Summary
This chapter begins with Jesus going into the wilderness. He is there for forty days during which he ate nothing. At the end of that time, the devil came to him and approached him with three specific tempta-tions. Jesus did not give in and responded each time with Scripture. Jesus then went into Galilee and taught in the synagogues. He returned to His hometown of Nazareth and read a prophecy from Isaiah. When the people perceived that He was applying this writing to Himself, they became angry and tried to harm Him. He then went to Capernaum where He did many miracles. Then He went to other cities preaching in the synagogues..
The Temptation of Jesus
4And Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the wilderness 2for forty days, being tempted by the devil. And he ate nothing during those days. And when they were ended, he was hungry. 3The devil said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command this stone to become bread.” 4And Jesus answered him, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone.’” 5And the devil took him up and showed him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time, 6and said to him, “To you I will give all this authority and their glory, for it has been delivered to me, and I give it to whom I will. 7If you, then, will worship me, it will all be yours.” 8And Jesus answered him, “It is written,
“‘You shall worship the Lord your God,and him only shall you serve.’”Question 1
What three specific temptations did the devil present to Jesus in the wilderness?
Question 2
What response from Scripture did Jesus give in each temptation?
9And he took him to Jerusalem and set him on the pinnacle of the temple and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down from here, 10for it is written,
“‘He will command his angels concerning you,to guard you,’11and
“‘On their hands they will bear you up,lest you strike your foot against a stone.’”12And Jesus answered him, “It is said, ‘You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.’” 13And when the devil had ended every temptation, he departed from him until an opportune time.
Jesus Begins His Ministry
14And Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit to Galilee, and a report about him went out through all the surrounding country. 15And he taught in their synagogues, being glorified by all.
Jesus Rejected at Nazareth
16And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up. And as was his custom, he went to the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and he stood up to read. 17And the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to him. He unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written,
18“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,because he has anointed meto proclaim good news to the poor.He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captivesand recovering of sight to the blind,to set at liberty those who are oppressed, 19to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”
Question 3
What response from Scripture did Jesus give in each temptation?
20And he rolled up the scroll and gave it back to the attendant and sat down. And the eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on him. 21And he began to say to them, “Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.” 22And all spoke well of him and marveled at the gracious words that were coming from his mouth. And they said, “Is not this Joseph’s son?” 23And he said to them, “Doubtless you will quote to me this proverb, ‘“Physician, heal yourself.” What we have heard you did at Capernaum, do here in your hometown as well.’” 24And he said, “Truly, I say to you, no prophet is acceptable in his hometown. 25But in truth, I tell you, there were many widows in Israel in the days of Elijah, when the heavens were shut up three years and six months, and a great famine came over all the land, 26and Elijah was sent to none of them but only to Zarephath, in the land of Sidon, to a woman who was a widow. 27And there were many lepers in Israel in the time of the prophet Elisha, and none of them was cleansed, but only Naaman the Syrian.” 28When they heard these things, all in the synagogue were filled with wrath. 29And they rose up and drove him out of the town and brought him to the brow of the hill on which their town was built, so that they could throw him down the cliff. 30But passing through their midst, he went away.
Jesus Heals a Man with an Unclean Demon
31And he went down to Capernaum, a city of Galilee. And he was teaching them on the Sabbath, 32and they were astonished at his teaching, for his word possessed authority. 33And in the synagogue there was a man who had the spirit of an unclean demon, and he cried out with a loud voice, 34“Ha! What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are—the Holy One of God.” 35But Jesus rebuked him, saying, “Be silent and come out of him!” And when the demon had thrown him down in their midst, he came out of him, having done him no harm. 36And they were all amazed and said to one another, “What is this word? For with authority and power he commands the unclean spirits, and they come out!” 37And reports about him went out into every place in the surrounding region.
Question 4
What specific miracles did Jesus perform at Capernaum?
Jesus Heals Many
38And he arose and left the synagogue and entered Simon’s house. Now Simon’s mother-in-law was ill with a high fever, and they appealed to him on her behalf. 39And he stood over her and rebuked the fever, and it left her, and immediately she rose and began to serve them.
40Now when the sun was setting, all those who had any who were sick with various diseases brought them to him, and he laid his hands on every one of them and healed them. 41And demons also came out of many, crying, “You are the Son of God!” But he rebuked them and would not allow them to speak, because they knew that he was the Christ.
Jesus Preaches in Synagogues
42And when it was day, he departed and went into a desolate place. And the people sought him and came to him, and would have kept him from leaving them, 43but he said to them, “I must preach the good news of the kingdom of God to the other towns as well; for I was sent for this purpose.” 44And he was preaching in the synagogues of Judea.
Question 5
What did Jesus say he must do?
People
- Jesus
- The Devil
- Nazarenes
- Simon's wife's mother
Tempted before beginning his teaching
Tempted Jesus
People in synagogue at Nazareth
Healed of a high fever
Places
- Wilderness of Judea
- Galilee
- Nazareth
- Capernaum
A southern region where Jesus was tempted.
The northern region where Jesus began his ministry.
Jesus’ hometown
Where Jesus healed many
The Temptation of Jesus
4And Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the wilderness 2for forty days, being tempted by the devil. And he ate nothing during those days. And when they were ended, he was hungry. 3The devil said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command this stone to become bread.” 4And Jesus answered him, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone.’” 5And the devil took him up and showed him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time, 6and said to him, “To you I will give all this authority and their glory, for it has been delivered to me, and I give it to whom I will. 7If you, then, will worship me, it will all be yours.” 8And Jesus answered him, “It is written,
“‘You shall worship the Lord your God,and him only shall you serve.’”Luke 4:2
Jesus was tempted by the devil as we are (see Hebrews 2:17-18; Hebrews 4:14-16).
Luke 4:2
The Greek word for “devil” here is “diabolos.” It means “accuser” or “slanderer.”
Luke 4:2
The devil wanted Jesus to offend God by sinning; he also wanted Jesus to abandon His mission.
Luke 4:3
If Jesus turned stones to bread, he would abuse His power for His own personal needs.
Luke 4:5
If Jesus worshiped Satan, he would he would compromise himself and be disloyal to God.
9And he took him to Jerusalem and set him on the pinnacle of the temple and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down from here, 10for it is written,
“‘He will command his angels concerning you,to guard you,’Luke 4:9
If Jesus jumped from the temple, he would force God’s hand and attempt to put Him in a position of acting at the direction of the one receiving the blessing rather than by His own will.
11and
“‘On their hands they will bear you up,lest you strike your foot against a stone.’”12And Jesus answered him, “It is said, ‘You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.’” 13And when the devil had ended every temptation, he departed from him until an opportune time.
Luke 4:12
Each of the three Scriptures Jesus uses is from Deuteronomy (Deuteronomy 8:3; Deuteronomy 6:13; and Deuteronomy 6:16) and occurs in situations where the Israelites had both tempted God and were tempted themselves.
Luke 4:13
The devil departed “for a season.” He always comes back.
Jesus Begins His Ministry
14And Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit to Galilee, and a report about him went out through all the surrounding country. 15And he taught in their synagogues, being glorified by all.
Luke 4:14
For more on the early part of Jesus’ ministry, one may read John 1:19 – 4:45.
Jesus Rejected at Nazareth
16And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up. And as was his custom, he went to the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and he stood up to read. 17And the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to him. He unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written,
Luke 4:17
The Scripture Jesus read at Nazareth can be found in Isaiah 61:1-2.
18“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,because he has anointed meto proclaim good news to the poor.He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captivesand recovering of sight to the blind,to set at liberty those who are oppressed, 19to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”
Luke 4:18
One should think of the “spiritual” significance of preaching, healing, delivering, recovering, etc.
20And he rolled up the scroll and gave it back to the attendant and sat down. And the eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on him. 21And he began to say to them, “Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.” 22And all spoke well of him and marveled at the gracious words that were coming from his mouth. And they said, “Is not this Joseph’s son?” 23And he said to them, “Doubtless you will quote to me this proverb, ‘“Physician, heal yourself.” What we have heard you did at Capernaum, do here in your hometown as well.’” 24And he said, “Truly, I say to you, no prophet is acceptable in his hometown. 25But in truth, I tell you, there were many widows in Israel in the days of Elijah, when the heavens were shut up three years and six months, and a great famine came over all the land, 26and Elijah was sent to none of them but only to Zarephath, in the land of Sidon, to a woman who was a widow. 27And there were many lepers in Israel in the time of the prophet Elisha, and none of them was cleansed, but only Naaman the Syrian.” 28When they heard these things, all in the synagogue were filled with wrath. 29And they rose up and drove him out of the town and brought him to the brow of the hill on which their town was built, so that they could throw him down the cliff. 30But passing through their midst, he went away.
Luke 4:25
This refers to Elijah and events in 1 Kings 17-18.
Luke 4:27
This refers to Elisha and Naaman in 2 Kings 5.
Jesus Heals a Man with an Unclean Demon
31And he went down to Capernaum, a city of Galilee. And he was teaching them on the Sabbath, 32and they were astonished at his teaching, for his word possessed authority. 33And in the synagogue there was a man who had the spirit of an unclean demon, and he cried out with a loud voice, 34“Ha! What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are—the Holy One of God.” 35But Jesus rebuked him, saying, “Be silent and come out of him!” And when the demon had thrown him down in their midst, he came out of him, having done him no harm. 36And they were all amazed and said to one another, “What is this word? For with authority and power he commands the unclean spirits, and they come out!” 37And reports about him went out into every place in the surrounding region.
Luke 4:33
The word for “demon” (daimonion) appears 23 times in Luke and appears to refer to evil spirits.
Jesus Heals Many
38And he arose and left the synagogue and entered Simon’s house. Now Simon’s mother-in-law was ill with a high fever, and they appealed to him on her behalf. 39And he stood over her and rebuked the fever, and it left her, and immediately she rose and began to serve them.
Luke 4:38
This Simon is the one Jesus later calls “Peter” (Matthew 16:18( and calls to be an apostle. Notice, he is married and it is his mother-in-law who is healed.
40Now when the sun was setting, all those who had any who were sick with various diseases brought them to him, and he laid his hands on every one of them and healed them. 41And demons also came out of many, crying, “You are the Son of God!” But he rebuked them and would not allow them to speak, because they knew that he was the Christ.
Jesus Preaches in Synagogues
42And when it was day, he departed and went into a desolate place. And the people sought him and came to him, and would have kept him from leaving them, 43but he said to them, “I must preach the good news of the kingdom of God to the other towns as well; for I was sent for this purpose.” 44And he was preaching in the synagogues of Judea.
Luke 4:43
Jesus here states the curent part of His misison and He must move to other places.
Perspectives
We will all be tempted by the devil as Jesus was. We should respond as He did by gaining strength from God’s Word to resist and maintain our faithfulness to God and what is right.
Jesus was the Messiah, the one who would fulfill the prophecies bring deliverance to God’s people.
Jesus was unique in His healing adn in His preaching. Both showed that He was from God.