← All Chapters The Book of Luke · Chapter 4

Luke 4: Tempted, Anointed, Sent

Jesus overcomes the devil's temptations, announces good news in Nazareth, and demonstrates his authority over demons and disease throughout Galilee.

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Luke 4 (WEB)

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

2 for forty days, being tempted by the devil. He ate nothing in those days. Afterward, when they were completed, he was hungry.

3 The devil said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command this stone to become bread.”

4 Jesus answered him, saying, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God.’”

5 The devil, leading him up on a high mountain, showed him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time.

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.

7 If you therefore will worship before me, it will all be yours.”

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.’”

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,

10 for it is written, ‘He will put his angels in charge of you, to guard you;’

11 and, ‘On their hands they will bear you up, lest perhaps you dash your foot against a stone.’”

12 Jesus answering, said to him, “It has been said, ‘You shall not tempt the Lord your God.’”

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

14 Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit into Galilee, and news about him spread through all the surrounding area.

15 He taught in their synagogues, being glorified by all.

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.

17 The book of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him. He opened the book, and found the place where it was written,

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,

19 and to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord.”

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.

21 He began to tell them, “Today, this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.”

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?”

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.’”

24 He said, “Most certainly I tell you, no prophet is acceptable in his hometown.

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.

26 Elijah was sent to none of them, except to Zarephath, in the land of Sidon, to a woman who was a widow.

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.”

28 They were all filled with wrath in the synagogue, as they heard these things.

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.

30 But he, passing through the middle of them, went his way.

31 He came down to Capernaum, a city of Galilee. He was teaching them on the Sabbath day,

32 and they were astonished at his teaching, for his word was with authority.

33 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, “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!”

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.

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!”

37 News about him went out into every place of the surrounding region.

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.

39 He stood over her, and rebuked the fever; and it left her. Immediately she rose up and served them.

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.

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.

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.

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.”

44 He was preaching in the synagogues of Galilee.

Summary

Full of the Holy Spirit, Jesus is led into the wilderness, where for forty days he is tempted by the devil. To each enticement he answers with Scripture, refusing to turn stones to bread, to worship Satan for the kingdoms of the world, or to test God by throwing himself down. The devil departs for a season. Jesus returns to Galilee in the Spirit's power and, in his hometown synagogue at Nazareth, reads from Isaiah and announces that the prophecy of good news to the poor is fulfilled in him. Amazement turns to fury when he reminds them God's mercy has reached outsiders, and they try to throw him off a cliff, but he passes through them. In Capernaum he teaches with authority, casts out an unclean spirit, heals Peter's mother-in-law, and many others. He withdraws to pray, then declares he must preach the kingdom to other towns as well.

Main Characters

  • Jesus — The Spirit-filled Son who resists temptation and proclaims and enacts the kingdom.
  • The devil — The tempter who tries to divert Jesus from his mission and is answered with Scripture.
  • The Nazareth synagogue crowd — Jesus' townspeople who marvel at his words, then turn on him in rage.
  • The unclean spirit — A demon in the Capernaum synagogue that recognizes Jesus and is cast out at his command.

Key Verse

Luke 4:18 (WEB)

“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,

Lessons Learned

  • Scripture is our weapon against temptation, as it was for Jesus.
  • Jesus is the anointed one who brings good news to the poor and freedom to the captive.
  • Familiarity can blind people to the very presence of God among them.
  • Jesus' word carries authority that even demons and disease must obey.
  • God's word equips us to resist temptation. Jesus answers the devil, 'It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God' (Luke 4:4, WEB).
  • Worship belongs to God alone. Jesus replies, 'You shall worship the Lord your God, and you shall serve him only' (Luke 4:8, WEB).
  • Jesus is the anointed bearer of good news. He reads, 'The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor' (Luke 4:18, WEB).
  • The promises of God are fulfilled in Christ. Jesus declares, 'Today, this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing' (Luke 4:21, WEB).
  • Jesus speaks with kingly authority. The people are amazed, for 'with authority and power he commands the unclean spirits, and they come out' (Luke 4:36, WEB).
  1. What are the three temptations Jesus faces, and how does he respond to each?
  2. What does Jesus read in the Nazareth synagogue, and what claim does he make about it?
  3. Why does the crowd in Nazareth turn from amazement to anger?
  4. What signs of Jesus' authority appear during his ministry in Capernaum?
  5. Where in your own life do you need to answer temptation with the truth of God's word?
  1. The devil tempts Jesus to turn stones to bread, to gain the world's kingdoms by worship, and to test God by leaping from the temple; Jesus answers each with Scripture (Luke 4:3-12). He trusts the Father's word and timing over every shortcut.
  2. Jesus reads Isaiah's words about the Spirit anointing him to preach good news, freedom, and the Lord's favor, then says, 'Today, this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing' (Luke 4:18-21). He identifies himself as the promised Messiah.
  3. When Jesus recalls how God blessed a widow of Zarephath and Naaman the Syrian, the townspeople are enraged that grace would reach outsiders, and drive him out to throw him off a cliff (Luke 4:25-29). Familiarity hardens into rejection.
  4. Jesus teaches with authority, commands an unclean spirit to come out, heals Peter's mother-in-law with a word, and cures many at sundown (Luke 4:31-40). His authority over demons and disease shows the kingdom breaking in.
  5. This is a personal application question. Invite members to name a recurring temptation and a truth of Scripture that speaks to it. As leader, encourage the group to treasure God's word as Jesus did, but do not press anyone to share more than they wish.

Scripture quotations are from the World English Bible (WEB), the King James Version (KJV), and the American Standard Version (ASV), all of which are in the public domain.