Luke 4

Chapter 4 of the Gospel of Luke marks the beginning of Jesus' public ministry. Following Luke 3, in which Jesus is baptized and the Holy Spirit descends upon him, the chapter opens with Jesus, "being full of the Holy Ghost," going into the wilderness.

Outline

• Verses 1–13 Jesus eats nothing for forty days in the wilderness and is tempted three times by the devil: to command a stone to become bread, to worship the devil in exchange for authority over all the kingdoms of the world, and to cast himself down from the pinnacle of the temple. Each time Jesus answers with "It is written," and the devil departs from him for a season.
• Verses 14–15 Jesus returns to Galilee in the power of the Spirit, teaches in their synagogues, and is glorified by all.
• Verses 16–30 In the synagogue at Nazareth, Jesus reads from the book of Isaiah and declares, "This day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears." When he cites the examples of Elijah and the widow of Sarepta and of Elisha and Naaman the Syrian, the people are filled with wrath and drive him to the brow of a hill to throw him down, but Jesus passes through the midst of them.
• Verses 31–37 In the synagogue at Capernaum, Jesus heals a man possessed by an unclean spirit.
• Verses 38–41 Jesus heals Simon's mother-in-law of a fever, and at sunset he lays his hands on the sick who have gathered and heals them. When the demons cry out that he is "the Son of God," he does not allow them to speak.
• Verses 42–44 Jesus withdraws to a solitary place; then, saying that he must preach the gospel of the kingdom of God in other cities as well, he preaches in the synagogues of Galilee.

Key Verses

• Luke 4:4 "Man shall not live by bread alone" — representative of the scene in which Jesus answers temptation with Scripture.
• Luke 4:18–19 "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me…" — read as a declaration in which Jesus reveals the character of his ministry.
• Luke 4:43 "I must preach the kingdom of God to other cities also" — a summary of the purpose of his ministry.

People and Places

• Jesus: Led by the Spirit, he begins his ministry.
• The devil: Tempts Jesus in the wilderness.
• Elijah and Elisha: Old Testament prophets whom Jesus cites as examples at Nazareth.
• The widow of Sarepta: A Gentile woman in the land of Sidon to whom Elijah was sent.
• Naaman: A Syrian who was cleansed of leprosy in the time of Elisha.
• Simon's mother-in-law: A woman healed of a fever. Simon is Peter.
• Places: the Jordan River, the wilderness, the Temple in Jerusalem, Galilee, Nazareth, Capernaum, and the synagogue.

Points for Reflection

• Matthew 4 places the temple temptation second and the temptation of the kingdoms third, an order that differs from Luke's. Jesus' answers come from Deuteronomy 8:3, 6:13, and 6:16, while the devil's quotation comes from Psalm 91:11–12.
• Verses 18–19 are a quotation drawn chiefly from Isaiah 61:1–3. Many interpreters connect "the acceptable year of the Lord" with the Jubilee.
• One tradition reads this declaration with a focus on spiritual salvation, while other streams, such as liberation theology and Korean minjung theology, emphasize the social liberation of the poor and the oppressed. Many churches affirm both aspects together.
• Mark 6 and Matthew 13 place the account of Jesus' rejection in his hometown in the middle of his ministry, whereas Luke places it at the very beginning.

In the Korean Church

• In churches that follow a lectionary based on the church calendar, verses 1–13 are sometimes read on the first Sunday of Lent.
• Verses 18–19 are frequently cited in sermons and church mottos as a foundational text for social service and mission work.