Words in italic type have been added for clarity. They are not found in the original Hebrew or Aramaic.

Luke 4

Satan Tempts Jesus

Luke 4:¹ Then Jesus, being filled with the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into (in) the wilderness,

Luke 4:² being tempted (tested) for forty days by the devil. And in those days He ate nothing, and afterward, when they had ended, He was hungry.

Luke 4:³ And the devil said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, command this stone to become bread.”

• The first “IF”

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

Luke 4:5⁵ Then the devil, taking Him up on a high mountain, showed Him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time.

Luke 4:⁶ And the devil said to Him, “All this authority I will give You, and their glory; for this has been delivered to me, and I give it to whomever I wish.

Luke 4:⁷ Therefore, if You will worship before me, all will be Yours.”

• The second “IF”

Luke 4:⁸ And Jesus answered and said to him, “Get behind Me, Satan! For it is written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only you shall serve.’ ”

Luke 4:⁹ Then he brought Him to Jerusalem, set Him on the pinnacle of the temple, and said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down from here.

Luke 4:¹⁰ For it is written:

‘He shall give His angels charge over you, To keep you,’

Luke 4:¹¹ and,

‘In their hands they shall bear you up, Lest you dash your foot against a stone.’ ”

Luke 4:¹² And Jesus answered and said to him, “It has been said, ‘You shall not tempt (test) the Lord your God.’ ”

Luke 4:¹³ Now when the devil had ended every temptation (testing), he departed from Him until an opportune time.

• Satan was in the Garden of Eden when God cursed him as the serpent, and he was there when God told him that the “Seed of the woman” would destroy him (Gen. 3:15). He keeps asking “IF”. Is he unsure that this man is THE “One”? Regardless, be assured, Satan is watching and tracking Him whether he is sure or not.

Jesus Begins His Galilean Ministry

Luke 4:¹⁴ Then Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit to Galilee, and news of Him went out through all the surrounding region.

Luke 4:¹⁵ And He taught in their synagogues, being glorified by all.

Jesus Rejected at Nazareth

Luke 4:¹⁶ So He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up. And as His custom was, He went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and stood up to read.

Luke 4:¹⁷ And He was handed the book of the prophet Isaiah. And when He had opened the book, He found the place where it was written:

Luke 4:18

“The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me,
Because He has anointed Me
To preach the gospel to the poor;
He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted,
To proclaim liberty to the captives
And recovery of sight to the blind,
To set at liberty those who are oppressed (downtrodden);”

Luke 4:¹⁹ 

“To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord.” (Isaiah 61:1)

Luke 4:²⁰ Then He closed the book, and gave it back to the attendant and sat down. And the eyes of all who were in the synagogue were fixed on Him.

Luke 4:²¹ And He began to say to them, “TODAY this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.”

• Wow!
• Hebrews 3:7 “TODAY, if you will hear His voice,
  ⁸ Do NOT harden your hearts as in the rebellion,

Luke 4:²² So all bore witness to Him, and marveled at the gracious words which proceeded out of His mouth. And they said, “Is this not Joseph’s son?”

Luke 4:²³ He said to them, “You will surely say this proverb to Me, ‘Physician, heal yourself! Whatever we have heard done in Capernaum, do also here in Your country.’ ”

Luke 4:²⁴ Then He said, “Assuredly, I say to you, no prophet is accepted in his own country.

Luke 4:²⁵ But I tell you truly, many widows were in Israel in the days of Elijah, when the heaven was shut up three years and six months, and there was a great famine throughout all the land;

• Elijah: (heaven shut up) famine and tribulation.
  • James 5:17 Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed earnestly that it would not rain; and it did not rain on the land for three years and six months.
  • During the tribulation two witnesses will cause it not to rain for 3-1/2 years.
• See Topic: The Seven Year Tribulation and the High Holy Days as these days are metaphorically compared to the rapture of the Bride of Christ, the Seven Year Tribulation (seven days of Daniel’s 70th “week”), and Jesus’ Return.
• 

• Elijah is the one who is prophesied to prepare the way of the Lord (Jesus) which John the Baptist fulfilled by the spirit of Elijah.

• A famine is symbolic of the coming seven year tribulation. It is called “The Time of Jacob’s Troubles” because of the seven year famine.

Luke 4:26²⁶ but to none of them was Elijah sent except to Zarephath (Gr. Sarepta), in the region of Sidon, to a (GENTILE!) woman who was a widow.

Luke 4:²⁷ And many lepers were in Israel in the time of Elisha the prophet, and none of them was cleansed except Naaman the (GENTILE!) Syrian.”

• Jesus is justifying the Gentiles over the Jews. The Jews believe they are just because they are the chosen ones, the children of Abraham; yet Jesus is correcting them (as He corrects all men); to be a child of Abraham means being a child of FAITH. Abraham was called the father of Faith.
  
• Jesus heals ten lepers, and only one returns to worship Him, a GENTILE!
  
• So what makes a Jew “special”, “chosen”, or “called”? Every child of faith is special because they are set apart to serve others, not to lord over others. During the future millennium when Jesus reigns on earth, from Jerusalem the Jews will serve their King; Jesus and the Gentiles.
  
  • Zechariah 8:23
    “Thus says the Lord of hosts: ‘In those days ten men from every language of the nations shall grasp the sleeve of a Jewish man, saying, “Let us go with you, for we have heard that God is with you.” ’ ”

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• The Jews were considered “clean”. Gentiles, on the other hand were called “unclean” and to be avoided.
• In this case, it was the Gentile who was “clean”.
• According to the historian Josephus, the Pharisees refused to attend Pilate’s trial with Jesus when they took Jesus inside the Praetorian, a gentile building, because it would cause them to be “unclean”, and they wanted to be clean for the Passover. Little did they know the Passover Lamb was in the Praetorian.

Luke 4:²⁸ So all those in the synagogue, when they heard these things, were filled with (rage) wrath,

Luke 4:²⁹ and rose up and thrust Him out of the city; and they led Him to the brow of the hill on which their city was built, that they might throw Him down over the cliff.

Luke 4:³⁰ Then passing through the midst of them, He went His way.

• Throughout the centuries, millions upon millions follow Jesus going “His Way”.

Jesus Casts Out an Unclean Spirit

Luke 4:³¹ Then He went down to Capernaum, a city of Galilee, and was teaching them on the Sabbaths.

Luke 4:³² And they were astonished at His teaching, for His word was with authority.

Luke 4:³³ Now in the synagogue there was a man who had a spirit of an unclean demon. And he cried out with a loud voice,

Luke 4:³⁴ saying, “Let us alone! What have we to do with You, Jesus of Nazareth? Did You come to destroy us? I know who You are—the Holy One of God!”

Luke 4:³⁵ But Jesus rebuked him, saying, (Lit. Be muzzled) “Be quiet, and come out of him!” And when the demon had thrown him in their midst, it came out of him and did not hurt him.

Luke 4:³⁶ Then they were all amazed and spoke among themselves, saying, “What a word this is! For with authority and power He commands the unclean spirits, and they come out.”

Luke 4:³⁷ And the report about Him went out into every place in the surrounding region.

Peter’s Mother-in-Law Healed

Luke 4:³⁸ Now He arose from the synagogue and entered Simon’s house (Simon Peter). But Simon’s wife’s mother was sick (afflicted) with a high fever, and they made request of Him concerning her.

• The seven years of prophetic tribulation are also called the “Days of Affliction” when a great sickness covers the globe beginning in Jerusalem and spreading outwards until the world is drug into the “Jewish” drama.

Luke 4:³⁹ So He stood over her and rebuked the fever, and it left her. And immediately she arose and served them.

• The greatest in the kingdom of God are those who serve.

Many Healed After Sabbath Sunset

Luke 4:⁴⁰ When the sun was setting, all those who had any that were sick with various diseases brought them to Him; and He laid His hands on every one of them and healed them.

Luke 4:⁴¹ And demons also came out of many, crying out and saying, “You are the Christ, the Son of God!”

And He, rebuking them, did not allow them to speak, for they knew that He was the Christ. (Or: They were not allowed to say that they knew who Jesus was.)

Jesus Preaches in Galilee

Luke 4:⁴² Now when it was day, He departed and went into a deserted place. And the crowd sought Him and came to Him, and tried to keep Him from leaving them;

Luke 4:⁴³ but He said to them, “I must preach the kingdom of God to the other cities also, because for this purpose I have been sent.”

Luke 4:⁴⁴ And He was preaching in the synagogues of (Judea) Galilee.

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