THIS MONTH ONLY: FREE CATECHISM AND BIBLE BOOKS with CatholicBrain Annual Subscription. Upgrade nowSign Up

Luke 4

Please or start a free trial to access this content.

Luke 4

The Temptation of Jesus

1And Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan, and was led by the Spirit 2for forty days in the wilderness, tempted by the devil. And he ate nothing in those days; and when they were ended, he was hungry. 3The devil said to him, "If you are the Son of God, command this stone to become bread." 4And Jesus answered him, "It is written, 'Man shall not live by bread alone.' " 5And the devil took him up, and showed him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time, 6and said to him, "To you I will give all this authority and their glory; for it has been delivered to me, and I give it to whom I will. 7If you, then, will worship me, it shall all be yours." 8And Jesus answered him, "It is written,

'You shall worship the Lord your God,

and him only shall you serve.' "

9And he took him to Jerusalem, and set him on the pinnacle of the temple, and said to him, "If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down from here; 10for it is written,

'He will give his angels charge of you, to guard you,'

11and

'On their hands they will bear you up,

lest you strike your foot against a stone.' "

12And Jesus answered him, "It is said, 'You shall not tempt the Lord your God.' " 13And when the devil had ended every temptation, he departed from him until an opportune time.

The Beginning of the Galilean Ministry

14And Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit into Galilee, and a report concerning him went out through all the surrounding country. 15And he taught in their synagogues, being glorified by all.

The Rejection of Jesus at Nazareth

16And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up; and he went to the synagogue, as his custom was, on the sabbath day. And he stood up to read; 17and there was given to him the book of the prophet Isaiah. He opened the book and found the place where it was written,

18"The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,

because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor.

He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives

and recovering of sight to the blind,

to set at liberty those who are oppressed,

19to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord."

20And he closed the book, and gave it back to the attendant, and sat down; and the eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on him. 21And he began to say to them, "Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing." 22And all spoke well of him, and wondered at the gracious words which proceeded out of his mouth; and they said, "Is not this Joseph's son?" 23And he said to them, "Doubtless you will quote to me this proverb, 'Physician, heal yourself; what we have heard you did at Caper'na-um, do here also in your own country.' " 24And he said, "Truly, I say to you, no prophet is acceptable in his own country. 25But in truth, I tell you, there were many widows in Israel in the days of Eli'jah, when the heaven was shut up three years and six months, when there came a great famine over all the land; 26and Eli'jah was sent to none of them but only to Zar'ephath, in the land of Sidon, to a woman who was a widow. 27And there were many lepers in Israel in the time of the prophet Eli'sha; and none of them was cleansed, but only Na'aman the Syrian." 28When they heard this, all in the synagogue were filled with wrath. 29And they rose up and put him out of the city, and led him to the brow of the hill on which their city was built, that they might throw him down headlong. 30But passing through the midst of them he went away.

The Man with an Unclean Spirit

31And he went down to Caper'na-um, a city of Galilee. And he was teaching them on the sabbath; 32and they were astonished at his teaching, for his word was with authority. 33And in the synagogue there was a man who had the spirit of an unclean demon; and he cried out with a loud voice, 34"Ah!a What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are, the Holy One of God." 35But Jesus rebuked him, saying, "Be silent, 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 harm. 36And they were all amazed and said to one another, "What is this word? For with authority and power he commands the unclean spirits, and they come out." 37And reports of him went out into every place in the surrounding region.

Healings at Simon's House

38And he arose and left the synagogue, and entered Simon's house. Now Simon's mother-in-law was ill with a high fever, and they besought him for her. 39And he stood over her and rebuked the fever, and it left her; and immediately she rose and served them.

40Now when the sun was setting, all those who had any that were sick with various diseases brought them to him; and he laid his hands on every one of them and healed them. 41And demons also came out of many, crying, "You are the Son of God!" But he rebuked them, and would not allow them to speak, because they knew that he was the Christ.

Jesus Preaches in the Synagogues

42And when it was day he departed and went into a lonely place. And the people sought him and came to him, and would have kept him from leaving them; 43but he said to them, "I must preach the good news of the kingdom of God to the other cities also; for I was sent for this purpose." 44And he was preaching in the synagogues of Judea.b