Luke 4

Responses to Temptation Luke 4:3–13

³Verse 3. The devil said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command this stone to become bread.” ⁴Verse 4. Jesus answered him, saying, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God.’” ⁵Verse 5. The devil, leading him up on a high mountain, showed him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time. ⁶Verse 6. The devil said to him, “I will give you all this authority, and their glory, for it has been delivered to me; and I give it to whomever I want. ⁷Verse 7. If you therefore will worship before me, it will all be yours.”

⁸Verse 8. Jesus answered him, “Get behind me Satan! For it is written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God, and you shall serve him only.’” ⁹Verse 9. He led him to Jerusalem, and set him on the pinnacle of the temple, and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, cast yourself down from here, ¹⁰Verse 10. for it is written, ‘He will put his angels in charge of you, to guard you;’ ¹¹Verse 11. and, ‘On their hands they will bear you up, lest perhaps you dash your foot against a stone.’” ¹²Verse 12. Jesus answering, said to him, “It has been said, ‘You shall not tempt the Lord your God.’”

¹³Verse 13. When the devil had completed every temptation, he departed from him until another time.

Jesus Begins His Ministry Luke 4:14–15

¹⁴Verse 14. Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit into Galilee, and news about him spread through all the surrounding area. ¹⁵Verse 15. He taught in their synagogues, being glorified by all.

Reading from Isaiah Luke 4:16–22

¹⁶Verse 16. He came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up. He entered, as was his custom, into the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and stood up to read. ¹⁷Verse 17. The book of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him. He opened the book, and found the place where it was written, ¹⁸Verse 18. “The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to heal the broken hearted, to proclaim release to the captives, recovering of sight to the blind, to deliver those who are crushed, ¹⁹Verse 19. and to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord.”

²⁰Verse 20. He closed the book, gave it back to the attendant, and sat down. The eyes of all in the synagogue were fastened on him. ²¹Verse 21. He began to tell them, “Today, this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.” ²²Verse 22. All testified about him, and wondered at the gracious words which proceeded out of his mouth, and they said, “Isn’t this Joseph’s son?”

Rejection at Nazareth Luke 4:23–30

²³Verse 23. He said to them, “Doubtless you will tell me this parable, ‘Physician, heal yourself! Whatever we have heard done at Capernaum, do also here in your hometown.’” ²⁴Verse 24. He said, “Most certainly I tell you, no prophet is acceptable in his hometown. ²⁵Verse 25. But truly I tell you, there were many widows in Israel in the days of Elijah, when the sky was shut up three years and six months, when a great famine came over all the land. ²⁶Verse 26. Elijah was sent to none of them, except to Zarephath, in the land of Sidon, to a woman who was a widow. ²⁷Verse 27. There were many lepers in Israel in the time of Elisha the prophet, yet not one of them was cleansed, except Naaman, the Syrian.”

²⁸Verse 28. They were all filled with wrath in the synagogue, as they heard these things. ²⁹Verse 29. They rose up, threw him out of the city, and led him to the brow of the hill that their city was built on, that they might throw him off the cliff. ³⁰Verse 30. But he, passing through the middle of them, went his way.

Teaching and Authority in Capernaum Luke 4:31–37

³¹Verse 31. He came down to Capernaum, a city of Galilee. He was teaching them on the Sabbath day, ³²Verse 32. and they were astonished at his teaching, for his word was with authority. ³³Verse 33. In the synagogue there was a man who had a spirit of an unclean demon, and he cried out with a loud voice, ³⁴Verse 34. saying, “Ah! what have we to do with you, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know you who you are: the Holy One of God!” ³⁵Verse 35. Jesus rebuked him, saying, “Be silent, and come out of him!” When the demon had thrown him down in the middle of them, he came out of him, having done him no harm.

³⁶Verse 36. Amazement came on all, and they spoke together, one with another, saying, “What is this word? For with authority and power he commands the unclean spirits, and they come out!” ³⁷Verse 37. News about him went out into every place of the surrounding region.

Miracles and Preaching Luke 4:38–44

³⁸Verse 38. He rose up from the synagogue, and entered into Simon’s house. Simon’s mother-in-law was afflicted with a great fever, and they begged him for her. ³⁹Verse 39. He stood over her, and rebuked the fever; and it left her. Immediately she rose up and served them. ⁴⁰Verse 40. When the sun was setting, all those who had any sick with various diseases brought them to him; and he laid his hands on every one of them, and healed them. ⁴¹Verse 41. Demons also came out of many, crying out, and saying, “You are the Christ, the Son of God!” Rebuking them, he didn’t allow them to speak, because they knew that he was the Christ.

⁴²Verse 42. When it was day, he departed and went into an uninhabited place, and the multitudes looked for him, and came to him, and held on to him, so that he wouldn’t go away from them. ⁴³Verse 43. But he said to them, “I must preach the good news of God’s Kingdom to the other cities also. For this reason I have been sent.” ⁴⁴Verse 44. He was preaching in the synagogues of Galilee.