Luke 4

H.Leo Boles Commentary On Luke 4 THE OF JESUS Luke 4:1-13 Luke 4:1-2 —And Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit,—An account of the temptation is given by Matthew (Matthew 4:1-11), Mark (Mark 1:12-13), and Luke. Matthew and Luke give the account more in detail ; Mark makes only a brief reference to it. The third temp¬tation with Matthew is the second with Luke. The order as given by Matthew is generally accepted as the order of occurrence. Matthew and Luke state generally that Jesus was “ led in the Spirit,” and Mark states that “ the Spirit driveth him forth” into the wilderness. Matthew has “ stone” and “ bread” in the plural, while Luke has these in the singular.

Some explain this as though the devil had first commanded “ these stones” to be made into bread, and later only commanded one particular stone to be made into bread, and that Matthew records one of the statements of the devil and Luke records the same statement made a little later. The quotation from Deuteronomy 8:3 is given more fully by Matthew than by Luke, but the quotation from Psalms 91:11-12 is fuller in Luke than in Matthew ; however the meaning is the same in both. Luke gives the language of Satan more at length than Matthew. Jesus received the Holy Spirit at his baptism and was thus “ full of the Holy Spirit.” The temptation of Jesus was the last step in the preparation for his public ministry. Under the influence of the Spirit he was brought to the place of trial, and the temptation, in a large part, was the suggestion to use for selfish ends the divine powers of which he was conscious, and to forget his filial relation to his father; he was tempted to rebel against God. He was “ driven” or “ led” into the wil-derness, probably the wilderness of Jordan west of Jericho. Mark describes Jesus in the wilderness “ with the wild beasts” ; he remained there “ during forty days.” He was tempted during this time, but the full force of the temptation came with its crisis at the end of the forty days. Luke 4:3-4 —And the devil said unto him,— Some have looked at the temptation of Jesus as being one with a threefold part; others have looked at it as being three distinct temptations. They are treated here as three temptations. The first one was to get Jesus to turn a stone or stones into bread. “ If thou art the Son of God” then you have the power to make bread out of these stones. Some have looked at the clause “ if thou” as expressing a doubt; however “ if” seems to have the force of “ since,” which would express no doubt. It is claimed by some that the devil wanted Jesus to prove himself as the Son of God. The devil challenges Jesus to prove his claim to be the Son of God by a miracle; a good motive is suggested to Jesus and the sinfulness of the act is skillfully disguised by the devil. There seems to be a twofold nature to this temptation; he is tempted to satisfy his hunger and to prove himself to be the Son of God. And Jesus answered unto him,—Jesus quoted Deuteronomy 8:3. These words, “ it is written,” are the first upon record that were spoken by Jesus after his entrance into his public ministry ; hence his first words are a declaration of the authority of the scriptures. Jesus met every temptation by a quotation of scripture. Man must have bread; Jesus does not deny the place and value of “ bread” in sustaining life, but he does place the emphasis on things more important. Jesus here shows his reliance on his heavenly Father, and equally shows his determination to seek no means to sustain life but such as are ap-proved of God. To create bread out of stones contrary to God’ s will, and in obedience to Satan, would be to die, not live. Jesus makes no reference to his divine Sonship; he was not called upon to prove that to Satan. Luke 4:5-8 —And he led him up, and showed him all the kingdoms—Matthew records this temptation as the third, but Luke puts it second. We need not speculate as to why this change is made; no one knows, and no one now can know. We have it as a fact that this change in the order has been made. It seems that Luke follows the order and position of the places — the desert, the mountain, and the temple. Here he is “ led” upon the mountain and showed “ all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time.” The word in the Greek literally means “ a mark made by a pointed instrument, a dot” ; hence, a point of time. Jesus was given a vision of the inhabited world, “ all the kingdoms of the world”; he not only saw Palestine, but also the heathen world, over which Satan exercised spiritual dominion; from the lofty elevation the kingdoms or tetrarchies of Palestine and adjacent regions could be seen, and the more distant empires of the world might be suggested by the tempter.

There was something supernatural in this act which enabled Jesus to see these in a “ moment of time” ; the suddenness of the view added much to the power of the temptation. All these were promised to Jesus on the condition that he would “ worship before me.” The kingdoms and the glory of them were held before Jesus as a temptation. Many think that these kingdoms did not belong to the devil, and hence he could not have fulfilled his promise even if Jesus had worshiped him. The devil here asked Jesus to transfer his allegiance from God to the devil; Jesus is tempted to acknowledge the supremacy and sovereignty of the devil; to do this would be to acknowledge a falsehood, for the devil was not supreme, neither was he a sovereign. And Jesus answered and said unto him,—Here again Jesus quoted scripture. He said: “ It is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve.” Matthew records Jesus as saying, “ Get thee hence, Satan,” but Luke omits that. In righteous indignation Jesus denounced Satan as the archenemy of God his Father. In this temptation the devil threw off the mask and appeared to Jesus is his real character; hitherto Jesus had dealt with him according to his assumed character, but now he repulsed him with abhorrence. Jesus added: “ Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve.” Here Jesus quotes Deuteronomy 6:13. Luke 4:9-12 —And he led him to Jerusalem,—This is the second temptation according to Matthew. We are not told how the devil took Jesus to Jerusalem and to the pinnacle of the temple ; it may have been as the Spirit of the Lord caught away Philip. (Acts 8:39.) Jesus permitted Satan to exercise great power over him; the language here seems to require an actual going from place to place, and yet it does not necessarily determine whether the devil did or did not transport him through the air. He brought him “ to Jerusalem, and set him on the pinnacle of the temple.” This was some high point of the temple building well known by the Jews at that time. The Greek word translated “ temple” means literally a “ winglet,” and is applied to a wing-shape or pointed structure, a gable or pointed roof. The word translated “ temple,” both here and in Matthew, means the whole sacred enclosure or temple buildings. This time the devil said to him: “ If thou art the Son of God, cast thyself down from hence.” This temptation also seems to have a twofold meaning, appealing to the natural feeling and to the Messianic aspiration; since Jesus is the Son of God and is now upon the high pinnacle of the temple and can do nothing up there for the salvation of man, he is com-manded to cast himself down. And Jesus answering said unto him,—Again Jesus replied to Satan by quoting the scripture: “ Thou shalt not make trial of the Lord thy God.” In this application of the scripture, Jesus intimates that he must not put God on trial by exercis¬ing a presumptuous confidence or by needlessly testing his veracity. To attempt to put God to the test would show unbelief, while display of power would be opposed to humility. Jesus did not, as some have, accuse the devil of misquoting scripture; neither did he deny the promise referred to in the scripture which the devil quoted; he simply replied by giving another quotation. The quotation that Jesus here used interprets the one quoted by the devil, but does not refute that quotation. Jesus meant to say that the quotation of the devil was a scriptural quotation and applicable to himself and would be fulfilled in due time, but to throw oneself into unnecessary danger in order to “ tempt” God would be a sin, and especially when it was done at the command of the devil. Luke 4:13 —And when the devil had completed every temptation,— This means that the devil had used every available kind of temptation; he was “ tempted in all points” as we are, but “ without sin.” (Hebrews 4:15.) The first temptation was in the sphere of bodily appetite; Jesus was urged by Satan to trans-form a stone into bread; the second temptation was in the sphere of earthly ambition; it consisted in an offer of unlim¬ited human power. The last temptation was in the sphere of intellectual curiosity; it suggested to Jesus that he should see for himself what would be the experience of one who should cast himself from a great height and then, by angel hands, be kept from harm. “ He departed from him for a season”; the devil had ex-hausted his power, hence “ he departed from him for a sea¬son.” The scene closed with Jesus victorious, and “ the angels ministered unto him.” (Mark 1:13.) Jesus had triumphed, and later he taught through James: “ resist the devil, and he will flee from you.” (James 4:7.) “ Angels came and ministered unto him” (Matthew 4:11) ; some think that angels brought him food, as Elijah was fed by angels after he had fasted forty days (1 Kings 19:5.) The original from which we get “ ministered” means “ were ministering”; it signifies to attend as a servant; angels waited on him as human friends might have waited on one whom they found hungry, weary, lonely. JESUS AT Luke 4:14-30 We cannot determine accurately the length of his ministry in Galilee; it cannot be determined whether it began in sum¬mer or late autumn; if the feast of Joh 5:1 was a Passover or there is an unknown Passover, the Galilean ministry lasted at least sixteen months, for it closed when another Passover was near. (John 6:4.) Otherwise we should not certainly know that it lasted more than six or eight months. There is no doubt that the two subsequent periods of our Lord’ s ministry each lasted six months; but here we have to admit much uncertainty as to the time; after all, a determination of the time employed would be a matter of very little importance with respect to the study of this period. The immense amount of material in this period would seem to favor the idea for a length of time longer than a year. Throughout this ministry in Galilee, and the periods that will follow after, the reader may trace carefully the progress of the history along several lines: (1) the Savior’ s progressive self-manifestation; (2) the gradual training of his twelve apostles who were to carry on his teaching and work after his death; (3) the deep¬ening and spreading hostility of the Jewish influential classes and official rulers. By constantly observing these parallel lines of progress, it will be seen that the history and teachings of our Lord exhibit a vital growth, moving on to an end by him foreseen (Luke 12:50), when the hostility of the rulers will culminate as he before the Sanhedrin avows himself to be the Messiah, and his twelve apostles will be almost prepared to succeed him in his work. Luke 4:14-15 —And Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit—Sev-eral months intervened between the preceding paragraph and this one; during the intervening months, Jesus was busy in his ministry in Judea. John (John 1:15 to 3:36) alone gives an account of this ministry. Luke passes over in silence his min¬istry in Judea and gives attention to his Galilean ministry. Jesus had left Galilee (Luke 3:21) to be baptized of John; he had made the two returns to Galilee, and Luke here may be understood to make a general statement that includes both of them. So after the marriage feast at Cana (John 1:43 John 2:1) and after John was cast into prison (Matthew 4:12; John 4:1-3), Luke begins to relate Jesus’ activities in Galilee after John’ s imprisonment (Luke 3:19-20). Jesus “ in the power of the Spirit” came into Galilee, under the full influence of the Holy Spirit, which descended upon him at his baptism, attended him in the wilderness of temptation, and continued with him in his ministry. And he taught in their synagogues,—“ Taught” in the original means “ he himself taught,” which verifies the favorable report about himself in person. He was not only known by reports of his words and acts, but in his own person and by his teaching. All glorified him because of his teachings. Jesus taught in the synagogues as Jewish teachers or rabbis taught; he expounded the scriptures and instructed the people. “ Synagogue” means “ assembly, congregation,” and is applied both to a religious gathering having certain judicial powers (Luke 8:41 Luke 12:11 Luke 21:12; Acts 9:2), and to the place where the Jews met for their public worship on ordinary occasions (Luke 7:5.) There were many synagogues for the Jews; in all cities and villages where there were at least ten Jews, there was found a synagogue. It is said that there were more than four hundred synagogues in Jerusalem. The Jews met in their synagogues on the Sabbath, feast days, and afterward on the second and fifth days of the week. Luke 4:16-17 —And he came to Nazareth,—He came to Nazareth, the home of his childhood and youth; here he was with the people who had known him almost from his birth. “ Nazareth,” according to some authorities, means “ a branch.” which was an appropriate name of the place where the branch should live and grow up. (Isaiah 11:1; Zechariah 3:8 Zechariah 6:12.) Others think that it signifies “ the one guarding or guarded” from the hills which surrounded it. New Testament writers always speak of Nazareth as a city and never as a village. According to Josephus the population of Nazareth was above fifteen thousand; it is not mentioned in the Old Testament. It was located in lower Galilee, about seventy miles north of Jerusalem, and nearly halfway from the Jordan to the Mediterranean. “ As his custom was,” he went into “ the synagogue on the sabbath day, and stood up to read.” This shows that Jesus attended regularly the services in the synagogue on the Sabbath. This appears to have been the first Sabbath after his return to Nazareth. He “ stood up to read.” In the syna¬gogue the law and the prophets were read and expounded by the ruler of the synagogue and others; the scriptures, except Esther, which might be read sitting, were read standing, while sitting was the posture of teaching. (Matthew 5:1; Luke 4:20.) When Jesus “ stood up to read” he indicated as was the custom in the synagogue his desire to read, and probably the audience stood while he read. According to the custom of the Jews, seven were allowed to read every Sabbath— a priest, two Levites, and four Israelites; the law was read first and then the prophets. And there was delivered unto him the book—When Jesus stood up in the synagogue, indicating his desire to read, there was brought to him the “ book of the prophet Isaiah” ; probably the law had already been read that Sabbath, and, accord¬ing to custom, they were ready for the usual reading of the prophets. Some think that he may have called for this particular book. The books of the ancients were “ rolls” of parchment, papyrus, linen, or other flexible material, which were rolled upon a stick, and upon reading were gradually rolled around another of equal size. “ And he opened the book, and found the place where it was written.” He unrolled the scroll; this was no accident or mere chance that he “ found the place” where he wanted to read; he unrolled the volume until he found this Messianic prophecy, yet with no seeming effort or searching for it. Luke 4:18-20 —The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,—This passage is quoted from Isaiah 61:1-2, and the clause, “ to set at liberty them that are bruised,” seems to be added from the Septuagint of Isa 58:6. The Jews generally understood this proph¬ecy to refer to the Messiah; it was very appropriate for Jesus to read this passage in the beginning of his teachings in Nazareth; he thus appears before them, not so much as a miracle worker, as a teacher, but as the Messiah of prophecy. “ The Spirit of the Lord” means that the Holy Spirit was abid¬ing with him and hence his qualification for teaching and saving the lost. (John 3:34.) He was anointed by the Spirit at his baptism “ to preach good tidings to the poor.” The time had now come for him to announce that the Messiah had come. It was customary for those who were designated to do public work to be anointed, but Jesus was anointed with the Holy Spirit, while others were anointed with the “ anointing oil.” The “ poor” means the spiritually poor; those who are “ poor in spirit.” (Matthew 5:3.) The Messiah was to release the captives, those who were in the bondage of sin. “ Captives” as used here in the original meant those who were “ conquered or taken in war” ; hence, prisoners of war. On the first day of the year of jubilee, the priests went through the land proclaiming with sound of trumpet the blessings of the opening year. (Leviticus 25:8-17.) Jesus here proclaims the time of his public ministry and his Messiahship. And he closed the book,—Luke gives a very vivid picture of the manner of Jesus in the synagogue of his own village; calmly and quietly Jesus rolled up the scroll and gave it again to “ the attendant” who had brought it to him; then he “ sat down.” He now assumed the posture of a teacher; the cus¬tom was to stand while reading and to sit while teaching. Jesus is now ready to teach. “ The eyes of all in the synagogue were fastened on him.” The verb or participle in the original here denotes continuous, steadfast attention. All looked intently and steadily upon him; there was something in his manner, and perhaps tone of voice, which riveted their attention on him and aroused their expectation that he was about to speak. Luke 4:21 —And he began to say unto them,—These words do not necessarily denote his first words, but they do indicate a sol¬emn and weighty opening. “Today hath his scripture been fulfilled in your ears.” Now, at this very time, in their ears they heard the glad tidings which Jesus had announced that he was the Messiah. Since the Jews generally understood this scripture to refer to the Messiah, Jesus declares that he is a fulfillment of it; there can be no doubt but that they under¬stood him ; however, they did not believe him. Luke 4:22-24 —And all bare him witness,—All who listened to his discourse gave favorable testimony to the subject and manner of it; there was no false reasoning in it, neither were there any false or unfounded assumptions; no fallacy of argument or erroneous statement could be detected in the whole dis¬course ; hence they “ wondered at the words of grace which proceeded out of his mouth.” Their wonder and admiration soon began to yield to a feeling of contempt for his preten¬sions. and they asked: “ Is not this Joseph’ s son?” They wondered that their own townsman and one whom they had known as a workman among them should thus speak. Joseph was a man of humble circumstances; his family had occupied no distinguished place; Joseph was supposed to be the father of Jesus. Jesus had received no training from the rabbis; how could he so speak? How could he, whom they had known as a humble workman in their midst, be the Messiah? There was unbelief mingled with their admiration; they wanted more evidence. And he said unto them,—Jesus knew their thoughts and he may have heard their question; hence he replied both to their thoughts and their question. He said: “ Doubtless ye will say unto me this parable, Physician, heal thyself.” This was a common proverb or adage among the Jews, and meant “ pursue the course which you would have another pursue, making similar claims; give the evidence, perform the miracles, which you yourself would require of another.” This meaning is reinforced by a further interpretation of their thoughts, as Jesus said they were thinking that he should have done “ here in thine own country” “ whatsoever we have heard done at Capernaum.” Jesus had healed the nobleman’ s son at Capernaum. (John 4:46-54.) Capernaum was about sixteen miles from Nazareth; the news could come in a day; Jesus had performed no miracle in Nazareth. At his second rejection he healed a few sick people. (Mark 6:5.) No prophet is acceptable in his own country.—Jesus here answered the desire of the people of Nazareth in wanting him to work some miracle as he had in Capernaum by giving another proverb. He states a general fact in this proverb; all other things being equal, one who has been familiar to us from early life is treated with less reverence than one who has not been thus familiar; if they honor him less, they must ex¬pect less attention. This proverb was repeated with a slight variation on his subsequent visit to Nazareth. (Matthew 13:57.) Jesus does not mean that this proverb should become an infallible rule. Luke 4:25-27 —But of a truth I say unto you,—Here Jesus recites some Old Testament examples to show that his conduct was in harmony with that of two of their greatest prophets, who were divinely directed not to act according to the proverb, “ Physician, heal thyself,” and whose miraculous power was exerted on strangers, while these prophets performed their miracles on those that had need. There were many “ widows in Israel in the days of Elijah,” and Elijah did not visit and bless all of them. There was a famine of “ three years and six months’ ” duration, “ when there came a great famine over all the land.” (1 Kings 18:1; James 5:17.) It stated that the third year Elijah was commanded to show himself to Ahab with the promise of rain; during this famine Elijah had so¬journed with a woman of Zarephath, in the land of Sidon. In the great famine of Elijah’ s time (1 Kings 17:1-9) there were hundreds of suffering widows in Israel, but Elijah was sent only to one in the heathen city of Sidon. Also “ there were many lepers in Israel in the time of Elisha the prophet.” Lepers were in abundance in Israel when Elisha was prophet and performing numerous miracles, but not one of them was healed except Naaman, who was not an Israelite. (2 Kings 5.) Luke 4:28-30 —And they were all filled with wrath in the synagogue,—That Sabbath Jesus showed those assembled in the synagogue their danger, and instead of being warned they were enraged. He could do no miracle because of their unbelief ; he would go to other places as their prophets had done. The indignation of the people of Nazareth was general, and they were all filled with wrath, and “ they rose up, and cast him forth out of the city.” In their wild excitement, without any reverence for the place, the day, or the occasion, they rushed upon Jesus like mad men, as they did against Stephen. (Acts 7:57-58.) By force they “ led him unto the brow of the hill whereon their city was built.” “ Brow” in the original is the word used in medical language both of eyebrows and of other projections of the body. This is the only place that this word in the original is used in the New Testament. It would naturally occur to a physician, especially since the same epithets were applied to the appearance of the eyebrows in cer¬tain diseases as were applied to hills. It should be remembered that Luke was a physician.

Jesus was led to this hill “ that they might throw him down headlong.” They meant to cast him down and kill him. This was not the usual mode of punishment among the Jews, but they sometimes did rash things. (2 Kings 9:33; 2 Chronicles 25:12.) It was contrary to a Jewish canon to inflict punishment on the Sabbath; the peo¬ple of Nazareth had become at this time a furious mob; they demonstrated the truth that a prophet was not honored among his own people. But he passing through the midst—Some think that Jesus escaped by his composure and self-control while the confusion reigned among the crowd; others think that the majesty and divinity of Jesus so awed them that they made a way for him to pass; and still others think that he exerted some miracu¬lous influence upon them, such as affecting their sight, rendering himself invisible or restraining them. It is true that Jesus did not work miracles merely for self-preservation, neither did his apostles; yet it seems at times that the divinity within Jesus shown forth with all-producing power. (John 8:59 John 10:39 John 18:6.) He “ went his way”; he departed from Naza¬reth. In this account we have an explanation of Matthew’ s brief allusion, “ and leaving Nazareth.” (Matthew 4:13.) We see why he left Nazareth and made Capernaum his chief place of residence. AT Luk_4:31-44 Luke 4:31-32 —And he came down to Capernaum,—How Jesus escaped from the people of Nazareth we are not told, but the fact is recorded clearly that he did escape and went “ down to Capernaum, a city of Galilee.” Nazareth was on a high elevation, and Capernaum was on the Sea of Galilee, which was about six hundred feet lower than the Mediterranean Sea, and was much lower than Nazareth. Jesus had been at Caper¬naum before for a short time (John 2:12), but now he comes to make it his place of residence. “ Capernaum” was the name of a fountain and a town situated on the northwest shore of the Sea of Galilee, on the boarders of the tribes of Zebulum and Naphtali; it was on the road from Damascus to the Mediterranean. It was suited as the principal residence of Jesus during the three years of his ministry. It is called his “ own city.” (Matthew 9:1.) It was also the residence of Andrew, Peter, James, and John, who were natives of Bethsaida (John 1; 44), and probably the home of Matthew. And he was teaching them on the sabbath—Jesus preached repentance and the gospel of the kingdom of God. (Matthew 4:17; Mark 1:14-15.) He availed himself of every opportunity to teach the people when they assembled for worship. His teaching had a great effect on the people, for they were “ astonished at his teaching”; the reason assigned by Luke for the astonishment was “ for his word was with authority.” They were astonished both at what he taught and the manner in which he taught them. He never expressed a doubt; he knew the Father’ s will and taught that with authority. (Matthew 7:28-29.) Some think that reference is here made to the mira¬cles which he wrought to witness that he was from God. Luke 4:33-37 —And in the synagogue there was a man,—A parallel record of the healing of “ a demoniac in the synagogue” is found in Mark 1:23-28. Luke’ s account is briefer than that of Mark, and with enough difference to show the independence of his account. According to Mark 1:16-22, this miracle fol-lowed the calling of the four disciples, Peter and Andrew, James and John. Jesus performed miracles as proof of his di¬vine mission. (John 2:22 John 9:3-5 John 10:25 John 10:37.) The Jews ex¬pected their Messiah to work miracles. (Matthew 12:38; Luke 11:16; John 7:31.) The miracles of Jesus were variously designated. When they were specially regarded as evidence of his divine mission (Luke 8:11; John 2:11), they were called “ signs” ; when they manifested his supernatural power, they were called “ mighty works”; when as extraordinary phenomena, exciting astonishment or terror, they were called “ wonders” (Mark 13:22; John 4:48; Acts 2:22) ; and when viewed still more generally, as something completed, they were called “ works” (John 7:3; John 7:21). And Jesus rebuked him,—Jesus commanded the demon to cease bearing testimony; Jesus did not need, neither would he accept, the testimony of demons. The faith that people had in him must come from the testimony which God furnished and not from demons. Jesus commanded two things: “ Hold thy peace” and “ come out of him.” The demon is commanded to be silent and to obey Jesus. Two distinct personalities are here recognized; the demon is treated as a person as much as the man. The personality of the demon is further shown by his crying out, convulsing the man, and coming out of him. “ And when the demon had thrown him down in the midst, he came out of him, having done him no hurt.” Mark records (Mark 1:26) that “ tearing him” the demon came out of the man “ crying with a loud voice.” Luke being himself a physician knew that this was not a case of insanity or mental hallucina¬tion ; he describes the case and never hints that it was a case of insanity, but that it was a case of two distinct personalities in direct conflict with each other. And amazement came upon all,—The effect of this miracle is vididly presented by Luke; a general amazement took pos¬session of the people which led them to discussion and to cer¬tain conclusions. “ They spake together, one with another saying, What is this word?” They meant what power or au¬thority his word carried; even the demons heard and obeyed him. Mark records them as asking: “ What is this? a new teaching!” (Mark 1:27.) No one could doubt what was done. They were not ready to accept Jesus as the Messiah, and yet they could not account for such extraordinary deeds being done by him. As a result of this miracle “ there went forth a rumor concerning him into everyplace of the region round about.” This was a popular rumor concerning what he did and taught; he became a common topic of conversation among the people in Capernaum and Galilee. Luke 4:38-39 —And he rose up from the synagogue,—Parallel records of this miracle are found in Matthew 8:14-17 and Mark 1:29-34. Of them Mark and Luke give about the same record. Mark tells us that this was the house of Simon and Andrew; he also records that James and John were present. This miracle was a domestic scene— a miracle in the home of his earliest disciples, and in the presence of two others. The home of Peter and Andrew was originally in Bethsaida, which was a suburb of Capernaum. This miracle must have been encour¬aging to his disciples. Peter’ s wife’ s mother was sick of a fever; Luke, as a physician, diagnoses the case, and says that she was “ holden with a great fever.” Jesus came and “ stood over her, and rebuked the fever; and it left her.” There was no delay; she was healed immediately and was able to minis¬ter unto them at once. Luke 4:40-41 —And when the sun was setting,—Luke has recorded the two miracles of healing the demoniac and Peter’ s wife’ s mother; he now proceeds from these two particular miracles, the one public, the other private, to the statement that his miracle-working power was very largely and wonderfully exercised at that time and place. Near sunset the day became cooler, and the people brought many who were sick to Jesus. The news of his presence in the city and his wonderful cure in the synagogue had been spread until all heard about his wonderful power. Since one of his miracles was performed on the Sabbath and in the synagogue where the people had come to worship, it gave great opportunity to broadcast his power to heal. Jesus healed diseases of others, but he was never sick. He “ himself took our infirmities, and bare our diseases.’’ (Matthew 8:17.) And demons also came out from many,—Jesus exercised his power over the demons, and when they were cast out they came out crying and said: “ Thou art the Son of God.” Jesus rebuked them and would not let them bare testimony of him; Luke is clear on stating that “ they knew that he was the Christ.” They had supernatural wisdom and recognized Jesus as being the Son of God. Demons were not to be witnesses and messengers to proclaim the fact that Jesus was the Son of God. His own disciples were to do this, and he would furnish them all the evidence that they needed. (John 5:32 John 5:39 John 5:46-47 John 20:30-31.) The time had not arrived for Jesus to make the full announcement that he was the Son of God, and would not permit the demons to bare such testimony. Luke 4:42-43 —And when it was day, he came out—After healing Peter’ s wife’ s mother and many others, Jesus “ went into a desert place,” that is, an uninhabited and unfrequented place near Capernaum. He went there for quite meditation and prayer. (Mark 1:35.) However, he was not permitted to remain there very long, for “ the multitudes sought after him, and came unto him, and would have stayed him, that he should not go from them.” From Mark’ s account of this it appears that Peter and his party sought and found Jesus, and reported to him that all the people were seeking him (Mark 1:36-37); before Jesus had time to return with Peter and his company, the multitudes searched with such diligence that they found him and attempted to prevent his going from them. At Nazareth the people drove him out of their city, but at Capernaum they seek to retain him there; what a contrast! But he said unto them,—The reply that Jesus made showed that he had other work to do, and that the people did not un-derstand his mission. Jesus said: “ I must preach the good tidings of the kingdom of God to the other cities also.” There was a moral necessity based upon the word “ I must”; he must proclaim the news of the kingdom to others. Luke does not use “ kingdom” so often as Matthew; “ the kingdom of God” here is the same as “ the kingdom of heaven” in Matthew 3:2. “ The kingdom of heaven” has special reference to its central locality, while “ the kingdom of God” shows to whom the king¬dom belongs. The same thing is expressed by “ kingdom of Christ,” or simply “ kingdom.” (Ephesians 5:5; Hebrews 12:28.) The kingdom, reign or administration of the Messiah is spiritual in its nature (John 18:36; Romans 14:17), and is exercised over, and has its seat in, the hearts or believers (Luke 17:21). It exists on earth (Luke 13:18-19, Lukel 13:41, 47); it extends to another state of existence (Luke 13:43; 26:29; Philippians 2:10-11); and will be fully consumated in a state of glory (Matthew 8:11; 1 Corinthians 15:24; 2 Peter 1:11.) This kingdom embraces the entire mediatorial reign or government of Christ on earth and in heaven, and includes in its subjects all the redeemed. (Ephesians 3:15.) Luke 4:44 —And he was preaching in the synagogues of Galilee.—Jesus continued his preaching, going throughout Galilee and meeting with the people in the synagogues; Mark adds that he also was “ casting out demons.” (Mark 1:39.) This is a brief account of the first general preaching tour throughout Galilee. The many things which occurred show that in Galilee his reception among the common people was most wel¬come ; his fame went throughout the whole country, and the enthusiasm was great.

Verse 1 This chapter has Luke’s account of the temptation of Christ (Luke 4:1-14), his preaching at Nazareth (Luke 4:15-30), the cure of a demoniac at Capernaum (Luke 4:31-37), the healing of Peter’s wife’s mother (Luke 4:38-39), the mention of many healings (Luke 4:40-41) and Jesus’ withdrawal from Capernaum, to preach throughout Galilee (Luke 4:42-44). THE And Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan, and was led in the Spirit in the wilderness during forty days, being tempted of the devil. And he did eat nothing in those days: and when they were completed, he hungered. (Luke 4:1-2) Full of the Holy Spirit … The Holy Spirit dwelt without measure in the sinless Christ; and his being “led in the Spirit in the wilderness” is a reference to the fact that God intended the temptation to take place just as it was recounted here. Led in the Spirit … exactly the same meaning as Mark’s “the Spirit driveth him into the wilderness” (Mark 1:12). See fuller comment on this in my Commentary on Mark. Being tempted of the devil … One should not fail to see in the placement of this phrase the subtle hand of critical scholarship. The placement here seems to indicate that the temptation was continuous throughout forty days; but a glance at Matthew 4:1-4 shows that this was not the case. Satan came to Christ after the forty days of fasting ended. Advocates of the rendition here evidently had the purpose of making Luke agree with Mark against Matthew to support the Markan theory of synoptic criticism; but this rendition is incorrect. As Lamar said: The punctuation recommended by many of the learned, and adopted by the Bible Union is as follows: And he was in the wilderness forty days, tempted by Satan, and was with the wild beasts; and the angels ministered unto him (Mark 1:13). And he was led in the Spirit in the wilderness forty days, tempted by the devil (Luke 4:1-2). As Lachman said, “In this way even the appearance of a discrepancy between Matthew and Luke, in regard to the actual point when the temptations began, is avoided.” This view is justified by the language of both Mark and Luke, and expressly taught by Matthew.[1] THE OF CHRISTThe view that Christ COULD HAVE SINNED is expressed by the word ; the view that it was impossible for him to have sinned is expressed byI. The view here is that the capability of Jesus to commit sin was a necessary and inherent result of the incarnation, in exactly the manner as was his mortality. “Temptation in Christ indicated the possibility of sin."[2] If it was impossible for Christ to sin, how could there have been any temptation? No man can be tempted to do that which it is impossible for him to do; but Christ was tempted in “all points” like as we are tempted (Hebrews 4:15). The emotional treatment of this subject by some who hold the contrary view is represented by the words of Best, “A peccable Christ would mean a peccable God”;[3] but this is not logical, being equivalent to saying that a mortal Christ is equivalent to a mortal God. See more extensive treatment of this subject in my Commentary on Hebrews, Hebrews 4:14. Forty days … There are many examples of men fasting for forty days, and some even longer; and thus there is no reason to suppose any supernatural support of Jesus during this period. There was indeed supernatural support, but it came afterward. The number “forty” was significant in Israel’s history, that being the number of days Moses fasted (Deuteronomy 9:9), the time Elijah fasted (1 Kings 19:8), the number of days of uncleanness following childbirth (Leviticus 12:1-4), and the number of years Egypt was to suffer (Ezekiel 29:11). The devil … The proper name of this being is Satan; and he must be understood, not as a mere principle of evil, nor as a personification of iniquity, but as a malignant creature of the highest order, and one who is the conscious enemy of God and man. Ezekiel 28:11-19 appears to speak of the origin of Satan, designated there as “King of Tyre,” who was at one time “the anointed cherub that covereth,” and who had “been in Eden the garden of God,” and whose eternal overthrow was prophesied. “And never shalt thou be any more.” See my Commentary on Matthew, Matthew 4:1. Satan’s malignant hatred of humanity, first manifested in Eden, has continued unabated throughout history, his purpose as the destroyer having been evident in every case in which the holy Scriptures have given any knowledge of it (see my Commentary on Matthew, Matthew 8:32); and his strategy of opposing Jesus the Son of God was discernible throughout the whole life of the Saviour. Satan attempted to murder the Christ child, made another attempt to kill him in this very chapter, and finally, with God’s permission accomplished his death on Calvary. Regarding a more extensive view of the satanic strategy against Christ, see my Commentary on Matthew, Matthew 26:39. The prayer Jesus taught his disciples to pray closes with the line, “Deliver us from the evil one.” Thus there is universal witness to the personality and malignancy of Satan. The wilderness … mentioned here cannot be exactly located. It could have been anywhere on the western side of the Jordan river. “Tradition locates the place as Quarantania, a mountain just west of Jericho."[4] Wherever it was, it was a howling wilderness, alive with wild beasts (Mark 1:12 f), and contrasting vividly with the garden of Eden where the first Adam succumbed to the wiles of Satan. Satan seemed to have that encounter in mind, as indicated by his approach to the second Adam with regard to eating, the same strategy that had succeeded in Eden, and reinforced here by circumstances much more favorable to the evil one. He hungered … Luke here recorded the condition of Jesus after the forty days had ended; and, by his doing so before relating the series of temptations, plainly indicated that the temptation was not continuous throughout the forty days, but was the climactic aftermath. “It was more in keeping with the wily cunning of Satan to wait until his intended victim was enfeebled with hunger."[5][1] J. S. Lamar, New Testament Commentary, Vol. II, Luke (Cincinnati, Ohio: Chase and Hall, 1871), p. 74. [2] Ibid. [3] W. E. Best, The Impeccable Christ (Houston, Texas: Park Place Grace Church, n.d.), p. 4. [4] Herschel H. Hobbs, An Exposition of the Gospel of Luke (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Baker Book House, 1966), p. 79. [5] J. S. Lamar, op. cit., p. 74.

Verse 3 And the devil said unto him, If thou art the Son of God, command this stone that it become bread.One may only marvel at the type of thinking (!) which sees the word “stone” here as in any way contradictory of “stones” as recorded by Matthew, both words meaning exactly the same thing. The writer once asked a freight yard attendant what was in a certain car, and he replied, “It was 57,000 pounds of stone!” It was, in fact, crushed granite, probably several million “stones”! Thus there is no need to “harmonize” the accounts; but, as Boles noted: Some explain this as though the devil had first commanded “these stones” to be made into bread, and later commanded only one particular stone to be made into bread, and that Matthew recorded one of these statements of the devil, and Luke the other made a little later.[6]Boles’ explanation is, of course, absolutely valid, if one insists on seeing differences in what Matthew and Luke recorded. Such variations are positive, infallible proof that the Gospels are independent records; and, if they did not appear, the same critics who profess such dismay at the “variations” would make their absence the grounds of denying the independence of the sacred records. If thou art the Son of God … This could be taken as an effort on the part of Satan to create a doubt in Jesus’ mind; but Boles is more likely correct in the view that “IF seems to have the force of SINCE, which would express no doubt."[7] If this is allowed as correct, then Satan already knew that Jesus was the Messiah, admitting it in this suggestion. It does not appear, however, that Satan at this point actually recognized Jesus as “God come in the flesh,” a recognition that was to come later. If Satan had known at the time, it seems unlikely he would have tried to accomplish Jesus’ murder through the citizens of Nazareth (Luke 4:29). Command this stone that it become bread … The temptation here was that of suggesting that Jesus should use his own miraculous power to meet his daily needs. Both Satan and Jesus knew that the Lord had ample power to do this; but, if Jesus had done it, it would have indicated a failure to rely on the Father. It would have been taking things into his own hands. Here appears one of the most enticing aspects of temptation. The need which the situation required to be met was genuine, legitimate, and altogether honorable; but Christ did not fall into the error of meeting legitimate need by illegal and forbidden means.

If Christ had met his own physical need by such a miracle as Satan suggested, it would have given Christ an unfair advantage not enjoyed by all other mortals, thus compromising the intent and purpose of the incarnation itself. Furthermore it would have pointed away from Jesus’ purpose of saving men from their sins, and toward the alleviation of their earthly and physical needs. As Ash said, “Jesus did not come to supply bread for humanity but to answer their deeper needs."[8][6] H. Leo Boles, A Commentary on the Gospel of Luke (Nashville: The Gospel Advocate Company, 1972), p. 91. [7] Ibid., p. 92. [8] Anthony Lee Ash, The Gospel according to Luke (Austin, Texas: Sweet Publishing Company, 1972), p. 81.

Verse 4 And Jesus answered unto him, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone.It is written … As the first recorded words of Jesus’ ministry on earth, this appeal to the Old Testament indicated Jesus’ trust of it as God’s word, his acceptance of it as divine authority, and his reliance upon it as the only thing needed to thwart the purpose of the devil. Man shall not live by bread alone … Important as physical needs assuredly are, man is spiritual, and not merely physical; therefore, if man should take a forbidden course in the fulfillment of his physical needs, without regard to his spiritual nature, he forfeits life in the highest and best sense. The passage cited here wasDeuteronomy 8:3. Materialism concerns itself only with bread; but God never intended this to be the exclusive goal of humanity.

Verse 5 And he led him up and showed him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time.The question of whether the temptation was a subjective experience of Christ; with Satan presenting cunning and subtle suggestions to his mind, or if it was an objective event with Satan appearing in the form of another human being may not be certainly known. The view here inclines toward that of Ash who said: This was probably a visionary experience rather than a case of bodily transport, since Satan would not have control of the movement of Jesus’ body and since there was no one physical locale from which all the world’s kingdoms could be seen.[9]ENDNOTE: [9] Ibid.

Verse 6 And the devil said unto him, To thee will I give all this authority, and the glory of them: for it hath been delivered unto me; and to whomsoever I will give it.Satan indeed exercises a great authority on earth, but it is illegal and usurped authority, dramatically contrary to the implication of what he said here to Jesus. The conviction of this student has ever been that this satanic promise was merely a big lie. If Jesus yielded, he would not have won the kingdoms of the world, he would have lost them; and redemption for mankind would have been thwarted. God rules in the kingdoms of human beings (Daniel 4:26); Satan is a liar and the father of liars (John 8:44); and, despite the fact that there was a tawdry, carnal sense in which Satan is indeed the “god of this world,” his arrogant boast here was totally false. Christ answered him without regard to the truth or falsity of Satan’s promise, because it actually had no solid significance.

Verse 7 If thou therefore wilt worship before me, it shall be thine.That Christ was tempted to worship the devil, and yet without sin, has the meaning that temptation itself is not sinful; it is only when temptation is yielded to that sin occurs. The arrogance of Satan in such a proposal as this is staggering. Here indeed the prince of evil appeared “as a roaring lion,” the guise in which he often assails men. He is designated the devil, the beast, and the false prophet (Revelation 20:10). He appears in three guises: a serpent (Revelation 20:2), a lion (1 Peter 5:8), and an angel of light (2 Corinthians 11:14). These three guises of Satan, thus arranged, are in the ascending order of power, exactly the order in which Luke presented the temptations.

Matthew’s presentation followed another order, apparently not related to Satan but to environment: the wilderness, the temple, the mountaintop. Jesus was alone in the first, in a great city in the second, and having a view of all kingdoms of the earth in the third. Significantly, neither Matthew nor Luke stated the exact chronological order of the three temptations. Speculations to the effect that either writer was incorrect are false. In this series of temptations Satan appeared as a serpent in the first, as a lion in the second, and as an angel of light in the third.

Verse 8 And Jesus answered and said unto him, It is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve.It is written … Jesus took no notice of the extravagant promise of the devil, rejecting it out of hand as being merely something which God had forbidden in the sacred Scriptures. The reference was to Deuteronomy 6:13. By his ignoring the promise, disregarding either its truth or falsity, Jesus’ reply had the effect of saying, “Even if what you say is the truth, my answer is the same; I will not do what God has forbidden.” In a world so filled with evil, and with the power of Satan admittedly a fearsome thing, which even an archangel dared not take lightly (Jude 1:1-9), the devil’s arrogance in the claim that he could help wicked men achieve their goals certainly had an element of truth in it, as far as men are concerned. Many a man, through the sacrifice of principle, has moved into some position of power or authority, only to find that the true power lay with Satan and not himself. What was true of many men, however, was in no wise true of Christ.

Verse 9 And he led him to Jerusalem, and set him on the pinnacle of the temple, and said unto him, If thou art the Son of God, cast thyself down from hence: For it is written, He shall give his angels charge concerning thee, to guard thee: And on their hands they shall bear thee up, Lest haply thou dash thy foot against a stone.The pinnacle … It is not known exactly what part of the temple was meant by this, but it was evidently a very high portion of it. The essence of the temptation was the presumption that would have been required to act upon it. Christ did not dispute the passage Satan quoted, nor accuse him of misapplying it; it was simply the truth as stated. It would have been sinful, however, to test willfully, in any such manner, a promise of the Father. The Scripture cited by Satan is Psalms 91:11-12; and it was Satan’s quotation of it here that led Shakespeare to make Antonio say, “The devil can cite Scripture for his purpose.“Acts 1, Scene 3.">[10] This is a caution that all should heed; for it is still true that many an evil purpose has been supported by the same method. Regarding the probable scene of this temptation, Josephus described the south elevation of the temple in Jerusalem: It was encompassed by a deep valley along the entire south quarter; … this valley was very deep, and its bottom could not be seen. If you looked from above into the depth, this further vastly high elevation of the cloister stood upon the height insomuch that if anyone looked down from the top of the battlements, or down both those altitudes, he would be giddy, while his sight could not reach to such an immense depth.[11]There is something in this temptation of Jesus that brings to mind the impulse which comes to many persons at such places as the top of the Empire State building in New York, or on the brink of Niagara Falls, where elaborate precautions have been taken to thwart such impulses of self-destruction. In the case of Christ, that somewhat natural impulse was reinforced by the devil’s suggestion that the Saviour would survive if he jumped. Acts 1, Scene 3.">[10] William Shakespeare, The Merchant of Venice, Acts 1, Scene 3. [11] Flavius Josephus, Life and Works of Flavius Josephus, translated by William Whiston (New York: Holt Rinehart and Winston), p. 474.

Verse 12 And Jesus answering said unto him, It is said, Thou shalt not make trial of the Lord thy God.The passage quoted by Jesus is Deuteronomy 6:16; and by such an appeal to other Scriptures relating to the one Satan quoted Jesus set forth the proper manner of understanding Biblical quotations, all of which must be understood in the light of all the Scriptures bearing upon the subject considered. A failure to heed this divine pattern has resulted in countless misunderstandings and errors. Lamar paraphrased Jesus’ meaning by this quotation thus: “The suggestion must be wrong; for nothing, under any circumstances, can be right that is contrary to the written word."[12] No individual, nor any church or religious fellowship, is authorized to go beyond the things which are written (1 Corinthians 4:6); and the violation of this principle is always of the evil one. ENDNOTE: [12] J. S. Lamar, op. cit., p 77

Verse 13 And when the devil had completed every temptation, he departed from him for a season.Chaplain Branham of the U.S. Army had a favorite sermon that he liked to preach from this text, entitled “The Devil’s Vacation.” Satan does not assail mortals with a state of constant, invariable pressure, but varies it in order to achieve advantage through surprise. Departed from him for a season … These words actually mean, however, “until a season,” that is, “a favorable season.” Many have referred this to the hour in Gethsemane. Dummelow said: The conflict foretold so precisely can be none other than Gethsemane. “This is your hour and the power of darkness,” Jesus said at that very time (Luke 22:52); and a few moments before, he had said, “The prince of this world cometh” (John 14:30).[13]This does not mean, of course, that Christ was free of temptation except for the two crisis temptations here and in Gethsemane. Temptation came again when the multitude tried to crown him king by force, and upon many other occasions. Nothing in the New Testament would limit the temptation of Christ to the events here and in Gethsemane. He was tempted “in all points” (Hebrews 4:15). Spence said that the words rendered “every temptation” would have been more accurately rendered “every kind of temptation."[14] Nevertheless, the event recorded here by Luke was the decisive battle between Christ and Satan. These three temptations in their basic appeal to the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eye, and the pride of life (1 John 2:16), repeated the pattern of the temptation of the first Adam, and are, in essence, the sum of all temptations.

By his magnificent triumph over Satan in this confrontation, Jesus made certain the final victory. When all the keys of a piano have been struck, the total capacity of the instrument is revealed; and when every note in the chromatic scale has been sounded, its total content is presented; and, in the same manner, when Satan tested Jesus in the three basic areas of temptation, his true character was fully revealed, with no necessity whatever for every conceivable instance of temptation to have been confronted by him. In testing a piano, there is no need to play every conceivable melody upon it; just strike all the keys; and, here, Satan struck all the keys of temptation. [13] J. R. Dummelow, Commentary on the Holy Bible (New York: Macmillan Company, 1937) p. 745. [14] H. D. M. Spence, The Pulpit Commentary (Grand Rapids, Michigan: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1962), Vol. 16, Luke, p. 88.

Verse 14 And Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit into Galilee: and a fame went out concerning him through all the region round about. And he taught in their synagogues, being glorified by all.And a fame went out concerning him … These verses are the Lukan summary of the fame that came to Jesus at the beginning of his ministry. It is not related how many synagogues he visited, or how many towns and villages received him. A typically Lukan summary, this passage sets the stage for a more detailed account of the dramatic synagogue meeting in Nazareth, where Jesus announced himself as the Messiah, and the villagers responded by trying to kill him, such events being related next in Luke’s Gospel. Glorified of all … This doubtless included the recognition by many that Jesus was indeed the Christ, a recognition that came at the very beginning of Christ’s ministry, as more fully evident in John. Ash pointed out that “Luke recorded three miracles showing that Jesus did have messianic power. They are found in reverse order to the temptations."[15]ENDNOTE: [15] Anthony Lee Ash, op. cit., p. 83.

Verse 16 And he came to Nazareth where he had been brought up: and he entered, as his custom was, into the synagogue on the sabbath day, and stood up to read.JESUS AT We may not identify this rejection of Jesus by Nazareth with the later rejection recorded by Matthew (Matthew 13:54 ff). In his comment on that later rejection, Robertson said: There is no sufficient reason to identify this visit to Nazareth with that described by Luke. That was at the very beginning of the great ministry of Galilee, and this near its close. The details are quite different. It is perfectly natural that after a long interval he should give the Nazarenes another opportunity to hear his teaching, etc.[16]As his custom was … The regular habit of attending formal, public worship was a vital element in the character of the Son of God; and it is simply impossible for any man to “follow in his steps” without doing likewise. The old virtue of church attendance has been maligned and slandered; but the equivalent of it marked the life of Christ. Let all of his servants exhibit the same virtue. And stood up to read … As Dummelow noted, “The Jews permitted the law and the prophets to be read only with the reader standing. Jesus stood to read, sat to expound."[17][16] A. T. Robertson, Harmony of the Gospels (New York: Harper and Brothers, 1922), p. 77. [17] J. R. Dummelow, op. cit., p. 745.

Verse 17 And there was delivered unto him the book of the prophet Isaiah. And he opened the book and found the place where it was written,The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, Because he anointed me to preach good tidings to the poor: He hath sent me to proclaim release to the captives, And recovering of sight to the blind, To set at liberty them that are bruised, To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord. And he closed the book, and gave it back to the attendant, and sat down: And the eyes of all in the synagogue were fastened upon him. Opened the book … This was a roll, similar to those that may be seen in Jewish synagogues until this day. The place where it was written … This was Isaiah 61:1 f, wherein the great prophet had foretold the coming of Messiah’s kingdom in the appealing metaphor of these words read by Jesus. There are two ways of misunderstanding this prophecy: (1) by those who view Christianity as being merely a revolutionary movement intent on emptying jails and raising economic standards, and (2) by those who fail to accept the Christian fundamentals of aiding the poor and relieving the afflicted. Nevertheless, the great stress of the kingdom of Christ is spiritual, the “poor” including even the rich who know not the Lord, “captives” being primarily those who are taken captive by the devil to do his will (2 Timothy 2:26), and “the blind” having certain references to such people as the secular and materialistic Pharisees, of whom Jesus said, “I came into this world, that they that see not may see” (John 9:39). To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord … This is a reference to the times of the Messiah, as proved by the word “anointed,” used earlier in the passage. Closed the book … The attendant to whom Jesus gave the roll, after reading from it, was a minor official of the synagogue, a kind of factotem who performed many services. The eyes … fastened upon him … The intense interest that focused upon Jesus after the reading from Isaiah was probably induced by the choice of the passage read, and the manner of Jesus’ reading it.

Verse 21 And he began to say to them, Today hath this Scripture been fulfilled in your ears.This was a dogmatic affirmation on the part of Jesus, declaring himself as the Messiah, the Spirit-filled, anointed of the Lord, sent to save the people from their sins and to usher in the new age. The first reaction of the audience was favorable, as shown in the next verse; but this first impression was due to audience failure, at first, to realize the significance of the declaration.

Verse 22 And all bare him witness, and wondered at the words of grace which proceeded out of his mouth: and they said, Is not this Joseph’s son?The more the people thought of what Jesus said, the less they appreciated it. The son (as they supposed) of the local carpenter, the Messiah? Such a monstrous proposition as that appeared to be was utterly beyond their comprehension. They totally rejected it.

Verse 23 And he said unto them, Doubtless ye will say unto me this parable, Physician, heal thyself, whatsoever we have heard done in Capernaum, do also here in thine own country. And he said, Verily I say unto you, No prophet is acceptable in his own country.These remarks of Jesus were his response to unfavorable murmurings that developed in the audience as the meaning of his declaration began to take effect. Until this day, audiences in Jewish synagogues talk freely out loud during the services. Besides this, Christ freely read the thoughts of his hearers. Physician, heal thyself … This slander by the people of the Saviour never diminished throughout his ministry, reverberating against the cross itself, his enemies saying, “He saved others; himself he cannot save” (Matthew 27:42). We have heard it done at Capernaum … This is a reference to wonders wrought in that city which were not recorded, but were alluded to in Matthew 11:23. No prophet is acceptable in his own country … Plutarch said, “You will find that few of the most prudent and wisest of mankind have been appreciated in their own country."[18] Familiarity breeds contempt for that which is commonplace or well known, the same being a most unfortunate characteristic of men. This writer lived awhile in Washington, D.C.; and during the cherry blossom festival made a trip through Arkansas, the peach orchards in that state being in full flower at the time. He stopped at a lone filling station surrounded on both sides of the road a mile in both directions by one of the largest orchards in Arkansas, then blazing with one of the most fantastic color displays to be seen anywhere on earth; but the station operator had just been reading an account of the cherry blossom spectacle in Washington; and he said, after a glance at the license plates, “Oh, I would give anything to see the cherry blossoms in Washington.” What a pity it is that a man living in the very midst of 10,000 acres of magnificent bloom probably spent the rest of the morning dreaming about the far-off cherry blossoms in the tidal basin of the Capitol City. What a far greater shame it was for the citizens of Nazareth to despise the Christ of the ages because they were familiar with the surroundings where he grew up. But there was more to Nazareth’s rejection than a mere failure to appreciate Jesus; there was also a jealous hostility deriving from his working wonders in Capernaum instead of their town. Were not its citizens, at least some of them, the Israel of God? Thus, it was that here in microcosm the racial conceit of the chosen people erupted against Jesus. God indeed loved Israel, but he also loved Gentiles; and Jesus promptly cited two examples from the sacred Scriptures of Israel to demonstrate a truth they should have already known. For a sermon on the unbelief at Nazareth, see my Commentary on Matthew, Matthew 13:56. ENDNOTE: [18] Ibid., p. 746.

Verse 25 But of a truth I say unto you, There were many widows in Israel in the days of Elijah, when the heaven was shut up three years and six months, when there came a great famine over all the land; and unto none of them was Elijah sent, but only to Zarephath, in the land of Sidon, unto a woman that was a widow.The Old Testament record of this event (1 Kings 17,1 Kings 18) should be read in connection with this, as it clears up the questions some of the scholars have regarding the “three years and six months” in which the heavens were shut up and it did not rain. 1 Kings 18:1 states that “in the third year” God sent Elijah to Ahab with a promise of rain; however, that promise was not fulfilled immediately, the rain coming after a long contest between Elijah and the false prophets, resulting in the slaughter of the prophets of Baal. Besides that, “the third year” mentioned in 1Kings is a clear reference to the “third year” after Elijah had moved to the home of the widow, the actual drought having gone on a considerable time previously. The critical community who suggest that Luke erred in attributing these words to Jesus are themselves in error. James also affirmed that the drought lasted “three years and six months” (James 5:17). The big point of the passage, however, is that it was a Gentile widow, a Sidonian, to whom Elijah was sent, and not to any widow in Israel. The reason for this choice lay in the unbelief prevalent in the Israel of that period, and in the contrasting faith of the widow of Zarephath.

Verse 27 And there were many lepers in Israel in the time of Elisha the prophet; and none of them was cleansed, but only Naaman the Syrian.This was another incident from the Old Testament (2 Kings 5:1-14), this time from the ministry of Elisha; and it has exactly the same point as the one drawn a moment before from the ministry of Elijah. Naaman showed his faith in God by obeying the command of the prophet, being subsequently healed of leprosy; Naaman, of course, being another despised Gentile. There is also the inference from Jesus’ mention of the many lepers in Israel that it was their unbelief which prevented their being healed. Both incidents cited here, especially as Jesus applied them, aroused anger and hatred in the hearts of his hearers.

Verse 28 And they were all filled with wrath in the synagogue, as they heard these things.Why were they angry? Jesus had spoken the truth to them, having cited it in their own Scriptures; but as Lamar said, “To error, and especially to partisan error, nothing is so offensive as truth."[19] The same furious rage resulted from the discourse of Stephen (Acts 7:51-54), and from the sermon of Paul (Acts 22:22); and these examples of it demonstrate the invariable attitude toward faithful and uncompromising teachers of the word of God in all generations. ENDNOTE: [19] J. S. Lamar, op. cit., p. 85.

Verse 29 And they rose up and cast him forth out of the city, and led him unto the brow of the hill whereon their city was built, that they might throw him down headlong. But he passing through the midst of them went his way.This attempted murder of the Son of God was what the Jews called “a rebel’s beating.” “Somewhat akin to lynch law, it was administered without trial, and on the spot, when anyone was accused of violating their law or tradition."[20] Other New Testament examples of this volatile, illegal, and unscrupulous characteristic of the times and people are: John 8:59; John 10:21; Acts 7:54-60; and Acts 21:31-32. Whether Jesus used any miraculous power in passing through his enemies is not definitely known. Divine power most certainly would have been used if it had been necessary. ENDNOTE: [20] Herschel H. Hobbs, op. cit., p. 92.

Verse 31 And he came down to Capernaum, a city of Galilee. And he was teaching them on the sabbath day: and they were astonished at his teaching; for his word was with authority.THE CURE OF A IN Note that Luke explained the location of Capernaum, due to the non-Jewish readers who would see it. The astonishment of the people was due to the authority of Jesus’ words (see Matthew 7:29). His teaching was not patterned after the methods of the Pharisees. He did not bow down before the traditions of the elders, but spoke the truth of God’s word regardless of the prejudices of the people.

Verse 33 And in the synagogue there was a man, that had a spirit of an unclean demon; and he cried out with a loud voice, Ah, what have we to do with thee, Jesus thou Nazarene? art thou come to destroy us? I know thee who thou art, the Holy One of God.The fact of demon possession is undeniably taught in the Gospels, nor can the fact of it be rationalized out of existence by the supposition that Jesus merely accommodated himself to popular prejudice, or by supposing that the afflicted merely had such diseases as lunacy or epilepsy. The words of the sacred narratives are too explicit to be accommodated to any such devices. In this passage, the demon is represented as addressing the Christ by one of his proper titles, and as having knowledge of the destruction that Jesus would bring upon the demonic world. This is a large subject; and for a more comprehensive discussion of it, see my Commentary on Mark, Mark 1:24, and in my Commentary on Matthew, Matthew 8:16; Matthew 8:28.

Verse 35 And Jesus rebuked him saying, Hold thy peace and come out of him. And when the demon had thrown him down in the midst, he came out of him, having done him no hurt.Again from Ash: The threat of the brow of the hill (Luke 4:29) corresponds to the pinnacle of the temple; the expulsion of the demon (Luke 4:35 f) to the desire of Satan for Jesus’ worship; and the catch of fishes (Luke 5:6) to the bread temptation.[21]This correspondence of these wonders to the sequence of temptations endured by Jesus is most beautiful and impressive. Far from being a mere hit-or-miss collection of sayings and events, the Gospels exhibit an accuracy, design, symmetry, and perfection of detail, that can be described only as superlative. ENDNOTE: [21] Anthony Lee Ash, op. cit., p. 83.

Verse 36 And amazement came upon all, and they spake together, one with another, saying, What is this word? for with authority and power he commandeth the unclean spirits, and they come out. And there went forth a rumor concerning him into every place of the region round about.On the first of this passage, see under Luke 4:32. Rumor … “The word thus rendered is [@echos], our word echo”,[22] and it reveals the manner of the person-to-person method of spreading the good news of Jesus in that era. The communications media known today were unknown at that time. ENDNOTE: [22] Herschel H. Hobbs, op. cit., p. 95.

Verse 38 And he rose up from the synagogue and entered into the house of Simon. And Simon’s wife’s mother was holden with a great fever; and they besought him for her. And he stood over her, and rebuked the fever; and it left her; and immediately she rose up and ministered unto them.THE HEALING OF PETER’S WIFE’S MOTHERFor commentary on this see my Commentary on Matthew, Matthew 8:14-17 and my Commentary on Mark, Mark 1:29-31. The Gospel accounts of Jesus’ miracles are true historical records, standing vindicated as such in the highest intellectual circles of this generation, or any other. Christians should therefore reject the unbelieving slanders, disguised as scholarship, which are continually directed against the holy Gospels. For example, Interpreter’s Bible, commenting on the miracles of this chapter, has this, “The miracle stories of the Gospels have been borrowed from popular Jewish and Hellenistic cycles and attached to Jesus."[23] This, of course, is nothing but a bold, categorical lie, unsupported by any evidence whatever.

In the same vein of denial, that source also has, concerning the words “they” and “them” in the above two verses, the allegation that they are “an editorial slip on Luke’s part, allowing the plurals to remain” while copying down this from the Gospel of Mark! The truth is that all three of the synoptics have examples in their accounts of this wonder of dangling pronouns, that is, pronouns without a clearly defined antecedent. Matthew has: “They brought unto him many possessed with demons” (Matthew 8:16). Mark has: “They came into the house of Simon and Andrew” (Mark 1:29). Luke here has: “they” and “them” as cited above. There is not a grammatical antecedent for any of these pronouns; and it is unalloyed sophistry to make any kind of an argument based on such a common characteristic of all three Gospels. ENDNOTE: [23] S. MacLean Gilmour, The Interpreter’s Bible (New York: Abingdon Press, 1952), Vol. 8, p. 98.

Verse 40 And when the sun was setting, all they that had any sick with divers diseases brought them unto him; and he laid his hands on every one of them, and healed them. And demons also came out of many, saying, Thou art the Son of God. And rebuking them, he suffered them not to speak, because they knew that he was the Christ.And when the sun was setting… Such an expression as this, compared with the parallels (Matthew 8:16; Mark 1:32), proves the independence of the synoptic narrators. Note: Matthew: When even had come. Mark: At even, when the sun did set. Luke: When the sun was setting. Suffered them not to speak … The reason here given by Luke for such a prohibition, the demon’s knowledge that he was the Christ, suggests other reasons cited elsewhere in the New Testament. Christ did not wish to permit the Pharisees an excuse to allege any collusion on his part with demons; and it was premature, at that time, for Jesus to declare his Messiahship, except by implication as he did in Nazareth.

Verse 42 And when it was day, he came out and went into a desert place: and the multitudes sought after him, and came unto him and would have stayed him, that he should not go from them. But he said unto them, I must preach the good tidings of the kingdom of God to the other cities also: for therefore was I sent. And he was preaching in the synagogues of Galilee.Some, at least, of the citizens of Capernaum desired Jesus to remain among them; but the worldwide mission of Christ demanded that the base of this teaching be broadened as much as possible. Also, Capernaum itself refused, at last, to accept the Lord (Matthew 11:23-24); and from this it may be inferred that the desire of the people in this instance was directed more to the possibility of their using Jesus to take care of their than to any serious purpose of accepting his holy teachings. The last verse here summarizes many occasions of Jesus’ preaching throughout Galilee. All that is recorded in the Gospels is but the tip of the iceberg, as compared with the total volume of the deeds and teachings of the Master (John 21:25). Questions by E.M. Zerr For Luke 41. With what was Jesus filled? 2. Where did the Spirit lead him? 3. By whom was he tempted ? 4. For how long? 5. What can be said about his diet? 6. State his condition of body. 7. What suggestion did the devil make for food? 8. Give the answer of Jesus. 9. Where was that written? 10. To what place did the devil take him? 11. What was shown him? 12. How long did it take? 13. State the offer of Satan. 14. Repeat Jesus reply. 15. Where next did he place him? 16. Give his proposition. 17. What quotation did he make ? 18. Repeat the reply of Jesus. 19. After this what did the devil do? 20. Was it to be permanent? 21. To what place did Jesus return? 22. What circulated about him? 23. Where did he teach? 24. To what village did he then come? 25. What had occurred there? 26. Into what building did he enter ? 27. Was this unusual? 28. On what day was it ? 29. Why did he stand up? 30. From what author did he read? 31. On what subject did he read? 32. After reading what did he do? 33. What application did he make of the reading? 34. How were the people affected? 35. What increased their astonishment? 36. Tell the prediction he made to them. 37. Where is a prophet rejected? 38. What happened in days of Elias ? 39. Were all widows favored by him? 40. Tell the favored man in the days of Eliaseus. 41. What effect did this speech have ? 42. Tell what they attempted to do. 43. How was it prevented? 44. Where was he teaching next? 45. What astonished his hearers? 46. Tell what character was in the synagogne. 47. For what did he beg? 48. What confession did he make? 49. Tell what Jesus said. 50. What happened then? 51. Tell the effect this had on the people. 52. How far did the fame of Jesus go? 53. Into whose house did Jesus next enter? 54. What was the other name of this man? 55. State whether he was a married man. 56. What work did Jesus perform here? 57. At sunset who were brought to Jesus? 58. State the favors they received. 59. What came out of many? 60. Why did Jesus not suffer them to speak ? 61. Where did Jesus go when it was day? 62. Tell the interest shown by the people. 63. What explanation did Jesus give them? 64. Where was he preaching next ?

Luke 4:1-13

3 This paragraph is really a repetition of Matthew 4 1-11, and to conserve space I shall request the reader to see that place in connection with this group.

Luke 4:14

4 Power is from DUNAMIS which means might or ability that belongs to an individual as a part of his own personality. Jesus possessed such a faculty which he exercised through the instrumentality of the Spirit. This enabled him to perform many miracles which caused him to become famous throughout all Galilee.

Luke 4:15

5 Synagogues is explained at Matthew 4:23. To glorify is defined in the lexicon, “to praise, extol, magnify, ‘celebrate.” This honor was bestowed upon Jesus because of his wonderful teaching. (See Matthew 7:28-29.)

Luke 4:16

6 Nazareth was the “home town” of Jesus to which he was paying a visit. When he stood up in the synagogue it was a signal to the one in charge that he was ready to do some reading, that being the main purpose of the synagogues.

Luke 4:17

7 Observing the position of Jesus, the ruler of the synagogue handed him the book of Isaiah. Being divinely inspired, Jesus did not need the copy to know what it said, but it was a mark of respect for “the written word” for him to read it, and he had no trouble in locating the place he wished to read which is quoted next verse.

Luke 4:18

8 This passage is in Isaiah 61:1-3, and Is a prediction of the spiritual mission of Jesus into the world. However, some of the statements have reference also to the miraculous cures he was to perform.

Luke 4:19

9 Acceptable year denotes one in which the most desirable and beneficial experiences would be offered to all who would accept them.

Luke 4:20

0 Thayer defines the original for minister as “an attendant.” It was customary, after the reading had been done, for the reader or someone else to offer some comments if it was his desire (Acts 13:14, etc.). All eyes were fastened on him. They were wondering if this famous man would also become their “guest speaker.”

Luke 4:21

1 He did, and this verse is the introduction to his remarks. By applying the passage to himself, Jesus raised a stir within the audience, at least in their minds, to begin with.

Luke 4:22

2 The first reaction was not so unfavorable but it caused them to begin to wonder in their minds. Is this not Joseph’s son? The idea was whether this humble native could speak such wonderful things.

Luke 4:23

3 Jesus was aware of the reasoning the people were doing, whether he heard them with his fleshly ears or not. He knew they would wonder why he did not perform the same amount of wonderful deeds there that he was reported to have done in other countries such as that in the vicinity of Capernaum. Physician, heal thyself was a prediction that was fulfilled at the cross (Matthew 27:40), but. the other words of the verse were being fulfilled while Jesus was speaking.

Luke 4:24

4 This verse explains why he did not go any farther with his work while in the neighborhood of Nazareth. It was because the people would not appreciate it on the principle that no prophet is accepted in his own country.

Luke 4:25

5 This verse merely shows that the condition of dependency was very general in the days to which Jesus will soon refer in remarks about who was favored.

Luke 4:26

6 Elias is the same as Elijah in 1 Kings 17:8-16.

Luke 4:27

7 Eliseus is the same as Elisha in 2 Kings 5:1-14.

Luke 4:28

8 The people saw the point that Jesus was making. If those old prophets passed over so many people and bestowed their favors upon a few humble cases, it was because they were considered worthy of the benefits. Hence, these people in the home community of Jesus were not going to receive very much attention from him because they were not considered as being entitled to it, having given him “the cold shoulder” because he was an old home product. When they saw this lesson in the teaching of Jesus it made them to be filled with wrath.

Luke 4:29

9 Jesus did not resist their force until it was necessary to preserve his life. It was not time for him to die and hence he used his superior might to escape his enemies. However, he did not use force but escaped by a miraculous movement.

Luke 4:30

0 This movement enabled him to go on his way without harming them.

Luke 4:31

1 Capernaum was the other city which Jesus had previously adopted as a residence (Matthew 4:13).

Luke 4:32

2 This verse means exactly the same as Matthew 7:29, because the word for power is EXOUSIA, which is the word for “authority” in that passage.

Luke 4:33

3 Unclean means in regard to moral character, and this was one of the fallen angels that sinned and’ were cast down to hell (2 Peter 2:4), which is explained in the notes at Matthew 8:28-29.

Luke 4:34

4 The note cited in the preceding paragraph explains why the devil said I know thee who thou art, and also why he asked to be let alone.

Luke 4:35

5 These devils had superhuman power and could injure human beings unless restrained. Jesus suffered this one to throw the man down but not hurt him otherwise.

Luke 4:36

6 An interesting feature of this verse is the use of both authority and power in one connection. The first comes from EXOUSIA and its first definition is the word by which it is here rendered; the second is from DUNAMIS and is properly rendered in this place. The thought is that Jesus had the right to give orders to the devils, and also had the ability to execute the orders.

Luke 4:37

7 Jesus was not performing his deeds merely to gain notoriety, but such a result was inevitable because of the natural trait of interest in the unusual things.

Luke 4:38

8 This was Simon Peter (Matthew 4:18) whose mother-in-law was sick. We observe that Peter was married, although the Romanists forbid their clergy to marry, and yet claim that Peter was the first pope.

Luke 4:39

9 All miraculous cures were immediate as this one was.

Luke 4:40

0 By evening the fame of Jesus had reached so far that many afflicted persons had been gathered together, and when they were brought to him he healed them all.

Luke 4:41

1 Jesus would not suffer the devils even to confess him, because he did not want to be supported by such unworthy characters. Besides, their confession would not have been a matter of faith for they knew that he was the Christ.

Luke 4:42

2 Wherever Jesus went the crowds followed. Stayed him means they detained him; not by force to be sure, but by earnest requests.

Luke 4:43

3 Jesus was kind and did not want to disappoint the people, so he explained that other places should have the preaching of the kingdom given them also.

Luke 4:44

4 With such an explanation, Jesus left this eager crowd and preached in the same general territory, but in the synagogues where other people would be assembled.