. 6 The devil said, “I will give all this power and glory to you. It has been given to me, and I can give it to anyone I want to.

7 Just worship me, and you can have it all.”

8  t Jesus answered, “The Scriptures say:
‘Worship the Lord your God
and serve only him!’ ”
9 Finally, the devil took Jesus to Jerusalem and had him stand on top of the temple. The devil said, “If you are God's Son, jump off.

10-11 t The Scriptures say:
‘God will tell his angels
to take care of you.
They will catch you
in their arms,
and you will not even hurt
your feet on the stones.’ ”

12  t Jesus answered, “The Scriptures also say, ‘Don't try to test the Lord your God!’ ”

13 After the devil had finished testing Jesus in every way possible, he left him for a while.

Jesus Begins His Work

(Matthew 4.12-17; Mark 1.14,15)

15 He taught in the Jewish synagogues, and everyone praised him.

The People of Nazareth //Turn against Jesus

(Matthew 13.53-58; Mark 6.1-6)

17 he was given the book of Isaiah the prophet. He opened it and read,

18  t “The Lord's Spirit
has come to me,
because he has chosen me
to tell the good news
to the poor.
The Lord has sent me
to announce freedom
for prisoners,
to give sight to the blind,
to free everyone
who suffers,

19 and to say, ‘This is the year
the Lord has chosen.’ ”

20 Jesus closed the book, then handed it back to the man in charge and sat down. Everyone in the synagogue looked straight at Jesus.

21 Then Jesus said to them, “What you have just heard me read has come true today.”

22 All the people started talking about Jesus and were amazed at the wonderful things he said. They kept on asking, “Isn't he Joseph's son?”

23 Jesus answered:
You will certainly want to tell me this saying, “Doctor, first make yourself well.” You will tell me to do the same things here in my own hometown that you heard I did in Capernaum.

24 t But you can be sure that no prophets are liked by the people of their own hometown.
25  t Once during the time of Elijah there was no rain for three and a half years, and people everywhere were starving. There were many widows in Israel, 26 t but Elijah was sent only to a widow in the town of Zarephath near the city of Sidon.

27 t During the time of the prophet Elisha, many men in Israel had leprosy.t But no one was healed, except Naaman who lived in Syria.
28 When the people in the synagogue heard Jesus say this, they became so angry 29 that they got up and threw him out of town. They dragged him to the edge of the cliff on which the town was built, because they wanted to throw him down from there.

30 But Jesus slipped through the crowd and got away.

A Man with an Evil Spirit

(Mark 1.21-28)

34 “Hey, Jesus of Nazareth, what do you want with us? Are you here to get rid of us? I know who you are! You are God's Holy One.”

35 Jesus ordered the evil spirit to be quiet and come out. The demon threw the man to the ground in front of everyone and left without harming him.
36 They all were amazed and kept saying to each other, “What kind of teaching is this? He has power to order evil spirits out of people!”

37 News about Jesus spread all over that part of the country.

Jesus Heals Many People

(Matthew 8.14-17; Mark 1.29-34)

39 So Jesus went over to her and ordered the fever to go away. Right then she was able to get up and serve them a meal.
40 After the sun had set, people with all kinds of diseases were brought to Jesus. He put his hands on each one of them and healed them.

41 Demons went out of many people and shouted, “You are the Son of God!” But Jesus ordered the demons not to speak because they knew he was the Messiah.
42 The next morning Jesus went out to a place where he could be alone, and crowds came looking for him. When they found him, they tried to stop him from leaving. 43 But Jesus said, “People in other towns must hear the good news about God's kingdom. This is why I was sent.” 44 So he kept on preaching in the synagogues in Judea.t