Luke 4
The Voice
While genealogies may seem tedious, for people in many cultures (including Luke’s), genealogies are important and meaningful because they give a sense of identity and history. Luke places Jesus in the mainstream of biblical history, connected to King David, Abraham, Noah, and Adam. By connecting Jesus with Adam, and ultimately with God, Luke shows how Jesus is connected to and relevant for all people, and he may also be suggesting that in Jesus God is launching a new humanity, with Jesus as the new Adam. Unlike the first Adam, though, Jesus will be completely faithful to God, as the next episode makes clear. Perhaps echoing Adam and Eve being tempted by the serpent in the garden (Genesis 3:1–7), Luke moves from the stories of Jesus’ beginnings to His temptation.
4 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.
2 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. 3 At that point, the devil came to Him.
Devil: Since You’re the Son of God, You don’t need to be hungry. Just tell this stone to transform itself into bread.
Jesus: 4 It is written in the Hebrew Scriptures, “People need more than bread to live.”[a]
5 Then the devil gave Jesus a vision. It was as if He traveled around the world in an instant and saw all the kingdoms of the world at once.
Devil: 6 All these kingdoms, all their glory, I’ll give to You. They’re mine to give because this whole world has been handed over to me. 7 If You just worship me, then everything You see will all be Yours. All Yours!
Jesus: 8 [Get out of My face, Satan!][b] The Hebrew Scriptures say, “Worship and serve the Eternal One your God—only Him—and nobody else.”[c]
9 Then the devil led Jesus to Jerusalem, and he transported Jesus to stand upon the pinnacle of the temple.
Devil: Since You’re the Son of God, just jump. Just throw Yourself into the air. 10 You keep quoting the Hebrew Scriptures. They themselves say,
He will put His heavenly messengers in charge of You,
to keep You safe in every way.
11 And,
They will hold You up in their hands
so that You do not smash Your foot against a stone.[d]
Jesus: 12 Yes, but the Hebrew Scriptures also say, “You will not presume on God; you will not test the Lord, the one True God.”[e]
13 The devil had no more temptations to offer that day, so he left Jesus, preparing to return at some other opportune time.
14 Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Holy Spirit, and soon people across the region had heard news of Him. 15 He would regularly go into their synagogues and teach. His teaching earned Him the respect and admiration of everyone who heard Him.
16 He eventually came to His hometown, Nazareth, and did there what He had done elsewhere in Galilee—entered the synagogue and stood up to read from the Hebrew Scriptures.
17 The synagogue attendant gave Him the scroll of the prophet Isaiah, and Jesus unrolled it to the place where Isaiah had written these words:
18 The Spirit of the Lord the Eternal One is on Me.
Why? Because the Eternal designated Me
to be His representative to the poor, to preach good news to them.
Luke’s audience doesn’t divide the world into sacred vs. secular or religious vs. political. For them, life is integrated. And for them, these “religious” words from Isaiah have a powerful and “political” meaning: because they see themselves as oppressed by the Roman occupation, Jesus’ words suggest that His “good news” describes a powerful change about to come—a change that will rescue the people from their oppression. His fellow Jews have long been waiting for a savior to free them from Roman oppression. Jesus tells them their hopes are about to be fulfilled. But then, just as people speak well of Jesus, He lets them know their expectations aren’t in line with God’s plans. He tells them not to expect God to fit into their boxes and suggests the unthinkable: that God cares for the Gentiles, the very people who are oppressing them! They aren’t too pleased by this.
He sent Me to tell those who are held captive that they can now be set free,
and to tell the blind that they can now see.
He sent Me to liberate those held down by oppression.
19 In short, the Spirit is upon Me to proclaim that now is the time;
this is the jubilee season of the Eternal One’s grace.[f]
20 Jesus rolled up the scroll and returned it to the synagogue attendant. Then He sat down, as a teacher would do, and all in the synagogue focused their attention on Jesus, waiting for Him to speak. 21 He told them that these words from the Hebrew Scriptures were being fulfilled then and there, in their hearing.
22 At first everyone was deeply impressed with the gracious words that poured from Jesus’ lips. Everyone spoke well of Him and was amazed that He could say these things.
Everyone: Wait. This is only the son of Joseph, right?
Jesus: 23 You’re about to quote the old proverb to Me, “Doctor, heal yourself!” Then you’re going to ask Me to prove Myself to you by doing the same miracles I did in Capernaum. 24 But face the truth: hometowns always reject their homegrown prophets.
25 Think back to the prophet Elijah. There were many needy Jewish widows in his homeland, Israel, when a terrible famine persisted there for three and a half years. 26 Yet the only widow God sent Elijah to help was an outsider from Zarephath in Sidon.[g]
27 It was the same with the prophet Elisha. There were many Jewish lepers in his homeland, but the only one he healed—Naaman—was an outsider from Syria.[h]
28 The people in the synagogue became furious when He said these things. 29 They seized Jesus, took Him to the edge of town, and pushed Him right to the edge of the cliff on which the city was built. They would have pushed Him off and killed Him, 30 but He passed through the crowd and went on His way.
31-33 Next He went to Capernaum, another Galilean city. Again He was in the synagogue teaching on the Sabbath, and as before, the people were enthralled by His words. He had a way of saying things—a special authority, a unique power.
In attendance that day was a man with a demonic spirit.
Demon-Possessed Man (screaming at Jesus): 34 Get out of here! Leave us alone! What’s Your agenda, Jesus of Nazareth? Have You come to destroy us? I know who You are: You’re the Holy One, the One sent by God!
Jesus (firmly rebuking the demon): 35 Be quiet. Get out of that man!
Then the demonic spirit immediately threw the man into a fit, and he collapsed right there in the middle of the synagogue. It was clear the demon had come out, and the man was completely fine after that. 36 Everyone was shocked to see this, and they couldn’t help but talk about it.
Synagogue Members: What’s this about? What’s the meaning of this message? Jesus speaks with authority, and He has power to command demonic spirits to go away.
The essential message of Jesus can be summed up this way: the kingdom of God is available to everyone, starting now. When Jesus refers to the kingdom of God, He doesn’t mean something that happens after death, far off in heaven; He equates the kingdom of God with God’s will being done on earth as it is in heaven. So the kingdom of God is life as God intends it to be—life to the full, life in peace and justice, life in abundance and love. Individuals enter the Kingdom when they enter into a relationship with Jesus, when they trust Him enough to follow His ways. But make no mistake, the Kingdom is about more than individual lives; it is about the transformation and renewal of all God has created. It may start with individual responses, but it doesn’t stop there.
Jesus describes His purpose as proclaiming this message. But Jesus not only expresses His message of the kingdom of God in words, He also dramatizes it in deeds. Luke calls these amazing deeds “signs and wonders,” suggesting that these actions have symbolic meaning, which is significant, and are wonderful, which means they fill people with awe and wonder. In the coming chapters, the wonder that the original eyewitnesses feel is palpable, and Jesus’ actions are significant signs of the kingdom of God.
37 The excitement about Jesus spread into every corner of the surrounding region.
38 Picture this:
Jesus then leaves that synagogue and goes over to Simon’s place. Simon’s mother-in-law is there. She is sick with a high fever. Simon’s family asks Jesus to help her.
39 Jesus stands over her, and just as He had rebuked the demon, He rebukes the fever, and the woman’s temperature returns to normal. She feels so much better that she gets right up and cooks them all a big meal.
40 By this time, it’s just before nightfall, and as the sun sets, groups of families, friends, and bystanders come until a huge crowd has gathered. Each group has brought along family members or friends who are sick with any number of diseases. One by one, Jesus lays His hands on them and heals them. 41 On several occasions, demonic spirits are expelled from these people, after shouting at Jesus, “You are the Son of God!”
Jesus always rebukes them and tells them to be quiet. They know He is the Anointed One, but He doesn’t want to be acclaimed in this way.
42 The next morning, Jesus sneaks away. He finds a place away from the crowds, but soon they find Him. The crowd tries their best to keep Him from leaving.
Jesus: 43 No, I cannot stay. I need to preach the kingdom of God to other cities too. This is the purpose I was sent to fulfill.
44 So He proceeds from synagogue to synagogue across Judea,[i] preaching His message of the kingdom of God.
Footnotes
- 4:4 Deuteronomy 8:3
- 4:8 Many early manuscripts omit this portion.
- 4:8 Deuteronomy 6:13; 10:20
- 4:10–11 Psalm 91:11–12
- 4:12 Deuteronomy 6:16
- 4:18–19 Isaiah 61:1–2
- 4:26 1 Kings 17:8–16
- 4:27 2 Kings 5:1–14
- 4:44 Other early manuscripts read “Galilee.”
路加福音 4
Chinese Union Version Modern Punctuation (Simplified)
耶稣受试探
4 耶稣被圣灵充满，从约旦河回来，圣灵将他引到旷野，四十天受魔鬼的试探。 2 那些日子没有吃什么，日子满了，他就饿了。 3 魔鬼对他说：“你若是神的儿子，可以吩咐这块石头变成食物！” 4 耶稣回答说：“经上记着说：‘人活着不是单靠食物，乃是靠神口里所出的一切话。’” 5 魔鬼又领他上了高山，霎时间把天下的万国都指给他看， 6 对他说：“这一切权柄、荣华我都要给你，因为这原是交付我的，我愿意给谁就给谁。 7 你若在我面前下拜，这都要归你。” 8 耶稣说：“经上记着说：‘当拜主你的神，单要侍奉他。’” 9 魔鬼又领他到耶路撒冷去，叫他站在殿顶[a]上，对他说：“你若是神的儿子，可以从这里跳下去！ 10 因为经上记着说：‘主要为你吩咐他的使者保护你， 11 他们要用手托着你，免得你的脚碰在石头上。’” 12 耶稣对他说：“经上说：‘不可试探主你的神。’”
13 魔鬼用完了各样的试探，就暂时离开耶稣。
14 耶稣满有圣灵的能力，回到加利利，他的名声就传遍了四方。 15 他在各会堂里教训人，众人都称赞他。
耶稣在拿撒勒传道
16 耶稣来到拿撒勒，就是他长大的地方，在安息日，照他平常的规矩进了会堂，站起来要念圣经。 17 有人把先知以赛亚的书交给他，他就打开，找到一处写着说： 18 “主的灵在我身上，因为他用膏膏我，叫我传福音给贫穷的人，差遣我报告被掳的得释放、瞎眼的得看见，叫那受压制的得自由， 19 报告神悦纳人的禧年。” 20 于是把书卷起来，交还执事，就坐下。会堂里的人都定睛看他。 21 耶稣对他们说：“今天这经应验在你们耳中了。” 22 众人都称赞他，并稀奇他口中所出的恩言，又说：“这不是约瑟的儿子吗？” 23 耶稣对他们说：“你们必引这俗语向我说：‘医生，你医治自己吧！我们听见你在迦百农所行的事，也当行在你自己家乡里！’” 24 又说：“我实在告诉你们：没有先知在自己家乡被人悦纳的。
被撵出城
25 “我对你们说实话，当以利亚的时候，天闭塞了三年零六个月，遍地有大饥荒，那时以色列中有许多寡妇， 26 以利亚并没有奉差往她们一个人那里去，只奉差往西顿的撒勒法一个寡妇那里去。 27 先知以利沙的时候，以色列中有许多长大麻风的，但内中除了叙利亚国的乃缦，没有一个得洁净的。” 28 会堂里的人听见这话，都怒气满胸， 29 就起来撵他出城。他们的城造在山上。他们带他到山崖，要把他推下去。 30 他却从他们中间直行，过去了。
在迦百农赶逐污鬼
31 耶稣下到迦百农，就是加利利的一座城，在安息日教训众人。 32 他们很稀奇他的教训，因为他的话里有权柄。 33 在会堂里有一个人被污鬼的精气附着，大声喊叫说： 34 “唉！拿撒勒的耶稣，我们与你有什么相干？你来灭我们吗？我知道你是谁，乃是神的圣者！” 35 耶稣责备他说：“不要作声！从这人身上出来吧！”鬼把那人摔倒在众人中间，就出来了，却也没有害他。 36 众人都惊讶，彼此对问说：“这是什么道理呢？因为他用权柄能力吩咐污鬼，污鬼就出来。” 37 于是耶稣的名声传遍了周围地方。
医西门岳母
38 耶稣出了会堂，进了西门的家。西门的岳母害热病甚重，有人为她求耶稣。 39 耶稣站在她旁边，斥责那热病，热就退了。她立刻起来服侍他们。
40 日落的时候，凡有病人的，不论害什么病，都带到耶稣那里。耶稣按手在他们各人身上，医好他们。 41 又有鬼从好些人身上出来，喊着说：“你是神的儿子！”耶稣斥责他们，不许他们说话，因为他们知道他是基督。
42 天亮的时候，耶稣出来，走到旷野地方。众人去找他，到了他那里，要留住他，不要他离开他们。 43 但耶稣对他们说：“我也必须在别城传神国的福音，因我奉差原是为此。”
44 于是耶稣在加利利的各会堂传道。
Footnotes
- 路加福音 4:9 “顶”原文作“翅”。
The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved.
Copyright © 2011 by Global Bible Initiative