Preface: There are a number of events which take place in this chapter: Satan tempts Jesus; Jesus appears to have a ministry which is primarily teaching in synagogues; Jesus speaks in the synagogue in Nazareth and tells them that He is the Messiah (after which, the people try to throw Him off a cliff); and Jesus proceeds to Capernaum, where He casts out a demon and cures an illness (which acts result in people bringing their sick to Him from all over).

Bible Summary: Jesus was tempted by Satan in the wilderness. In the synagogue he read out, "The Spirit of the Lord is on me." He healed all the sick.

This should be the most extensive examination of Luke 4 available, where you will be able to examine in depth every word of the original text.

Outline of Chapter 4:

Preface

Introduction

         vv.     1–13         Satan Tempts the Humanity of Jesus

         vv.    14–15         Jesus’ Early Public Ministry

         vv.    16–30         Jesus Reveals Himself in the Nazareth Synagogue

         vv.        16–19        Jesus Stands Up to Read a Passage in Isaiah

         vv.        20–21        Jesus Reveals that He is the Messiah

         vv.        22–27        When the People Become Skeptical, Jesus Tries to Teach Them

         vv.        28–30        The People of Nazareth Become a Mob and Try to Kill Jesus

         vv.    31–37         In Capernaum, Jesus Heals a Man Possessed by an Unclean Spirit

         vv.    38–41         Jesus Heals Simon (Peter’s) Mother-in-Law and Many Others

         vv.    42–44         Jesus Moves on to Teach in other Galilean Cities

Chapter Summary

Addendum

Charts, Graphics and Short Doctrines:

         Preface               Quotations

         Introduction         Titles and/or Brief Descriptions of Luke 4 (by Various Commentators)

         Introduction         Brief, but insightful observations of Luke 4 (various commentators)

         Introduction         Fundamental Questions About Luke 4

         Introduction 

         Introduction         The Prequel of Luke 4

         Introduction         The Principals of Luke 4

         Introduction         The Places of Luke 4

         Introduction         By the Numbers

         Introduction         A Synopsis of Luke 4

         Introduction         Outlines and Summaries of Luke 4 (Various Commentators)

         Introduction         Shmoop Summary of Luke 4

         Introduction         A Synopsis of Luke 4 from the Summarized Bible

         Introduction 

         Introduction 

         Introduction         The Big Picture (Luke 1–5)

         Introduction         Paragraph Divisions of Modern Translation for Luke 4

         Introduction 

         Introduction 

         Introduction         Changes—additions and subtractions

         v. 

         v. 

         v.       3              Why Can’t Jesus Simply Command the Stone to Become Bread?

         v.       4              Luke 4:4b (a graphic)

         v.       4              Luke 4:1–4 (FNV) (a graphic)

         v.       6              The Blind Men and the Elephant (a graphic)

         v. 

         v.       8              Luke 4:5–8 (FNV) (a graphic)

         v.       9              Model of Herod’s Temple (a photo of a model)

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         v.      13              What Satan did or did not know

         v.      14              The Beginnings of Jesus’ Public Ministry (a graphic)

         v.      15              An addendum to Luke 4:14–15

         v.      15              Galilee and Nearby Areas (a Map)

         v.      16              Jesus reading the scroll in Nazareth (a graphic)

         v.      16              Luke 4:16 (a graphic)

         v.      17              Illustration of Jesus Reading from the Book of Isaiah (a graphic)

         v.      17              A Brief Review of Luke 4:14–17

         v.      17              The scroll is offered to Jesus (a graphic)

         v.      18              Luke 4:18 (a graphic)

         v.      20              Luke 4:20a (a graphic)

         v.      20              Old Testament Scrolls (a graphic)

         v.      20              Why is everyone staring at Jesus?

         v.      21              Luke 4:21b (a graphic)

         v.      21              The Doctrine of Euaggelizô/Is Jesus the Savior?

         v.      21              Luke 4:18a, 21b (RSV) (a graphic)

         v.      21              God’s Timetable on Earth (beginning with the Age of Israel)

         v.      21              God’s Timetable

         v.      21              The Super-Abbreviated Doctrine of Intercalation

         v.      21              A Brief View of the Advents of Messiah

         v.      21              A brief review of Luke 4:16–21

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         v.      30              Questionable Parallel Passages (Luke 4:16–30 & Matthew 13:53-58 Mark 6:1-6)

         v.      32              Luke 4:31–32 (NLT) (a graphic)

         v.      35              A brief review of Luke 4:31–35b

         v.      35              Jesus Heals the Demoniac (a painting by James Tissot 1836–1902)

         v.      36              Luke 4:31–36 reviewed, using the Analytical Literal Translation

         v.      36              A Summary of What We Know from Luke 4:31–36

         v.      38              Jesus cures the mother-in-law of Peter of her illness (a graphic)

         v.      38              Galilee and Decapolis (a map)

         v.      39              The Six Rebukes of Jesus in the Book of Luke

         v.      40              A brief review of Luke 4:38–40, using Green’s Literal Translation

         v.      40              Signs, miracles and healings

         v.      40              Luke 4:40 (NKJV) (a graphic)

         v.      44              Judæa, the Gospel Message and the Lord’s Ministry

         v.      44              Map of Galilee and Judæa in the Time of Christ

         v. 

         v. 

         Summary            A Set of Summary Doctrines and Commentary

         Summary            Why Luke 4 is in the Word of God

         Summary            What We Learn from Luke 4

         Summary            Jesus Christ in Luke 4

         Summary            Chapter 4 Summary

         Summary            Luke 4:42–44 (FNV) (a graphic)

         Summary 

         Addendum          A Complete Translation of Luke 4

         Addendum          Doctrinal Teachers Who Have Taught Luke 4

         Addendum          Word Cloud from a Reasonably Literal Paraphrase of Luke 4

         Addendum          Word Cloud from Exegesis of Luke 4

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An Introduction to Luke 4

I ntroduction: Luke 4 picks up right where chapter 3 left off, where Jesus has made His first public appearance, before the disciples of John the baptizer. This public appearance, during which the Lord was baptized by John, began the Lord’s public ministry. He would remain in front of the people of God for the next 3 or 4 years.

It should not be lost on us the brevity of the Lord’s actual public ministry; or the limited region wherein He taught. Just as we should not have any historical knowledge of many people named in the Scriptures (such as Abraham, a shepherd-traveler); it is surprising that we know, 2000 years later, about the very short ministry of a teaching prophet which took place in a very small region halfway around the world.

In Luke 3, we got a pretty extensive view of the ministry of John the baptizer. At the end of that narrative, John then baptizes Jesus, and the heavens open, and the Holy Spirit descends upon Him like a dove, and God the Father, from heaven, said, “You are My Beloved Son in Whom I am most pleased.” (Luke 3:21b–22).

Interestingly enough, we do not know how many people were there. 10? 15? Perhaps even 50 or 100—but John baptizes Jesus, and John’s ministry is thus eclipsed. As John himself said, “I must decrease and He will increase.” John’s very unusual ministry out in the desert-wilderness would no longer be the focal point of dynamic spiritual happenings. What John had been promising his followers out in the desert-wilderness, had come to pass. The Messiah, Jesus, had come.

With that, Jesus began His public ministry. Jesus, when He began His ministry, was about thirty years of age... (Luke 3:23a; ESV; capitalized)

No doubt you have heard the expression, cannot see the forest for the trees. That is, there are so many trees all around you that you have no real appreciation or overview of the entire forest. It might be an acre; and might be 100 sq. miles; there may be mountains, it may all be flat; there may be several rivers running through it. But there are just so many trees all around you that you cannot see anything but the trees in your immediate vicinity.

This expression describes much of Luke 4. There are many complex doctrines to be found here; and there will be times that, I explain what is going on in so much detail that you lose track of the narrative and/or the context. Therefore, periodically, I will stop and regroup, and remind you of the narrative itself.

Two doctrines occur to me immediately: the doctrine of intercalation (a doctrine many Christians know nothing about) and demonology (the study of demons). Many great and not so great books have been written about the latter doctrine.

Jesus will proclaim His Messiahship in this chapter; but He will also prevent demons from speaking of this. There will be other times when people want to talk about Him, and He will indicate that He would rather that they didn’t. What is going on here? A false modesty? Since Jesus is only on earth for a very short time, does He not want every human being to know about Him? Does Jesus not believe that, all publicity is good publicity? If we have something that we want others to know about, we might say to those in our periphery, and spread the word; tell your friends, neighbors and family. But Jesus did not do that. At no time is Jesus recorded saying, “I want you to tell 5 friends and I want each of them to tell 5 friends.”

My point is, there is a lot to explain and unpack in this chapter. For those of you who have to feel as if you are moving forward in any biography of Jesus; you will feel at times in Luke 4 as if your boots are in deep mud. But, for me as it should be for you, we consider the journey as every bit important as the destination itself.

In this chapter, Jesus will face the temptations of Satan; and then He will formally begin His Galilean ministry. I have pointed this out before—the Galilean region, historically, was not known for its positive volition towards God and His plan. This is up in the northern region; and, even though there are many Jews living in this area, it is not even seen as being Israel (the region to the south, called Judæa, is more properly considered the successor to ancient Israel). However, Jesus spends the majority of his public ministry right here in the north. It is to this region that Jesus will primarily minister. He will not spend a lot of time in Judæa; He will not spend a lot of time at the Temple (He will go there on several occasions, but the majority of Jesus’s ministry will occur in Galilee).

About midway through this chapter, Jesus will go to a Synagogue in Nazareth and He will make the most powerful public statement that a man has ever made, clearly claiming to be the Messiah, upon Whom is the Spirit of the Lord. The response of the people is far different than we might expect—they will attempt to kill Him for blasphemy.

Throughout the remainder of the chapter, Jesus will heal and proclaim the Kingdom of God.

Right after being introduced to John’s disciples as the Messiah of God—which is confirmed by Luke’s genealogy—Jesus then is led into the desert-wilderness by God the Holy Spirit.

Interestingly enough, in the middle of Luke 3, the Holy Spirit descends upon Jesus; and here, at the beginning of Luke 4, the Spirit leads Jesus into the desert-wilderness. What makes this interesting to me is, even though the first two chapters of Luke mention the Holy Spirit; Jesus is not associated with the Holy Spirit until He is baptized by John.

This certainly suggests the question, was Jesus filled with the Holy Spirit prior to John’s baptism? Let’s consider this logically. Jesus has grown spiritually throughout His life. We know that because of Luke 2:40, 52. Was the Spirit a part of His life in some way prior to John’s baptism. It seems logical that He must be, since He grew spiritually (by studying the Word of God). So, what occurred before the disciples of John in chapter 3 was actually for their benefit. They were able to see a physical manifestation of the power of God being given to Jesus, the man.

There is a different sort of relationship between the Spirit of God and man in the Old Testament economy. I believe that it is referred to as enduement. I do not know that I could adequately distinguish between the filling and the enduement of the Holy Spirit. However, it seems fairly clear that Jesus sending the Holy Spirit (Acts 2) is far superior (perhaps what is far superior is the fact that all believers receive the Spirit?).

In any case, Jesus is filled with the Holy Spirit at the beginning of Luke 4. I believe that we are told that for our benefit, as the audience for Luke’s biography of Jesus. I do not think that Jesus being led by the Spirit is something new that had never happened before.

——————————

Satan Tempts the Humanity of Jesus

Matthew 4:1–11 Mark 1:12-13

Here is how others have translated this verse:

Ancient texts:                       Note: I will use the Westcott-Hort Greek text as the basis for my English translation. I use that test primarily because e-sword has a nice module by Rob Wolfram which has the interlinear English text, Strong’s #’s, and the Greek morphology. The e-sword tab is IWH+P. I do not use their English text for my translation. Also, throughout, I take in consideration alternate readings.

As a young Christian, I was quite interested in the alternative readings. After many decades of study, I have found that, as with the Hebrew text, disputed readings rarely have any affect on the interpretation of a text (apart from perhaps a half-dozen fairly well-known alternate readings, like the end of the book of Mark).

I will compare the Greek text to English translations of the Latin and Syriac (= Aramaic) texts, using the Douay-Rheims translation and George Lamsa’s translation from the Syriac. I often update these texts with non-substantive changes (e.g., you for thou, etc.).

In general, the Latin text is an outstanding translation from the Hebrew text into Latin and very trustworthy (I say this as a non-Catholic). Unfortunately, I do not read Latin—apart from some very obvious words—so I am dependent upon the English translation of the Latin (principally, the Douay-Rheims translation).

The Septuagint and the Dead Sea Scrolls are irrelevant, as they preceded the writing of the New Testament by over 200 years.

Underlined words indicate differences in the text.

Ancient texts:

Westcott-Hort Text (Greek)    And Jesus, full of a Spirit of Holy, returned from the Jordan; and He was being led in the Spirit in the desert-wilderness. Days forty he is being tested by the devil and He had not eaten nothing in the days those, and of a completing of them He was hungered.

Revised Douay-Rheims         .

Douay-Rheims 1899 (Amer.) And Jesus being full of the Holy Ghost, returned from the Jordan, and was led by the Spirit into the desert,

For the space of forty days; and was tempted by the devil. And he ate nothing in those days; and when they were ended, he was hungry.

V. Alexander’s Aramaic T.     .

James Murdock’s Syriac NT And Jesus, being full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan. And the Spirit led him into the wilderness, forty days, to be tempted by the Calumniator. And during those days, he ate nothing; and when he had completed them, he was at last hungry.

Original Aramaic NT              But Yeshua, being full of The Spirit of Holiness, returned from the Jordan and The Spirit led him into the wilderness To be tempted by The Devil for forty days, and he ate nothing in those days, and when he had finished them, at the end he was hungry.

Plain English Aramaic Bible   .

Lamsa Peshitta (Syriac)         NOW Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan, and the Spirit carried him away into the wilderness, Forty days, in order that he might be tempted by the adversary. And he did not eat anything in those days; and when they were over, at last he became hungry.

Significant differences: 

English Translations:          I have included translations which I disagree with and footnotes that I do not necessarily agree with. If I believe that the author is too far from the truth, I may even address that at the footnote. However, nearly all of the correct commentary will be found following the Greek text box and the translation of each phrase.

Limited Vocabulary Translations:

Bible in Basic English             And Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, came back from the Jordan, and was guided by the Spirit in the waste land For forty days, being tested by the Evil One. And he had no food in those days; and when they came to an end, he was in need of food.

Bible in Worldwide English     Jesus was full of the Holy Spirit. He left the Jordan River, and the Spirit led him into the desert for forty days. The devil tried to make him do wrong. Jesus did not eat in those forty days. Then he was very hungry.

Easy English                          The devil tries to cause Jesus to do wrong things

Jesus was now full of the Holy Spirit. When he returned from the river Jordan, the Holy Spirit led him into the desert. He stayed there for 40 days and he did not eat anything. At the end of 40 days, he was very hungry. During this time the devil tried to cause Jesus to do wrong things. They were things that God did not want him to do.

The devil is an angel that refused to obey God. He also tries to cause people to do bad things. Jesus was starting to do the work that God sent him to do.

Easy-to-Read Version–2001  .

Easy-to-Read Version–2006  Jesus Is Tempted by the Devil

Now filled with the Holy Spirit, Jesus returned from the Jordan River. And then the Spirit led him into the desert. There the devil tempted Jesus for 40 days. Jesus ate nothing during this time, and when it was finished, he was very hungry.

God’s Word™                         .

Good News Bible (TEV)         .

The Message                         Tested by the Devil

Now Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, left the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the wild. For forty wilderness days and nights he was tested by the Devil. He ate nothing during those days, and when the time was up he was hungry.

NIRV                                      Jesus Is Tempted in the Desert

Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, left the Jordan River. The Spirit led him into the desert. There the devil tempted him for 40 days. Jesus ate nothing during that time. At the end of the 40 days, he was hungry.

New Life Version                    Jesus Was Tempted

Jesus was full of the Holy Spirit when He returned from the Jordan River. Then He was led by the Holy Spirit to a desert. He was tempted by the devil for forty days and He ate nothing during that time. After that He was hungry.

New Simplified Bible              .

The Spoken English NT         Jesus is Tested by Satan (Mt. 4:1-11; Mk 1:12-13)
Jesus came back from the Jordan full of the Spirit. And he was being led by the Spirit in the wilderness for forty days, being tested by the devil. He didn’t eat anything during that time, and at the end of it he was hungry.^a

^a.Lit. “And he didn’t eat anything in those days, and when they were wrapped up he was hungry.”

Thought-for-thought translations; dynamic translations; paraphrases:

Contemporary English V.       When Jesus returned from the Jordan River, the power of the Holy Spirit was with him, and the Spirit led him into the desert. For forty days Jesus was tested by the devil, and during that time he went without eating. When it was all over, he was hungry.

The Living Bible                     Then Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, left the Jordan River, being urged by the Spirit out into the barren wastelands of Judea, where Satan tempted him for forty days. He ate nothing all that time and was very hungry.

New Berkeley Version           .

New Century Version             Jesus Is Tempted by the Devil

Jesus, filled with the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan River. The Spirit led Jesus into the desert where the devil tempted Jesus for forty days. Jesus ate nothing during that time, and when those days were ended, he was very hungry.

New Living Translation           The Temptation of Jesus

Then Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan River. He was led by the Spirit in the wilderness, [Some manuscripts read into the wilderness] where he was tempted by the devil for forty days. Jesus ate nothing all that time and became very hungry.

The Passion Translation        Jesus Tested in the Wilderness

From the moment of his baptism, Jesus was overflowing with the Holy Spirit. He was taken by the Spirit from the Jordan into the lonely wilderness of Judea^[a] to experience the ordeal of testing^[b] by the accuser^[c] for forty days.^[d] He ate no food during this time and ended his forty-day fast very hungry.

^[a] Luke 4:1 The Holy Spirit’s leading is not always into comfort and ease. The Spirit may lead us, as he did Jesus, into places where we will be proven, tested, and strengthened for our future ministry. After Jesus’ greatest affirmation from heaven came a great time of testing.

^[b] Luke 4:1 The Greek word here means “to test with a sinister motive.” This test was more than proving that Jesus could overcome this ordeal. It proved that Satan was defeated by Christ’s appearing.

^[c] Luke 4:1 The words accuser and devil are used interchangeably in this translation.

^[d] Luke 4:1 Jesus’ baptism and the forty days of wilderness temptations that followed evoke parallels with the historical narrative of the Hebrew exodus through the Red Sea and the forty years of wilderness testing.

Unlocked Dynamic Bible        Then Jesus, filled with the Holy Spirit, left the Jordan River, and the Holy Spirit led him into the wilderness. The Holy Spirit led him around in the wilderness for forty days. While he was there, the devil kept tempting him. During the entire time Jesus was in the wilderness he did not eat anything, so when the forty days were over, he was very hungry.

Williams’ New Testament      Then Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan, and for forty days He was led about in the desert under the Spirit's guidance, while He was being tempted by the devil. During that time He ate nothing, and so at the end of it He felt hungry.

Partially literal and partially paraphrased translations:

American English Bible          [Well after this happened], Jesus became filled with the Holy Breath. Then he left the Jordan, and [God’s] Breath led him into the desert, where he was tempted by the Slanderer for forty days. But because he hadn’t eaten anything during that entire period, he became very hungry.

Beck’s American Translation .

Breakthrough Version            Jesus, full of the Sacred Spirit, returned from the Jordan River and was being led in the Spirit in the backcountry forty days as He experienced trouble under the Accuser. And He did not eat anything in those days. And when they were totally finished, He was hungry.

Common English Bible           Jesus’ temptation

Jesus returned from the Jordan River full of the Holy Spirit, and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness. There he was tempted for forty days by the devil. He ate nothing during those days and afterward Jesus was starving.

International Standard V        .

Len Gane Paraphrase           .

A. Campbell's Living Oracles .

New Advent (Knox) Bible       Jesus returned from the Jordan full of the Holy Spirit, and by the Spirit he was led on into the wilderness, where he remained forty days, tempted by the devil. During those days he ate nothing, and when they were over, he was hungry.

NT for Everyone                     Temptation in the Wilderness

Jesus returned from the Jordan, filled with the spirit. The spirit took him off into the wilderness for forty days, to be tested by the devil. He ate nothing during that time, and at the end of it he was hungry.

20^th Century New Testament On returning from the Jordan, full of the Holy Spirit, Jesus was led by the power of the Spirit through the Wilderness for forty days, tempted by the Devil. All that time he ate nothing; and, when it was over, he became hungry.

Mostly literal renderings (with some occasional paraphrasing):

Alpha & Omega Bible            JESUS, FULL OF THE HOLY BREATH, RETURNED FROM THE JORDAN AND WAS LED AROUND BY THE SPIRIT IN THE DESERT FOR FORTY DAYS, BEING TEMPTED BY THE DEVIL. AND HE ATE NOTHING DURING THOSE DAYS, AND WHEN THEY HAD ENDED, HE BECAME HUNGRY.

Christian Standard Bible        .

Conservapedia Translation    Filled with the Holy Spirit, Jesus returned from the Jordan and was led by God's Spirit into the desert,...

use "force of God" for "Holy Ghost" here? "Desert" rather than "wilderness"? Though using "force of God" first and then "God'S Spirit" as translations for the same word (πνε μα) is quite confusing..And flat-out wrong. The Holy Spirit is not a force. Any doctrinally sound branch of Christianity would regard that description as heresy. The Holy Spirit is a divine person, the third person of the Trinity.

Why is "God's Spirit" capitalized, but "force of God" not - it's the same entity. That adds to the confusion.

"The Jordan" is appropriate here, not "Jordan," since Jesus was returning from the Jordan River.

...for forty days of temptation by the devil. Jesus ate nothing, and was very hungry at the end.

sorry, the devil should not be honored with capitalization

Evangelical Heritage V.          The Devil Tempts Jesus

Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the wilderness, where he was tempted by the Devil for forty days. He did not eat anything during those days. When they came to an end, he was hungry.

Ferrar-Fenton Bible                The Temptation in the Desert.

And Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, went away from the Jordan, and was carried by the Spirit into the desert, to be tried under the Devil for forty days. And He ate nothing during that time ; but on their completion He at last was hungry.

Free Bible Version                 Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was guided by the Spirit in the desert, where he was tempted by the devil for forty days. He didn’t eat anything during that whole time, so in the end he was starving.

God’s Truth (Tyndale)           Jesus then full of the holy ghost returned from Jordan, and was carried of the spirit into wilderness, and was forty days tempted of the devil. And in those days ate he nothing. And when they were ended, he after ward hungered.

Jubilee Bible 2000                  .

Montgomery NT                     Then Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, came back from the Jordan, and was led by the Spirit into the desert for forty days, all the time tempted by the devil. He ate nothing during these days, and at the close of them he was hungry.

NIV, ©2011                             .

Riverside New Testament      .

Leicester A. Sawyer’s NT      .

Unlocked Literal Bible            .

Urim-Thummim Version         And Jesus being full of the Sacred Spirit returned from Jordan, and was led by the Spirit into the uninhabited places for 40 days being tested of the Devil. And in those days he did not eat anything and when that time ended, he afterwards was hungry.

Weymouth New Testament    Then Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan, and was led about by the Spirit in the Desert for forty days, tempted all the while by the Devil. During those days He ate nothing, and at the close of them He suffered from hunger.

Wikipedia Bible Project          .

Wilbur Pickering’s New T.     Jesus tested by Satan
Then Jesus, full of Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, where He was tested for forty days by the devil. He ate nothing at all during those days, so after they were completed He was hungry.¹

⁽¹⁾ This episode was ordained by the Holy Spirit. Jesus had to confront Satan when He was physically the weakest He would ever be (40 days without food!). When Satan failed to defeat this weakened Jesus, he was probably filled with despair—he now knew that he could never defeat Him (but he would still try to kill Him). Heb. 2:18; Heb. 4:15–16 give at least part of the reason why Jesus had to undergo this experience.

Catholic Bibles (those having the imprimatur):

Christian Community (1988)     .

The Heritage Bible                 And Jesus full of the Holy Spirit returned from Jordan, and was led in the Spirit into the wasteland, Being tempted forty days by the Devil. And he absolutely did not eat one thing in those days, and their being entirely finished, afterward he hungered.

New American Bible (2002)   .

New American Bible (2011)   The Temptation of Jesus.* [4:1–13] Mt 4:1–11; Mk 1:12–13.

1 a Filled with the holy Spirit,* Jesus returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the desert for forty days,* to be tempted by the devil. He ate nothing during those days, and when they were over he was hungry. Heb 4:15.

* [Matt. 4:1–11] Jesus, proclaimed Son of God at his baptism, is subjected to a triple temptation. Obedience to the Father is a characteristic of true sonship, and Jesus is tempted by the devil to rebel against God, overtly in the third case, more subtly in the first two. Each refusal of Jesus is expressed in language taken from the Book of Deuteronomy (Dt 8:3; 6:13, 16). The testings of Jesus resemble those of Israel during the wandering in the desert and later in Canaan, and the victory of Jesus, the true Israel and the true Son, contrasts with the failure of the ancient and disobedient “son,” the old Israel. In the temptation account Matthew is almost identical with Luke; both seem to have drawn upon the same source.

* [4:1] Filled with the holy Spirit: as a result of the descent of the Spirit upon him at his baptism (Lk 3:21–22), Jesus is now equipped to overcome the devil. Just as the Spirit is prominent at this early stage of Jesus’ ministry (Lk 4:1, 14, 18), so too it will be at the beginning of the period of the church in Acts (Acts 1:4; 2:4, 17).

* [4:2] For forty days: the mention of forty days recalls the forty years of the wilderness wanderings of the Israelites during the Exodus (Dt 8:2).

New English Bible–1970        The Temptation of Jesus (Wilderness of Judæa) [ Lk.4.1-13 → ] - Mt.4.1-11, Mk.1.12-13

Full of the Holy Spirit, Jesus returned from the Jordan, 2and for forty days was led by the Spirit up and down the wilderness and tempted by the devil.

All that time he had nothing to eat, and at the end of it he was famished.

New Jerusalem Bible             .

New RSV                               .

Revised English Bible–1989   The temptation of Jesus

FULL of the Holy Spirit, Jesus returned from the Jordan, and for forty days he wandered in the wilderness, led by the Spirit and tempted by the devil. During that time he ate nothing, and at the end of it he was famished.

Jewish/Hebrew Names Bibles:

Complete Jewish Bible           Then Yeshua, filled with the Ruach HaKodesh, returned from the Yarden and was led by the Spirit in the wilderness for forty days of testing by the Adversary. During that time he ate nothing, and afterwards he was hungry.

exeGeses companion Bible   THE TESTING OF YAH SHUA

And Yah Shua, full of the Holy Spirit,

returns from Yarden

and is led in the Spirit into the wilderness;

being tested forty days by Diabolos:

and in those days he eats naught:

and after they complete, he famishes.

Hebraic Roots Bible               And full of the Holy Spirit, Yahshua returned from the Jordan, and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, forty days being tempted by the Devil. And He ate nothing in those days, and they being ended, He afterwards hungered.

The Israel Bible (beta)            .

The Scriptures 1998              And יהושע, being filled with the Set-apart Spirit, returned from the Yardĕn and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, being tried for forty days by the devil. And in those days He did not eat at all, and afterward, when they had ended, He was hungry.

Tree of Life Version                Temptation in the Wilderness

Yeshua, now filled with the Ruach ha-Kodesh, returned from the Jordan. He was led by the Ruach in the wilderness for forty days, being tested by the devil. Now He ate nothing during those days, and when they had ended, He was hungry.

Expanded/Embellished Bibles:

The Amplified Bible                The Devil Tempts Jesus

Now Jesus, full of [and in perfect communication with] the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the wilderness for forty days, being tempted by the devil. And He ate nothing during those days, and when they ended, He was hungry.

An Understandable Version   Then Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan River [i.e., where He had been immersed. See 3:21] and was led by the Holy Spirit [See Matt. 4:1] into the desert. During the forty days He was being put to the test by the devil, He did not eat anything; then after it was over He was [very] hungry.

The Expanded Bible              Jesus Is Tempted by the Devil

Jesus, filled with the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan River. The Spirit led Jesus into the ·desert [wilderness] where the devil ·tempted [or tested] Jesus for forty days [^C like Israel’s forty years of testing in the wilderness]. Jesus ate nothing during that time, and when those days were ended, he was very hungry [Ex. 34:28].

Jonathan Mitchell NT             So Jesus, full of a set-apart spirit and attitude (or: a set-apart Breath-effect; [the] Holy Spirit; [the] sacred Breath), turned back away from the Jordan [River] and began being led within the (or: that) Breath-effect (or: in union with the Spirit; in that attitude) within the midst of [other MSS: into] the wilderness (desert; desolate and uninhabited place) –

[for] forty days being constantly examined and tested (or: tried and proved) by, and under, the one who thrusts or hurls [things; thoughts] through [us] (or: the adversary). And He did not eat anything within those days, and so, at their being brought together to the purposed goal, and concluded, He became hungry.

NET Bible®                             The Temptation of Jesus

Then¹ Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan River² and was led by the Spirit³ in⁴ the wilderness,⁵ where for forty days he endured temptations⁶ from the devil. He⁷ ate nothing⁸ during those days, and when they were completed,⁹ he was famished.

^1tn Here δέ (de) has been translated as “then” to indicate continuity with the previous topic.

^2tn “River” is not in the Greek text but is supplied for clarity.

^3sn The double mention of the Spirit in this verse makes it clear that the temptation was neither the fault of Jesus nor an accident.

^4tc Most mss (A Θ Ξ Ψ 0102 Ë1,13 33 Ï lat) read εἰς τὴν ἔρημον (ei" thn erhmon, “into the wilderness”), apparently motivated by the parallel in Matt 4:1. However, the reading behind the translation (ἐν τ ἐρ μῳ, en th ejrhmw) is found in overall better witnesses (Ì4vid,7,75vid א B D L W 579 892 1241 pc it).

^5tn Or “desert.”

^6tn Grk “in the desert, for forty days being tempted.” The participle πειραζόμενος (peirazomeno") has been translated as an adverbial clause in English to avoid a run-on sentence with a second “and.” Here the present participle suggests a period of forty days of testing. Three samples of the end of the testing are given in the following verses.

^7tn Grk “And he.” Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

^8sn The reference to Jesus eating nothing could well be an idiom meaning that he ate only what the desert provided; see Exod 34:28. A desert fast simply meant eating only what one could obtain in the desert. The parallel in Matt 4:2 speaks only of Jesus fasting.

^9tn The Greek word here is συντελεσθείσων (suntelesqeiswn) from the verb συντελέω (suntelew).

^sn This verb and its cognate noun, sunteleia, usually implies not just the end of an event, but its completion or fulfillment. The noun is always used in the NT in eschatological contexts; the verb is often so used (cf. Matt 13:39, 40; 24:3; 28:20; Mark 13:4; Rom 9:28; Heb 8:8; 9:26). The idea here may be that the forty-day period of temptation was designed for a particular purpose in the life of Christ (the same verb is used in v. 13). The cognate verb teleiow is a key NT term for the completion of God’s plan: See Luke 12:50; 22:37; John 19:30; and (where it has the additional component of meaning “to perfect”) Heb 2:10; 5:8-9; 7:28.

P. Kretzmann Commentary    .

Syndein/Thieme                     {Verses 1-13: The Three Temptations of Jesus}

Then Jesus, full {pleres} of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan {River} and was led by the Spirit in the desert/'uninhabited region, where for forty days He was 'constantly put to the test'/'endured temptations' by the devil {diabolos - word means the 'accuser'. From the time of Job, Satan is in heaven accusing believers of being sinners. Jesus Christ is our defense attorney}. He ate nothing during those days, and when they {the days} were completed, He was famished.

Translation for Translators                                                    Luke 3:1-20

What John the Baptizer preached.

As Jesus left the Jordan River valley, the Holy Spirit was completely controlling him. For forty days the Spirit led him around in the desolate area. During that time Jesus was being tempted by the devil {the devil was tempting him}, and Jesus did not eat anything. When that time ended, he was very hungry.

The Voice                               When Jesus returned from the Jordan River, He was full of the Holy Spirit, and the Holy Spirit led Him away from the cities and towns and out into the desert.

For 40 days, the Spirit led Him from place to place in the desert, and while there, the devil tempted Jesus. Jesus was fasting, eating nothing during this time, and at the end, He was terribly hungry.

Weird English, Olde English, Anachronistic English Translations:

Accurate New Testament       Jesus but Full [of] spirit pure returns from the jordan and [He] was led in the spirit in the [one] deserted days forty Being Tested by the devil and not [He] eats no [thing] in the days those and being completed them [He] hungers.

Awful Scroll Bible                   Moreover Jesus, full of the Awful Breath, turned-back-by from the Jordan, and keeps to come to be led by-within the Breath, into the wilderness, coming to be tempted forty days, a coming to be tempted by the Caster-through. Even from-within those days He ate nothing, yet-not-one thing, and they being came about concluded-together, afterwards He hungered.

Concordant Literal Version    Now Jesus, full of holy spirit, returns from the Jordan, and was led in the spirit in the wilderness"

forty days, undergoing trial by the Adversary. And He did not eat of anything in those days, and subsequently, at their being concluded, He hungers."

The Disciple's Bible                .

Orthodox Jewish Bible           Now Rebbe Melech HaMoshiach, full of the Ruach Hakodesh, returned from the Yarden, and was being led by the Ruach Hakodesh bamidbar

Where for ARBAIM YOM Rebbe, Melech HaMoshiach was undergoing nisayon by Hasatan. And he had no okhel in those yamim. And when the yamim had been completed, he was famished.

Rotherham’s Emphasized B. .

Third Millennium Bible            .

Webster’s Translation           .

Literal, almost word-for-word, renderings:

Analytical-Literal Translation  .

Charles Thompson NT           Now Jesus being full of a holy spirit, returned from the Jordan, and was led by the spirit into the wilderness; and being forty days tempted by the devil, he ate nothing during those days. And when they were ended, he at length was hungry.

Context Group Version          And Jesus, full of the Special Spirit, returned from the Jordan, and was led in the Spirit in the wilderness during forty days, being loyalty-tested of the slanderer {trad. "devil"}. And he ate nothing in those days: and when they were completed, he was hungry.

Disciples’ Literal New T.        In The Wilderness, Jesus Is Tempted By Satan To Act Contrary To His Father’s Will

And Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan. And He was being led in the Spirit in the wilderness for forty days while being tempted by the devil. And He did not eat anything during those days. And they having been completed, He was hungry.

English Standard Version      .

Far Above All Translation       Then Jesus, who was full of holy spirit, returned from the Jordan, and was led by the spirit into the desert, and was tempted by the devil for forty days, and did not eat anything in those days. Then when they were completed – after all this – he was hungry.

Green’s Literal Translation    .

Literal New Testament           .

Modern English Version         .

Modern Literal Version           Now full of the Holy Spirit, Jesus returned from the Jordan, and was being led by the Spirit into the wilderness, being tempted by the Devil for forty days. And he ate nothing in those days, and being completed, later he hungered.

Modern KJV                           .

New American Standard B.    The Temptation of Jesus

Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led around by [Or under the influence of; lit in] the Spirit in the wilderness for forty days, being tempted by the devil. And He ate nothing during those days, and when they had ended, He became hungry.

New European Version          The wilderness temptations

And Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, being tempted by the devil for forty days. And he ate nothing in those days; and when they were completed, he was hungry.

New King James Version       Satan Tempts Jesus

Then Jesus, being filled with the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into [NU in] the wilderness, being tempted [tested] for forty days by the devil. And in those days He ate nothing, and afterward, when they had ended, He was hungry.

NT (Variant Readings)           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 |afterward| hungered.

°Byz.-led by the Spirit...

Niobi Study Bible                   .

Restored Holy Bible 6.0         .

Revised Young's Lit. Trans.   And Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, turned back from the Jordan, and was brought in the Spirit to the wilderness, forty days being tempted by the Devil, and he did not eat anything in those days, and they having been ended, he afterward hungered,...

A Voice in the Wilderness      .

World English Bible                .

Young’s Updated LT             .

The gist of this passage:     Jesus leaves the Jordan valley and ventures into the desert-wilderness where He fasts for 40 days.

Translation: Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan [Valley].

Jesus had been in the Jordan Valley being baptized by John. This is what we studied in the previous chapter.

Whereas, John has a full-blown ministry in the desert-wilderness—which ministry continues on at this point—Jesus begins His public ministry. However, His public ministry does not begin as we might think it would. There is a crowd, gathered there to see John, but Jesus does not take it over. Jesus did not look out over John’s disciples and say, “You have been following John; now you will follow Me.” The herald announces the King and the King is before His people; but, at a point where we might expect an inspiring inauguration speech—nothing is recorded by any of the disciples. In fact, for a short time, Jesus will disappear from the public’s radar for 40 days.

Translation: He was being led by the Spirit in the desert-wilderness.

Jesus is said to be filled with the Spirit; and here, He is led by the Spirit. This is all true, but the information is given to us for our benefit.

I mentioned the doctrine of kenosis at the end of Luke 3. What we read here helps us to better understand how the Lord’s ministry operated. Jesus did not, by means of His omniscience, decide, “Next on My agenda is going off to the desert-wilderness to be tested.” Instead, He is being led there by God the Holy Spirit. As God, Jesus would have had direct access to the plan of God. He would know, this is #1 event, #2 event, etc. And he would go wherever based upon God’s plan. However, as a man, Jesus has this understanding only through the doctrine in His human spirit combined with the guidance of God the Holy Spirit. Just like you and I.

Jesus was very much like us, inasmuch as, He did not know what was going to happen over the next day, week or month. Now and again, this is going to explain His words or behavior. Because Jesus voluntarily functioned within the confines of His humanity, setting aside His access to His Own Deity, exactly what the future held for Him on any given day was not known to Him. Where He was to go next was not known to Him, except when guided by God the Holy Spirit.

Jesus is here in the desert-wilderness being led by God the Holy Spirit. One of the remarkable things regarding Jesus—and I rarely see any of these being emphasized—He spent a considerable amount of time alone. He took time out to get away from the crowds. I can totally relate to that.

At this point in time, there were no crowds, apart from those who were gathered to see John. Jesus was a part of that crowd; but He was then baptized by John. Interestingly enough, Jesus does not say to John, “What you did was great; now I will take it from here.” and then He turns to teach the crowds. Jesus did not do that at all. Insofar as we know, He exchanged a few words with John and did nothing else. Interestingly enough, Jesus did not stand before the crowd and begin to speak (insofar as we know). John baptized Him, told the people Who He was; but I do not believe that Jesus even addressed the people there. He does not appear to have even lifted His hand in a friendly gesture, as if to say, “Hey, how’s it going?” With no real commentary in between, we go from Jesus’ baptism out to the middle of the desert-wilderness to being led by the Spirit, even further into the uninhabited regions of Judæa.

He was being guided at this time, by God the Holy Spirit.

One of the many doctrines developed by R. B. Thieme, Jr. is, Jesus Christ test-drove the spiritual life for the believer in the Church Age. The spiritual life which you and I live was first lived by Jesus (not by Abraham, not by Moses, not by David). At the second birth, we are given the same resources that the Lord had. Even though He was minus a sin nature, we function without sin during the periods of time that we are filled with the Holy Spirit. This time may be 5 seconds, 5 minutes, and even, for some people at some times, 5 hours (at least until the time you have to enter into rush traffic).

One possible option is that Jesus had the enduement of the Spirit from birth to around age 30—thus having exactly the same spiritual assets as the Old Testament saints; but, at the beginning of His public ministry, he is filled with the Holy Spirit, having the same spiritual assets of the Church Age believers. Was there a difference between Jesus prior to His public ministry and Jesus during His public ministry? I don’t know that there was exactly; and, at this point, I don’t believe that I could quantify this difference in any way. We can differentiate between believers in the Church Age and believers in the Age of Israel; but I don’t know that I can do that with Jesus.

Luke 4:1 Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan [Valley]. He was being led by the Spirit in the desert-wilderness.

Jesus is relying upon the Spirit of God to guide Him. We do not know the mechanics for this, exactly; apart from Jesus Christ being in fellowship and being steeped in the Word of God. However, as we moved further through this chapter, there will be come things which occur that help us to understand some of the ways that the Lord was guided in His humanity.

Jesus Christ grew spiritually in His humanity (And the Child grew, and became strong in spirit, being filled with wisdom. And the grace of God was upon Him. —Luke 2:40; LitV)

We do not know if Jesus knows that He is going out in the desert-wilderness in order to be tested by the devil; but that is what is about to happen. It is my opinion that He does not know what is about to happen.

Jesus, in His Deity, was omniscient; however, in His humanity, His knowledge was limited. The doctrine of Kenosis tells us that Jesus set aside the use of His divine assets, and He used only that which Church Age believers will be given. Again, He test-drove the spiritual life for us believers in the Church Age. In my opinion, He understood where the Spirit was guiding Him; but He did not know what would happen next.

We have just begun to study Luke 4. We have completed the first verse:

Luke 4:1 And Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the wilderness... (ESV; capitalized)

We do not know exactly where Jesus returned to. Given that particular word (returned) and given what He will do in the second half of this chapter, it appears that Jesus returned to His home (or hometown) in the Galilean region.

We have just begun to study Luke 4. We have completed the first verse:

Luke 4:1 And Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the wilderness... (ESV; capitalized)

We do not know exactly where Jesus returned to. Given that particular word (returned) and given what He will do in the second half of this chapter, it appears that Jesus returned to His home (or hometown) in the Galilean region.

Translation: He was tested [for] 40 days by the devil,...

This will be the topic of the first 13 verses of this chapter; Jesus will be tested by Satan while in this state of hunger. This would represent Jesus at His weakest, humanly speaking.

What appears to be the case to me is, Jesus is tempted/tested for 40 days by Satan—we do not know how or with what; and we read about the final temptations on the 40^th day. The text does not state this specifically, but idea of just 3 temptations over a period of 40 days seems rather light.

Satan is a genius; so we may trust that, having been given to go-ahead, was able to tempt the Lord for a long period of time. If you are familiar with the book of Job, and Satan appearing before God and asking to be able to take a number of liberties with Job—let me suggest that, as Jesus grew older, Satan continually petitioned to become a stumbling black in the life of the Lord. Just as God allowed some access to Job by Satan; God will grant some access to Jesus by Satan.

Interestingly enough, this appears to be the only direct interaction between Jesus and Satan. God appears to have given Satan some specific parameters to remain within, with the warning (apparently), “I will allow you to test My Son; but You may not physically harm Him; and you will have no direct contact after this time.” (This is speculation on my part.)

There will be 3 temptations recorded here and in Matthew (a parallel passage); and based upon the language, these were not the only tests; they were just the final 3 on the final day.

Luke 4:1–2a And Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the wilderness for forty days, being tempted by the devil.

This first verse + 2a gives us the setup for the first 13 verses of this chapter.

What is Jesus doing in the desert-wilderness for much of this time? He is thinking about the Word of God. He has, by this time, memorized the entire Bible. However, His mind must continue to digest and consider what He knows, and compare Scripture with Scripture. Jesus was not born knowing all of the Scriptures. He functioned in this life in a fully human way, from start to finish (fully human, but without a sin nature).

Not only must the Scriptures be learned, but they must be placed side-by-side as Jesus continues learning and growing spiritually in His humanity. When someone learns the Scriptures, there is a point at which their spiritual understanding suddenly blossoms. So many things in Scripture interlock and make so much sense.

R. B. Thieme, Jr. taught the Scriptures continually for about 15 or 20 years, and then, suddenly, everything began to fall into place. Starting in the mid-1960's, R. B. Thieme, Jr. began to have one of the most productive ministries in world history. Everything began to fit into place. So, for 10 or 15 years, Bob would teach a half a chapter or even a chapter each night. Then he would go back to that same book and chapter, and teach it again. And, at some point, the amount of spiritual information that he began to teach ballooned—almost magically. It was all there all of the time, but he began to put so much of it together and understand really what was being said.

This is going to be hard for some of you to believe and understand, but Jesus grew spiritually in His humanity. He learned the Word of God from a very early age. He continued to study it; and, at some point, it all came together as a marvelous whole.