Luke Chapter Four
Satan Attempts to Tempt Jesus
[Text parallels Matthew 4:1-11 and Mark 1:12-13]
4:1 And Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the wilderness 2 for forty days, being tempted by the devil. And he ate nothing during those days. And when they were ended, he was hungry. 3 The devil said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command this stone to become bread.” 4 And Jesus answered him, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone.’ ”
Being full of the Holy Spirit, Jesus returned from the Jordan River after being baptized (see Luke 3:1-21). The text does not state where He returned to, possibly to Jerusalem as it is mentioned later, however, Jesus doesn’t stay long as the Holy Spirit leads Him into a desolate location for forty days to fast. At the end of those forty days Jesus was hungry and Satan said to Him, “If you are the Son of God, command this stone to become bread.” But Jesus answered him by quoting a portion of Deuteronomy 8:3, “Man shall not live by bread alone.”
4:5 And the devil took him up and showed him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time, 6 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. 7 If you, then, will worship me, it will all be yours.” 8 And Jesus answered him, “It is written, “ ‘You shall worship the Lord your God, and him only shall you serve.’ ”
Satan then took Jesus up some place where they could see the entire civilized world all at once. He told Jesus that he would give Him authority over all of those kingdoms with their glory, if He would worship him. Satan notes that these earthly kingdoms were ‘delivered’ (Greek ‘paradedotai’,[1] to give, entrusting) to him and he can give it to anyone he desires. God did not ‘give’ or ‘hand over’ the world to Satan, but due to mankind’s sin, his power and influence have effectively made him a ruler (see John 12:31; 14:30; 2 Corinthians 4:4), although only for a period of time (see Revelation 20:10). Instead of denying Satan’s authority,[2] Jesus again quotes from Deuteronomy, “You shall worship the Lord your God, and him only shall you serve.” (from Deuteronomy 6:13).
4:9 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, 10 for it is written, “ ‘He will command his angels concerning you, to guard you,’ 11 and “ ‘On their hands they will bear you up, lest you strike your foot against a stone.’ ” 12 And Jesus answered him, “It is said, ‘You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.’ ” 13 And when the devil had ended every temptation, he departed from him until an opportune time.
Next, Satan took Jesus to one of the high pinnacles of the Temple in Jerusalem. He tells Jesus that if He is the Son of God, that He should demonstrate that He truly is by falling off the pinnacle and allow God the Father to command His angels to protect Him. Satan then quotes Scripture himself using portions of Psalm 91:11-12. In response Jesus once again quotes Deuteronomy, “You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.” (from Deuteronomy 6:16).
Satan then ended his attempt to tempt Jesus. Luke records that he departed from Jesus until an opportune time, not to tempt Him but to stop Him from completing what Jesus came to earth to do. That of living a sinless life, suffering, dying, and rising to life again, in order to provide salvation for those willing to accept Jesus as their Savior.
In this event we read how Jesus used Scripture to effectively fight against Satan. This underscores the need for all Christians to learn and know the Bible and whenever possible, memorize as many verses as possible. We also need to see how Satan, our enemy, also knew Scripture. Although in this event it was incorrectly interpreted and misapplied, it goes to show that if a believer does not know Scripture well enough to discern when it is incorrectly applied or interpreted, they can be “shut down,” or worse, fall victim to the enemy’s ploy to destroy them or have them believe a lie.
Considerations
In verse one, Luke notes that Jesus was both full of the Holy Spirit and led by the Holy Spirit. If Jesus is God, why was it necessary to point out that Jesus was not only full of the Sprit but also guided by the Spirit? Let’s first look at the word ‘full’ (Greek ‘plērsēs’,[3] full, complete, abundant), in context allowing no room for anything else. Both Luke (later in the book of Acts) and Paul wrote about believers being filled with the Holy Spirit and the need for them to remain filled (see Acts 2:4; 4:8, 31; 6:3, 5; 7:55; 9:17; 11:24; Ephesians 5:18). From a human perspective it is easy to see the need to be filled with the Holy Spirit in order to minimize any temptation to sin and to reliably follow Jesus. But even though Jesus did not sin, that doesn’t mean He was not tempted to sin, after all, He is also human. Being filled with the Holy Spirit allowed Jesus to always be compliant to His Father’s will. It is interesting to note that in this event, Jesus was a willing participant of Satan’s attempt to tempt Him. This was to demonstrate that He was not able to be tempted like a human being, as He had His human ’side’ filled with the Holy Spirit and there is no room for anything (or anyone) else. Satan would have had to come up with a different “game plan” to stop Him.
Christians should note the lesson to be learned in this event. The pursuit of every believer should not only be filled with the Holy Spirit, but also remain filled (ongoing process of being filled). While humanity is far from perfect, there will be moments of weakness. Believers at that time must take their ‘cue’ from Jesus and return to Him to be ‘refilled’ with the Spirit.
It should be noted that the term ‘full’ implies that there is no room for anything else. If we are full of the Holy Spirit, we no longer are concerned or have the capacity to think worldly (see also John 17:14-15; Romans 12:1-2; 1 John 2:15-17). Just as the popular hymn “Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus” reminds us:
Turn your eyes upon Jesus, Look full in His wonderful face, And the things of earth will grow strangely dim, In the light of His glory and grace.[4]
Jesus Begins His Ministry in Galilee, But is Rejected in Nazareth
[Verses 14-15 parallels Matthew 4:17 and Mark 1:14b-15]
4:14 And Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit to Galilee, and a report about him went out through all the surrounding country. 15 And he taught in their synagogues, being glorified by all.
The first half of verse 14 is somewhat controversial, the issue concerns what does Luke mean when he wrote “in the power of the Spirit”? Some believe that Jesus was led there and sustained while traveling by the Holy Spirit. While others believe that He was instantly ’transported’ from the wilderness to the Galilee region. Regardless of how He got there, once He did arrive, the local people saw Him and the news of His arrival spread quickly to the surrounding areas.
Jesus began His ministry in Galilee, teaching in their synagogues where He was praised by everyone listening.
4:16 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. 17 And 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 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, 19 to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”
When Jesus arrived in Nazareth, the town where He grew up in, He went to the synagogue located there on the Sabbath day. He got up to read and was handed the scroll of the prophet Isaiah. Many Jews have been using a Scripture reading ‘calendar’ for thousands of years (believed to date back to Ezra), the reading for this day was from the scroll of Isaiah. Jesus opened the scroll and found what is known today as Isaiah 61:1-2 (with a portion of Isaiah 58:6 inserted) and read to them a description of His ministry: “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.”
In that reading of Isaiah’s prophecy, Jesus states that the Holy Spirit is upon Him and outlines what He, being anointed by God, just started to do: 1) proclaim the gospel message to the poor; 2) proclaim liberty to those being held captive by sin; 3) recover the sight of those blind; 4) to free those who are oppressed; and 5) proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.
In reading Isaiah’s prophecy in the ESV (and most English Bibles), we can see that Jesus stopped at a comma. Isaiah’s text from that point next states, “and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all who mourn.” This, still pertaining to Jesus, would be more accurately described as the start of His second coming. Christians need to remember that God is a ‘just’ God and will not tolerate disobedience forever. Jesus will return to usurp the devil and all of his powers and authority. Those that refuse to accept Jesus as their Savior will be judged and condemned.
4:20 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. 21 And he began to say to them, “Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.” 22 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?”
When Jesus was finished reading He gave the scroll back and sat down. Already a celebrity, Jesus was the center of attention. He then states that, “Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing,” referring to Himself as the promised Messiah. At first the people were pleased to hear what Jesus was saying as they “marveled at the gracious words,” but soon, as they recognized that He was in their eyes just a ‘local boy’, the mood quickly changed.
4: 23 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.’ ” 24 And he said, “Truly, I say to you, no prophet is acceptable in his hometown. 25 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, 26 and Elijah was sent to none of them but only to Zarephath, in the land of Sidon, to a woman who was a widow. 27 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.”
Jesus either hearing or knowing their thoughts, perceives they are beginning to question His claim. Before any further discussion, Jesus says, “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.” Using an ancient proverb (unknown origin), Jesus accuses them of wanting a sign to prove His claim. He acknowledges that no prophet is ever fully accepted in their own hometown. Jesus then relates this situation to two Old Testament events. The first being when Elijah, during the great famine, instead of going to any of the many widows in Israel, he went to a woman in Zarephath in Sidon (Israel’s enemy, see 1 Kings 17:8-24). For His second illustration Jesus points out that during the time of Elisha that there were many lepers in Israel, but none of them were cleansed, only Naaman, the Syrian, was cleansed (see 2 Kings 5:1-14). Both events depicted God favoring non-Jewish people. Jesus was making a clear statement, that God, and now His Son, have received greater acceptance from Gentiles than from the Jews. That through the Messiah, salvation was offered to all people, not just to them alone.
4:28 When they heard these things, all in the synagogue were filled with wrath. 29 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. 30 But passing through their midst, he went away.
Due to their national pride and self-righteous attitudes, hearing that salvation would be available to all people including Gentiles, they became very angry and attempted to kill Him. They began to push Him out to the brow of a hill that the town was built on and tried to push Him off the cliff, but in some inexplicable way (undoubtedly supernaturally) Jesus passed through the crowd and left.
Considerations
Prophetic Text Overview No. 22
Jesus reads the prophecy of Isaiah 61:1-2a (with a segment of Isaiah 58:6), which outlines His ministry on earth: “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.” From verse one we know that Jesus was filled with the Holy Spirit. He was also anointed[5], the verse implies that Jesus was anointed by the Holy Spirit, no further information given. This is a key word since the Hebrew word for ‘anointed’ is ‘mā·šǎh’,[6] which is transliterated as ‘Messiah’, or in Greek ‘Christ’. Here is a brief overview of each task:
1) Proclaim good news to the poor. Greek ‘euangelisasthai’ (root ‘euanggelízō’)[7] to proclaim good news (where the word ‘evangelism’ is derived). Greek ‘ptōchois’,[8] refers to the poor, the humble, or the helpless. Since all of mankind is helpless to fix the problem of sin, the proclamation of the gospel message is for all people.
2) Proclaim liberty to the captives. Greek ‘aphesin’,[9] to release one’s sins, forgiveness. Greek ‘aichmalōtois’,[10] to be taken, conquered. Jesus is offering forgiveness to those who have been taken captive by Satan.
3) Recovering of sight to the blind. The Greek in this phrase is straightforward and doesn’t need interpretation. Jesus healed many blind people, but the recovery of sight can also refer to the opening of one’s eyes to spiritual matters as well. Many of the barriers for people not accepting Jesus as their Savior was, and still is, due to spiritual blindness, which prevents them from seeing the truth.
4) Set liberty those who are oppressed. (From Isaiah 58:6) The same Greek word translated as ‘liberty’ above is used here, referring to the release of one’s sins and forgiveness. Greek ‘tethrausmenos’ (root ’thrauō’)[11] crushed, oppressed, bruised. Jesus is offering forgiveness of sins to those oppressed by their sin.
5) Proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor. This statement is often interpreted as being a generic reference to the salvation offered by Jesus. However, many connect this to the year of Jubilee (see Leviticus 25:8-55; Deuteronomy 15:1-18) and possibly to the end times (eschatology) where Jesus will return on a day when the year of Jubilee begins.
The first four ‘tasks’ have been, and continue to be, fulfilled as believers engage in evangelism to help people see the truth. The last task if not already fulfilled, will be when Jesus returns.
Jesus Heals a Man with an Unclean Demon
[Text parallels Mark 1:21-28]
4:31 And he went down to Capernaum, a city of Galilee. And he was teaching them on the Sabbath, 32 and they were astonished at his teaching, for his word possessed authority. 33 And 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.” 35 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. 36 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!” 37 And reports about him went out into every place in the surrounding region.
Jesus went to Capernaum and taught in the synagogue. Those in attendance were astonished at His teaching as He taught with authority. Then a man who had an unclean demon shouted, “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.” The man speaking in plural was not just referring to the man and the demon, but at least two demons as he said “to destroy us.” Jesus purposefully has not and will not publicly identify Himself as being the Son of God or “the Holy One of God,” until a future time that was prophesied.[12] So when this demon was loudly identifying Him, Jesus rebuked the demon and told the demon to be silent and to come out of the man. After the demon threw the man to the floor, he fled the man without harming him.
Meanwhile those that were watching were amazed (two Greek words, ‘egeneto’,[13] begin to be; and ‘thambos’,[14] amazement from admiration) by this combination of the power of His word and the power that casts demons out of people. Their question “What is this word?” carries the connotation that what Jesus taught was something they had never heard before, a different perspective than what they have been taught. And now seeing He has authority over demons, indicates that what He was teaching was indeed true.
Sadly, many Bible teachers hear the question from their students, “Why haven’t I heard this before?” Pointing to the fact that they had either little to no teaching from God’s Word or they were taught incorrectly. Christians must engage in regular Bible study so they can learn the whole counsel of God. Plus, teachers and pastors should not be “taken at their word,” everything should be examined and compared to Scripture to verify that what was taught is true (always remember Acts 17:11).
The news of what Jesus taught and did in this synagogue quickly spread around the surrounding region.
Jesus Heals Simon's Mother-in-law and Many Others
[Text parallels Matthew 8:14-17 and Mark 1:29-34]
4:38 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. 39 And he stood over her and rebuked the fever, and it left her, and immediately she rose and began to serve them. 40 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. 41 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.
Jesus left the synagogue and went to Simon’s home. Luke records that Simon’s mother-in-law was ill with a high fever and that they (assumed to be Simon and his family) asked Jesus to heal her. He stood by her and rebuked the fever (Greek ‘epetimēsen’,[15] to punish or rebuke someone) as if the cause of the fever was a person or some personal entity. The fever let her and she immediately began to serve the guests.
Due to the travel restrictions of the Sabbath, many came after the sun had set, the beginning of a new day, for healing (God’s law defines a day being from sunset to sunset). Luke notes that Jesus healed a variety of diseases. Luke also notes that when demons were casted out, they would cry out, “You are the Son of God!” And for each time they spoke, Jesus rebuked them and would not permit them to speak, because they knew and made it known that He was the Christ. The text does not clarify where these healings took place, however, it is likely they are still at Simon’s house.
Jesus Preaching in Synagogues
[Text parallels Matthew 4:23-24 and Mark 1:35-39]
4:42 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, 43 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.” 44 And he was preaching in the synagogues of Judea.
After a long night of healing people, Jesus left the house and went into a desolate place. But the people were still pursuing Jesus and attempted to keep Jesus there. Jesus then told them that He had to go and preach the good news of the kingdom of God (the gospel message) as He came to earth for that purpose. From there He taught in the synagogues of Judea (some manuscripts say Galilee, which is likely as the story continues in the Galilee region).
⇐Previous Chapter (Introduction/Index) Next Chapter⇒
[1] Strong’s Greek 3860.
[2] See also Considerations under Matthew 4:11 "No Denials."
[3] Strong’s Greek 4134.
[4] Music and lyrics written by Helen Howarth Lemmel (1863-1961), published in 1922.
[5] See Considerations under Matthew 26:8-13 “Anointed.”
[6] Strong’s Hebrew 4886.
[7] Strong’s Greek 2097.
[8] Strong’s Greek 4434.
[9] Strong’s Greek 859.
[10] Strong’s Greek 164.
[11] Strong’s Greek 2352.
[12] See Considerations under Matthew 9:27-31 “Tell No One.”
[13] Strong’s Greek 1096.
[14] Strong’s Greek 2285.
[15] Strong’s Greek 2008.