Luke 4

Luke 4:1

Luke: The Man Christ Jesus Jesus in Galilee An EasyEnglish Bible Version and Commentary (2800 word vocabulary) on Luke 4:14 to 9:50

www.easyenglish.info Ian Mackervoy This commentary has been through Advanced Checking.

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Chapter 4 The devil tests Jesus – Luke 4:1-4:13 v1 Jesus was full of the *Holy Spirit as he returned from the Jordan River. Then the Spirit led Jesus into the desert. v2 For 40 days in the desert, the devil *tempted him. Jesus did not eat anything during those days. And at the end of those days, he was very hungry.

v3 Then the devil spoke to Jesus. ‘If you are the Son of God, tell this stone to become bread.’ v4 Jesus answered him from the Bible. ‘*Scripture says, “A person cannot live on bread alone.’  ”

v5 The devil took Jesus up to a high place. And he showed Jesus all the *kingdoms of the world in an instant. v6 The devil said to Jesus, ‘I will give to you all this power and the *glory of these nations. All of it belongs to me. And I can give it to anyone that I wish. v7 So, if you *worship me, it will all be yours.’

v8 Jesus answered him from the Bible. ‘*Scripture says, “*Worship the *Lord your God.” And it says, “Serve only him.”  ’

v9 Then the devil led Jesus to Jerusalem. And he put Jesus on the highest part of the *temple. The devil said to Jesus. ‘If you are the Son of God, jump down from here. v10  The *scriptures say, “God will order his *angels to preserve you from danger.” v11 Also, the *scriptures say, “The *angels will carry you in their hands so that you will not hurt your foot against a stone.”  ’

v12  Again, Jesus answered the devil. ‘The *scriptures say, “Do not test the *Lord your God.”  ’

v13 After the devil had *tempted Jesus in every way, he left Jesus for a time.

Verses 1-2 The *Holy Spirit came upon Jesus at his *baptism in the Jordan River. The *Holy Spirit came into Jesus so that Jesus was full of the *Holy Spirit. Then Jesus went away from the river. The *Holy Spirit made Jesus go into the desert. Jesus was in the desert for 40 days and 40 nights. During that time, he had nothing to eat. All through these 40 days, the devil *tempted Jesus. But the final attack of the devil came at the end of that time.

Verses 3-4 The devil, who is also called *Satan, opposes God and God’s people. Often he works by means of evil spirits or *demons.

Jesus was by this time very hungry. So, the devil came to him. What he said meant this: ‘You can make bread from a stone. By this, you can prove that you are the Son of God. Do it and satisfy your hunger. Use your power for your own benefit.’ *Satan *tempted Christ to act apart from *faith in God.

Jesus answered the devil from the Bible. He repeated words from Deuteronomy 8:3. In that verse, Moses reminded *Israel that for 40 years in the desert God gave food to them. Then Moses said, ‘Man does not live on bread alone. But man shall live on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’

We need to listen to the words that God speaks. For us today, the normal way that God speaks is by means of the Bible.

Verses 5-8 The devil took Jesus to a high place. We do not know whether this was a physical mountain. But from this place, the devil showed Jesus all the *kingdoms of the world. He could not do this from any one place on earth. So clearly, the devil gave to Jesus a *vision of the whole world. He showed Jesus all the wealth and the *glory of the nations.

*Satan said that he owned all these nations. God has allowed *Satan to have some power over the nations. Jesus calls *Satan ‘the ruler of this world’ (John 12:31; John 14:30; John 16:11). This does not say that *Satan owns the world. But he does have great authority in the world.

If Jesus *worshipped *Satan, *Satan promised to give all these nations to Jesus. That would mean that Jesus accepted *Satan’s authority. They would not still be enemies. Then Jesus would not have gone to the cross to die for our *sins. And there would have been be no *salvation for us.

Again, Jesus answered the devil from the Bible (Deuteronomy 6:13). It was wrong to *worship *Satan. Jesus would remain completely loyal to God, his Father.

Verses 9-12 A third time *Satan *tempted Jesus. He took Jesus to Jerusalem. This was probably in another *vision. He asked Jesus to throw himself off from a certain high point of the *temple. This would prove that Jesus is the Son of God. *Satan even used the Bible to argue that Jesus would be safe (Psalms 91:11-12).

Jesus did not need to do a *miracle to prove who he was. Instead, Jesus answered *Satan by another *scripture (Deuteronomy 6:16). It is wrong to test God. We must not expect God to do what we want. We must not try to achieve God’s purposes by methods that are not proper.

Verse 13 The devil would continue to *tempt Jesus. But for now, he went away. The good news of the *kingdom – Luke 4:14–5:16 The people in Nazareth refuse to accept Jesus – Luke 4:14-30 v14 Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the *Holy Spirit. The news about him spread through all that territory. v15 He taught in their *synagogues and everyone praised him.

v16 Jesus came to the town called Nazareth. He had grown up there. On the *Sabbath day, he went to the *synagogue, as he always did. And he stood up to read. v17 The assistant gave him the *scroll of the *prophet Isaiah. He opened it and he read this passage.

v18 ‘The Spirit of the *Lord is on me. He has chosen me to tell good news to the poor people. He has sent me to tell the prisoners that they are free. He sent me to give sight to blind people. He sent me to free those people who suffer. v19 And he sent me to announce the year of the *Lord’s kindness.’

v20 Jesus closed the *scroll and he gave it back to the assistant. Jesus sat down and all the people in the *synagogue looked at him. v21 Then Jesus began to speak. He said, ‘I have read this from the Bible to you. And today it has happened.’

v22 Everyone said good things about him. They were surprised at the wonderful things that he said. Then they said, ‘But he is the son of Joseph.’

v23 Jesus said to them, ‘You will probably repeat the old story to me. “Doctor, cure yourself.” And, “We have heard what happened in Capernaum. Do the same things here in your own town.” ’

v24 And Jesus said, ‘I will tell you the truth. The people in his own town will not accept a *prophet. v25 I tell you that there were many widows in *Israel during the days of Elijah. It did not rain then for three and a half years. And many people were suffering without food across the whole country. v26 But God did not send Elijah to any of those widows. God sent him to a widow in Zarephath, a town in the country called Sidon. v27 Also, during the time of Elisha, there were many people in *Israel with *leprosy. God did not cure them. But he did cure Naaman who was from the country called Syria.’

v28 When all the people in the *synagogue heard these things, they became very angry. v29 They rose up and they forced Jesus out of the town. They took him up the hill on which they had built the town. There they intended to throw Jesus from a cliff. v30 But Jesus walked through the middle of them and he went away.

Verses 14-17 From the desert, Jesus returned to the region called Galilee. The *Holy Spirit’s power was in him. Jesus taught in the *synagogues. And his fame spread through the entire region.

Then Jesus came to the town called Nazareth. As was his custom, he went to the *synagogue. He stood up to read and the assistant gave to him the Book of Isaiah. The book was in the form of a *scroll. He read from chapter 61 of that book. This may have been the passage for that day or Jesus may have chosen it.

Verses 18-21 In the *synagogue, it was the custom to stand to read. And it was the custom to sit to *preach. So, Jesus stood up and he read the passage. Then he closed the *scroll and he gave it back to the assistant. He sat down and all the people looked at him. Jesus began to *preach.

Jesus told the people that this *prophecy from Isaiah was about him. It was a *prophecy about what the *Christ would do. So, Jesus was telling them that he was the *Christ.

The year of the *Lord’s kindness does not mean a calendar year. It refers to the period in which God offers *salvation to us. That period is now.

Verses 22-27 Jesus grew up in Nazareth. The people there knew him well. They all thought very highly of him because he was such a good person. They knew Jesus as the son of Joseph, a local workman who worked with wood. The way that Jesus taught surprised them. They wondered at the wisdom and authority in what he said. But they refused to believe that Joseph’s son was the *Christ. Because of this, their attitude to Jesus would change.

It is not clear why Jesus told the old story about a doctor. But later in his life his enemies said, ‘He saved other people. But he cannot save himself’ (Matthew 27:42).

The people in Nazareth had heard about the *miracles that Jesus had done in Capernaum. They expected Jesus to perform *miracles for them. If the *prophecy in the Book of Isaiah referred to Jesus, he must prove it. But they did not believe him.

Jesus knew that the people in Nazareth would not accept him. People do not accept *prophets from their own district. People are always more ready to see greatness in strangers than in someone that they know well.

During the life of Elijah, there was no rain for three and a half years. Because of the lack of rain, there was very little food. God did not send Elijah to any widow in *Israel. He sent Elijah to a widow in the foreign town called Zarephath (1 Kings 17:3-24). While Elijah was with her, God supplied food for them. Also, during the life of Elisha, many people in *Israel suffered from the illness called *leprosy. But God did not send any of them to Elisha. He sent Naaman, a foreigner, for Elisha to cure (2 Kings 5:1-14). Jesus used these events to show that *prophets do not have much honour among their own people.

In the *Old Testament, it says that the rain came at the end of the third year (1 Kings 18:1 and 18:45). In the *New Testament, it says that there was no rain for three and a half years (Luke 4:25, James 5:17). In *Israel at that time, there were two seasons of rain. These were in April and October. So, there was an extra period of 6 months when there would usually be no rain. Then for the next three years, the rain failed. That explains why there was no rain for three and a half years.

The word *leprosy could include other skin diseases.

Verses 28-30 The people became very angry. There could be several reasons for this. They did not believe that Jesus was the *Christ. But he said that the *prophecy in Isaiah was about him. He had done many *miracles in other places. But he would not do any *miracles in their town. He spoke about how the *Lord had sent Elijah to foreigners rather than to *Jews. In those days, the *Jews believed that the *Lord was God of the *Jews alone. They could not agree that God would be kind to people from other nations.

Nazareth is on the southern slopes of the hills in the region called Galilee. All the people in the *synagogue took hold of Jesus. They forced him out of their town. They took him to a high place. They intended to throw Jesus down from a cliff. If they did throw him down, it would kill him.

But it was not yet the right time for him to die. And by some means, Jesus left that place safely. We do not know how he did this. He turned and he walked through the crowd. We do not read that he came to Nazareth again. Jesus sends an evil spirit from a man – Luke 4:31-37 v31 Then Jesus went to Capernaum, a town in the region called Galilee. On the *Sabbath day, he taught the people. v32 He taught with authority and this astonished the people.

v33 In the *synagogue, there was a man who had a *demon, an evil spirit. He shouted with a loud voice. v34 ‘Jesus from Nazareth, what do you want with us? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are—the holy one of God.’

v35 Jesus spoke firmly to the *demon, ‘Be quiet. Come out of the man.’ The *demon threw the man down to the ground in front of all the people. It then left the man but it did not hurt him.

v36 This astonished all the people. And they spoke with each other. They said, ‘What a powerful word! With authority, he commands evil spirits and they come out.’ v37 So, the news about Jesus spread to every place in the whole area.

Verses 31-37 Jesus returned to Capernaum. He had done *miracles there before (verse 23). Capernaum was on the north and west shore of the sea called Galilee.

On the *Sabbath day, Jesus went to the *synagogue and he taught the people there. What he said astonished the people. Perhaps this was because Jesus was not a teacher in their tradition. But he *preached with power and authority. This was not normal. Other teachers would use the traditions and the opinions of previous teachers (see Mark 1:22). But Jesus had his own authority. Jesus knew the truth of what he taught. He did not need to express the opinions of other men.

The man with an evil spirit shouted out. The evil spirit knew who Jesus was. Jesus from Nazareth was the holy one of God, that is, the *Christ. And the evil spirit was afraid of Jesus. The evil spirit knew that Jesus had the power to defeat him. Jesus did not answer the evil spirit’s questions. ‘What do you want with us?’ means this: ‘There is no connection between us and you!’

Jesus ordered the spirit to be quiet and to come out of the man. Jesus had such authority that the spirit had to obey him. The spirit threw the man to the ground and came out of him. The spirit did not hurt the man but he was free from the evil spirit.

The way that Jesus taught astonished the people. Also, his authority even over evil spirits astonished them. Nobody else had shown such power and authority. News of what Jesus had done spread quickly to the whole region.

This is the first of 21 *miracles in Luke’s *Gospel. And it is the first of 5 *miracles in which Jesus cures a person on the *Sabbath day (4:38-39, 6:6-10, 13:10-13, 14:1-4). Jesus cures many people – Luke 4:38-44 v38 Jesus left the *synagogue and he went to the home of Simon.  The mother of Simon’s wife was sick with a very bad *fever. And they asked Jesus to help her. v39 Jesus bent over her and he ordered the *fever to leave. The *fever left her. She got up at once and she began to serve them.

v40 The sun was going down. The people brought those people who were sick to Jesus. These sick people had various diseases. Jesus put his hands on each sick person and he cured them. v41 *Demons came out of many people. The *demons cried out, ‘You are the Son of God.’ But Jesus ordered them to be quiet. They knew that he was the *Christ. Therefore, he did not allow them to speak.

v42 Early in the morning, Jesus went to a place where he could be alone. The crowds searched for him and they found him. Then they tried to keep him so that he would not go from them. v43 But Jesus said to them, ‘I must declare the good news about the *kingdom of God in other towns as well. That is what God sent me to do.’ v44 And he continued to *preach in the *synagogues in Judea.

Verses 38-39 Jesus left the *synagogue and he went with Simon, Andrew, James and John (Mark 1:29). They went to the house of Simon and Andrew. They found that the mother of Simon Peter’s wife was sick with an illness. She lay in her bed. They asked Jesus for help. At his order, the *fever left her. He took her hand and he lifted her up. She got up and she served them.

Even as the *demon had to obey Jesus, so the *fever had to go. The *fever went immediately and she was completely well. Again, it showed Christ’s authority and power.

Peter and Andrew were from the town called Bethsaida (John 1:44). That town was probably where they were born. It seems that later they moved to this house in Capernaum.

Simon was Peter’s original name. Jesus gave to Simon the name ‘Peter’ (6:14).

Verses 40-41 The *Sabbath day starts on Friday evening and it ends on Saturday evening. The law in the *Old Testament said that the *Jews must not work on the *Sabbath. The *Jews thought that they could not carry anything on the *Sabbath day. The *Pharisees even thought that to cure a person on the *Sabbath day was against the law. So, the people waited until the *Sabbath day had ended. Then they brought the sick people to Jesus.

Jesus put his hands on each sick person. And he cured all their diseases. Jesus did not always put his hands on sick people. But it does show us that the power to cure flows from him.

There were many in the crowd who had *demons. As in the *synagogue, the *demons knew who Jesus was. They knew that he was the Son of God. They knew that Jesus was the *Christ. Again, Jesus told them to be quiet. And Jesus sent them out of the people.

Verses 42-44 Early in the morning, while it was yet dark, Jesus got up. He went to a place alone to pray (Mark 1:35). The people in Capernaum did not want Jesus to go from their town. They searched for him. When they found him, they tried to persuade him to stay with them. But Jesus would not stay there. He had to *preach in other towns. God sent him to declare the good news about the *kingdom of God.

Jesus left Capernaum. He went through Judea and he *preached in their *synagogues. Judea here probably includes Galilee.

The *kingdom of God is where God rules as king. The *kingdom had already come in the life of Jesus. His authority and power showed to us something of the *kingdom. The *kingdom of God is not a physical place. All who believe in Jesus are part of the *kingdom. They have accepted the rule of God in their lives. But the *kingdom of God has not yet come completely. It is still in the future. God will establish his rule over all who are in heaven and on the earth.

© 2013, Wycliffe Associates (UK)

This publication is in EasyEnglish Level B (2800 words).

April 2013

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