Luke 4

The original text was written in Koine Greek. This chapter is divided into 44 verses.

Some early manuscripts containing the text of this chapter are:

• Papyrus 4 (AD 150–75; extant verses: 1–2, 29–32, 34–35){{Cite book

|last=Aland |first=Kurt |author-link=Kurt Aland

| last2 = Aland | first2 = Barbara | author-link2 = Barbara Aland | others = Erroll F. Rhodes (trans.)

|title=The Text of the New Testament: An Introduction to the Critical Editions and to the Theory and Practice of Modern Textual Criticism |publisher= William B Eerdmans |year=1995 |location=Grand Rapids, MI |page=96 | via = Google Books |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=2pYDsAhUOxAC |isbn=978-0-8028-4098-1}}

• Codex Vaticanus (325–50)
• Codex Sinaiticus (330–60)
• Codex Bezae (~400)
• Codex Washingtonianus (~400)
• Codex Alexandrinus (400–40)
• Codex Ephraemi Rescriptus (~450; extant verses 26–44)
• Papyrus 7 (4th–6th century; extant verses 1–2){{Cite book | last = Gregory | first = Caspar René | author-link = Caspar René Gregory

| title = Die griechischen Handschriften des Neuen Testament | trans-title = The Greek manuscripts of the New Testament | publisher = J.C. Hinrichs’sche Buchhandlung | year = 1908 | location = Leipzig, DE | page = 46 | via = Internet Archive | url = https://archive.org/stream/diegriechischen00greggoog#page/n57/mode/2up}}

• {{bibleverse||Luke|4:4|NKJV}}: {{bibleverse||Deuteronomy|8:3|NKJV}}
• {{bibleverse|Luke|4:10–11|KJV}}: Psalm {{bibleverse-nb|Psalm|91:11–12|KJV}}{{cite book|last= Kirkpatrick| first= A. F. | author-link=Alexander Kirkpatrick| title= The Book of Psalms: with Introduction and Notes |series=The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges | volume = Books IV & V: Psalms XC–CL | place = Cambridge |publisher= University Press | year = 1901 | page = 839 | via = Google Books | url= https://books.google.com/books?id=SLJzlHElr6cC | access-date= February 28, 2019}}
• {{bibleverse|Luke|4:18–19|KJV}}: Isaiah 61:–2{{cite book|last= Coggins | first= R | chapter = 22. Isaiah | title= The Oxford Bible Commentary | editor-first1=John| editor-last1=Barton |editor1-link = John Barton (theologian) | editor-first2=John| editor-last2= Muddiman |editor2-link = John Muddiman | publisher = Oxford University Press |edition= first | format = paperback | date = 2007 | page = 481 | isbn = 978-0-19927718-6 | via = Google Books | url= https://books.google.com/books?id=ZJdVkgEACAAJ| access-date=February 6, 2019}}

{{Main|Temptation of Christ}}

Jesus, as in Matthew 4 and Mark 1, travels into the desert, led there by the Spirit,{{bibleverse |Luke|4:1}} and fasts for forty days. The New American Standard Bible suggests that Jesus was "led around by", or "under the influence of" the Spirit in the wilderness.{{bibleverse|Luke|4:1|NASB}}: NASB, and footnote 1 at the same verse. He is confronted by Satan, who tempts (or tests) him. 'Tested' is the preferred wording of several modern translations, e.g. the Contemporary English Version, 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" ([http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Luke%204:4;&version=RSV; 4] RSV), quoting Moses 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),{{bibleverse||Deuteronomy|8:3|NKJV}} are added in the Textus Receptus but absent from critical texts of the Greek New Testament.Footnote c in the New King James Version of Luke 4
• Secondly, Satan shows Jesus "...all the kingdoms of the world" ([http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Luke%204:5;&version=RSV; 5]) and tells him that he can have them all if he falls down and worships him. Jesus replies with a further quote from Deuteronomy [http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?book_id=5&chapter=6&version=RSV 6:13], "It is written: 'You shall worship the Lord your God, and him only shall you serve.'" ([http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=luke%204:8%20;&version=RSV;8 8])
• Finally, Satan takes Jesus to the top of the Temple of Jerusalem and quotes Psalm [http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?book_id=23&chapter=91&version=RSV 91:11–12] as a criterion for a test of favor with God, to which Jesus quotes Deuteronomy [http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?book_id=5&chapter=6&version=RSV 6:16], "... You shall not tempt the Lord your God." ([http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=luke%204:12;&version=RSV; 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 is correct; perhaps their copies of Q were in a different order?{{who says|date=August 2023}} This difference in orders presents a challenge for redactional 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 Bible (1966), footnote a at Luke 4 Luke ends his gospel in Jerusalem in Luke 24. Most scholars believe Matthew's order was the order Q used.Brown, p. 236

Luke then says that Satan left Jesus "for a season" {{bibleverse||Luke|4:13|KJV}}: King James Version or "until an opportune time".{{bibleverse ||Luke|4:13|RSV}}: Revised Standard Version{{bibleverse ||Luke|4:13|NKJV}}: New King James Version Satan appears later in Luke 22, entering Judas and leading him to betray Jesus. Raymond Brown sees his return in {{bibleverse||Luke|22:53|RSV}} when Jesus says to those arresting him "But this is your hour, and the power of darkness".Brown, Raymond E. p. 237 The late 19th-century Anglican cleric Frederic Farrar, 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's view that "he endured temptations, too, at other times".Farrar, F. W. (1891), [http://biblehub.com/commentaries/cambridge/luke/4.htm Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges] on Luke 4, via Bible hub, accessed 23 May 2018Bonaventure 1881, [https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=njp.32101076874658&view=1up&seq=120&q1=tempted The Life of Christ], W. H. Hutchings transl. & ed., via Hathi trust p. 84

Jesus returns to Galilee "in the power of the Spirit",{{bibleverse||Luke|4:14|NKJV}}: NKJV says Luke, and good report spreads locally about him. He teaches in many of the synagogues there. Bede thought that "the power of the Spirit" indicated that Jesus performed miracles from the start of his time back in Galilee;Bede, quoted by Thomas Aquinas in [https://archive.org/details/a6788682p103thomuoft/page/152/mode/2up Catena aurea: commentary on the four Gospels, collected out of the works of the fathers], Luke, Part 1, p. 153, edited by John Henry Newman, Oxford, 1841, accessed on 3 April 2025 William Robertson Nicoll suggests instead that the words "[imply] a ministry of which no details are here given".Nicoll, W. R., [https://biblehub.com/commentaries/egt/luke/4.htm Expositor's Greek Testament] on Luke 4, accessed on 3 April 2025

{{Main|Rejection of Jesus}}

File:Mounthakfiza.jpg

On one Sabbath day, "as was his custom",{{bibleverse|Luke|4:16|ESV}}: English Standard Version (ESV) Jesus goes to the synagogue in his hometown of Nazareth, stands up, and reads a section of the Book of Isaiah, Isaiah 61:1–2, referring to himself (verse 21) as the fulfillment of this prophecy. 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".McEvilly, J. (1898), [https://www.ecatholic2000.com/macevilly2/untitled-64.shtml#_Toc385606609 An Exposition of The Gospels by The Most Rev. John Macevilly D.D.: Luke, Chapter 4], accessed on 4 April 2025 Luke's text uses the Septuagint version of Isaiah, but the version Jesus read would have been written in Hebrew.

The people are amazed at his "gracious words" ({{langx|el|τοις λογοις της χαριτος}}, tois logois tēs charitos, verse 22), "the discourse of which verse 21 is a compendium",Alford, H. (1863–78), [https://biblehub.com/commentaries/alford/luke/4.htm Greek Testament Critical Exegetical Commentary - Alford] on Luke 4, accessed 29 August 2023 but Jesus goes on to rebuke them, saying "Truly, I say to you... no prophet is acceptable in his hometown."{{bibleverse||Luke|4:24|ESV}}: ESV

:{{sup|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, {{sup|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.{{bibleverse |Luke|4:25–26|ESV}}: ESV

He tells them how in the time of Elijah only a woman from Sidon (the widow of Zarephath) was saved (verses 25–26, cf 1 Kings 17:7–16), and during the time of Elisha, while there were many lepers in Israel, only a Syrian, 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".{{bibleverse|Luke|4:25–26|NRSV}}: New Revised Standard Version There are many hills in and around Nazareth, although the Upper Galilee 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 {{convert|2|km}} 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,{{bibleverse|Luke|4:30|WHNU}} eporeueto, as he uses in {{bibleverse|Luke|9:51|WHNU}}, πορευεσθαι, poreuesthai, to indicate his steadfast journey towards Jerusalem.Franklin, E., 59. Luke in Barton, J. and Muddiman, J. (2001), [https://b-ok.org/dl/946961/8f5f43 The Oxford Bible Commentary] {{Webarchive|url= https://web.archive.org/web/20171122193211/http://b-ok.org/dl/946961/8f5f43 |date= 2017-11-22}}, p. 933

The event is perhaps also depicted, although not word for word, in Mark [http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?book_id=48&chapter=6&version=RSV 6:1–6] and Matthew [http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?book_id=47&chapter=13&version=RSV 13:53–58], but these accounts do not include the Old Testament examples, and reflect different agendas.Thiessen, H. A., 16 July 2020, [https://hermeneutrix.com/2020/07/16/studying-mark-6-1-6/ Studying Mark 6 1–6], Hermeneutrix, accessed 30 August 2023

{{Main|Ministry of Jesus}}

Jesus goes to Capernaum 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. 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, "for I was sent for this purpose".{{bibleverse||Luke|4:43|RSV}} This section, {{bibleverse||Luke|4:31–44|RSV}}, is almost exactly the same as Mark {{bibleverse-nb||Mark|1:21-29|RSV}} and can also be partially found in {{bibleverse||Matthew|8:14–16|RSV}}. Johann Bengel notes: Here is Jesus’ "Creed": the reason for His many journeyings".Bengel, J. A. (1742), [https://biblehub.com/commentaries/bengel/luke/4.htm Gnomon of the New Testament] on Luke 4, via Bible hub, accessed 12 July 2020

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 uncials) refer to τὰς συναγωγὰς τῆς Ἰουδαίας, tas synagōgas tēs Ioudaias, "the synagogues of Judea". This manuscript tradition is reflected in the Novum Testamentum Graece, and hence in most modern Bible translations, including the RSV, ESV, NRSV, NASB, NAB and NIV.Nestle, E., [http://biblehub.com/nestle/luke/4.htm Luke 4], cf. {{bibleverse||Luke|4:44|RSV}}: RSV, NRSV, ESV, NASB, NAB, NIV and NJB translations

• Elisha
• Mount of Temptation
• Naaman
• Physician, heal thyself
• Related Bible parts: 2 Kings 5, Psalm 146, Isaiah 61, Matthew 4, Matthew 8, Mark 1

{{reflist}}

• Brown, Raymond E., An Introduction to the New Testament, Doubleday 1997 {{ISBN|0-385-24767-2}}
• Miller, Robert J.-Editor, The Complete Gospels, Polebridge Press 1994 {{ISBN|0-06-065587-9}}

• {{bibleverse|Luke|4|KJV}} King James Bible - Wikisource
• [http://www.latinvulgate.com/lv/verse.aspx?t=1&b=3&c=4 English Translation with Parallel Latin Vulgate]
• [http://www.gospelhall.org/bible/bible.php?passage=Luke+4 Online Bible at GospelHall.org] (ESV, KJV, Darby, American Standard Version, Bible in Basic English)
• [http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?book_id=49&chapter=4 Multiple bible versions at Bible Gateway] (NKJV, NIV, NRSV etc.)

{{sequence

| prev = Luke 3

| list = Chapters of the Bible
Gospel of Luke

| next = Luke 5

}}

{{Gospel of Luke}}

Luke 04

Category:Phoenicians in the New Testament

Category:Temptation of Christ

Category:Christianity in Nazareth

Category:Elijah

Category:Elisha