Luke 4

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

2 Being forty days tempted by the devil. And in those days he ate nothing; and when they were ended, he was afterward hungry.

3 And the devil said to him, If thou art 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 upon a high mountain, showed to him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time.

6 And the devil said to him, All this power will I give thee, and the glory of them: for that is delivered to 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 to 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 to him, If thou art the son of God, cast thyself down from hence.

10 For it is written, He will give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee:

11 And in [their] hands they will bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone.

12 And Jesus answering, said to 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 surrounding region.

15 And he taught in their synagogues, being glorified by 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, and stood up to read.

17 And there was delivered to him the book of the prophet Isaiah. 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 broken-hearted, 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 to them, This day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears.

22 And all bore him testimony, 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 to them, Ye will surely say to me this proverb, Physician, heal thyself: whatever we have 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 But I tell you in truth, many widows were in Israel in the days of Elijah, when the heaven was shut three years and six months when great famine was throughout all the land:

26 But to none of them was Elijah sent, save to Sarepta, [a city] of Sidon, to a woman [that was] a widow.

27 And many lepers were in Israel in the time of Elisha 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 to the brow of the hill on which their city was built, that they might cast him down headlong.

30 But he passing through the midst of them, went away,

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 who had a spirit of an unclean demon; and he cried out with a loud voice,

34 Saying, Let [us] alone; what have we to do with thee, 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 demon had thrown him in the midst, he came out of him, and hurt him not.

36 And they were all amazed, and spoke 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 surrounding country.

38 And he arose out of the synagogue, and entered into Simon's house. And the mother of Simon's wife was taken with a violent 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 to them.

40 Now when the sun was setting, all they that had any sick with divers 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 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.

42 And when it was day, he departed, and went into a desert place; and the people sought him, and came to him, and stayed him, that he should not depart from them.

43 And he said to them, I must preach the kingdom of God to other cities also, for therefore am I sent.

44 And he preached in the synagogues of Galilee.

Luke 4 Commentary

Chapter 4

The temptation of Christ. (1-13) Christ in the synagogue of Nazareth. (14-30) He casts out an unclean spirit and heals the sick. (31-44)

Verses 1-13 Christ's being led into the wilderness gave an advantage to the tempter; for there he was alone, none were with him by whose prayers and advice he might be helped in the hour of temptation. He who knew his own strength might give Satan advantage; but we may not, who know our own weakness. Being in all things made like unto his brethren, Jesus would, like the other children of God, live in dependence upon the Divine Providence and promise. The word of God is our sword, and faith in that word is our shield. God has many ways of providing for his people, and therefore is at all times to be depended upon in the way of duty. All Satan's promises are deceitful; and if he is permitted to have any influence in disposing of the kingdoms of the world and the glory of them, he uses them as baits to insnare men to destruction. We should reject at once and with abhorrence, every opportunity of sinful gain or advancement, as a price offered for our souls; we should seek riches, honours, and happiness in the worship and service of God only. Christ will not worship Satan; nor, when he has the kingdoms of the world delivered to him by his Father, will he suffer any remains of the worship of the devil to continue in them. Satan also tempted Jesus to be his own murderer, by unfitting confidence in his Father's protection, such as he had no warrant for. Let not any abuse of Scripture by Satan or by men abate our esteem, or cause us to abandon its use; but let us study it still, seek to know it, and seek our defence from it in all kinds of assaults. Let this word dwell richly in us, for it is our life. Our victorious Redeemer conquered, not for himself only, but for us also. The devil ended all the temptation. Christ let him try all his force, and defeated him. Satan saw it was to no purpose to attack Christ, who had nothing in him for his fiery darts to fasten upon. And if we resist the devil, he will flee from us. Yet he departed but till the season when he was again to be let loose upon Jesus, not as a tempter, to draw him to sin, and so to strike at his head, at which he now aimed and was wholly defeated in; but as a persecutor, to bring Christ to suffer, and so to bruise his heel, which it was told him, he should have to do, and would do, though it would be the breaking of his own head, ( Genesis 3:15 ) . Though Satan depart for a season, we shall never be out of his reach till removed from this present evil world.

Verses 14-30 Christ taught in their synagogues, their places of public worship, where they met to read, expound, and apply the word, to pray and praise. All the gifts and graces of the Spirit were upon him and on him, without measure. By Christ, sinners may be loosed from the bonds of guilt, and by his Spirit and grace from the bondage of corruption. He came by the word of his gospel, to bring light to those that sat in the dark, and by the power of his grace, to give sight to those that were blind. And he preached the acceptable year of the Lord. Let sinners attend to the Saviour's invitation when liberty is thus proclaimed. Christ's name was Wonderful; in nothing was he more so than in the word of his grace, and the power that went along with it. We may well wonder that he should speak such words of grace to such graceless wretches as mankind. Some prejudice often furnishes an objection against the humbling doctrine of the cross; and while it is the word of God that stirs up men's enmity, they will blame the conduct or manner of the speaker. The doctrine of God's sovereignty, his right to do his will, provokes proud men. They will not seek his favour in his own way; and are angry when others have the favours they neglect. Still is Jesus rejected by multitudes who hear the same message from his words. While they crucify him afresh by their sins, may we honour him as the Son of God, the Saviour of men, and seek to show we do so by our obedience.

Verses 31-44 Christ's preaching much affected the people; and a working power went with it to the consciences of men. These miracles showed Christ to be a controller and conqueror of Satan, a healer of diseases. Where Christ gives a new life, in recovery from sickness, it should be a new life, spent more than ever in his service, to his glory. Our business should be to spread abroad Christ's fame in every place, to beseech him in behalf of those diseased in body or mind, and to use our influence in bringing sinners to him, that his hands may be laid upon them for their healing. He cast the devils out of many who were possessed. We were not sent into this world to live to ourselves only, but to glorify God, and to do good in our generation. The people sought him, and came unto him. A desert is no desert, if we are with Christ there. He will continue with us, by his word and Spirit, and extend the same blessings to other nations, till, throughout the earth, the servants and worshippers of Satan are brought to acknowledge him as the Christ, the Son of God, and to find redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins.