Luke 4 is the fourth chapter of the

Gospel of Luke The Gospel of Luke is the third of the New Testament's four canonical Gospels. It tells of the origins, Nativity of Jesus, birth, Ministry of Jesus, ministry, Crucifixion of Jesus, death, Resurrection of Jesus, resurrection, and Ascension of ...

in the

New Testament The New Testament (NT) is the second division of the Christian biblical canon. It discusses the teachings and person of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus, as well as events relating to Christianity in the 1st century, first-century Christianit ...

of the

Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...

Bible The Bible is a collection of religious texts that are central to Christianity and Judaism, and esteemed in other Abrahamic religions such as Islam. The Bible is an anthology (a compilation of texts of a variety of forms) originally writt ...

, traditionally attributed to

Luke the Evangelist Luke the Evangelist was one of the Four Evangelists—the four traditionally ascribed authors of the canonical gospels. The Early Church Fathers ascribed to him authorship of both the Gospel of Luke and the Acts of the Apostles. Prominent figu ...

, a companion of

Paul the Apostle Paul, also named Saul of Tarsus, commonly known as Paul the Apostle and Saint Paul, was a Apostles in the New Testament, Christian apostle ( AD) who spread the Ministry of Jesus, teachings of Jesus in the Christianity in the 1st century, first ...

on his missionary journeys. This chapter details

Jesus Jesus (AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ, Jesus of Nazareth, and many Names and titles of Jesus in the New Testament, other names and titles, was a 1st-century Jewish preacher and religious leader. He is the Jesus in Chris ...

' three temptations, the start of his "

Galilean Generically, a Galilean (; ; ; ) is a term that was used in classical sources to describe the inhabitants of Galilee, an area of northern Israel and southern Lebanon that extends from the northern coastal plain in the west to the Sea of Galile ...

Ministry", and his rejection at

Nazareth Nazareth is the largest Cities in Israel, city in the Northern District (Israel), Northern District of Israel. In its population was . Known as "the Arab capital of Israel", Nazareth serves as a cultural, political, religious, economic and ...

, which Luke contrasts with his acclaim in nearby

Capernaum Capernaum ( ; ; ) was a fishing village established during the time of the Hasmoneans, located on the northern shore of the Sea of Galilee. It had a population of about 1,500 in the 1st century AD. Archaeological excavations have revealed tw ...

Text

The original text was written in

Koine Greek Koine Greek (, ), also variously known as Hellenistic Greek, common Attic, the Alexandrian dialect, Biblical Greek, Septuagint Greek or New Testament Greek, was the koiné language, common supra-regional form of Greek language, Greek spoken and ...

. This chapter is divided into 44 verses.

Textual witnesses

Some early manuscripts containing the text of this chapter are: *

Papyrus 4 Papyrus 4 (, part of ''Suppl. Gr.'' 1120) is an early List of New Testament papyri, New Testament papyrus of the Gospel of Luke in Greek language, Greek. Opinions differ as to its age. It has been dated anywhere from the late second century to th ...

(AD 150–75; extant verses: 1–2, 29–32, 34–35) *

Codex Vaticanus The Codex Vaticanus ( The Vatican, Bibl. Vat., Vat. gr. 1209), is a manuscript of the Greek Bible, containing the majority of the Old Testament and the majority of the New Testament. It is designated by siglum B or 03 in the Gregory-Aland numb ...

(325–50) *

Codex Sinaiticus The Codex Sinaiticus (; Shelfmark: London, British Library, Add MS 43725), also called the Sinai Bible, is a fourth-century Christian manuscript of a Greek Bible, containing the majority of the Greek Old Testament, including the deuterocanonica ...

(330–60) *

Codex Bezae The Codex Bezae Cantabrigiensis is a bi-lingual Greek and Latin manuscript of the New Testament written in an uncial hand on parchment. It is designated by the siglum D or 05 in the Gregory-Aland numbering of New Testament manuscripts, and � ...

(~400) *

Codex Washingtonianus Codex Washingtonianus, Codex Washingtonensis, Codex Freerianus, also called the ''Washington Manuscript of the Gospels'', ''The Freer Gospel'' and ''The Freer Codex'', is a Greek uncial manuscript of the four Gospels, written on parchment. It is de ...

(~400) *

Codex Alexandrinus The Codex Alexandrinus (London, British Library, Royal MS 1. D. V-VIII) is a manuscript of the Greek Bible,The Greek Bible in this context refers to the Bible used by Greek-speaking Christians who lived in Egypt and elsewhere during the early ...

(400–40) *

Codex Ephraemi Rescriptus The Codex Ephraemi Rescriptus (Paris, National Library of France, Greek 9) is a manuscript of the Greek Bible, written on parchment. It is designated by the siglum C or 04 in the Biblical manuscript#Gregory-Aland, Gregory-Aland numbering of New ...

(~450; extant verses 26–44) * Papyrus 7 (4th–6th century; extant verses 1–2)

Old Testament references

*: * :

Psalm The Book of Psalms ( , ; ; ; ; , in Islam also called Zabur, ), also known as the Psalter, is the first book of the third section of the Tanakh (Hebrew Bible) called ('Writings'), and a book of the Old Testament. The book is an anthology of H ...

* :

Isaiah 61 Isaiah 61 is the sixty-first chapter of the Book of Isaiah in the Hebrew Bible or the Old Testament of the Christian Bible. This book contains the prophecies attributed to the prophet Isaiah, and is one of the Books of the Prophets. Chapters 5 ...

:–2

Jesus' three temptations (verses 1–13)

Jesus, as in

Matthew 4 Matthew 4 is the fourth chapter of the Gospel of Matthew in the New Testament of Christianity, Christian Bible.Halley, Henry H. (1962), ''Halley's Bible Handbook'': an Abbreviated Bible Commentary. 23rd edition. Zondervan Publishing House.Holman I ...

and Mark 1, travels into the desert, led there by the Spirit, and fasts for forty days. The

New American Standard Bible The New American Standard Bible (NASB, also simply NAS for "New American Standard") is a translation of the Bible in contemporary English. Published by the Lockman Foundation, the complete NASB was released in 1971. New revisions were publis ...

suggests that Jesus was "led around by", or "under the influence of" the Spirit in the wilderness. He is confronted by

Satan Satan, also known as the Devil, is a devilish entity in Abrahamic religions who seduces humans into sin (or falsehood). In Judaism, Satan is seen as an agent subservient to God, typically regarded as a metaphor for the '' yetzer hara'', or ' ...

, who tempts (or tests) him. 'Tested' is the preferred wording of several modern translations, e.g. the

Contemporary English Version The Contemporary English Version or CEV (also known as Bible for Today's Family) is a translation of the Bible into English, published by the American Bible Society. An anglicized version was produced by the British and Foreign Bible Society, ...

, Expanded Bible and New Testament for Everyone. *First, Satan commands him to turn stones into bread. Jesus replies, "Man shall not live by bread alone"
4
RSV), quoting

Moses In Abrahamic religions, Moses was the Hebrews, Hebrew prophet who led the Israelites out of slavery in the The Exodus, Exodus from ancient Egypt, Egypt. He is considered the most important Prophets in Judaism, prophet in Judaism and Samaritani ...

from Deuteronomy 8:3: ''Man shall not live by bread alone''. The words ''but by every word of God'', which reflect the Deuteronomy text (''by every word that proceeds from the mouth of the LORD''), are added in the

Textus Receptus The (Latin for 'received text') is the succession of printed Greek New Testament texts starting with Erasmus' ''Novum Instrumentum omne'' (1516) and including the editions of Robert Estienne, Stephanus, Theodore Beza, Beza, the House of Elzevir ...

but absent from critical texts of the

Greek New Testament Greek New Testament refers to the New Testament in Koine Greek. It may also refer to the following texts: * ''Novum Instrumentum omne'' * ''Textus Receptus The (Latin for 'received text') is the succession of printed Greek New Testament texts ...

. *Secondly, Satan shows Jesus "...all the kingdoms of the world"
5
and tells him that he can have them all if he falls down and worships him. Jesus replies with a further quote from Deuteronom
6:13
"It is written: 'You shall worship the Lord your God, and him only shall you serve.'"
8
*Finally, Satan takes Jesus to the top of the Temple of Jerusalem and quotes

br>91:11–12
as a criterion for a test of favor with

God In monotheistic belief systems, God is usually viewed as the supreme being, creator, and principal object of faith. In polytheistic belief systems, a god is "a spirit or being believed to have created, or for controlling some part of the un ...

, to which Jesus quotes Deuteronom
6:16
"... You shall not tempt the Lord your God."
12
. This narrative is also found in Matthew 4:1– 11, but in Matthew the order of the second and third temptations is reversed. This was most probably in Q if that

hypothesis A hypothesis (: hypotheses) is a proposed explanation for a phenomenon. A scientific hypothesis must be based on observations and make a testable and reproducible prediction about reality, in a process beginning with an educated guess o ...

is correct; perhaps their copies of Q were in a different order? This difference in orders presents a challenge for

redaction Redaction or sanitization is the process of removing sensitive information from a document so that it may be distributed to a broader audience. It is intended to allow the selective disclosure of information. Typically, the result is a document ...

al criticism. It is unclear whether in Q, if it existed, the order was originally the same as Luke's and Matthew changed it to have it end on a mountain, a common motif of Matthew, such as Matthew 5:1 and Matthew 28:16, or Luke changed it to have the temptations end in

Jerusalem Jerusalem is a city in the Southern Levant, on a plateau in the Judaean Mountains between the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean and the Dead Sea. It is one of the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest cities in the world, and ...

. Luke ends his gospel in Jerusalem in

Luke 24 Luke 24 is the twenty-fourth and final chapter of the Gospel of Luke in the New Testament of the Christian Bible. The book containing this chapter is anonymous, but early Christian tradition uniformly affirmed that Luke the Evangelist composed thi ...

. Most scholars believe Matthew's order was the order Q used.

Verse 13

Luke then says that Satan left Jesus "for a season" or "until an opportune time". Satan appears later in

Luke 22 Luke 22 is the twenty-second chapter of the Gospel of Luke in the New Testament of the Christian Bible. It commences in the days just before the Passover or Feast of Unleavened Bread, and records the plot to kill Jesus Christ; the institution of ...

, entering

Judas Judas Iscariot (; ; died AD) was, according to Christianity's four canonical gospels, one of the original Twelve Apostles of Jesus Christ. Judas betrayed Jesus to the Sanhedrin in the Garden of Gethsemane, in exchange for thirty pieces of ...

and leading him to betray Jesus. Raymond Brown sees his return in when Jesus says to those arresting him "But this is your hour, and the power of darkness". The late 19th-century Anglican cleric

Frederic Farrar Dean Frederic William Farrar (Bombay, 7 August 1831 – Canterbury, 22 March 1903) was a senior-ranking cleric of the Church of England, schoolteacher and author. He was a pallbearer at the funeral of Charles Darwin in 1882. He was a member of ...

, in his commentary on Luke for the Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges, argues that this does not mean Jesus faced no other temptations during his life, quoting

Bonaventure Bonaventure ( ; ; ; born Giovanni di Fidanza; 1221 – 15 July 1274) was an Italian Catholic Franciscan bishop, Cardinal (Catholic Church), cardinal, Scholasticism, scholastic theologian and philosopher. The seventh Minister General ( ...

's view that "he endured temptations, too, at other times".Farrar, F. W. (1891)
Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
on Luke 4, via Bible hub, accessed 23 May 2018

Jesus returns to Galilee (verses 14–15)

Jesus returns to

Galilee Galilee (; ; ; ) is a region located in northern Israel and southern Lebanon consisting of two parts: the Upper Galilee (, ; , ) and the Lower Galilee (, ; , ). ''Galilee'' encompasses the area north of the Mount Carmel-Mount Gilboa ridge and ...

"in the power of the Spirit", says Luke, and good report spreads locally about him. He teaches in many of the

synagogue A synagogue, also called a shul or a temple, is a place of worship for Jews and Samaritans. It is a place for prayer (the main sanctuary and sometimes smaller chapels) where Jews attend religious services or special ceremonies such as wed ...

s there.

Bede Bede (; ; 672/326 May 735), also known as Saint Bede, Bede of Jarrow, the Venerable Bede, and Bede the Venerable (), was an English monk, author and scholar. He was one of the most known writers during the Early Middle Ages, and his most f ...

thought that "the power of the Spirit" indicated that Jesus performed miracles from the start of his time back in Galilee;

William Robertson Nicoll Sir William Robertson Nicoll (10 October 18514 May 1923) was a Scottish Free Church of Scotland (1843-1900), Free Church minister (religion), minister, journalist, editor in chief, editor, and man of letters. Biography Nicoll was born in Lums ...

suggests instead that the words " mplya ministry of which no details are here given".

Rejection at Nazareth (verses 16–30)

On one Sabbath day, "as was his custom", Jesus goes to the synagogue in his hometown of

, stands up, and reads a section of the

Book of Isaiah The Book of Isaiah ( ) is the first of the Latter Prophets in the Hebrew Bible and the first of the Major Prophets in the Christian Old Testament. It is identified by a superscription as the words of the 8th-century BC prophet Isaiah ben Amo ...

, Isaiah 61:1– 2, referring to himself (verse 21) as the fulfillment of this

prophecy In religion, mythology, and fiction, a prophecy is a message that has been communicated to a person (typically called a ''prophet'') by a supernatural entity. Prophecies are a feature of many cultures and belief systems and usually contain di ...

. His "custom" may refer to the Jewish custom of attending the synagogue on the Sabbath, or to Jesus' own custom of "frequenting the synagogues since He commenced His mission, for the purpose of expounding the SS. Scriptures". Luke's text uses the

Septuagint The Septuagint ( ), sometimes referred to as the Greek Old Testament or The Translation of the Seventy (), and abbreviated as LXX, is the earliest extant Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible from the original Biblical Hebrew. The full Greek ...

version of Isaiah, but the version Jesus read would have been written in

Hebrew Hebrew (; ''ʿÎbrit'') is a Northwest Semitic languages, Northwest Semitic language within the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family. A regional dialect of the Canaanite languages, it was natively spoken by the Israelites and ...

. The people are amazed at his "gracious words" (, ''tois logois tēs charitos'', verse 22), "the discourse of which verse 21 is a compendium", but Jesus goes on to rebuke them, saying "Truly, I say to you... no prophet is acceptable in his hometown."

Verses 25–30

:''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.'' He tells them how in the time of

Elijah Elijah ( ) or Elias was a prophet and miracle worker who lived in the northern kingdom of Israel during the reign of King Ahab (9th century BC), according to the Books of Kings in the Hebrew Bible. In 1 Kings 18, Elijah defended the worsh ...

only a woman from

Sidon Sidon ( ) or better known as Saida ( ; ) is the third-largest city in Lebanon. It is located on the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean coast in the South Governorate, Lebanon, South Governorate, of which it is the capital. Tyre, Lebanon, Tyre, t ...

(the widow of Zarephath) was saved ( verses 25–26, cf 1 Kings 17:7–16), and during the time of

Elisha Elisha was, according to the Hebrew Bible, a Jewish prophet and a wonder-worker. His name is commonly transliterated into English as Elisha via Hebrew, Eliseus via Greek and Latin, Ełishe (Yeghishe/Elisha) via Armenian or Alyasa via Arabic, a ...

, while there were many

lepers Leprosy, also known as Hansen's disease (HD), is a Chronic condition, long-term infection by the bacteria ''Mycobacterium leprae'' or ''Mycobacterium lepromatosis''. Infection can lead to damage of the Peripheral nervous system, nerves, respir ...

in Israel, only a

Syrian Syrians () are the majority inhabitants of Syria, indigenous to the Levant, most of whom have Arabic, especially its Levantine and Mesopotamian dialects, as a mother tongue. The cultural and linguistic heritage of the Syrian people is a blend ...

, Naaman, was healed (verse 27, cf 2 Kings 5:1–19). Outraged, the people attack him and chase him to the top of a hill and try to throw him off, but Jesus slips away through the crowd and continues "on his way". There are many hills in and around Nazareth, although the

Upper Galilee The Upper Galilee (, ''HaGalil Ha'Elyon''; , ''Al Jaleel Al A'alaa'') is a geographical region located in northern Israel and southern Lebanon. Part of the larger Galilee region, it is characterized by its higher elevations and mountainous terra ...

region, further to the north, is more mountainous. Traditionally this event has been associated with Mount Precipice (also known as the Mount of Precipitation), some from Nazareth, but scholars now argue that this is unlikely to have been the venue because it is further than a Sabbath day's walk from the city. Eric Franklin notes that Jesus' continuation "on his way" denotes not just his escape from peril but a movement towards his goal, Luke using the same verb, ἐπορεύετο, ''eporeueto'', as he uses in , πορευεσθαι, ''poreuesthai'', to indicate his steadfast journey towards Jerusalem. The event is perhaps also depicted, although not word for word, in

Mark Mark may refer to: In the Bible * Mark the Evangelist (5–68), traditionally ascribed author of the Gospel of Mark * Gospel of Mark, one of the four canonical gospels and one of the three synoptic gospels Currencies * Mark (currency), a currenc ...

br>6:1–6
and Matthe
13:53–58
but these accounts do not include the

Old Testament The Old Testament (OT) is the first division of the Christian biblical canon, which is based primarily upon the 24 books of the Hebrew Bible, or Tanakh, a collection of ancient religious Hebrew and occasionally Aramaic writings by the Isr ...

examples, and reflect different agendas.

Teaching and healing (verses 31–41)

Jesus goes to

and exorcises a possessed man in the synagogue, the first of Luke's 21 miracles. He goes to Simon's house and heals his sick mother-in-law. Mark 1 has this after Jesus called his disciples, while Luke puts that event into chapter 5. He heals more and more people, then retreats to the wilderness for solitary

prayer File:Prayers-collage.png, 300px, alt=Collage of various religionists praying – Clickable Image, Collage of various religionists praying ''(Clickable image – use cursor to identify.)'' rect 0 0 1000 1000 Shinto festivalgoer praying in front ...

. They come and find him there but he tells them that he must also go to the surrounding towns, where he is to travel and preach the good news of the

Kingdom of God The concept of the kingship of God appears in all Abrahamic religions, where in some cases the terms kingdom of God and kingdom of Heaven are also used. The notion of God's kingship goes back to the Hebrew Bible, which refers to "his kingdom" ...

, "for I was sent for this purpose". This section, , is almost exactly the same as

and can also be partially found in . Johann Bengel notes: Here is Jesus’ "Creed": the reason for His many journeyings".

Jesus preaches in Galilee (verses 42–44)

In verse 44, Luke affirms that Jesus continued preaching "in the synagogues of Galilee" (KJV, NKJV). Some ancient manuscripts ( א, B, C, L and other

uncial Uncial is a majuscule script (written entirely in capital letters) commonly used from the 4th to 8th centuries AD by Latin and Greek scribes. Uncial letters were used to write Greek and Latin, as well as Gothic, and are the current style for ...

s) refer to τὰς συναγωγὰς τῆς Ἰουδαίας, ''tas synagōgas tēs Ioudaias'', "the synagogues of

Judea Judea or Judaea (; ; , ; ) is a mountainous region of the Levant. Traditionally dominated by the city of Jerusalem, it is now part of Palestine and Israel. The name's usage is historic, having been used in antiquity and still into the pres ...

". This manuscript tradition is reflected in the

Novum Testamentum Graece (''The New Testament in Greek'') is a critical edition of the New Testament in its original Koine Greek published by ''Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft'' (German Bible Society), forming the basis of most modern Bible translations and biblical crit ...

, and hence in most modern Bible translations, including the RSV, ESV, NRSV, NASB, NAB and NIV. Nestle, E.
Luke 4
cf. : RSV, NRSV, ESV, NASB, NAB, NIV and NJB translations

References

External links

* King James Bible - Wikisource
English Translation with Parallel Latin Vulgate''Online Bible'' at GospelHall.org
(ESV, KJV, Darby, American Standard Version, Bible in Basic English)
Multiple bible versions at ''Bible Gateway''
(NKJV, NIV, NRSV etc.) {{Gospel of Luke Luke 04 Phoenicians in the New Testament Temptation of Christ Christianity in Nazareth Elijah Elisha