#luke 4

The Temptation of Jesus (Matthew 4:1-11; Mark 1:12-13)

1 And Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, turned back from the Jordan, and was brought in the Spirit to the wilderness, 2 forty days being tempted by the Devil, and he did not eat anything in those days, and they having been ended, he afterward hungered, 3 and the Devil said to him, ‘If Son thou art of God, speak to this stone that it may become bread.’ 4 And Jesus answered him, saying, ‘It hath been written, that, not on bread only shall man live, but on every saying of God.’

5 And the Devil having brought him up to an high mountain, shewed to him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time, 6 and the Devil said to him, ‘To thee I will give all this authority, and their glory, because to me it hath been delivered, and to whomsoever I will, I do give it; 7 thou, then, if thou mayest bow before me — all shall be thine.’ 8 And Jesus answering him said, ‘Get thee behind me, Adversary, for it hath been written, Thou shalt bow before the Lord thy God, and Him only thou shalt serve.’

9 And he brought him to Jerusalem, and set him on the pinnacle of the temple, and said to him, ‘If the Son thou art of God, cast thyself down hence,

10 for it hath been written — To His messengers He will give charge concerning thee, to guard over thee,

11 and — On hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou mayest dash against a stone thy foot.’

12 And Jesus answering said to him — ‘It hath been said, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God.’

13 And having ended all temptation, the Devil departed from him till a convenient season.

Jesus Begins His Ministry (Isaiah 9:1-7; Matthew 4:12-17; Mark 1:14-15)

14 And Jesus turned back in the power of the Spirit to Galilee, and a fame went forth through all the region round about concerning him, 15 and he was teaching in their synagogues, being glorified by all.

Jesus Rejected at Nazareth (Isaiah 61:1-11; Matthew 2:19-23; Matthew 13:53-58; Mark 6:1-6; Luke 2:39-40)

16 And he came to Nazareth, where he hath been brought up, and he went in, according to his custom, on the sabbath-day, to the synagogue, and stood up to read; 17 and there was given over to him a roll of Isaiah the prophet, and having unfolded the roll, he found the place where it hath been written:

18 ‘The Spirit of the Lord [is] upon me, Because He did anoint me; To proclaim good news to the poor, Sent me to heal the broken of heart, To proclaim to captives deliverance, And to blind receiving of sight, To send away the bruised with deliverance,

19 To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord.’ 20 And having folded the roll, having given [it] back to the officer, he sat down, and the eyes of all in the synagogue were gazing on him. 21 And he began to say unto them — ‘To-day hath this writing been fulfilled in your ears;’ 22 and all were bearing testimony to him, and were wondering at the gracious words that are coming forth out of his mouth, and they said, ‘Is not this the son of Joseph?’ 23 And he said unto them, ‘Certainly ye will say to me this simile, Physician, heal thyself; as great things as we heard done in Capernaum, do also here in thy country;’ 24 and he said, ‘Verily I say to you — No prophet is accepted in his own country; 25 and of a truth I say to you, Many widows were in the days of Elijah, in Israel, when the heaven was shut for three years and six months, when great famine came on all the land, 26 and unto none of them was Elijah sent, but — to Sarepta of Sidon, unto a woman, a widow; 27 and many lepers were in the time of Elisha the prophet, in Israel, and none of them was cleansed, but — Naaman the Syrian.’ 28 And all in the synagogue were filled with wrath, hearing these things, 29 and having risen, they put him forth without the city, and brought him unto the brow of the hill on which their city had been built — to cast him down headlong, 30 and he, having gone through the midst of them, went away.

Jesus Expels an Evil Spirit (Mark 1:21-28)

31 And he came down to Capernaum, a city of Galilee, and was teaching them on the sabbaths, 32 and they were astonished at his teaching, because his word was with authority. 33 And in the synagogue was a man, having a spirit of an unclean demon, and he cried out with a great voice, 34 saying, ‘Away, what — to us and to thee, Jesus, O Nazarene? thou didst come to destroy us; I have known thee who thou art — the Holy One of God.’ 35 And Jesus did rebuke him, saying, ‘Be silenced, and come forth out of him;’ and the demon having cast him into the midst, came forth from him, having hurt him nought; 36 and amazement came upon all, and they were speaking together, with one another, saying, ‘What [is] this word, that with authority and power he doth command the unclean spirits, and they come forth?’ 37 and there was going forth a fame concerning him to every place of the region round about.

Jesus Heals at Peter's House (Matthew 8:14-17; Mark 1:29-34)

38 And having risen out of the synagogue, he entered into the house of Simon, and the mother-in-law of Simon was pressed with a great fever, and they did ask him about her, 39 and having stood over her, he rebuked the fever, and it left her, and presently, having risen, she was ministering to them.

40 And at the setting of the sun, all, as many as had any ailing with manifold sicknesses, brought them unto him, and he on each one of them [his] hands having put, did heal them. 41 And demons also were coming forth from many, crying out and saying — ‘Thou art the Christ, the Son of God;’ and rebuking, he did not suffer them to speak, because they knew him to be the Christ.

Jesus Preaches in Judea (Mark 1:35-39)

42 And day having come, having gone forth, he went on to a desert place, and the multitudes were seeking him, and they came unto him, and were staying him — not to go on from them, 43 and he said unto them — ‘Also to the other cities it behoveth me to proclaim good news of the reign of God, because for this I have been sent;’

44 and he was preaching in the synagogues of Galilee. — Luke 4 | Young's Literal Translation (YLT) Young’s Literal Translation of the Holy Bible is in the public domain. Cross References: Genesis 3:1-5; Deuteronomy 8:3; 1 Kings 17:1; 2 Kings 4:34-35; 2 Kings 7:3-10; Psalm 5:3; Psalm 91:12; Isaiah 34:4; Isaiah 42:1; Isaiah 61:1; Ezekiel 18:2; Matthew 3:13-17; Matthew 4:1-11; Matthew 5:2; Matthew 7:28-29; Matthew 17:18; Mark 1:14; Mark 1:21; Mark 1:23; Mark 1:29; Mark 1:32; Mark 1:38-39; Mark 3:6; Mark 6:1; Luke 2:39; Luke 5:15; Luke 5:26; John 2:12; John 6:60; John 7:12; John 8:59; John 16:7; Acts 8:7; Acts 8:28-30; 2 Timothy 3:16; Revelation 6:14; Revelation 21:10

Even though our thinking is important and critical, there is more to it than that: Orthodoxy (right belief) requires orthopraxy (right actions).

He went down to Capernaum, a village in Galilee. He was teaching the people on the Sabbath. They were surprised and impressed—his teaching was so forthright, so confident, so authoritative, not the quibbling and quoting they were used to. In the meeting place that day there was a man demonically disturbed. He screamed, “Stop! What business do you have here with us, Jesus? Nazarene! I know what…

‘If thou therefore wilt worship me, all shall be thine’

He went to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, and on the Sabbath day he went into the synagogue, as was his custom. And he stood up to read. The scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed him. Unrolling it, he found the place where it is written:

“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 proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”

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, and he began by saying to them, “Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.”

[PART 1]

Have you considered this question? This is something that many believing Christians struggle with today. You only have to turn on the news to see that the whole of creation is suffering.

God is the creator of heaven and earth and all of creation. This includes man, whom God considered to be His beloved offspring. We know this because it is described in Genesis 1. If God is the owner of all and He is in control of everything, why does his beloved creation continue to suffer in the hands of the enemy?

You are probably familiar with the story in Luke 4:1-13. Jesus was fasting in the wilderness for forty days before beginning his ministry when the devil approached him to tempt him. He tempted Jesus with three things but for today let’s focus on the second temptation.

The devil led him up to a high place and showed him in an instant all the kingdoms of the world. 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. If you worship me, it will all be yours.” -Luke 4:5-7

Isn’t that odd? (Well, the fact that the devil thought he could tempt Jesus, Son of God was already odd. But that’s a topic for another day). If all creation belongs to God then how could the devil claim it had been given to him and go as far as to offer it to Jesus?

Does that mean God has handed us over the devil? 

The Temptation of Jesus

1 And Jesus being full of the Holy Ghost returned from Jordan, and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, 2 being forty days tempted of the devil. And in those days he did eat nothing: and when they were ended, he afterward hungered. 3 And the devil said unto him, If thou be the Son of God, command this stone that it be made bread. 4 And Jesus answered him, saying, It is written, That man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God.

5 And the devil, taking him up into an high mountain, shewed unto him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time. 6 And the devil said unto him, All this power will I give thee, and the glory of them: for that is delivered unto me; and to whomsoever I will I give it. 7 If thou therefore wilt worship me, all shall be thine. 8 And Jesus answered and said unto him, Get thee behind me, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve.

9 And he brought him to Jerusalem, and set him on a pinnacle of the temple, and said unto him, If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down from hence: 10 for it is written, He shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee: 11 and in their hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone. 12 And Jesus answering said unto him, It is said, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God. 13 And when the devil had ended all the temptation, he departed from him for a season.

14 And Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit into Galilee: and there went out a fame of him through all the region round about. 15 And he taught in their synagogues, being glorified of all.

16 And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up: and, as his custom was, he went into the synagogue on the sabbath day, and stood up for to read. 17 And there was delivered unto him the book of the prophet Esaias. And when he had opened the book, he found the place where it was written, 18 The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, 19 to preach the acceptable year of the Lord. 20 And he closed the book, and he gave it again to the minister, and sat down. And the eyes of all them that were in the synagogue were fastened on him.

21 And he began to say unto them, This day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears. 22 And all bare him witness, and wondered at the gracious words which proceeded out of his mouth. And they said, Is not this Joseph’s son? 23 And he said unto them, Ye will surely say unto me this proverb, Physician, heal thyself: whatsoever we have heard done in Capernaum, do also here in thy country. 24 And he said, Verily I say unto you, No prophet is accepted in his own country. 25 But I tell you of a truth, many widows were in Israel in the days of Elias, when the heaven was shut up three years and six months, when great famine was throughout all the land; 26 but unto none of them was Elias sent, save unto Sarepta, a city of Sidon, unto a woman that was a widow. 27 And many lepers were in Israel in the time of Eliseus the prophet; and none of them was cleansed, saving Naaman the Syrian.

28 And all they in the synagogue, when they heard these things, were filled with wrath, 29 and rose up, and thrust him out of the city, and led him unto the brow of the hill whereon their city was built, that they might cast him down headlong. 30 But he passing through the midst of them went his way, 31 and came down to Capernaum, a city of Galilee, and taught them on the sabbath days. 32 And they were astonished at his doctrine: for his word was with power.

33 And in the synagogue there was a man, which had a spirit of an unclean devil, and cried out with a loud voice, 34 saying, Let us alone; what have we to do with thee, thou Jesus of Nazareth? art thou come to destroy us? I know thee who thou art; the Holy One of God. 35 And Jesus rebuked him, saying, Hold thy peace, and come out of him. And when the devil had thrown him in the midst, he came out of him, and hurt him not. 36 And they were all amazed, and spake among themselves, saying, What a word is this! for with authority and power he commandeth the unclean spirits, and they come out. 37 And the fame of him went out into every place of the country round about.

38 And he arose out of the synagogue, and entered into Simon’s house. And Simon’s wife’s mother was taken with a great fever; and they besought him for her. 39 And he stood over her, and rebuked the fever; and it left her: and immediately she arose and ministered unto them.

40 Now when the sun was setting, all they that had any sick with divers diseases brought them unto him; and he laid his hands on every one of them, and healed them. 41 And devils also came out of many, crying out, and saying, Thou art Christ the Son of God. And he rebuking them suffered them not to speak: for they knew that he was Christ.