The Temptation of Jesus

Then Jesus(A) left the Jordan,(B) full of the Holy Spirit,(C) and was led by the Spirit(D) in the wilderness for forty days(E) to be tempted by the devil. He ate nothing during those days, and when they were over, he was hungry. The devil said to him, “If you are the Son of God, tell this stone to become bread.”

But Jesus answered him, “It is written: Man must not live on bread alone.[a][b](F)

So he took him up[c] and showed him all the kingdoms of the world(G) in a moment of time. The devil said to him, “I will give you their splendor and all this authority, because it has been given over to me,(H) and I can give it to anyone I want. If you, then, will worship me,[d] all will be yours.”

And Jesus answered him,[e] “It is written: Worship the Lord your God, and serve[f] him only.(I)

So he took him to Jerusalem, had him stand on the pinnacle of the temple, and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down from here. 10 For it is written:

He will give his angels orders concerning you,
to protect you,[g](J) 11 and
they will support you with their hands,
so that you will not strike
your foot against a stone.[h](K)

12 And Jesus answered him, “It is said: Do not test the Lord your God.[i](L)

13 After the devil had finished every temptation, he departed from him for a time.

Ministry in Galilee

14 Then Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit,(M) and news about him spread throughout the entire vicinity.(N) 15 He was teaching in their synagogues,(O) being praised[j] by everyone.

Rejection at Nazareth

16 He came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up.(P) As usual, he entered the synagogue on the Sabbath day(Q) and stood up to read.(R) 17 The scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to him, and unrolling the scroll, he found the place where it was written:

18 The Spirit of the Lord is on me,
because he has anointed me
to preach good news to the poor.
He has sent me[k]
to proclaim release[l] to the captives
and recovery of sight to the blind,
to set free the oppressed,
19 to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.[m](S)

20 He then rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant, and sat down.(T) And the eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fixed on him. 21 He began by saying to them, “Today as you listen, this Scripture has been fulfilled.”(U)

22 They were all speaking well of him[n] and were amazed by the gracious words that came from his mouth; yet they said, “Isn’t this Joseph’s son?” (V)

23 Then he said to them, “No doubt you will quote this proverb[o] to me: ‘Doctor, heal yourself. What we’ve heard that took place in Capernaum,(W) do here in your hometown also.’”

24 He also said, “Truly I tell you, no prophet is accepted in his hometown.(X) 25 But I say to you, there were certainly many widows in Israel in Elijah’s days,(Y) when the sky was shut up for three years and six months while a great famine came over all the land. 26 Yet Elijah was not sent to any of them except a widow at Zarephath in Sidon.(Z) 27 And in the prophet Elisha’s time, there were many in Israel who had leprosy,[p] and yet not one of them was cleansed except Naaman the Syrian.”(AA)

28 When they heard this, everyone in the synagogue was enraged. 29 They got up, drove him out of town,(AB) and brought him to the edge of the hill that their town was built on, intending to hurl him over the cliff. 30 But he passed right through the crowd and went on his way.(AC)

Driving Out an Unclean Spirit

31 Then he went down to Capernaum,(AD) a town in Galilee, and was teaching them on the Sabbath. 32 They were astonished at his teaching because his message had authority.(AE) 33 In the synagogue there was a man with an unclean demonic spirit who cried out with a loud voice,(AF) 34 “Leave us alone! What do you have to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are—the Holy One of God!” (AG)

35 But Jesus rebuked him(AH) and said, “Be silent and come out of him!”(AI) And throwing him down before them, the demon came out of him without hurting him at all.

36 Amazement came over them all, and they were saying to one another, “What is this message? For he commands the unclean spirits with authority and power, and they come out!” 37 And news about him began to go out to every place in the vicinity.

Healings at Capernaum

38 After he left the synagogue, he entered Simon’s house.(AJ) Simon’s mother-in-law was suffering from a high fever, and they asked him about her.(AK) 39 So he stood over her and rebuked the fever, and it left her. She got up immediately(AL) and began to serve them.

40 When the sun was setting, all those who had anyone sick with various diseases brought them to him. As he laid his hands on each one of them, he healed them.(AM) 41 Also, demons were coming out of many, shouting and saying, “You are the Son of God!” (AN) But he rebuked them and would not allow them to speak, because they knew he was the Messiah.(AO)

42 When it was day, he went out and made his way to a deserted place.(AP) But the crowds were searching for him. They came to him and tried to keep him from leaving them. 43 But he said to them, “It is necessary for me to proclaim the good news about the kingdom of God to the other towns also, because I was sent for this purpose.” 44 And he was preaching in the synagogues of Judea.[q](AQ)

Footnotes

  1. 4:4 Other mss add but on every word of God
  2. 4:4 Dt 8:3
  3. 4:5 Other mss read So the devil took him up on a high mountain
  4. 4:7 Lit will fall down before me
  5. 4:8 Other mss add “Get behind me, Satan!
  6. 4:8 Dt 6:13
  7. 4:10 Ps 91:11
  8. 4:11 Ps 91:12
  9. 4:12 Dt 6:16
  10. 4:15 Or glorified
  11. 4:18 Other mss add to heal the brokenhearted,
  12. 4:18 Or freedom, or forgiveness
  13. 4:18–19 Is 61:1–2
  14. 4:22 Or They were testifying against him
  15. 4:23 Or parable
  16. 4:27 Gk lepros; a term for various skin diseases; see Lv 13–14
  17. 4:44 Other mss read Galilee

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,[a] where he was tempted by the devil for forty days. Jesus ate nothing all that time and became very hungry.

Then the devil said to him, “If you are the Son of God, tell this stone to become a loaf of bread.”

But Jesus told him, “No! The Scriptures say, ‘People do not live by bread alone.’[b]

Then the devil took him up and revealed to him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time. “I will give you the glory of these kingdoms and authority over them,” the devil said, “because they are mine to give to anyone I please. I will give it all to you if you will worship me.”

Jesus replied, “The Scriptures say,

‘You must worship the Lord your God
    and serve only him.’[c]

Then the devil took him to Jerusalem, to the highest point of the Temple, and said, “If you are the Son of God, jump off! 10 For the Scriptures say,

‘He will order his angels to protect and guard you.
11 And they will hold you up with their hands
    so you won’t even hurt your foot on a stone.’[d]

12 Jesus responded, “The Scriptures also say, ‘You must not test the Lord your God.’[e]

13 When the devil had finished tempting Jesus, he left him until the next opportunity came.

Jesus Rejected at Nazareth

14 Then Jesus returned to Galilee, filled with the Holy Spirit’s power. Reports about him spread quickly through the whole region. 15 He taught regularly in their synagogues and was praised by everyone.

16 When he came to the village of Nazareth, his boyhood home, he went as usual to the synagogue on the Sabbath and stood up to read the Scriptures. 17 The scroll of Isaiah the prophet was handed to him. He unrolled the scroll and found the place where this was written:

18 “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,
    for he has anointed me to bring Good News to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim that captives will be released,
    that the blind will see,
that the oppressed will be set free,
19     and that the time of the Lord’s favor has come.[f]

20 He rolled up the scroll, handed it back to the attendant, and sat down. All eyes in the synagogue looked at him intently. 21 Then he began to speak to them. “The Scripture you’ve just heard has been fulfilled this very day!”

22 Everyone spoke well of him and was amazed by the gracious words that came from his lips. “How can this be?” they asked. “Isn’t this Joseph’s son?”

23 Then he said, “You will undoubtedly quote me this proverb: ‘Physician, heal yourself’—meaning, ‘Do miracles here in your hometown like those you did in Capernaum.’ 24 But I tell you the truth, no prophet is accepted in his own hometown.

25 “Certainly there were many needy widows in Israel in Elijah’s time, when the heavens were closed for three and a half years, and a severe famine devastated the land. 26 Yet Elijah was not sent to any of them. He was sent instead to a foreigner—a widow of Zarephath in the land of Sidon. 27 And many in Israel had leprosy in the time of the prophet Elisha, but the only one healed was Naaman, a Syrian.”

28 When they heard this, the people in the synagogue were furious. 29 Jumping up, they mobbed him and forced him to the edge of the hill on which the town was built. They intended to push him over the cliff, 30 but he passed right through the crowd and went on his way.

Jesus Casts Out a Demon

31 Then Jesus went to Capernaum, a town in Galilee, and taught there in the synagogue every Sabbath day. 32 There, too, the people were amazed at his teaching, for he spoke with authority.

33 Once when he was in the synagogue, a man possessed by a demon—an evil[g] spirit—cried out, shouting, 34 “Go away! Why are you interfering with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are—the Holy One of God!”

35 But Jesus reprimanded him. “Be quiet! Come out of the man,” he ordered. At that, the demon threw the man to the floor as the crowd watched; then it came out of him without hurting him further.

36 Amazed, the people exclaimed, “What authority and power this man’s words possess! Even evil spirits obey him, and they flee at his command!” 37 The news about Jesus spread through every village in the entire region.

Jesus Heals Many People

38 After leaving the synagogue that day, Jesus went to Simon’s home, where he found Simon’s mother-in-law very sick with a high fever. “Please heal her,” everyone begged. 39 Standing at her bedside, he rebuked the fever, and it left her. And she got up at once and prepared a meal for them.

40 As the sun went down that evening, people throughout the village brought sick family members to Jesus. No matter what their diseases were, the touch of his hand healed every one. 41 Many were possessed by demons; and the demons came out at his command, shouting, “You are the Son of God!” But because they knew he was the Messiah, he rebuked them and refused to let them speak.

Jesus Continues to Preach

42 Early the next morning Jesus went out to an isolated place. The crowds searched everywhere for him, and when they finally found him, they begged him not to leave them. 43 But he replied, “I must preach the Good News of the Kingdom of God in other towns, too, because that is why I was sent.” 44 So he continued to travel around, preaching in synagogues throughout Judea.[h]

Footnotes

  1. 4:1 Some manuscripts read into the wilderness.
  2. 4:4 Deut 8:3.
  3. 4:8 Deut 6:13.
  4. 4:10-11 Ps 91:11-12.
  5. 4:12 Deut 6:16.
  6. 4:18-19 Or and to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord. Isa 61:1-2 (Greek version); 58:6.
  7. 4:33 Greek unclean; also in 4:36.
  8. 4:44 Some manuscripts read Galilee.