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Luke 4

And Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the wilderness

for forty days, being tempted by the devil. And he ate nothing during those days. And when they were ended, he was hungry.

The devil said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command this stone to become bread.”

And Jesus answered him, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone.’”

And the devil took him up and showed him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time,

and 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.

If you, then, will worship me, it will all be yours.”

And Jesus answered him, “It is written, “‘You shall worship the Lord your God, and him only shall you serve.’”

And 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,

for it is written, “‘He will command his angels concerning you, to guard you,’

and “‘On their hands they will bear you up, lest you strike your foot against a stone.’”

And Jesus answered him, “It is said, ‘You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.’”

And when the devil had ended every temptation, he departed from him until an opportune time.

And Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit to Galilee, and a report about him went out through all the surrounding country.

And he taught in their synagogues, being glorified by all.

And 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.

And the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to him. He unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written,

“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed,

to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”

And 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.

And he began to say to them, “Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.”

And 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?”

And 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.’”

And he said, “Truly, I say to you, no prophet is acceptable in his hometown.

But 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,

and Elijah was sent to none of them but only to Zarephath, in the land of Sidon, to a woman who was a widow.

And there were many lepers in Israel in the time of the prophet Elisha, and none of them was cleansed, but only Naaman the Syrian.”

When they heard these things, all in the synagogue were filled with wrath.

And 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.

But passing through their midst, he went away.

And he went down to Capernaum, a city of Galilee. And he was teaching them on the Sabbath,

and they were astonished at his teaching, for his word possessed authority.

And in the synagogue there was a man who had the spirit of an unclean demon, and he cried out with a loud voice,

“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.”

But 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.

And 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!”

And reports about him went out into every place in the surrounding region.

And 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.

And he stood over her and rebuked the fever, and it left her, and immediately she rose and began to serve them.

Now 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.

And 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.

And 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,

but 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.”

And he was preaching in the synagogues of Judea.

Scripture quotations marked “ESV” are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), © 2001 by Crossway. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

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Luke 4

The Spirit leads the full-of-the-Spirit Jesus into the wilderness for forty days, where three temptations target the identity declared at the baptism: stones into bread tests the Father's provision, the kingdoms of the world tests the path to the messianic inheritance, and the temple pinnacle tests the reliability of the divine protection. Each temptation is defeated with Deuteronomy — the word of God against the misuse of Scripture. Jesus returns to Galilee in the power of the Spirit and delivers the programmatic Nazareth sermon, reading Isaiah 61 and declaring today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing. The positive reception turns hostile when two Elijah-Elisha illustrations suggest that the kingdom's grace may reach Gentiles before Israel — the congregation attempts to throw Jesus off a cliff, but he walks through the crowd. Capernaum becomes the new ministry base: in the synagogue an unclean spirit confesses Jesus as the Holy One of God and is expelled; Peter's mother-in-law is healed at evening; at sunset the entire sick population of the city is healed at the door. The chapter closes with Jesus refusing to be confined to Capernaum: I must proclaim the kingdom to the other towns also, for that is why I was sent.

Luke 4:1

Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, left the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness — full of the Holy Spirit (plērēs pneumatos hagiou) is Luke's characteristic description of those whom the Spirit empowers for ministry. The Spirit that descended at the baptism now leads Jesus into the wilderness — the same Spirit is both the gift at the baptism and the guide into the testing. The wilderness is not where the Spirit abandons Jesus but where the Spirit takes him.

Luke 4:2

Where for forty days he was tempted by the devil. He ate nothing during those days, and at the end of them he was hungry — the forty days of testing echo Israel's forty years, Moses's forty days, and Elijah's forty-day journey. He ate nothing during those days communicates genuine physical privation — the testing occurs in the context of real hunger, real physical weakness. At the end of them he was hungry: the understatement is characteristic of Luke — forty days without food produces genuine, extreme hunger.

Luke 4:3

The devil said to him, if you are the Son of God, tell this stone to become bread — the first temptation targets the baptismal declaration (you are my Son) and the physical need (hunger): if you really are the Son of God, use that status to solve your physical problem. Tell this stone to become bread: the specific stone suggests a stone shaped like a loaf — the visual representation of the need. The temptation is to use the divine identity for self-provision rather than trusting the Father's provision.

Luke 4:4

Jesus answered, it is written: man shall not live on bread alone — Deuteronomy 8:3 is the response: the verse from Israel's wilderness experience addresses the same temptation that Israel faced with the manna. Man shall not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of God: the provision of the Father is more fundamental than physical food. Jesus refuses to short-circuit the Father's provision by using divine power for self-service.

Luke 4:5

The devil led him up to a high place and showed him in an instant all the kingdoms of the world — the second temptation in Luke is the kingdoms temptation (Matthew reverses the order of the second and third). All the kingdoms of the world shown in an instant communicates the visionary character of the experience — not a literal mountain from which all kingdoms are visible but a supernatural showing of the world's political domains.

Luke 4:6

And he said to him, I will give you all their authority and splendor; it has been given to me, and I can give it to anyone I want to — the devil's claim to have authority over all the kingdoms is the worldview of the powers-of-this-age theology: the world's political structures are under Satanic dominion until the kingdom of God displaces them. The claim may not be entirely false — the New Testament acknowledges Satanic dominion over the current age — but the offer is the temptation to receive the kingdom without the cross.

Luke 4:7

If you worship me, it will all be yours — the terms are explicit: worship (proskyneō) me and receive all the kingdoms. The temptation is to achieve the messianic goal (rule over all nations) through the wrong means (worship of Satan). The kingdoms that Jesus will receive through suffering, death, and resurrection are offered here as a shortcut — the Messiah can have the result without the cost if he will simply worship the wrong lord.

Luke 4:8

Jesus answered, it is written: worship the Lord your God and serve him only — Deuteronomy 6:13 addresses the Shema's practical implication: the exclusive worship and service of the Lord. The response does not argue with the devil's claim to authority — it asserts the absolute priority of the divine claim regardless of what the devil can offer. Worship and serve only: the exclusive devotion that the Shema requires is the counter to the offer of kingdoms through false worship.

Luke 4:9

The devil led him to Jerusalem and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. If you are the Son of God, he said, throw yourself down from here — the third temptation in Luke is the temple jump. The highest point of the temple (to pterygion, the pinnacle, possibly the southeast corner overlooking the Kidron Valley) is the setting. If you are the Son of God again targets the baptismal identity. The temptation is to demonstrate divine sonship by staging a spectacular miracle that forces God to intervene.

Luke 4:10

For it is written: he will command his angels concerning you to guard you carefully — the devil quotes Psalm 91:11–12, using Scripture as a tool of temptation. The Psalm's promise of angelic protection is invoked to justify a deliberate test of God's faithfulness. The use of Scripture by the tempter establishes that the criterion for discerning temptation is not whether Scripture is cited but whether the cited text is being applied in accordance with its original meaning and purpose.

Luke 4:11

They will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone — the promise of the Psalm continues: angelic intervention to prevent even the smallest harm. The application to a deliberate self-endangerment goes beyond the Psalm's intent — the Psalm promises protection in ordinary danger, not a staged test. The temptation is to use the divine protection as a proof-of-concept demonstration rather than trusting it in ordinary need.

Luke 4:12

Jesus answered, it is said: do not put the Lord your God to the test — Deuteronomy 6:16 responds to the Psalm misapplication: testing the Lord is the sin of Massah (Exodus 17:2, 7) — demanding that God prove himself by performing on demand. Do not put the Lord your God to the test: the relationship between the Son and the Father is not one of demand and demonstration but of trust and obedience. The response to the scriptural temptation is a clearer scripture.

Luke 4:13

When the devil had finished all this tempting, he left him until an opportune time — when the devil had finished all this tempting: the three temptations are comprehensive (Luke's phrasing suggests all possible forms of temptation have been represented). He left him until an opportune time (achri kairou, until a season): the testing is not over — the devil departs and waits for the next opportunity. The Gethsemane prayer and the passion narrative are the recurring moments when the opportune time returns.

Luke 4:14

Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit, and news about him spread through the whole countryside — the return to Galilee in the power of the Spirit is the transition from the wilderness testing to the public ministry. The power of the Spirit (en tē dynamei tou pneumatos) communicates that the forty-day testing has not weakened but confirmed the Spirit's empowerment. News spreading through the whole countryside anticipates the Galilean ministry's geographic reach.

Luke 4:15

He was teaching in their synagogues, and everyone praised him — the synagogue teaching is the Galilean ministry's primary venue. Everyone praised him (doxazomenos hypo pantōn): the initial reception in Galilee is universally positive — the opposition that will develop is not yet evident. The praise is the appropriate response to the Spirit-powered teaching.

Luke 4:16

He went to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, and on the Sabbath day he went into the synagogue, as was his custom. He stood up to read — the Nazareth synagogue visit is placed early in Luke's Gospel (in Mark and Matthew it comes much later, after significant ministry elsewhere). As was his custom: Jesus' Sabbath synagogue attendance is a regular practice, not a special occasion. He stood up to read communicates the formal posture for Scripture reading in the synagogue.

Luke 4:17

And the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him. Unrolling it, he found the place where it is written — the scroll of Isaiah handed to Jesus by the attendant is the occasion for the programmatic self-disclosure of the Nazareth sermon. The finding of the place suggests deliberate searching rather than random opening — Jesus is looking for a specific text. The Isaiah scroll is the appropriate vehicle for the messianic announcement because Isaiah is the Gospel of the Old Testament.

Luke 4:18

The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free — Isaiah 61:1–2 is the text Jesus reads and applies to himself. The Spirit of the Lord is on me: the anointing claimed here is the baptismal Spirit-filling. The five elements of the mission — good news to the poor, freedom for prisoners, sight for the blind, freedom for the oppressed, and proclamation of the year of the Lord's favor — are the Luke program statement.

Luke 4:19

To proclaim the year of the Lord's favor — the year of the Lord's favor is the Jubilee year of Leviticus 25 — the year of release when debts were cancelled, slaves freed, and land returned to its original owners. Jesus' proclamation of this year is the declaration of the cosmic Jubilee — the definitive release from every form of bondage that the Jubilee anticipated.

Luke 4:20

Then he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant and sat down. The eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fastened on him — the rolling up of the scroll, returning it to the attendant, and sitting down are the formal actions of completing the reading and beginning the exposition. Teachers sat to teach in the synagogue tradition (cf. Matthew 5:1). The eyes of everyone fastened on him communicates the electrified expectation — the congregation senses that something important is about to be said.

Luke 4:21

He began by saying to them, today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing — today (sēmeron) is Luke's characteristic word for the eschatological present — the decisive now of fulfillment. This scripture is fulfilled (peplērōtai): the perfect tense communicates the completion — the fulfillment is accomplished, not merely anticipated. In your hearing: the presence of the one who fulfills the scripture is what makes this hearing different from every previous reading of the same text.

Luke 4:22

All spoke well of him and were amazed at the gracious words that came from his lips. Isn't this Joseph's son? they asked — the initial response is positive: all spoke well of him and were amazed. The gracious words (logois tēs charitos) are the words of the kingdom — not harsh words but words of grace and invitation. The question isn't this Joseph's son? is the beginning of the rejection: the familiarity that knows Jesus as the carpenter's son cannot hold the claim he is making.

Luke 4:23

Jesus said to them, surely you will quote this proverb to me: physician, heal yourself! And you will tell me: do what we have heard that you did in Capernaum, do here in your hometown also — the physician proverb anticipates the hometown crowd's demand: if you are who you claim to be, demonstrate it here for us, as you did elsewhere. The demand for a hometown performance misunderstands the nature of the ministry — the miracles are responses to faith, not demonstrations on demand.

Luke 4:24

Truly I tell you, no prophet is accepted in his hometown — the prophet-without-honor saying grounds the rejection in the prophetic pattern. No prophet is accepted in his hometown: the familiarity that claims to know the prophet's origins prevents the recognition of the prophet's mission. Nazareth has too much information about Joseph and Mary's son to see clearly the Son of God.

Luke 4:25

I assure you that there were many widows in Israel in Elijah's time, when the sky was shut for three and a half years and there was a severe famine throughout the land — the two Elijah-Elisha illustrations are the most provocative element of the Nazareth sermon. In Elijah's time, with famine across Israel, God sent the prophet not to an Israelite widow but to Zarephath in Sidon — Gentile territory. The illustration communicates that the divine initiative is not limited to Israel's geographic and ethnic boundaries.

Luke 4:26

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.

Luke 4:27

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.

Luke 4:28

All the people in the synagogue were furious when they heard this — the furious (eplēsthēsan thymou, filled with anger) response communicates that the crowd understood exactly what Jesus was saying. The Elijah-Elisha illustrations are not abstract theological points — they imply that the hometown crowd may miss the visitation that Gentile outsiders receive. The anger is the anger of people who believe their privilege is being denied.

Luke 4:29

They got up, drove him out of the town, and took him to the brow of the hill on which the town was built, in order to throw him down the cliff — the attempted execution by throwing off a cliff is the first attempt on Jesus' life in Luke — remarkably early in the ministry (the third temptation in the wilderness, throwing from the temple pinnacle, has given way to a real crowd attempting to throw Jesus from a real cliff). The brow of the hill connects the attempted murder to the physical geography of Nazareth.

Luke 4:30

But he walked right through the crowd and went on his way — the passing through the crowd is the first of Jesus' escapes in Luke that depend on divine protection rather than human effort. He walked right through (dielthōn dia mesou autōn) — the crowd that had driven him to the cliff cannot stop him. The time for his death has not yet come; he goes on his way (eporeueto) — the journey continues.

Luke 4:31

Then he went down to Capernaum, a town in Galilee, and on the Sabbath he taught the people — the descent to Capernaum from Nazareth is literal (Capernaum is at the lake, lower than the Galilean highlands) and narrative: after the rejection at home, the ministry expands at the new base. The Sabbath teaching in Capernaum's synagogue parallels the Nazareth Sabbath — same setting, very different reception.

Luke 4:32

They were amazed at his teaching, because his message had authority — the Capernaum amazement at the authority (exousia) of the teaching echoes Mark 1:22. The authority is not the authority of citation and tradition but the authority of the one who speaks what he himself knows. The contrast with the Nazareth rejection is implicit: where Nazareth knew the carpenter's son, Capernaum hears the teacher with authority.

Luke 4:33

In the synagogue there was a man possessed by a demon, an impure spirit. He cried out at the top of his voice — the demonic disruption of the Capernaum synagogue service is the same event as Mark 1:23–26. The impure spirit cannot remain passive in Jesus' presence — the same pattern as throughout Mark. The crying out communicates both the spirit's recognition of Jesus and its resistance to the encounter.

Luke 4:34

Go away! 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 — the demon's speech combines the command to go away (an attempt to repel) with the accurate confession (I know who you are — the Holy One of God). What do you want with us is the Hebrew idiom of incompatibility. Have you come to destroy us: the demon understands the eschatological significance of Jesus' arrival. The Messianic Secret begins: the demon knows, but the congregation does not yet.

Luke 4:35

Be quiet! Jesus said sternly. Come out of him! Then the demon threw the man down before them all and came out without injuring him — the two-part command (silence, then expulsion) is characteristic of the exorcism accounts. Without injuring him (mēden blapsas) is Luke's addition — the Spirit-filled physician who heals does not harm. The throwing down without injury demonstrates both the spirit's resistance and the completeness of its defeat.

Luke 4:36

All the people were amazed and said to each other, what words these are! With authority and power he gives orders to impure spirits and they come out — the amazement combines authority (exousia) and power (dynamis) — the two dimensions of Jesus' ministry. What words: the exorcism is interpreted as a verbal act — the command is the act. The spirits obey the word: this is the word of the one through whom the cosmos was created (John 1:1–3).

Luke 4:37

And the news about him spread throughout the surrounding area — the spreading news is the immediate consequence of each miracle in Luke. The surrounding area communicates geographic expansion from the single synagogue event — one exorcism in one synagogue becomes regional news.

Luke 4:38

Jesus left the synagogue and went to the home of Simon. Now Simon's mother-in-law was suffering from a high fever, and they asked Jesus to help her — the domestic setting follows the synagogue setting immediately. Simon's mother-in-law has a high fever (pyretos megas, a great fever) — Luke the physician notes the severity. They asked Jesus to help her (ērōtēsan auton peri autēs): the household's intercession on behalf of the suffering woman is the faith-acting-on-behalf-of-another that produces healing.

Luke 4:39

So he bent over her and rebuked the fever, and it left her. She got up at once and began to wait on them — he bent over her (epistās epanō autēs) communicates physical presence and attention — Luke's physician's eye for the bedside manner. The rebuking of the fever applies the same exorcism language to physical illness — fever, like the demon, is an enemy to be rebuked and expelled. She got up at once and began to wait on them: the immediate service is the response to healing throughout Luke.

Luke 4:40

At sunset, the people brought to Jesus all who had various kinds of sickness, and laying his hands on each one, he healed them — at sunset (dynontos de tou hēliou) — the Sabbath's end enables people to carry the sick. Laying his hands on each one: Luke's detail of the individual laying on of hands communicates personal attention to each person — not a mass healing event but individual care for each sufferer.

Luke 4:41

Moreover, demons came out of many people, shouting, you are the Son of God! But he rebuked them and would not allow them to speak, because they knew he was the Messiah — the demons' corporate testimony (Son of God, Messiah) is suppressed by Jesus' rebuke — the Messianic Secret prevents premature disclosure. Because they knew he was the Messiah: the knowledge that produces the testimony is the reason for the suppression — accurate demonic testimony would not serve the revelation's proper development.

Luke 4:42

At daybreak Jesus went out to a solitary place. The people were looking for him and when they came to where he was, they tried to keep him from leaving them — the pre-dawn solitude and prayer (implied by the solitary place, cf. Mark 1:35) is Jesus' retreat from the success of the previous day's ministry. The people's attempt to keep him from leaving communicates the crowd's possessive response to Jesus — they want to retain the healer in their location.

Luke 4:43

But he said, I must proclaim the good news of the kingdom of God to the other towns also, because that is why I was sent — I must (dei, divine necessity): the mission's compulsion overrides the crowd's preference. The other towns also need the proclamation — the kingdom's arrival cannot be contained in one location. Because that is why I was sent: the mission is not self-chosen but given — Jesus is the sent one, commissioned by the Father.

Luke 4:44

And he kept on preaching in the synagogues of Judea — the summary of the ongoing synagogue mission extends the geographic scope to Judea (some manuscripts have Galilee, but Judea fits the broader scope Luke envisions). The kept on preaching communicates the sustained campaign — not one event but a continuing mission of proclamation throughout the land.